by Desiree Holt
With a shaking hand she dialed his number and waited for him to answer. What she got instead was his voicemail. Okay. Maybe he was out somewhere on the ranch and out of cell range. He’d told her he sometimes took a satellite phone or a radio with him if he was going to be too far away from the house. Just in case, she dialed him again, with the same result. This time she left a voicemail message.
“Slade? Seems you were right. And I was wrong to argue with you. They’re having to go back and start over but they’ll keep me in the loop. Please call me. I’d really like it if—”
The recording chose that moment to cut off so she redialed.
“Me again. I’d really like it if you’d come over tonight. I can apologize for my idiotic behavior in person.”
The beep ending the recording sounded again, so she hung up. Hopefully he’d call back soon.
The morning dragged beyond belief. Kari found it difficult to concentrate, rereading the same brief three times. She might have concentrated better if she hadn’t stopped to check her cell phone every fifteen minutes. After a couple of fruitless hours she finally decided to call the ranch directly then realized she had no idea what the number was. They’d exchanged cell phone numbers and that was it. Well, she was an assistant district attorney, right? She could get any phone number she wanted. But after thirty minutes when she still had nothing, she wanted to scream.
That was when she realized the phone might not even be in Slade’s name at all. She entered Teobaldo Rivera’s name in the search engine she used and bingo, there it was.
“I’m sorry, Miss Malone,” he told her when he answered the phone. “He saddled his horse right after he got back from town and I haven’t seen him since then.” There was a pause. “I hope everything is okay with you guys. I haven’t seen him this happy and relaxed in a very long time.”
And, of course, I had to go and ruin it with my stubborn stupidity.
“No problem,” she assured him. “I plan to fix it just as soon as I can get hold of him. Will you please have him call me when he gets back?”
“I’ll do that.”
She called one last time and left him the same message.
“Please, please call me,” she ended. “Please.”
She disconnected, wondering if she should have begged a little harder.
Chapter Nineteen
Slade sat astride the big gelding, catching his breath, although he didn’t know why he was winded when the horse had done all the work. He’d urged the animal from a fast canter to a full gallop, the wind blasting his face with what felt like hurricane force as if it could blow away his demons. But by the time he pulled up at the stream at the far end of the property, all he had was a good case of windburn.
He dismounted and led the animal to the water, giving him time to drink and rest. He wished a bottle of water and a few idle moments could fix what was wrong with him. Except he didn’t know exactly what was wrong with him. He hadn’t been in this much emotional turmoil since he’d been a horny teenager.
God damn that woman, anyway!
He smacked his palm against the tree, but that didn’t accomplish anything except to nearly break his hand.
He’d violated his own rule and this was what he’d gotten. It was no more than he deserved. He’d confused good sex—scratch that, extraordinary sex—with emotion and this was what he’d gotten. He was much happier when he had no emotional connection to anyone or anything except his men and his ranch. But fuck! He couldn’t help the way he felt, no matter how much he wished it. For the first time ever, he’d allowed himself to think about a future with someone. He’d opened his heart, even if he hadn’t gotten around to telling her yet.
Stubborn woman. Why hadn’t she seen that his theory made sense? At least enough to ask the police in Chicago to double-check everything. Okay, he got it that she needed to believe it was all over. That she was finally safe. He just wanted her to make sure. Somehow it had escalated to a point where a big invisible wall had popped up between them. That had really shocked him. Kari wasn’t one to run away from the truth, at least as far as he could tell. She worked in a profession where she had to dig out truth every day. Why had she reacted this way?
Maybe he’d read her feelings for him wrongly. Maybe he’d just assumed things that were not true. She was the first woman he had ever felt anything for that was more than occasional lust. There was a rare connection there, a strong one. He’d even begun to think about his next leave and taking things further. Now he wondered if he’d just been too hasty. That’s what he got for letting himself get attached to someone and stick his nose in their business.
Well, fuck!
There was one thing, however, he intended to do regardless of how he felt at the moment. His concern for Kari’s safety hadn’t diminished, despite their argument. He’d contact Jamie Ramone, who was monitoring the panic button on Kari’s watch. Any time she pushed it, like a security system, it would ding on Jamie’s electronic setup and they could bring up her GPS signal. He wanted more than anything to be wrong about his suspicions and for that watch never to be used except to tell the time.
He glanced at his own watch and saw that it was close to noon. Beau and Trey had both texted him earlier to say that they’d be heading back to the ranch. Kenzi was tied up as part of a team handling a corporate merger and had told Beau she didn’t think she’d see daylight, never mind him, for the next couple of days. Megan was leaving town again for two days on assignment so they were at loose ends. He hadn’t heard from Marc yet, which he hoped was a good sign, but he and the others could certainly occupy themselves.
Mounting up, he then turned the horse back the way they’d come and headed toward the ranch. He’d give Kari a couple of days to get her shit together. Maybe that was harsh, but he wasn’t about to apologize for wanting to be sure she was safe. Hopefully by that time there’d be a resolution to her problem, one that proved him wrong. He sure hoped so.
