Obsessed (Cunningham Security Series Book 1)

by A. K. Evans

  Then, we spent a good part of the afternoon making sure Levi got a workout in. I didn’t let him do all the work, but he was no slouch either. When all was said and done several rounds later, we were both covered in sweat and breathing heavy. It was then I decided that not all workouts were bad.

  Chapter 11

  Elle

  “I knew it was going to work.”

  I said this to Levi as we packed up our things to head to the airport. We were leaving this morning to go to Phoenix for my show this evening.

  Last night, I performed at the Denver venue. There was an amazing turn out. Back in Rising Sun, I had grown used to the crowds. I was a hometown favorite; I expected the reception I received there. Denver proved to me that I didn’t need to be a local for fans to come out in droves to see me. I was blown away.

  The night was a success.

  On all fronts.

  Levi was on this trip with me because I was dealing with the stalker situation, but it was as though it didn’t exist last night. This was precisely what I was referring to when I made my statement to Levi just now.

  “You knew what was going to work?” he asked.

  “My post. Before we left your place on Thursday. The one of you, Cruz, Pierce, and Dom. Last night was smooth sailing. I think my stalker has gone running scared.”

  “As much as I wish that were true and could hope that that would be the case, I’m afraid that one night of no activity does not equal your stalker running scared.”

  “Sure it does,” I insisted.

  “Sunshine, I don’t want to burst your bubble or dim this glow of happiness you have right now, but I’m telling you that I’ve been doing this long enough to know that it’s not over yet. People who become obsessed like this might go quiet for a few days, but they don’t just stop.”

  I dropped my shoulders and head in defeat.

  Levi walked over and placed my chin between his thumb and forefinger. He lifted my head to his and reassured me, “It’s going to take time, Elle. I’m frustrated, too. Do your best to focus on the things that make you happy, like singing, and I’ll worry about this situation.”

  “You really don’t think it’s over?”

  His head tilted to the side and his face warmed.

  “I know it’s not.”

  The look on his face told me that he wished he could have given me a different answer. Seeing it made me realize that as much as I hated hearing what he said, he was even more disappointed that he had to admit it. Not wanting to make him feel even worse about the whole debacle, I decided to move on.

  “So, Phoenix is next. Are you ready?”

  He nodded and added, “I love watching you sing, El. There’s nothing quite like it. Though, I’ll be happier when I can enjoy it without having to worry that someone has it out for you.”

  “Me too,” I agreed.

  Levi kissed my head and motioned toward the door, “Come on. Let’s get you on your plane and to your next group of fans. Pierce should be there when we arrive. His plane is set to land about twenty minutes before ours.”

  With that, we were out the door and on the way to the airport.

  A couple hours later we had gone from the beautiful mountains of Colorado to the stifling heat of the Arizona desert.

  Just as Levi said he would be, Pierce was there waiting for us when we arrived.

  We walked out to the rental car and I listened as Levi and Pierce talked.

  “Michaels was halfway through the list when I left today. Nothing obvious yet, but he has two that he is having Tyson do a little digging on. While he’s pretty sure they’re clear, those two accounts didn’t sit well with him. He just wants to be certain there isn’t anything he overlooked,” Pierce informed him.

  “Right. And the Phoenix venue?” Levi pressed.

  “Contacted them when your flight landed. Told them we arrived and needed to check it out. They are waiting for us now. I figured we could head there before checking into the hotel.”

  “Agreed.”

  We arrived at the rental and I interrupted the conversation.

  “Hey guys?” I called.

  They both turned their attention toward me.

  “I’m cool with whatever you need to do to continue being the superheroes that you are and if checking out the venue now is needed, that’s fine. However, I’ve been to Phoenix a few times in my life and when I’m here I always get lunch at least once at my favorite place, which is in Tempe. Would we be able to make a stop for lunch between the venue and the hotel?”

  Pierce agreed with a shrug of his shoulders, a nod, and a quick reply, “That’s cool with me.”

  Levi’s eyes cut to Pierce and he informed him, “Her eating habits are shit. You could have just agreed to the worst meal you’ll ever have in your life.”

  Pierce’s gaze came back to mine and he looked worried.

  Apparently, Levi wasn’t the only health nut in the bunch.

  “Relax,” I began. “We’re going to The Chuckbox.”

  “The what?” Levi asked.

  “The Chuckbox,” I answered nonchalantly. “And we are going there so I can get The Big One.”

  Pierce chuckled, “Sounds promising already.”

  “Dear God, I hope we don’t die,” Levi announced.

  I was slightly ticked off when I warned, “You’re going to regret you said that. You have no idea on all the goodness you are about to experience. In fact, I’m going to promise you now that I won’t even rub it in your face when you’re eating your words.”

  Levi just laughed at me and opened the door of the rental to let me in.

  For the next hour, I fantasized about my upcoming meal while Levi and Pierce scoped out the venue. When they finally finished and were ready to leave, I had to stop myself from jumping for joy.

  Lunch time.

  I’ve never been good with remembering details of how to get to places if I’ve only ever visited them a couple of times, but when it came to places like The Chuckbox, I always remembered. I gave Levi directions and before I knew it we were pulling off University Drive into the parking lot.

