Surrender to Love Read online

“No, we’re going to stay here for tonight. Okay? We’ll leave in the morning.”

  Robin moaned, obviously unhappy with her mother’s news.

  “I’m sorry, baby. But this is the best I can do. Okay?”

  Despite a growing frown, Robin nodded.

  Carson reappeared at the passenger door and opened it while holding an umbrella. “I was right. They are still having dinner.”

  “I don’t know about disturbing their meal…” She hesitated.

  “Have you both eaten already?” he asked with disappointment.

  She thought about lying. She was already indebted to the man, but she had her daughter to consider. “No, we haven’t,” she answered honestly.

  “Then it’s settled,” he announced. “You’ll have dinner with my family.”

  Paul Regis, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta field office, stared at the multitude of photographs of dead bodies with a wave of disgust. The food court at Perimeter Mall was an outright massacre, and it was his job to play public janitor and clean up the mess. The mayor, the media, and even local churches had his phone ringing off the hook to the point that he had now stopped answering it.

  He grabbed his coffee mug, anticipating another jolt of caffeine, but was disappointed to find the cup empty. He lowered it in disgust as his gaze slid to the framed picture on his desk. His chest tightened at the angelic face of his deceased wife, Sarah.

  In the year since her untimely death, there was never a moment when he could shake the feeling that he should have been lying next to her in Hillandale Memorial Cemetery.

  He looked at another photograph: one with himself and his daughter, Michelle. She was the only family he had left, and next month he would lose her, too.

  There was a knock at the door.

  “Come in only if you’ve got good news,” he warned, jerking his desk drawer open and removing a bottle of aspirin.

  Special Agent Tony Iaanelli poked his head around the door. “You got a moment?”

  “No.” Paul dispensed two pills and swallowed them dry.

  “Good.” Tony ignored Paul’s flippant response and entered anyway. Tony was a handsome African-American man, and Paul could easily picture the agent as being a star quarterback in the National Football League. “We have what we’ve been waiting for.” He held up a VHS tape and flashed him an even, white smile. “A copy from the mall’s surveillance cameras.”

  “Ah, so you are bearing good news.” He reached for the tape. “Have you watched it yet?”

  “I only see the blockbusters with you, sweetie.” Tony winked.

  “Well, it’s good to know that one of us is in a good mood. I’ve always found that hard to manage when I’m dealing with psychopaths shooting up malls.”

  Tony sobered. “In this line of work, you have to steal joy wherever you can find it. And after we take a look at that tape, I plan to steal a little more of it when I go home to my fiancée.”

  “Do you mind?” Paul frowned. “That’s my little girl you’re talking about.”

  Paul’s discomfort won a laugh from Tony. “Don’t tell me that you’re still having problems with our engagement. The wedding is next month.”

  “Fine. I won’t tell you.”

  “You’re something else.” Tony’s laughter deepened. “I’m looking forward to the day when you consider me family.”

  “I just bet you are.” Paul stood. “What I don’t understand is how you ended up with a name like Iaanelli.”

  “I have an Italian father. What’s so hard to understand?”

  “Nothing. Nothing. Forget I said anything. Come on, let’s see what we got on this tape.”

  The phone rang as Paul stepped from behind his desk, but he ignored it and kept heading for the door.

  “You’re not going to answer it?” Tony asked.

  Paul shook his head. “They can leave a message. I want to see what’s on this thing.”

  “It could be related to the case.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  Tony shook his head and turned back to the desk to answer the phone. “Paul Regis’s office. How may I help you?” He frowned.

  “Yes, Reverend Jackson. It’s a tragedy what happened at the mall today. I assure you that we have our best men working on the case.”

  There was a pause, then, “No. We don’t have any solid leads at this time, but—”

  Another pause.

  “Yes, sir. No, sir.” Tony looked over at Paul, who wore a wide “I told you so” grin. It took another minute or two before Tony managed to end the call with the infuriated reverend and rejoined Paul at the door.