* * * *
Kari’s cell phone rang just as she was deciding what to do about lunch. She wasn’t about to head out by herself but in her present mood she didn’t want to give Sasha the opportunity to ask her what was wrong. She thought she’d done a pretty good job all morning of keeping herself on an even keel when people popped in and out of her office for things. Every time the phone on her desk rang, she jumped, hoping it was Kip or Ross with news for her, but no such luck.
They’ll call me as soon as they have something concrete to say.
She was just trying to decide whether to send someone down to the coffee shop on the main floor of the building or order something delivered when her cell phone rang. She looked at the screen, hoping it was Slade but instead saw an unfamiliar number.
“Hello?”
“Kari? That you?” The Midwestern twang of Judge Robert Glasgow sounded in her ear.
“Judge Glasgow.” She smiled. “Ross said that you might call. Welcome to San Antonio.”
“Thank you. I told Ross I was happy this conference brought me here. It would give me a chance to apologize to you for the obscene situation with my law clerk.” He paused. “Former law clerk, that is.”
“I don’t think anyone blames you for that, Your Honor. You can’t be responsible for someone else’s actions.”
“Nevertheless, I want you to know how very sorry I am. I’d love to take you to lunch today. The conference begins tomorrow and I’ll be a little tied up, so I hope today works for you. Sorry for the short notice.”
“No, no, that’s fine.” Lunch with him would be good. She had a longstanding professional relationship with Glasgow, as many times as she’d appeared in his courtroom, and he had an impeccable reputation. He had to be upset at what John Schreiber had done. Maybe she could poke and prod and get a better picture of the law clerk, a picture that would convince her one way or the other. “Today works out well for me.”
“Excellent, excellent. My club in Chicago has reciprocity with some of the private clubs here in San Antonio
. I thought we’d have lunch at one of them. Quieter than your usual restaurants.”
“Thank you. That’s very nice of you, but—”
But she really wasn’t much in the mood for a country club lunch today. Besides, there were plenty of good restaurants right near the criminal courts building.
“No objections,” he interrupted. “It’s the least I can do. I rented a car at the airport, so how about if I pick you up in front of your building in ten minutes?”
“Ten minutes?” Wow! “Uh, okay. Sure. Just let me tell the office where I’m going.”
“You might just say you’re having lunch with an old friend,” he put in. “Some people are funny about judges and prosecutors lunching together like this.”
“But we’re not even in the same state anymore,” she reminded him. “You no longer hear my cases.”
“Just humor an old man, okay?” She could almost hear his smile.
“Sure. Fine. Whatever you think best.”
“Ten minutes.”
“See you then.”
She spent a few minutes in the restroom making sure she looked presentable. Then she grabbed her purse and stuffed her cell phone in it. She thought about telling Kip where she was going, but neither he nor Anita were at their desks. She settled for just letting the receptionist know she was going out to lunch and would be back in an hour or so.
Judge Glasgow was waiting for her at the foot of the long flight of stairs from the entrance to the sidewalk.
“I’m in a No Park zone.” He grinned at her. “I figured a judge could get away with it, though. Right over here.”
He cupped her elbow to guide her then opened the passenger door and helped her into the black sedan he was driving.
“Thank you.” She glanced over at him as he climbed in behind the wheel. He was just as she remembered him, tall with a thick shock of brown hair lightly shot with silver. She was sure the navy suit was made to specifications as were most of his clothes, custom tailored to his tall, broad-shouldered build. It was well-known around the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office that the Honorable Robert Glasgow was a clotheshorse.
“This is an unexpected pleasure,” he told her as he pulled away from the curb. “We’ve missed you a lot. I myself miss your fiery presence in my courtroom.”
Kari laughed. “Fiery presence? I’m not sure I’d describe myself that way.”
He chuckled, a deep-throated sound. “Don’t sell yourself short. You set the courtroom on fire plenty of times with your passion for justice.”
For whatever reason, his words made Kari a bit uncomfortable. She didn’t know why. After all, he was complimenting her work as a prosecutor, right?
“Which club will we be having lunch at? I should have told you there are plenty of excellent restaurants downtown.”
“I’m sure there are, but I wanted to take you someplace you normally wouldn’t go.” He reached over and squeezed one of her hands.
Kari tried to snatch it back without making it too obvious, but he was making her very uneasy.
“That’s very nice of you, but I do have to get back to the office in a reasonable time. I have two cases I’m very involved in at the moment and Kip likes his prosecutors’ noses to the grindstone.”
“If it makes you feel better, I’ll call him when we get to where we’re going. I’m sure it will be fine with him.”
The thread of unease was wriggling harder in her body.
“Perhaps we could leave that for the next time you’re in town,” she suggested, “or maybe the weekend. You know. When I’m not so pressed for time.”
“We’ll be fine,” he insisted. “I said I’d call Kip and I will. I don’t often have the pleasure of lunch with a woman as beautiful and sexy as you are.”
Okay, now warning bells were going off inside her, clanging loud and hard.
