by Desiree Holt
Like the Shadow for which he was nicknamed, Slade eased out of the SUV, closed the door so it was barely a click and began his ascent to the cabins. He used the covering of trees as much as possible. He had no idea what view the cabin had and he didn’t want Glasgow to see him coming, in case he happened to be looking outside. Stealth was their name, however, and they all used the trees and wild shrubs as cover while they split up and headed to the far cabins on each side.
Since there was nothing to signify which cabins were occupied, they decided to start at the far ends and work their way toward the middle. Beau took the left with Slade, who forced himself to go slow and do nothing to give away his presence, even though his brain screamed at him to hurry.
Please let her be okay.
* * * *
“I, uh, have to go to the bathroom.”
Kari had tried to think of a way to get this madman to untie her. The ropes were cutting into her wrists and ankles when she tried to move and she was beginning to lose the feeling in her hands. She did her best to avert her eyes from Glasgow, who kept walking around the bed, moving from side to side, stroking her, touching her, telling her all the things he wanted to do to her and how he’d make plans for them to always be together. At one point he kissed one of her hands and ran his tongue over her knuckles and she wanted to vomit. It was almost as disgusting as the sight of the man in his boxer briefs that did nothing to disguise the bulge of his cock beneath the fabric. She knew, however, how important it was to maintain control. She clung to the belief that Slade was on his way and she needed to find some way to stall things as long as she could.
Glasgow looked at her through narrowed eyes. “Is this some kind of trick? I’d hate to have to punish you for lying to me.”
“No, no, not at all,” she hurried to assure him. “I really do have to go. And then maybe instead of tying me back up we could, you know, enjoy each other a little.”
He studied her face for a long time.
“Why are you suddenly so agreeable?”
She found a smile from someplace. “I’ve been thinking about it and watching you. Maybe I’m wrong to fight you. After all, how many women can say a judge is in love with them, right? I should see it as an honor.”
His face lit up and he actually licked his lips. “An honor. Yes, yes. Now you get it.”
She wiggled as much as her restraints permitted. “So, bathroom? I really need to go.”
“All right, but absolutely no tricks.”
“No tricks,” she agreed.
She forced herself to lie still while he unfastened the ropes and again not to move while he massaged her wrists and ankles. When he reached out a hand to help her from the bed, she even responded when he gave her fingers a squeeze, even though she felt like shuddering at his touch. She sensed his eyes on her as she walked to the bathroom. Inside, she closed the door and leaned against it, drawing in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. She only had a few minutes in there, positive that if she took longer he might even break down the door to get to her.
She was still reeling from the realization that her stalker was a well-respected judge, an important community figure. An icon in the courtroom. How in all that was holy had he gotten his law clerk to confess to a crime like this? Even if, as Glasgow had hinted, there was proof he couldn’t have done it, the stigma would follow him wherever he went. Who on earth would even hire him?
She stalled as long as she could, using the facilities and taking a long time washing her hands.
“Kari?” A fist banged on the door. “I think you need to come out of there now.”
Another deep cleansing breath and she opened the door, pasting a smile on her face.
“All freshened up,” she told him in as bright a voice as she could manage. “Perhaps, like I said before, we could just sit and chat a while.”
“Maybe later.” His fingers closed over her wrist in an iron grip she was sure would leave marks. “When I am sure to my satisfaction that this isn’t all just a ploy on your part.”
She thought about fighting him as he tugged her over to the bed again, but then what? He was a large man, not someone she could overpower. Maybe if she could aim a well-placed kick to the crotch she could double him over long enough to get out of the place. Too bad he seemed to guess her intent, because he made sure to hold her in such a way it was impossible as he propelled her toward the bed again.
She was at least glad he hadn’t tried to undress her yet. She forced herself to lie as still as she could while he restrained her wrists and ankles again. But this time when he pulled her legs apart he took a moment to run the flat of his hand over her stomach and down between her legs, rubbing her mound through the fabric of her slacks.
“I have such plans for you, Kari. For us. Once you commit to this fully, think what a wonderful couple we’ll make.”
Not if she had any say in the matter.
Then a sickening thought rolled through her. What if the panic button on the watch hadn’t worked? Or what if Slade had discontinued the monitoring? No, no, no. He’d never do that. He might be pissed off at her, but he’d never do anything to put her in danger, or to ignore her need for help. Even assuming everything was working, she had no idea how long it would take him to identify where she was and get here.
Okay, then. She needed to hold herself together as much as possible. If that meant playing his sick little game, so be it. She might have walked around in fear for more than two years because of this maniac, but now she needed to find her inner core of strength. She needed to be the person she was in court.
Think of him as a defendant or a reluctant witness. I know how to play that game.
But when he opened a drawer in the little nightstand and removed a knife, she couldn’t help the small surge of fear. She’d worried about rape, about whatever sexual deviations he might enjoy. She hadn’t thought about torture and pain. But if he loved her, as he’d said, why would he cause her to suffer torment? Her mind scrambled frantically for some answers, seeing the wicked blade glint in the light.