  “Are you sure this is the right place, Elle? I don’t see a restaurant,” Levi questioned.

  “Turn around,” I said from beside him in the car.

  He turned his head and looked at the building behind us. Pierce, who was sitting in the backseat, had turned to look as well. They sat, staring at the not-so-large building on the corner. There were misters hung above the covered outdoor seating spraying water to help with the dry, desert heat. The outdoor seating consisted of tables with tree stumps used for seats.

  My belly growled at the thought of mouth-watering delights that awaited me.

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  I turned to look at Levi. He was practically scowling.

  “What does this place even serve?”

  “Oh. Only the BEST burger you will ever eat in your entire life. They have a few other items on the menu, but I highly suggest you get a burger.”

  Levi stared at me.

  “Come on,” I began. “Just trust me.”

  I turned in my seat and didn’t wait for Levi to come open my door. I hopped out of the rental and closed the door. Pierce and Levi followed behind me. I was practically jumping out of my shoes, I was so excited.

  We walked inside and I was shocked to see that we had arrived at just the right time. The lunch crowd had not yet arrived. With only one small group of four ahead of us, I took the time to tell my superheroes about the menu.

  “So, there are different sizes for the burgers. You both could easily handle The Great Big One, probably even the Double Great Big One. Regardless, you order the size you want, tell them which cheese you prefer, and whether you want it on a wheat or white bun. After it’s made, you can put any condiments you want on it from the condiment bar over there.”

  I pointed to the condiment bar in the middle of the room, where there were options of ketchup, mustard, mayo, lettuce, t
omato, pickles, onions, and more.

  The people in front of us had ordered and it was my turn. Since they hadn’t moved out of the way yet while they waited for their food, I did what the locals did and shouted my order.

  “A big one with cheddar cheese on a white bun,” I shouted.

  “Fries?” he yelled back.

  “Yes!”

  “Next!”

  He looked to Levi. I looked up to see him looking a little nervous at the thought of shouting his order out.

  “Levi, you have to tell him what you want.”

  “A great big one with cheddar on wheat!”

  A grin spread across my face.

  “Fries?”

  “No!”

  I laughed. Levi needed to learn to live a little. I’d be sure to pass off some of my fries to him.

  Before I had the chance to do anything else I heard Pierce shout, “A great big one with American on wheat.”

  “Fries?”

  “Ah, what the hell,” he mumbled under his breath. “Sure,” he shouted back.

  Yes! Hearing that gave me hope for Levi down the road. Maybe with a little work, I could get him to chill out every now and then for a special occasion.

  Not long after we gave our orders, our food was ready. We picked up our trays with the food and grabbed drinks. We all settled on water. Pierce and I stopped at the condiment bar. I loaded up on the ketchup while Pierce put lettuce, tomato, and ketchup on his. Then, we moved to the table where Levi was sitting, waiting for us.

  “No ketchup?” I asked as I sat on a log next to him.

  “You said it’s the best burger I’m ever going to have. I don’t think it’ll be good to ruin it with ketchup.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Pierce joined us and I couldn’t wait any longer. I dove in and took the biggest bite. I closed my eyes, dropped my head back, and moaned. I had so missed this. I chewed, swallowed, and opened my eyes. I took another bite and looked to the side to find Levi holding his burger in front of his face, but his face turned toward me.

  “What?” I asked, my mouth full of food.

  “It’s so good you’re moaning?”

  I slowly nodded my head.

  A few seconds passed before Levi turned his head back to his burger and took a bite. As I watched, waiting for his reaction, I popped a fry in my mouth. He chewed, swallowed, and took another bite.

  Yep.

  He knew it was good.

  I smiled inwardly and went back to my burger. After a few more bites, I looked back to Levi and found he was looking at me again.

  “I’m sorry,” he sighed.

  “For what?”

  “You were right. This place might not seem like much, but it’s incredible. I think it was the best burger I’ve ever had,” he shared.

  I held a fry up between us and asked, “Care to try a fry?”

  He lowered his head to my hand and used his mouth the take the fry out from between my fingers.

  I pulled my lower lip in between my teeth and kept my eyes on his mouth as Levi ate the fry.

  “Jesus Christ,” Pierce mumbled from the other side of the table. Our eyes went to him and he continued, “I might have just had the best burger I’ve ever eaten as well, but if this little show is any indication of what I’m in for through the LA performance I might have to reconsider going anywhere but the venues with you two.”

  “Sorry, Pierce,” I murmured. I had completely forgotten he was there. “That wasn’t nice of us. I promise we will behave from here on out.”

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Elle,” Levi warned, clearly not in agreement with my sentiments.

  “I can keep that promise,” I retorted. “You think I can’t resist your charm?”

  “Shit,” Pierce hissed.

  I think he sensed a bit of danger in the air at my challenge to Levi.

  “I know you can’t,” Levi began. “But it’ll be adorable to watch you try, sunshine.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him and went back to my burger. To be quite honest, I wasn’t sure if I could resist him. I mean, anyone, male or female, gay or straight, couldn’t deny that this man was impeccably beautiful. Add to that hearing the things he’d say to me when we were alone and you’d have to have some serious willpower to fight the urge to strip down for him.