  “Has it been like that all day?”

  “Pretty much.”

  Tony whistled. “I don’t envy you.”

  “That’s the problem with the younger generation—no good role models.”

  “Oh, is that what it is?” Tony laughed and slapped his future father-in-law on the back. “You’re funny. I’ve got to hand it to you.”

  “Thanks. I do try.”

  “Regis,” someone called from across the hall.

  Paul and Tony turned.

  Special Agent Walt Pittman dashed over to them, his face a deeper red than normal.

  “I thought I told you to head over to the hospital and get that arm checked out?” Paul said.

  “I’m fine, really. I just want to know if you heard anything else new?”

  “Not yet. I know you lost one of your guys at the shooting. You have my condolences.”

  “Thank you. I guess I’m just a little anxious to catch the guys behind all of this,” Pittman said.

  “That’s understandable.”

  “I guess this means that you’ll be assigning the team to head the investigation.”

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  Pittman faltered, but gathered his courage to ask, “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to be part of that team.”

  “You don’t think that you’re too emotionally involved?”

  “I’m passionate to solve the case,” Walt answered without missing a beat.

  Paul was impressed. After being in this business as long as he had, that was no easy feat. “I’ll make it a point to keep you in mind.”

  “Thank you.” Walt ran his hand through his eternally greasy hair and walked off.

  “I didn’t know we’d lost an agent,” Tony said, astounded. “On duty or an innocent bystander?”

  “Both, from what I understand. The agent’s name was Rodney Newman. Another member from his team, Virginia Jacobson, doesn’t want to rule out foul play.”

  “The plot thickens,” Tony mumbled with raised brows. “Have all the bodies been identified now?”

  “All but one.” Paul slid his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “We’d better get a look at what’s on that tape.”

  “Ready when you are.”

  “Do you have Ms. Jacobson’s extension? I’d like to have another talk with her.”

  Tony shook his head. “She’s listed in the directory. However, she may have gone home by now.” He looked at his watch. “It’s late.”

  Paul looked at his watch. “My, my, how time flies when you’re having fun,” he said, turning toward the interrogation room, where a TV and VCR would be at his disposal.

  Inside, Tony sat with a tense expression.

  “It’s always hard when we lose an agent.” Paul guessed at what was troubling Tony.

  “Don’t tell me. This is something else that I’ll get used to with time.”

  The sarcasm in Tony’s voice silenced Paul’s prepared retort. Instead, his thoughts returned to the idea of his daughter marrying a fellow agent—let alone his subordinate. Throughout his career, he had worried obsessively about his family and their safety. The notion of his daughter opting to be the wife of an agent broke his heart.

  Paul turned on the television, then popped in the tape, all the while hoping for what almost never happened: an open-and-sh
ut case.

  Chapter 3

  Carson led Julia and Robin into the foyer of his sister’s quaint bed-and-breakfast establishment, anxious to finally see her in full light. Once inside, he wasn’t disappointed. Her delicate, golden-brown complexion appeared flawless, and when her ample lips curved into yet another beautiful smile, an invisible force pulled him toward her.

  “This place is beautiful,” she whispered in awe as she took in her surroundings.

  “Why, thank you,” a feminine voice said from the opposite end of the foyer.

  Julia turned and held the gaze of a beautiful, heavyset woman who had features similar to Carson Webber.

  “Hey, sis,” Carson greeted. “These are the ladies I told you about—Julia and Robin…?” He lifted an inquisitive brow.

  “Just Julia and Robin will be fine,” Julia answered, avoiding supplying them with a last name. “Thank you for allowing us to stay in your lovely home.”

  “Don’t mention it. It’s no trouble at all. A lot of folks break down on that highway out there. But that’s one heck of a storm we’re having tonight. Count yourself lucky that ol’ Carson here was in the neighborhood, running late as usual.” She winked at her brother, then returned her attention to Julia.

