Surrender (22 page)

As I hit my crescendo, he began to pump into me at a frantic pace until at last, with a choked cry, he stopped, and I felt his cock jerking as it expelled his hot seed inside of me.

Quivering with weakness, I went perfectly limp. He gathered himself, pushing upwards and climbing off of me. The bed dipped as he got off of it. Dimly, I heard the splash of water in the bathroom and then the bed dipped again. He was still breathing gustily as he settled beside me and dragged me into his arms. I snuggled my face against his chest, delighting in the feel of him against my face, his scent enveloping me in a cocoon of bliss, sated with my own pleasure and even more pleased about the fact that he had claimed me at last and it had felt fabulous.

* * * *

I frowned when the silly jingle on my cell phone woke me, rolled onto my belly, and pulled a pillow over my head. Kaelen had left near daylight, but I had hardly slept a wink between the time we had come up to my room and then, and when he had left I had simply rolled over and gone back sleep.

The melody stopped after a few moments. I had just let out a sigh of relief when it started again, demanding I answer.

Pushing myself upright, I crawled to edge of the bed and managed to get the phone out of the drawer before it stopped again. I stared at it blearily, trying to focus my eyes enough to read the number that had called. Before I had managed to get it into focus, the phone rang again.

I depressed the button and put it to my ear. “Hello?”

“Annabelle! For god’s sake I’ve been calling and calling!” I bolted upright at the sound of my mother’s voice, my heart jumpstarted into an all out gallop. “What is it?” I demanded hoarsely.

“He

took
them!”

“Who?”

“William--the bastard!” my mother wailed. “They were playing in the backyard!

I had just checked on them, and then I heard a car door slam and when I went outside, he was tearing out of the driveway!”

Shock closed over me. “William? What was he doing there?” I finally managed, feeling sick to my stomach.

“He took the girls!” my mother practically screamed at me. “I called the police, but they’re saying they can’t do anything.”

“Oh god! Oh my god! I’m coming!” I said, throwing the phone down and practically falling out of the bed. “I’m coming!” I ran around in circles for a few moments, trying to think what to do and finally dove into the armoire for my clothes. I SURRENDER Kimberly Zant 99

didn’t bother to put on anything more than outer wear, stuffed my feet into my tennis shoes and then dashed out of the door before I remembered my purse had my car keys in it. Whirling, I ran back in to get my suitcase. I was halfway out the door the second time before I remembered my purse wasn’t in it.

Uttering a sob, I ran back inside, looked wildly around, and finally remembered I had left my purse in the bathroom.

I almost fell down the stairs in my rush to get down.

Kaelen caught me before I could get to the door. Curling a hand around my upper arm, he swung me around to face him. “What are you doing?” I stared at him blankly, still trying to wrap my mind around my disaster. “I have to go.”

His face went blank and then taut with anger. “Leave? You’re just going to walk out?”

“Yes,” I said, tugging to free my arm from his grip. “I have to leave.”

“You breach contract, you forfeit the money,” he ground out.

“For god’s sake, Kael!” Gareth growled.

I glanced at Gareth, saw Cameron beside him, and then discovered the commotion had drawn all of them. “It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter anymore. He took them.” Kaelen caught both my shoulders and shook me. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t need the money now,” I wailed. “I only did it for them, and they’re gone!

He took them. I have to go. I have to try to get them back.” Abruptly Kaelen dragged me tightly against his chest, holding me in spite of my struggles to free myself. “Gareth! Get Carl Johnston on the phone. Tell him to find out where that son-of-a-bitch William Patrick is. Tell him to call me on my cell when he’s tracked him down,” he roared furiously.

Kaelen loosened his hold on me, but he didn’t let go. Prying my suitcase out of my hand, he handed it to Cameron, then caught my arm and began to drag me down the hallway. I fought to get loose, my rubber soled shoes squeaking on the marble tile, until I realized finally that he was heading toward the garage. I tried to race him to the car then, but he held onto me, holding me back.

“This isn’t helping anything, Anna,” he said finally, dragging me to a halt when we reached the car. “Try to calm down, baby. We’ll get them back.” I stared at him for a moment and lost it, bursting into tears. “I want my babies!” I wailed.

