Surrender (Cunningham Security Book 7)

by A. K. Evans

  “Then this will be perfect for you. Reece’s gym isn’t far from here, and he’s more than willing to help you out regardless of what your schedule is.”

  Leni smiled at me and said, “Thank you, Holden. I don’t know why you’d do this for me, but I’m so grateful.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  A moment of silence stretched between us, our eyes never leaving one another, before I stated, “I have to get going. I need to get to work. But one day, hopefully soon, I’ll be able to show you that I’m just the kind of guy who will always help someone in need.”

  The look in Leni’s eyes heated, and it killed me to see that and not do anything about it. Doing my best to ignore that look and the fact that my cock had been hard the minute she opened the door and I saw her wearing those little shorts and my sweatshirt, I stood from the couch and held my hand out to her.

  Once Leni placed her hand in mine, she stood and walked with me to the front door. I stopped there and turned around to face her again. “If Monday morning works for you, I’ll come by and pick you up to take you over to meet Reece.”

  She didn’t hesitate to respond. “Monday morning is perfect. Thanks again, Holden.”

  I gave her a nod. “Later, Leni.”

  With that, I turned and left.

  And now that I’d checked on her, confirmed she was okay, and done something to help her get up and running again, I was hoping I could set aside my personal thoughts about her long enough to close this case.

  I walked through the door of Petals and was instantly assaulted by the beautiful floral scents.

  “Hey, Leni,” Zara greeted me. “How’s it going?”

  “It’s going,” I started. “I just met with my landlord about the studio.”

  Zara moved out from behind the counter to put the arrangement she’d just finished on the display. “Oh, what did he say? Does he know how long it’ll be until it’s all rebuilt, and you can start working here again?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “Not exactly. He’s been doing what he can on his end to have everything ready to go, but he needs to get the approval from the police and fire department first. They need to let him know once they’ve completed the investigation since it’s technically a crime scene. Once he has that, though, he believes it should be three to four months.”

  Zara frowned. “I feel awful about this, Leni. What are you going to do?”

  I felt a smile tugging at my lips just thinking about Holden. Every time I thought about this whole situation, the nerves would start to take over. But then my mind would drift to Holden, and I’d feel just a touch calmer.

  “Holden is helping me,” I shared.

  Zara’s eyes narrowed, but a sneaky grin spread on her face at the same time. “What’s going on between the two of you?”

  I shrugged because I really didn’t know. “I’m not sure. He’s just been really, really kind to me.” I went on and explained how Holden had shown up at my place yesterday with news about his brother’s willingness to lend me some space in his gym.

  “He likes you,” she stated.

  I blinked in surprise. “What?”

  “I think he likes you,” she semi-repeated.

  “Do you really believe that?” I asked excitedly. The truth was that I hadn’t stopped thinking about Holden since the day of the fire. And thinking of him was the only thing, aside from yoga, that brought me peace over the whole situation I was facing. “Because I can’t stop thinking about him.”

  “Obviously, I can’t say for sure, but I think so. Between the way he looked at you the day of the fire and now the fact that he’s trying to help you find a place to work, I’d have to say that he’s definitely interested.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. “How well do you know him?” I wondered.

  Zara shook her head. “I don’t. I probably know less about him than you do. But he works with Pierce. I’ve met a few of Pierce’s co-workers, and they all seem like really great guys. That leads me to believe Holden’s a decent guy, too.”

  “I hope so.”

  I stayed at the shop and chatted with Zara for another few minutes and promised to let her know once I was set up and teaching again. She had started taking classes a few months ago and was improving with each class.

  Before I left, Zara insisted I let her know once everything was ready to go with the studio because she wanted to help me get it all set up again. I appreciated that a lot and thanked her again for everything she’d done for me already.

  On my way home, I thought about all the things I needed to get done. Over the last few days, I put out the word on my social media accounts and my website about the fire. My plan for today was to send out another update and let everyone know that I had a temporary solution in the works and to expect a follow up from me within the next few days. Thankfully, I had very loyal students who I knew would follow me no matter where I was teaching.

  So, once I got home, I got to work on sending out that update. Afterward, I got in a workout. As long as I continued to keep my mind occupied and my body moving, I knew I’d get through this. But I wasn’t too proud to admit that the one thing I had lurking at the back of my mind was the fact that even though I knew I could do it on my own, I was hoping Holden was going to be there to help me through it.

  I was upside down on my mat when a knock came at my door. Carefully, I lowered myself out of my handstand.

  Opening the door, I was surprised to see the man I hadn’t been able to get out of my head for days staring back at me. “Holden,” I began, my surprise and excitement undeniable. As I stepped back and allowed him to come in, I continued, “How are you? Is everything okay?”

  Holden stepped inside and replied, “I’m good. Are you busy?”

  I closed the door behind him.

  “I was just in the middle of a workout. I thought you were coming by on Monday morning. Did I get the day wrong?”