“Uh, Judge Glasgow? I think we’d better head back to town and reschedule. Really.” She glanced out of the window and was startled to realize they were a good distance from San Antonio, heading into the Hill Country. “Where did you say we were having lunch? Because I don’t think there are any private clubs out this way.”
“Yes, there are.” He glanced at her, his mouth curved in a smile that reminded her of predator just before he devoured his prey. “Very private. You know, Kari, I’ve admired you for a long time. A very long time. You’re everything a man could want in a woman.” He reached over and squeezed her thigh.
The bells were ringing harder and panic surged up in her throat.
“Oh, shoot. It’s later than I figured. Kip will be looking for me before long.” She glanced at her watch, taking the opportunity to push the tiny panic button. If this was a false alarm she’d apologize later.
“We’re going to have plenty of time for you to show me just how incredible. I’ve waited a long time for this and I want to make every moment as amazing as possible. Don’t worry. You’ll enjoy it.” He reached into his pocket and when he opened his hand, she saw he held a small hypodermic syringe.
The surge of fear was so strong it made her nauseated. She tried to get as far away from him as she could, but the door was there and the car was going too fast for her to even consider jumping out. She tried to grab his wrist and keep his hand away from her, but he was too quick for her. She felt the tiny prick of the needle as he stuck it in her neck.
Oh, God!
“Just enough to help you take a little nap, my dear.” The tone of his voice had changed.
Whatever he used was strong enough to be fast-acting. In seconds her body went lax, her eyes closed and she was out like a light.
* * * *
Slade arrived back at the ranch just as Trey and Beau were pulling into the parking area. They walked over to watch him as he unsaddled his horse and turned him out into the corral.
“Your lady in court today?” Trey asked.
“No. She’s preparing for a trial.” His words were shorter and sharper than he intended. He saw Trey and Beau exchange glances. “No questions. Not one.”
They looked at each other again then shrugged. If he didn’t want to talk, there was no way they’d push the issue.
“Listen, Marc texted me,” Trey said. “I guess he tried to call you, but you were out of range?”
Slade gave an abrupt nod. “What did he say?”
“He’s having lunch with the woman he met. Then he’ll be back here.” He checked his watch. “Should be almost any time now.”
“I hope this woman doesn’t screw him over,” Beau remarked. “Anyone here know anything about her?”
“I can ask Paul Hutton. If she was at that party, he’ll be able to tell me.”
“It’s the first time we’ve seen any life in him outside the missions.” Trey frowned. “If she screws this up, she’ll have all of us to answer to.”
Slade snorted. “I’m sure she’d be thrilled to hear that. I just—”
Whatever else he might have said was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. When he saw the number, every muscle in his body tightened.
“Yeah, Jamie?”
“You wanted to know if a particular panic alarm ever went off. Well, it just did.”
“Shit. Is the GPS pinging?”
“Yes. It’s heading out on Interstate 10 out of the city.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck. Okay, I am on my way. Give me two minutes. I have to get some stuff and make a call. Then I’ll call you back. You can give us directions.” He glanced at the other two men. “Okay, load up. Guns, ammo, Ka-Bar knives, anything we’ve got here.”
He raced toward the house.
“What’s up?” Beau asked, hard on his heels.
Slade filled them in on the situation even as he headed to his room to get his gear.
“We’ll be ready in one,” Trey assured him.
At that moment the back door opened again and Marc walked in.
He looked at Slade jogging out of his bedroom and Beau and Trey taking the stairs down two at a tim
e. “What’s going on?”
“Kari’s in trouble.” Slade bit off the words. “I set her up with an alarm on her watch and she just activated it. Get your gear.”
They were so used to reacting in situations like this that in less than another two minutes they were loaded into the SUV and headed away from the ranch. Slade rattled off Kari’s cell number to Trey, who was riding shotgun, and asked him to dial it. The phone rang several times before going to voicemail.
“Hey, Slade? Did you know you’ve got a ton of texts and voicemails here from Kari? Don’t you ever answer your phone?”
“I told you I was out of range,” he growled. And out of sorts, he might have added. “Play them.”
When he listened to them, he turned hot and cold by turns. She’d done what he’d asked and he hadn’t even been available for her to tell him about it. He had been off on his horse licking his wounds.
Fucking shit.
“Okay,” Slade told him. “Call Kip Reyes, her boss. His card’s in the glovebox.” Kari had given him the card in case he ever had to get hold of her and she was unavailable. When he told the man’s admin it was an emergency regarding Kari, she put him through right away.
“Slade.” The man’s voice boomed over the connection. “What’s going on? Is Kari in trouble? She threw me a curveball this morning when she said we might not have the right guy for her stalker.”
“I gave her a watch with a panic button on it and she just activated it. Do you know where the hell she is?”
Kip was silent for a moment. Slade wanted to reach through the phone and shake him.
“She didn’t tell anyone where she was going,” he said at last. “But Judge Glasgow is in town and her old boss said he’d be calling her for lunch.”