“Please don’t be afraid of the knife.” That sickening smile reappeared on his face. “I like to play with it. It has so many uses. For example, it’s much more exciting to cut your clothing away than it is to just undress you. Exposing your skin a little at a time.”
That fear now rolled into a cold, hard ball in the pit of her stomach and she had to force it back. How was it this madman had existed for so long without anyone being the wiser? He had to have played his sick games with other women, even if he hadn’t stalked them first. Had he done more with the knife? Used it on them in other ways? She’d prosecuted a murderer who liked to carve his initials into his victims. Was that what he had in mind for her?
She swallowed back the revulsion surging up and forced herself to lie still and make no movement at all. But in her head, silently, she was praying.
Please, Slade, hurry, hurry, hurry.
Chapter Twenty-One
The first four cabins they checked out yielded nothing. Three of them were empty. Slade heard something coming from the fourth that made his muscles tighten, noises that sounded like screams. However, when he managed to peek in the window he discovered a couple having athletic sex accompanied by appropriate noises. Damn!
While he was cursing silently, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked at the screen and every nerve went on alert as he read Marc’s text.
“Target identified. Cabin three.”
Slade moved up to the cabin in a low crouch, Beau right next him. They rendezvoused with Marc and Trey at the side of the small building.
“We have zero intel on what’s happening inside,” he reminded everyone in a whisper. “We don’t know if he has a gun or what, so we have to do this with great care. We can’t put Kari in any more danger than she already is.”
They all four crouched below a small window. Slade had a desperate need to see what he could, but he didn’t dare risk a peek and have Glasgow spot h
im. Not until they knew more about what was going on.
Constantly checking the area around them to make sure no one was around who could spot them, they finally settled on a game plan they thought would work. While the others waited on either side of the door, Beau banged on it with his fists.
“Clara, honey? Hey, it’s me. I forgot my key. Open up, now.”
There was no answering sound from inside.
“Sweetheart? Come on, now.” He banged on the door again. “I’m sorry for what I said. Open the door and I’ll make you glad you did.”
“You have the wrong cabin,” a man’s voice called out. “Go away.”
“Hey!” Beau shouted even louder. “You got another man in there with you? Damn you, Clara. Open this damn door before I blow it open.” He pounded again, several sharp knocks in rapid succession. The others flanked him with their weapons at the ready.
“I said go away,” the voice called again.
“Not until you open this fucking door, whoever the hell you are. I want my woman. You let me in or I’ll just wait out here and blow your fucking head off.”
Then they heard a sound that made Slade’s heart beat faster.
“Slade? Is that you? Help! Help, Slade.”
Kari’s voice sliced right through him. Without waiting any longer he lifted his booted foot and kicked the door hard, splintering it. At the same time the others put their shoulders to it and knocked it into the room. When he saw Kari spread-eagle on the bed, for a moment he forgot to breathe. A man he assumed was Judge Glasgow was standing beside her. He had one hand on her forehead, pressing back on it. The other hand held a knife, poised over her body. A sharp crack sounded in the room, the explosive sound of a shot being fired, and Glasgow stumbled back, cursing. The knife fell from his hand as he clutched his shoulder.
“It should have been your fucking head,” Beau told the judge. “You just better be glad I’m such a damn good shot or it would have been.”
Trey walked over. “I’ve got him. You did your part.”
He backed the judge over to the chair, pushed him into it and stood with his gun pointed at him. “I’d love it if you’d move right now,” he growled. “Nothing would give me more pleasure than blowing a hole in you.”
Glasgow huddled in the chair making little sniveling noises. “I’m bleeding,” he whined, holding his shoulder.
Trey grabbed a towel and threw it at him. “Truthfully, I’d rather just let you sit here and bleed to death, but I think getting you into court for this would be a lot more satisfying.”
Slade was already untying Kari. He sat on the edge of the mattress cradling her in his arms. She was shaking all over and crying silently.
Beau crouched beside her and took one of her hands. “I just want you to know, darlin’, that I’m a deadeye shooter. I know where and how to hit so he didn’t cut that pretty throat by mistake.” He grinned at her. “Besides, Slade would have cut off my balls and I kind of like them where they are.”
“Thank you.” Her voice was so soft Slade had to strain to hear the words.
“Hey, Slade,” Trey called. “We got company.”
A man in jeans and a plaid shirt stood in the doorway, observing the ruins of the door and holding a shotgun.
“What the fuck is going on here? I just called the cops so you’d better all back up and sit on the floor until they get here.”
“Good thing you did.” Trey stepped forward and held out his hand. “Trey McIntyre. United States Army Special Forces. We got ourselves a stalker turned kidnapper here.”
“Don’t believe them,” Glasgow shouted. He cowered in the chair against the wall, the towel pressed to his shoulder, still wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. “I’m a district judge from Illinois here for a conference. I came to this cabin to get some rest first and these assholes broke in and shot me.”