  His eyes roamed over my body. I was currently wearing another pair of tiny yoga shorts and sports bra. Holden’s voice was husky when he answered, “No, we agreed on Monday. I wanted to come by because I’d like to take you out to lunch to celebrate.”

  “Celebrate?” I repeated. “Celebrate what?”

  A grin formed on his face before he shared, “We found the guy responsible for the fires.”

  My eyes widened in surprise. “You did?”

  He returned a nod.

  Relief spread through me. Perhaps I lost everything, including my studio, as a result of what this guy did, but I was relieved to know that he wouldn’t be able to ruin someone else’s livelihood. To top it off, I was comforted by the fact that he’d be held responsible for what he did to all the businesses in town.

  I was so overwhelmed by how I felt hearing the news that my instincts sent me right to Holden. Stepping close, I threw my arms around his shoulders and pressed my body tight to his. “That’s such good news,” I sighed.

  Holden hesitated briefly, but ultimately wrapped his arms around me and returned the hug.

  Part of me wondered if I shouldn’t have hugged him, but the truth was I’d learned a long time ago that I needed to trust my instincts. I’d had a rough few days since the fire, and the comfort of Holden’s embrace was something I needed. Actually, it had been my nights that were the problem. Every time I closed my eyes, I ended up seeing myself back in the studio, feeling trapped. I was having such a hard time falling asleep every night as a result. For that reason, I started doing whatever I could to exhaust myself during the day. When it was time for bed I’d curl up with a journal or a book so I could do something to distract myself from the negative thoughts threatening to send me into a panic.

  Holden’s arms loosened around me as his hands came to my hips and he took a step back. “We got him last night. So, yeah, it’s really good news that we can finally put this case to bed.”

  I smiled at him and asked, “And now you want to take me out to lunch to celebrate?”

  Nodding, he gave m
y hips a squeeze. “Yeah.”

  There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to go with him. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since he dropped me off that day. He was incredibly handsome and clearly a very good guy, so I absolutely wanted to get to know him better.

  “I’d love to go out with you,” I finally replied. “Can you give me some time to get myself ready, though? I need to hop in the shower quick and change my clothes.”

  “Sure.”

  “Perfect. Make yourself comfortable. If you want anything to drink, you can raid the fridge. And I’ve got Netflix if you want some entertainment while you wait. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Is casual okay?”

  “Yeah. Lunch is casual. If this goes well and we decide we want to do it again, I’ll take you out for a fancy dinner. Then you can get all dolled up.”

  That worked for me.

  I took off toward my bedroom and quickly stripped out of my clothes. Once I was in the shower, I thought about the fact that I was naked in my house taking a shower while a man I barely knew waited for me. Perhaps I should have been more cautious, but there was something about Holden that told me I had nothing to worry about. I didn’t know if it was the fact that he worked for a well-known and highly-respected private investigation company in town or if it was the fact that he had contacted his brother to help me out until my studio was rebuilt. It could have been something else entirely. The one thing I knew for sure was that there was something innately good about him that seemed to always set me at ease.

  After rinsing myself off in the shower, I hopped out and threw on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers. I made my hair look decent and put just a touch of makeup on. I was never one to wear a lot of makeup, but a little bit of under-eye concealer went a long way. That, some mascara, and a tinted lip balm did the trick.

  “Okay, I’m ready,” I declared as I walked back out to meet Holden. “Thanks for waiting for me.”

  I watched as he stood, walked over toward me, and allowed his eyes to roam over my face and hair. He gave me a genuine smile before he took my hand in his and moved toward the door.

  Twenty minutes later, we were seated in a quiet, little café. We’d just placed our orders when Holden looked at me across the table curiously.

  “What’s the look for?” I asked.

  He had sat back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and shared, “I’m just sitting here trying to figure out how you got stitches in your foot only a few days ago and when I arrived at your place today you were in the middle of a workout.”

  I cocked an eyebrow and teased, “I’m a very determined girl.”

  Holden leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. His voice was low when he admitted, “I think I already figured that out.”

  Wow.

  Okay.

  Maybe I needed to rethink this.

  Here I thought I was being fun and playful and could throw Holden off balance. Apparently, he was unaffected and could give back just as good as he got.

  Backing off a bit, I explained, “As you know, the doctor told me I could start bearing weight after three days. I’ve been doing that slowly because I want to make sure I don’t tear open the stitches. But I need to move and be active, so I’ve been spending a lot of time in my workouts on my hands.”

  His brows pulled together. “I’m sorry?”

  “Well, as I’m sure you’ve already put together, yoga is a huge part of my life. Since I’ve been taking it easy on my foot, I’ve just shifted my practice for the last few days to inversions and arm balances. It’s basically been a lot of variations on handstands. I’ve spent a ton of time upside down the last few days.”

  “I’ve got to see this sometime,” he stressed, clearly intrigued.

  I reached into my purse and pulled out the new phone I picked up the day after the fire since my old one had been destroyed.

  “I have a couple videos on my phone of my practice the last two days if you want to see,” I stated, pulling them up and holding it out to him.

