The Intruder (7 page)

"High praise, youngster," Gus was beaming. "Sweetheart,' is it?" he looked at Jake in surprise."

"Kari is my future wife, Gus. I've been undercover, and inadvertently put Kari in danger. She's not guilty of anything except being beautiful," he added, and it was Kari's turn to blush a fiery red.

"I'll keep her safe, son. My word on that." Gus never thought he'd live to see the day his young partner fell hard for a woman, but he knew that when and if it happened, the young woman in question would be special. "You've got a fine man, Kari. He's not like other men who'll hand you a line then be on their way. He's for life."

"I know," Kari whispered, her green eyes shining.

"Do you want me to help you check out the house?" Gus was suddenly all business.

"No, I'll do it, and then I'll give you the all clear to let you know we're safe." It was standard procedure. Gus would give them ten minutes to make that call, and then he'd call 911 and come running to give assistance.

"You stay put here while I check the house, Kari. If something happens, drive yourself to Gus. He'll tell you what to do." He was proud of the way she nodded. He locked the car doors securely, and then drew his gun and made a thorough check of the house, room by room. He used his cell to call Gus as he went back to the car to get Kari, and once they were inside, he showed her around the nice home. It was a safe house, and he'd used it before to house witnesses. As far as the neighbors knew, it was owned by a wealthy widow who lived with her adult children now and rented it out occasionally to someone she knew who was visiting the city for a brief amount of time and didn't want to stay in a hotel. The cover worked. Neighbors expected to see different people at times, and no one came over to welcome them to the neighborhood when they were only going to be staying for a couple of weeks or less.

At Jacob's insistence, Kari called her Father and let him know she was doing well, and she casually mentioned that she was visiting with a friend while looking for a new apartment. Her Dad seemed pleased, and assured her he was extremely busy with work, but told her to call if she needed him and he'd drop everything and come right away. She thanked him, and then hinted that she and Jacob were becoming more than just friends. That news didn't shock her parent as much as it should have, and she wondered what Jake had told him. Still, it didn't matter. What she needed was an explanation. She closed her cell phone and then looked at Jake.

"So, Jacob, what is it that Quincy Darles does that has you looking to arrest him, and why are we in danger?"

"We'll get to all of that, sweetheart, but first, we have a little matter to discuss about safety... and why you opened the door of your apartment without asking who was on the other side. And that discussion is going to happen with you over my knee!"

Chapter Five

"Now, Jacob...! Be reasonable!" Kari quickly backed away from the big man. She did not want another spanking. "It's
my
apartment, and I am used to answering my door when someone knocks."

"Without asking who is on the other side?" Jake listened in disbelief, unable to believe she was trying to defend her actions.

"I am not as suspicious of people as you are," she informed him.

"Kari, sweetheart, it is a matter of your safety to learn who is on the other side of your door before you let them inside. There are all manner of people in this world; you cannot risk your own safety by assuming that everyone who knocks on your door is honorable. You need a spanking to remind you to ask the next time, and that spanking is going to happen right now," he stated inflexibly.

"I'm not a little kid, Jacob!' she stomped her foot in exasperation. "I don't need a spanking to... No, Jacob!' she cried out when he pulled her into the kitchen and found a bowl scraper that looked like a miniature paddle with a handle. He took her to the table in the breakfast nook and bent her over the table before dropping her jeans and panties and lighting into her with his hand. "Yikes, Jacob! Stop!"

"No, sweetheart, I'm not stopping until you mend your attitude."

"Okay, okay, whatever you say! I'll check who's on the other side of the door from now on! Please, stop! Owwwwww!" His hand was as hard as a board, and she suspected her bottom was already as red as could be!

Jake ignored her pleas. He knew well and good she was just trying to stop the spanking, and there wasn't a bit of genuine remorse for her actions in her words. "It is common sense to know who is on the other side of a door, Kari. Anyone with good intentions won't mind answering you." He reinforced his words with hard spanks meant to chastise. Her bottom was already turning a bright red, and he was far from finished with the lesson. It was one she needed to learn and learn well.

"Owwwww! Owwwww! OWWWW! Not so hard, Jake! You're killing me!" Kari insisted.

