In Total Surrender Read Online Free PDF

the intentions of others?” He laughed. Hard. He was so unused to the action, that it hurt.
    “I am.” She watched him calmly. “For instance, I know that you are interested in the company for reasons other than ones you would presently state. You not only have helped to consolidate our debt, you have heavily invested in both the company and fund through single share buys, though I”—there was an odd pause he could barely pay attention to over the sudden sharpness in his gut—“I, I know my father has managed to keep you from obtaining a controlling interest in either, despite your words on our company’s and fund’s investment risk.”
    The shards sealed back together—thicker than before. He watched her for twitches. She stayed still, watching him back.
    She knew.
    She knew something. Knowledge that could be gleaned from a note from her brother or from observing part of her father’s correspondence. Something entirely innocuous, connecting his name with other information. He had been very, very careful to cover his tracks.
    “You only invest in ventures you feel wise, with future profits on a scalable range,” she said, fingers clasping more securely.
    Her problem was that she seemed unable to stop speaking when she truly wanted something. She lacked that cue of social control that dictated silence in variable negotiating conditions. That lack, along with her extensive and knowledgeable verbiage, allowed him to fit pieces together into an interesting picture. He remembered everything he read. And she had paused far too suspiciously on multiple pronouns.
    “You have been writing to me in lieu of your father.”
    It was her turn to freeze, eyes wide. About goddamn time too.
    She could have argued that she simply read all of her father’s correspondence before he sent it, but her reaction killed any refutation.
    “ You are James Pace. Others have speculated that your brother was leading things. But it was you all along.” Handwriting, timing, need. “At least for the last six months, you have been acting as your father.”
    His reevaluation of her was quick, but not as sharp as it would be in other circumstances. Blunted edges and a trace of uncertainty would need to be ruthlessly squashed later, but he had enough to work with for the moment. No one but Roman had ever survived against him.
    His laughter emerged darker and far more familiar this time. Dark silk wove from his tongue. “Forgery and impersonation.” He leaned forward, letting the dark smile curve. “I could have you or your father arrested or ruined for worse.”
    She pulled herself together more quickly than he was used to with opponents. She didn’t confirm or deny it. Her eyes simply held his. “You could, but I do not believe that will serve you best.”
    “You don’t know what would serve me.”
    “Me.” She folded her hands together, her eyes still meeting his. They were outwardly calm, but there was a vibrating energy underneath. The damn woman didn’t follow any sort of normal script, but she wasn’t unaffected. “I . . .”
    She hesitated for a moment then her whole body seemed to push forth. “ I have reached a mutually agreeable business correspondence and relationship with you in the last few months, even if under a somewhat cloudy guise. And I hope that knowledge will make it apparent that I can and will serve you. Well.”
    He pressed down on the automatic reaction of his body. He had gotten rid of people for decades without trouble. One wisp of a girl would be no different, no matter the underlying grit she continued to show. “You have obviously not thought through ways I might require you to serve.”
    He let his eyes drift over her. “And without your consent on the matter. I could extinguish your life this instant should I choose. With one flick of a switch. Or I could push you against this desk right now, strip your virtue, make you unmarriageable for anyone. You could scream and scream, and no one would come