  Holden took the phone and watched with avid fascination. Occasionally, his eyes would widen in shock. I sat there and loved seeing every little nuance in his face when he saw me do something he found impressive.

  When he returned my phone to me, he said, “That’s amazing. I never would have imagined you had all that in you.”

  I let out a laugh and admitted, “I like to keep people guessing.”

  “Well, you’ve certainly got me wondering what else you’re capable of.”

  There wasn’t an ounce of humor in his tone. Evidently, Holden had no problem indicating he was thinking about naughty things.

  I pressed my lips together. I’d been thinking about naughty things with Holden, too. Every night when I struggled to find sleep while curled up in his sweatshirt, I’d recall how it felt to be held in his arms. And then I’d think about how much I wanted to be curled up with him.

  It had been a long time since I’d been with anyone. Up until the fire, I’d found that I’d finally gotten myself to a place where I was beginning to feel confident again. I had started accepting myself with my faults. Even now that the fire happened, I knew what I needed to do to keep myself grounded. But the peace I was feeling before the fire no longer remained.

  Our food arrived, snapping me out of my thoughts. It also got me off the hook since I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to Holden’s words.

  Once our waiter left, Holden switched topics.

  “So, did you end up meeting with your landlord yesterday?”

  “Yeah,” I confirmed. “He’s waiting to get the green light from the police, but once he does, he thinks it’s going to be three to four months until I’m back in there again.”

  Holden nodded and guessed, “Well, my thought is he’ll be getting the go-ahead soon considering we caught the guy with all the evidence on him.”

  “Really? Were you there?” I asked before I put a bite of food in my mouth.

  He grinned and confirmed, “Yeah.”

  Holden then went on to tell me the story of how it all happened. Apparently, the suspect had been an upstanding member of the community until something happened with his business that led him to go off the deep end and seek revenge. When Holden caught him, he was about to set fire to a crowded tavern.

  “I’m so happy you and your team were able to close this case. Do you get a lot of cases like this?”

  “No,” he started. “Most of the work we do is routine P.I. stuff like insurance fraud or infidelity cases. We occasionally have those missing persons’ cases, but big stuff like this is rare. Usually, we only have this when the Windsor Police Department needs our help.”

  I nodded my understanding and pushed for more. “So, it’s not usually dangerous then?”

  Holden’s head dropped to one side as he scrunched up his face. “I’m not sure how to answer that. I’m not going to lie and say it doesn’t get dangerous at times. The majority of our cases are pretty standard, routine cases. But the ones that aren’t can be very dangerous. It just really depends.”

  I didn’t know why, but it bothered me to think that Holden worked on cases that were dangerous enough where he could get hurt.

  As if sensing my concern, he stated, “I’m good at what I do, Leni. I’ve been doing this a long time and I enjoy it. It challenges my mind a lot, which is something I need.”

  That I could understand. I didn’t even need any additional explanation. It seemed that Holden craved the mental challenge he got from his job at least as much as I craved the physical challenge I got from mine. And I knew what not having that would mean.

  “So, now you need to tell me a little bit about this yoga,” he requested.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Anything. Have you always done it?”

  I took in a deep breath and set my fork down. We were sharing things, getting to know one another. He’d shared a little about his work, so it was only fair I did the same.

 
“Movement has always been a huge part of my life. But it wasn’t until I was in my first year of college that I realized just how much I enjoyed yoga. I started then and never stopped.”

  Holden’s face grew curious. “What did you go to school for?” he asked.

  After taking a sip of water, I replied, “I got a degree in business, but opening my own yoga studio wasn’t the reason behind the degree. Had I realized going in that I wasn’t ever planning to become a CEO of a major corporation like both of my parents, I’d have never enrolled.”

  His brows shot up. “Both of your parents are CEOs?”

  I nodded slowly. “Yep. And they are both so disappointed in me for choosing such a lowly career. They hate what I do and want nothing to do with it or me.”

  Holden’s jaw got hard. “Are you serious? You don’t talk to them?”

  Shaking my head, I answered, “I wish I were joking. And no, we don’t talk.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” he muttered. “What about your siblings?”

  I hesitated a moment, swallowing down the pain I felt at his question. “It’s just me.”

  “Leni…” He trailed off.

  I didn’t want to get myself all worked up, especially in front of Holden, so I just shook my head and waved my hand in front of me. “It’s fine. Really. They are who they are just as I am who I am. I’ve spent a lot of time worrying about what I can do, but if they don’t want to support me, there’s nothing I can do to change it. Life is what it is. I have to accept it and move on.”

  “How do you do that?” he wondered.

  I shrugged. “I don’t have much choice. If I let it consume my mind, it just brings me heartache. They’re adults. I’m an adult. I have to look out for my well-being now and yoga gives me what I need. If my parents can’t accept me as I am because they had some idea about who I was going to grow up to be, that’s their loss. It’s really a shame because in a way, I’ve still managed to become a CEO. My company just isn’t nearly as large as theirs.”