Kaelen wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly, cradling my head against his chest as sobs tore from me. I knew he was trying to help. I knew he was trying to calm me down, and I needed to think, but I couldn’t seem to stop once I started.

He held me until I wore myself out and finally helped me into the car and fastened my seatbelt for me.

I searched my purse for a tissue to blow my nose and dry my eyes as he moved around the car to the driver’s side and finally found a napkin from a fast food restaurant.

The logo on the napkin nearly set me off again. It was from the restaurant Cameron had taken me and the girls to.

A police car was parked in front of my mother’s house when we arrived. I unbuckled my belt and jumped out before Kaelen could come around to help me, racing across the yard to where my mother was talking to the policeman.

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“Is this the mother?” the man asked with calm disinterest.

I wanted to slap him. How dare he act like it was nothing! “Yes!” I answered quickly. “You’ll go get them back?”

He pursed his lips, flicked a look at Kaelen as if he was expecting one of those commiserating male looks. I glared at Kaelen, daring him to agree with the man that, yes, I was a hysterical female and just needed to be patted on the head. Kaelen’s face was taut, his lips a thin line.

The cop stared at him for a long, long moment and finally looked away. “Ma’am, all we can do is go and talk to him. This is a custody situation.”

“I

have
custody!”

“Your mother said there was a court hearing coming up.” I glared at my mother. “I’ve still got custody now.” He shook his head. “Ma’am, I hate to tell you this but possession is nine tenths of the law. He’s their father. We can’t legally remove them from his house. It isn’t kidnapping as long as there’s an open custody dispute.” I had to fight the urge to punch the man in the nose. “Then I’ll go ….” Kaelen clamped a hand over my mouth. “Shut up, Anna, and go in the house. I mean it.”

I glared at him over the top of his hand, but I realized abruptly that he was trying to keep me from getting arrested. I wouldn’t have cared if it would get my children back, but it wouldn’t. Worse, it wouldn’t look good to have an arrest record when I got to court. Jerking away from him abruptly, I ran into the house.

“Women,” the cop muttered. “Say … aren’t you ….” I slammed the door behind me before I heard anything else. I didn’t actually register what the cop had said.

“I knew the cops would be useless,” my mother said, having followed me into the house and flopped into her favorite chair. “I’m so sorry, Anna! I never thought that bastard would have the nerve to come right up in the yard! In broad daylight!” I bit my lip to keep from saying something I would regret, pacing the floor restlessly while I tried to think. “You’d think we could at least get him for trespassing!” Kaelen came in, closing the door behind him. “You could, but that wouldn’t get the girls.”

I stared at him forlornly a moment and finally wilted onto the couch, covering my face with my hands. Guilt consumed me. If I had been here, I thought, it wouldn’t have happened. William might have been stupid enough to try it, but I would have fought him

… and then I probably would have gone to jail for assaulting him. I knew there was no point in blaming my mother. How could she have guessed he would pull such a stunt?

The girls couldn’t be kept inside all the time.

And I still blamed her, and I blamed me, and I hated William worse than I had when I had divorced him.

Kaelen settled beside me, rubbing my back for several moments, and finally tugged my hands away from my face and pulled me into his arms. “I’ll get them back for you, baby,” he murmured soothingly. “I swear it.” I wanted to believe him. I slipped my arms around his waist, clinging to him, clinging to the hope that he could do what he promised.

When his phone rang, he shifted me in his arms and pulled it from his pocket.

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“Yes?”

I pulled away, watching his face for something that would give me hope. He smiled grimly after a moment and sent me a look. “Keep watch and make sure he stays put.” He listened a moment longer. “Figure it out and let me know what the plan is when you come up with something.”

I looked at him hopefully when he hung up.

“Johnston found them … no real effort. He took them and went to his place.” I dimly remembered him saying something about a man named Johnston, but I wasn’t sure who he was or how the man knew where William’s house was.
I
didn’t even know. He had sold the house we had shared during our marriage—according to him to pay off debts we both owed, but then he had turned around and bought a new house for his new wife.