  “The news just announced a tornado watch until 1:00 a.m. By the way, the name is Lillian—people call me Lilly.” She closed the gap and offered her hand.

  Julia just nodded as the woman talked, unsure that Lilly even bothered to breathe between sentences.

  “You folks hungry? There’s plenty of food on the dinner table. Course, I believe maybe you two should get out of those wet clothes first.”

  “Oh.” Julia turned toward the door. “I’d better grab our bags out of the car.”

  “That’s okay. If you give me the keys, I’ll go get them,” Carson offered.

  Julia hesitated perhaps a fraction longer than she should have.

  “I promise not to run off with them,” he added with a look of bewilderment.

  She retrieved her keys from her purse and handed them to him. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Carson said, and slipped out the door.

  “Come on, you two. Let me show you to your room.” Lilly made her way to the staircase. “As luck would have it, I have one available room. Otherwise we’re all booked up. And we have quite a variety of guests staying here tonight.” She started climbing the stairs.

  Julia took her daughter’s hand and followed.

  “Let’s see.” Lilly counted off: “We have Joe and Rosie Sinclair. They visit here every year about this time. I think it’s sweet. They actually met here in Moreland about twenty-five years ago. Joe was one of our deputies and had pulled Rosie over for speeding…and, well, I guess you could say it was love at first sight.

  “Then we have Albert and Dotty Cornell, a disastrous marriage, if you ask me, and I’m not saying that because I used to date Albert back in high school, but because that Dotty is nothing more than a gold digger. You mark my words. She’s never worked a day in her life. Here we are. This will be your room.” She opened the door and clicked on a nearby light switch.

  Julia’s eyes widened at the opulent beauty that greeted them. Soft pastel colors and intricate embroidered lace gave the room an incredibly feminine feel, but it was the enormous mahogany poster bed with its masculine beauty that commanded attention.

  “Oh, my,” she whispered.

  “I take it you like it.” Lilly beamed with pride. “I have to admit it’s one of my favorite rooms.” She entered and signaled for them to follow.

  “It’s very pretty, huh, Mom?” Robin asked, peering up at Julia.

  “I think that’s an understatement.” She looked to Lilly and shook her head. “I have to figure out some way to repay you. You and your brother’s hospitality have been wonderful.”

  “I got your bags,” Carson announced, suddenly appearing in the doorway. “You must have been in a rush when you packed—you didn’t bother to zip up most of your stuff.”

  Julia held her tongue and could feel the weight of their expectant gazes. “Thanks for bringing them up,” was all she could think to say. “I think your sister is right. We probably need to get out of these wet clothes.”

  “Of course,” the brother and sister said in unison, then quickly scurried out of the room.

  Once they were gone, Julia looked down at her daughter, who in turn shrugged her shoulders. To be fair, Julia sincerely thought the brother and sister were nice people, but were a bit nosy. She would have to be careful around them.

  “Well,” Julia said with a wider smile than was probably necessary. “Let’s get these clothes off you.”

  “We are just staying for one night, right?” Robin asked.

  “Yes, sweetheart. It’s just for one night.”

  Paul Regis pressed the rewind button on the VCR for the tenth time. The tape’s quality was poor and the film had recorded at an accelerated speed. That, coupled with the high volume of people shuffling through the mall, made it nearly impossible to tell who was doing what or who appeared out of place.

  However, when the sporadic gunfire took place, everyone dived for cover. The worst part was that the gunmen were nowhere on the tape.

  “This thing is completely useless,” Tony complained, squinting at the television screen and trying to make heads or tails of it. “If the mall’s cameras don’t cover every square inch, why bother with a system at all?”

  Paul agreed and turned it off. “Calm down. We still have Pittman’s report as to what happened. Not to mention we should have our fair share of witnesses to interview.” His frustration settled on his shoulders, and a migraine nipped at his temples. “This is turning out to be one of the longest days of my life. I’m going to make you lead investigator on this thing.”