"No, I'm not killing you. I'm setting your cute little fanny on fire because someone should have taught you this lesson years ago." He switched over to the scraper and it make a satisfying thwack when it met her bottom.

"YeeeOUCH! What is that thing?" Kari cried out in pain. "It hurts too much. Stop! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please Jake, stop! I'll do better from now on, I promise!" Kari was at the end of her limit. The pain was simply too overwhelming and with her sensitive skin she was going to be black and blue in a short while! "No more, please!" She started sobbing and finally stopped fighting the spanking. "Oh, Jacob, please stop!" she begged.

Jacob heard the utter desperation in her voice and stopped. Kari's bottom was a deep red, as were her upper thighs and her sit spots. She was sobbing and she was shaking when he pulled her up in his arms. "I never ever want to see or hear of you opening your door to someone you don't know without asking who it is and what they want. Even if a man claims he is there to do maintenance because the landlord called him, you tell him to wait until you verify that information. Do you hear me, sweetheart?" She nodded, and he said, "If you ever do something so foolish again, this spanking will seem like child's play compared to the one you'll get then." He held her for a while and his cell phone rang.

"Tobias here," he said shortly, and then listened, a grim expression on his face. "I figured as much," he looked at the teary-eyed redhead beside him and his expression grew foreboding. He saw Kari shiver, and he tried to smile, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. He was furious and it showed. "Keep an eye on him, Robbins. If there's anything I need to know, call me, day or night." He listened again, and then said, "Thanks," before hanging up the telephone.

"It didn't take Darles long," he told her. "He and three other men just left your apartment, sweetheart. They would have killed me and taken you."

"But why?" Kari demanded, the thought of four strangers inside her home without permission made her sick at heart! And, it terrified her, too.
What if Jake hadn't known to get them out of there?
"I don't understand any of this, Jake. What on earth could Darles want with me?"

"You're young and beautiful, you have red hair and green eyes. Your skin is ivory and creamy smooth, and you look like an angel but you have spirit." He could see she still didn't understand and he felt like kicking Keith for keeping her so innocent of the world. "Darles deals in white slavery, sweetheart. You're worth a
lot
of money."

"But, that's against the law!" she gasped in outrage.

"And very profitable. If he took you, you would be in some Sheik's harem, or sold to an expensive brothel somewhere and put to work on your back."

"No!" she whispered, throwing herself into his arms to seek comfort. "I couldn't bear that, Jacob!"

"Now do you see why I smacked your backside, young lady? Opening your door to the likes of Darles would immediately put you on his 'list'. Once he made darn sure you were fairly alone here, he would have taken you in a heartbeat, and even now, he is out there, looking for us. I was working undercover, trying to gather information... who he sells to. If I can find a list of his contacts, I can put them out of business, too. Jenna's college roommate has disappeared; I think Darles took her when Deborah headed back to school after spending a weekend with Jenna at Ma's place. Deborah had an early Monday morning class, but Jenna didn't have to be back until Tuesday, so they drove separately. Deborah didn't make it back to school. No one has seen her since she left Ma's house, and the only information we can gather is that a man matching Darles description was seen talking to her in a convenience store where she planned to stop for coffee. Her car was found there, and had been disabled. I think Darles offered her a ride back to Ma's, and took her captive."

"That is horrible!" Kari was shocked.

"I don't want that to happen to you, sweetheart. I couldn't bear to lose you, so you wear that spanking and know that it was given because I love you. Hear me?"

Kari nodded, and snuggled against him. "I'm sorry I was so careless, Jake. I won't do that ever again, I promise." The look in her lovely green eyes convinced him she meant her promise.

"Let's get settled in here, and then you can lie down. Your body needs rest, and Jase would have my hide for letting you run like that earlier," Jake was worrying again.

"I'm fine, especially considering the alternative," she said firmly.

"I'm going to get you in bed, and then I need to get out there and work, sweetheart. You don't need to worry; you won't be alone. I'll have an officer stationed here with you."

"I don't want to be separated from you, Jake!" she declared. "I'm afraid."