“What do we do now?”

“Wait. He’ll call us when he’s figured out how to get them out.” I wanted to go straight over to William’s house, shoot him in the head, and take my daughters. Fortunately, I didn’t have a gun or access to one. And then, too, I didn’t know how to use one.

And I couldn’t shoot him in front of the girls, even if I wanted to.

Kaelen could take him, though.

But I didn’t want Kaelen to end up in jail.

Exhausted, I finally dozed off with my head on Kaelen’s shoulder. He roused me, helped me to my feet, and walked me to the bedroom I had shared with my daughters. I felt like crying when I saw their toys scattered around the room and all over the bed.

Rescuing Ashley’s favorite doll as Kaelen swept the toys from the bed and told me to lie down, I cuddled it against my chest and lay down. He sat beside me, stroking a hand soothingly along my back until I fell asleep.

When Kaelen shook me awake, I discovered the room was dark. Memory flooded back quickly, though, and I sat up, looking up at him expectantly.

“Johnston called. We need to go.”

I had fallen asleep fully clothed, but Kaelen—I thought—had pulled my shoes off.

The overhead light blinded me for a moment when he flipped it on, but I found my shoes and slipped them onto my feet again.

There was no sign of my mother. “Mom?”

“I sent her ahead of us. She’ll meet us there.” Nodding, although I didn’t have a clue of where ‘there’ was, I locked up behind myself and followed him out to the car. The drive was a fairly short one, and I was still keyed up by the time Kaelen pulled up to the edge of the street and parked the car. The man that stepped out of the darkness as we walked quickly along the sidewalk scared the shit out of me.

“They’re sleeping like babies.”

I glanced at the man sharply. “The girls?” I asked quietly, using the same quiet tone he had used.

“Patrick and his woman.”

Confused, I glanced at Kaelen.

“Likely to wake up?” Kaelen asked.

“Not before morning … not if an airplane landed on the house,” the man SURRENDER Kimberly Zant 102

responded with satisfaction.

Kaelen’s hand tightened on my arm. “We’d better move fast anyway. I don’t want to be caught inside by a nosey neighbor.” We paused at the front door of a house, and the man Kaelen had called Johnston opened the door and walked right in. “The girls are in the back bedroom.” He led us to it, opening the door silently.

I shoved my way between the two men and rushed inside. Ashley and Alexis were curled up together on a small bed against one wall. Profound relief washed over me as I hurried to them and bent down to take Ashley in my arms. She complained but snuggled against my shoulder when I shushed her. Kaelen scooped Alexis up and turned to look at me.

Letting out a deep sigh, I headed out again, hurrying, fearful that William might wake up regardless of what the man had said. I had to rouse the girls to get their seatbelts on. Alexis stared at us blankly for several moments and finally smiled. “Mommy!” I wanted to crawl into the backseat and cuddle both them just to assure myself I really had them, but I was too uneasy about the possibility Kaelen had mentioned, fearful that if we didn’t leave quickly the police would show up. Stroking her head, I kissed her and told her to go back to sleep.

I didn’t know where Kaelen was taking us, and I didn’t care as long as it was someplace where William wouldn’t find us. I stared out the window as he drove, mentally counting the money in my pocketbook and checking account. It didn’t take long to count. I thought if we stayed at a really, really cheap hotel, I might have enough for two or three nights.

I should be able to access the money in the account the company had set up for me, though. I had reneged on the last couple of weeks, and that was going to be cutting things close, but I decided there was enough to rent a place for a month … if I could find someone willing to let a place for that short a time.

I wasn’t going to take them back to my mother’s house, not until I had settled things in court.

A couple of hours later, Kaelen slowed the car, dragging me from my thoughts. I watched as he turned into a gated driveway. A man stepped from a security booth. “Mr.

Westmoreland! Good evening!”

He stepped back inside, and the iron gates began to slowly open.

I stared at them blankly, though, too shocked to think, feeling first fiery hot and then ice cold. I didn’t look at Kaelen. I felt weak all over and so nauseated I thought for several panicked moments that I was going to throw up … in Kaelen Westmoreland’s car.