“That’s not true.” Kari looked at him from where she sat in the circle of Slade’s arms. Her voice sounded shaky but determined. “He’s been stalking me for two years and today he kidnapped me.” She pointed to the ropes still attached to the bed and to the burns from them on her wrists and ankles.
“It was just a game,” Glasgow shouted. “She likes it rough.”
“Not from you, asshole.” Slade hurled the words out as if each one was a bullet.
“Everyone just put down their damn guns,” the man in the doorway ordered, “until the sheriff gets here and we get this sorted out.”
Slade shook his head, the signal to his men not to leave themselves unarmed. The screech of a siren split the air just then.
“Good,” the man said. “There’s the sheriff now. We’ll see what’s what here. Nobody move until he gets in here. And for God’s sake, watch those trigger fingers.”
It took longer than they would have liked to sort it all out. In the end it meant calls to both Kip Reyes and Ross Delahunt, not to mention the team’s commanding officer, before the sheriff was satisfied and told them all they could go. He made arrangements to have Glasgow handed off to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Department, where they’d get him medical aid and a spot in a cell. Texas and Illinois could fight it out over who got to try him.
Slade watched as the man was marched out in handcuffs with little care for his wounded shoulder.
Kari leaned into Slade. “I can’t believe it’s over at last.”
“And this time for real,” Slade assured her.
“If only I’d listened to you,” she began.
“Coulda, woulda, shoulda. I’m just glad I gave you the damn watch.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I may never let you out of my sight again.”
“Does that mean I get to go on missions with you?” she teased.
She might have been joking, but Slade heard the edge of hysteria still lingering in her voice.
“We’ll negotiate.” He tightened his arm around her. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
The ride back to San Antonio in the SUV was completed in silence for the most part. Slade asked Trey to drive so he could hold Kari in his lap, seat belt and regulations be damned. He couldn’t stop himself from stroking her hair and her arms, from leaning his head against hers so he could feel the smoothness of her cheek. And if his men were right there? Too damned bad. He might have lost her altogether and that would have been unbearable. He couldn’t believe it had taken almost losing her to realize how deep his feelings for her went, or the strength of them. The question was, how did she feel about him? They’d danced around the subject in the short time they’d been together but neither had really expressed their feelings or emotions. He and Kari needed to have a long talk, but not right now.
Delayed reaction had set in and he could feel her trembling, hard as she might try to hold herself still. It wasn’t just today that had done it for her. This was the culmination at last of months and months of being afraid, of trying to deal with that fear and not knowing who it was out there doing this to her.
When the SUV pulled up in front of her apartment building he pushed the door open and eased himself out, still holding her until he could set her on her feet.
“Don’t even think about not letting me come up with you.”
She gave him a weak smile. “I don’t even think I’d want to.”
“Good.” He nodded to the guys that they could take off.
“Call us whenever,” Trey said. Then he put the vehicle in gear and rolled back into the street.
“Come on, darlin’,” Slade said. “I’ve got just the prescription for you. A hot bath and a stiff drink and I don’t mean wine.” He tilted her face up. “You held up so well. I don’t know what went on but I’m guessing you kept your head pretty good or you would have been in a lot worse shape.”
“I can’t believe I was scared of that weasel.” She looked down at her feet as they rode up in the elevator.
“Kari, weasels can be very dangerous. They’re nothing to ignore.”
“I guess you’re right.”
Her hands were shaking so much it took two attempts for Kari to get her key in the lock to open her front door until a strong hand closed over hers and helped her with it. Slade wrapped an arm around her as they finally made it into her little front hall. When the door was closed again and locked and the alarm set—she was far from ready to let go of that yet—he turned her to face him, grazing her cheek with the knuckles of one hand. Even as knocked off balance as she was, his touch electrified her, heating her blood and setting the pulse in her cunt to throbbing with a heavy beat. His gaze locked with hers in a look so intent she could feel it strumming every one of her nerve endings.
“Bath first before anything,” he insisted, leading her to her bedroom.
She started to undress, but the aftereffects of today’s episode still had her body off kilter. Her hands still shook, her legs were still weak and she still felt as if she’d collapse at any moment.
Slade picked her up and sat her on the bed. “Hold on one second.”
He strode into the bathroom and in a moment she heard the splash of water going into the tub, followed by the clink of glass. Then he was back, kneeling before her and undressing her with such exquisite gentleness she wanted to cry. All she could think about was how concerned he’d been for her and how she’d tried to argue with him about his misgivings. She was just damn lucky he hadn’t taken back the watch and left her hanging out there in the wind.
She ran her tongue over lips that were dry. “Slade, I want to tell you—”
He lifted a hand and touched two fingers to her lips. “Ssh. Not now. Now it’s all about getting you past this.”
As he removed each piece of clothing she tried not to remember Robert Glasgow and his plans to do exactly that but in a more vicious fashion. She made a deliberate effort to try to blank that whole scene from her mind. It helped that as each item fell away, he took the time to place gentle kisses on the exposed skin. There was nothing erotic about any of this. It was more of a calming nature, more reassuring that she was safe and she was okay with him touching her.