  Thirty minutes later, with a happy belly, I was back in the car with Levi and Pierce on the way to our hotel. This was, of course, not before I documented my lunch escapades with them. I didn’t simply snap a photo this time, though. I took a short video clip and posted that instead with the caption: Lunch with superheroes.

  Not long after I was back in the rental car, I checked my phone and saw that I had already received an overwhelming response to the video I had posted. If I had to guess, I’d say at least ninety percent of them were women who were drooling over Levi and Pierce wanting more details on them.

  I turned in the seat and looked back to Pierce.

  “Are you single?” I asked.

  “I’m sorry?” he responded, obviously taken aback by my question.

  I held up my phone and explained, “I put up a video clip of you and Levi at lunch with me. The women are drooling over both of you.”

  Pierce rolled his eyes.

  I continued to wait for an answer.

  “You’re serious?”

  I lifted my eyebrows and nodded.

  “Yeah, I’m single.”

  “Great,” I beamed as I turned back in my seat to face the front. “I’ll let all the ladies know you are on the market.”

  I typed out a reply on my post letting everyone know that Levi was spoken for, but that Pierce was a free agent.

  Replies immediately poured in. Everything ranging from women leaving their phone numbers and asking if he had his own social media accounts to some giving detailed replies of what they wanted to do to him.

  I laughed out loud.

  “Do you have any social media accounts, Pierce?”

  “No,” he answered immediately.

  Damn it.

  “Ok, then, do you mind taking off your shirt for a photo?”

  “Elle?” Levi called from beside me in the driver’s seat. His tone indicated he was growing short on patience.

  “Yeah?”

  “Pierce isn’t taking off his shirt so you can take a picture of him,” he growled.

  “It’s not for me, Levi. It’s for the ladies.”

  “I don’t give a shit who it’s for -- it’s not happening.”

  I let out a huff and sat back in my seat.

  “Fine, but when Pierce misses out on meeting the woman of his dreams, just remember that it was you who denied him that opportunity.”

  Levi laughed as he insisted, “Pierce, I’m sure, is not looking for the woman of his dreams on the internet, Elle. And if he were, I’m guessing he could manage that on his own.”

  “Hey, you can’t rule it out. You never know where you’ll find love. It could happen in the unlikeliest of places.”

  We had just pulled into a parking space at the hotel when Levi turned off the rental and looked at me, “You’ve got that right, sunshine.”

  My lips parted and my lungs stopped functioning. Levi winked at me and got out of the vehicle to come around to open my door. I continued to stare at the space where Levi once was.

  “Looks like someone just got the shock of a lifetime,” Pierce’s voice filtered into my ears from the backseat.

  I slowly turned my head to him and whispered as I trailed off, “Did he just…”

  A beautiful smile spread across Pierce’s face.

  “Yep,” he started before his eyes went to my door. “Pull it together, rock star. Incoming.”

  He moved to get out of the car as I heard my door open. I twisted my body and shifted in the seat. Levi’s eyes were burning into mine. He held his hand out to me. I placed my hand in his and stepped out of the car.

  Levi and Pierce grabbed the bags and we all went to check in
. At Levi’s insistence, his receptionist at Cunningham Security, Deb, managed to secure a separate room for Pierce on the same floor as us. The three of us rode the elevator together to the top floor.

  We stepped off and found that Pierce’s room was two doors down from ours. Levi waved the key card in front of the sensor on the door and the lock clicked. He pushed the door opened and allowed me to step inside. As I walked in I heard him speak to Pierce.

  “Don’t care if you step out for a bit; you’ve got the spare key for the rental. I just need you ready to head out in about four and a half hours.”

  “I’m staying in,” I heard Pierce reply.

  I continued to walk into our suite and straight for the bathroom.

  Exhaustion.

  Mostly mental at this point.

  Since I had the time, I figured I’d take a quick shower and then nap for an hour before I had to start making an effort to make myself look decent. I didn’t want to admit that I was also doing this to avoid what had just happened out in the car.

  I walked into the bathroom and immediately turned on the shower before walking back out into the bedroom to take off my shoes. Levi stepped into the room moments later with the bags. He had a puzzled look on his face, but remained silent. I grabbed my bag with the toiletries in it and took it with me into the bathroom.

  Levi didn’t follow.

  After I spent longer than usual in the shower, attempting to delay the start of a conversation I wasn’t sure I was prepared to have, I finished my business in the bathroom and emerged in one of my nighties.

  Levi was sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows on his thighs, his hands clasped together, and his head down. He looked up when I walked into the room.

  His face was littered with concern.

  It made me feel horrible to see him like that.

  “Elle, are you ok?” he asked gently.

  Now I felt even worse.

  I shrugged my shoulders and responded, “I’m just tired from all the traveling. I was hoping to take a quick nap before I have to get ready for the show.”

  He stood up from the bed and walked to me. Levi’s strong, protective arms wrapped around me and I melted right into him, pressing my cheek to his chest.