  Tony nodded. “What about the rest of the team?” he asked.

  “Let me sleep on it. Will you have a problem if I do decide to let Pittman in on this one?”

  “Can’t say that I do.”

  “Good. Let’s call it a night.”

  “You got it.” Tony stood. “I’ve probably already missed dinner. Maybe I’ll stop and grab a bag of Krystals burgers.”

  Paul remembered the numerous times he’d missed dinner with his wife. “Up north we call them White Castles. I don’t know how you manage to eat those things. They seem to go straight through me.”

  “I’m beginning to think that we share entirely too much info about each other.”

  Paul laughed. “Maybe you’ve got a point. Well…”

  “Kiss my baby girl good night for me,” Tony recited in sync with Paul, then smiled. “I know the drill.”

  “You laugh now, but wait until you have a little girl of your own. In your heart they never grown up.” Paul retrieved the tape from the VCR and shut off the TV.

  “That’s what I’m afraid of. If it makes you feel better, I’m praying for a string of boys.”

  They headed toward the door together.

  Paul shrugged, uncomfortable with the discussion of grandchildren. “Boys are nice, but girls…girls can humble a man.”

  Tony simply nodded, and for a few minutes they walked down the hall in silence. “So what are you going to do tonight?”

  “Sleep.”

  Tony didn’t respond.

  Paul knew that his partner was trying to figure out a way to politely invite him over to his apartment. He also knew that the invitation was extended, in part, by his daughter, Michelle. She’d been worried about him since Sarah’s passing and feared that her father would become a lonely old man.

  “You know—” Tony broke the silence “—Michelle and I would love for you to join us for dinner.”

  Paul forced himself to appear thoughtful, as if mulling the invitation over, before saying, “I think I’m going to have to take another rain check.”

  Tony drew in a sharp breath, but said nothing.

  “You know, after a day like this, all I want to do is slam m
y head against the pillow and catch some Z’s.”

  “I completely understand.” They reached Tony’s office, and in a matter of seconds he retrieved his jacket and briefcase. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Paul saw anger flicker across Tony’s stony expression, then disappear. “Yeah. See you in the morning.”

  Tony nodded and turned away.

  Paul stared after him, unsure of what to make of Tony’s sudden mood swing. “What the heck was that all about?”

  Julia thought she would surely burst if she shoved another bite into her mouth. She couldn’t remember ever tasting anything as wonderful as Lilly’s lasagna, and, judging by the way Robin devoured her food, she wasn’t alone in her assessment.

  “Would you like some dessert?” Lilly asked in a singsong voice.

  No doubt the uncontrollable moans of pleasure from her guests were responsible for the look of sheer delight plastered on Lilly’s face. And even though Julia’s stomach insisted that dessert was out of the question, she was tempted.

  “Thank you, but I’m going to have to decline.”

  “It’s my award-winning chocolate cheesecake,” she pressed.

  “Well, I’m sold.” Carson wiped a linen napkin across his mouth.

  “What’s new?” Lilly asked, playfully slapping her brother on the back, then turning to Julia. “My brother’s appetite is going to eat me out of house and home one of these days. Take my word on it.”

  “Hey, I’m still a growing boy.”

  “Yeah—outward.” She leaned over and patted his stomach.

  The brother and sister erupted into laughter.

  Robin and Julia smiled at each other, entertained by the siblings. It was obvious that they adored each other. Their infectious laughter helped to relax Julia. She could listen to them for hours. Despite the fact that she hardly knew them, or even this quaint town, she could clearly picture the childhood antics they boasted of pulling on one another. What would life have been like if she had had a brother or sister?

  Lilly left the table, only to return with a tray of dessert. Whereas Carson’s eyes lit with delight, Julia moaned in dismay. Now that she had seen the tempting chocolate cheesecake, there was no way she was going to turn down the offer a second time.