"You're safe here, Kari. I wouldn't leave you if I thought otherwise." Jake didn't take the time to argue with her. He insisted she get into bed and rest and when Officer Kelly Wintrow arrived, he gave her her orders and then left. He was going to find Quincy Darles and take him in for questioning on Deborah's disappearance. He had quite enough evidence, and if he could get him to tell where Deborah was sold, he'd get her home safe if at all humanly possible.

* * *

The house was silent when Kari woke from her nap, and she couldn't believe she'd slept so long! It had to be late by now. She jumped out of bed and put on a robe because the house felt chilly to her. "Jake?" she called out when she left the bedroom, and nearly shrieked when someone other than Jake came around the corner to the hallway. "Miss Morgan, I'm Officer Wintrow. Lieutenant Tobias is working now. I will be with you until morning, and then another Officer will be assigned this duty if the Lieutenant orders."

"I see. How long has he been gone?" she asked in a voice that sounded whiny and petulant, even to her own ears.

"About two hours," the Officer replied. "Why don't you go back to bed, Miss Morgan, and get some rest? I promise to wake you if anything out of the ordinary happens."

Kari shook her head 'no' and then she smiled. "Please call me Kari, and the last thing I want to do right now is go back to bed. I've been in bed so much this week, I want to stay up late and eat junk food. Is there anything good in the kitchen?" she asked wistfully. "Jacob is a very strict nurse," she added. "No McDonalds, no chocolate... just healthy stuff to get me well, as he puts it. Now that he's away, this little mouse is going to play." She giggled at the other woman's amused expression. "Come on... I don't know your first name...?" she said expectantly, and the other woman promptly said 'Kelly'. "Well, Kelly, let's go on a junk food search. We'll stuff ourselves and get to know each other... unless that would get you into trouble with Jake?" she asked.

"I'm allowed to eat, Kari," Kelly grinned.

"Good! And BINGO!" she called out. "Look at this freezer, Kelly. Chocolate Ice Cream, the good kind... A Cheesecake, and Eclairs. MMMmmmMMMM" Kari pulled out the container of ice cream and said, "Does this look good to you, Kelly?"

"Definitely," the other woman answered with a giggle. She would be in trouble later, but it was so hard to resist temptation all the time. She got out two bowls and spoons while Kari looked for an ice cream dipper in the drawers. She finally found one, and filled their bowls generously.

"Now all we need is some chocolate syrup," Kari wiggled her eyebrows and went searching again. Kelly helped, and sure enough, there was a large unopened bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup in one of the cupboards. "This is going to be sinfully good." She put generous amounts in both bowls, and then put away the syrup and the ice cream, and cleaned her mess off the counter. Kelly went to sit at the table and Kari blushed and said, "Could we sit in the living room, Kelly? Those chairs look uncomfortable." She led the way, and then gently eased herself down into the softest sofa in the room. She still winced; Jake didn't know his own strength, and she was really sore!

Kelly nearly dropped her ice cream as her brown eyes looked at Kari curiously. "Oh my goodness! I thought I was the only woman in this town with a man who spanks!"

"You get spanked, too?" Kari was shocked. "Really? For what?"

"For lots of things, but mostly for disrespect or sass," Kelly admitted, her cheeks pink.

"But, you're a police officer! You could arrest him, or flip him on his back!"

Kelly laughed. "My Nevin is a Police Officer, too, and he is an expert in Karate. I couldn't flip him if I tried all day." She giggled at the thought. "And, as for arresting him, it wouldn't be fair since I asked him to take charge in our marriage and begged him for a Domestic Discipline relationship. Both of my older sisters have been married and divorced at least twice, and I don't want that. I want one husband for life. A sore bottom works to keep communication open, end resentments, and it puts a stop to pettiness. Nevin and I are very much in love and very happy... even when I need a cushion to sit comfortably," she admitted.

"You don't find it odd to accept a child's punishment?" Kari asked the other woman.

"Nevin doesn't spank me like a child," Kelly answered. "We don't spank our kids unless the situation is extreme, and even then it is only a swat or two to get their attention while we explain why what they did was wrong or dangerous. When Nevin spanks me, it is very embarrassing, and I end up sore each and every time, but it isn't abusive... and he'd never, ever spank a child as he does me. It's an expression of love," Kelly insisted.