Relinquished

by K. A. Hunter

  Wow. I’d never heard him speak with such authority. His deep, assertive tone made my stomach do flips. Her cheeks reddened, and maybe it was catty, but I did a little internal victory dance as we started to walk away.

  “Come with me.” Holden pulled me along and into what looked like the cardio room. We stood at the entrance, scanning the mirrored room filled with workout equipment as he cracked his neck. I wasn’t used to this intense side of him. He was acting more like Dante than himself.

  It took a few minutes, but the Holden I had come to know was back when he asked me what I wanted to do first. The gleam in his eyes told me he was excited to show off this part of his world and wanted me to be comfortable on my first day. “Do you want the full tour now or would you like to warm up first?”

  Checking the clock, I noted that it was already ten forty-five, and I needed to leave in time to get in the lunch line at the church. It sucked getting stuck at the end since the best food went first.

  “Could we just do one machine, some cardio or something? I have to leave soon.”

  Puckering his lips, he nodded. “Sounds good to me. I haven’t done any cardio yet, so I can work next to you.”

  I gulped hard before smiling. Why was my heart pounding so hard? I hadn’t even stepped on the machine yet.

  “Are you familiar with ellipticals?” I shook my head, and he motioned for me to step up. “Hop on, and I’ll program it for you.”

  I gingerly placed myself on the contraption and grabbed the handles, hoping I didn’t fall and make an ass of myself. His bicep brushed against mine as he pressed a few buttons on the screen. Normally, I’d gag when a sweaty guy was this close to me, but there was something about Holden’s presence that made me want to breathe him in.

  When the corner of his mouth lifted, I realized he’d heard me. Damn.

  I cleared my throat and diverted my eyes as he jumped onto the machine next to mine. Once I felt him start to move, I glanced over and followed his lead. I’d seen people work out on these things before, but it was awkward trying to synchronize the movements of my legs and arms.

  “Don’t worry,” he assured, noticing me fumbling like an idiot. “It’ll feel as natural as walking after a while.”

  I looked at his reflection through the mirror in front of our machines. “I doubt that. I’m not very coordinated.”

  His sensual smile made my heart pause momentarily. “You’re doing fine. A pro already.” He winked, and I think my eyes bulged out. It may seem silly to anyone else, but I’d never had a guy wink at me before. I was used to them staring at me like a piece of meat, but not like I mattered.

  It was scary, though. I was starting to become addicted to the way I felt when I was around him, and I wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

  Once I got into a groove, Holden asked, “So Dante gave you his card?”

  Struggling to catch my breath, I puffed out, “Yeah. He left it the last time you guys came in.”

  “Huh.” He continued to move but seemed lost in thought. “Do you see him outside the bar?”

  Confused, I scrunched my eyebrows. “No. Only when you guys come in together. You’re the only one I spend any time with when I’m not working.”

  The first cocky smile I’d ever seen him give appeared on his lips as he let go of the handles and picked up speed with his steps. “Really? I’m the only one?”

  I gulped. I need to just shut the hell up. I didn’t know the first thing about talking to guys. Looking down at the machine, I pretended like I knew what any of those numbers meant.

  He grabbed the handles once again to keep his balance when he looked over at Vince, who seemed to be giving him the stare down.

  Somehow, I mustered up some confidence to ask, “Am I missing something? Everyone’s reacting so strangely to me being here. If there’s a problem, I can leave.”

  His arms continued to pump back and forth in rhythm with the machine as he shook his head. “Oh God, no. You aren’t the problem at all. I’m happy you’re here.” Another cocky smile, and a second wink. “I just wish I’d thought about giving you my card first. I realize now that telling you to drop by wasn’t the way to get you in here.”

  And that awkward feeling was back. Ashamed, I turned my head away.

  I shouldn’t have come in today.

  “Hey, look at me, Jules.” His fingertips lightly caressed my arm once more as he leaned over from his machine, not missing a step.

  Before I could respond, I felt unnerved as the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I was being watched again. Glancing past Holden, I found a scowling Dante at the cardio room entrance. And he was wearing a suit. In a gym.

  Holden turned to see what had caught my attention.

  Dante’s feet were planted wide apart, his arms firmly crossing his chest as he glared at us. I hated to admit it, but I actually felt intimidated by him. A gorgeous woman with long black hair, wearing the smallest gym clothes imaginable, wiggled up to him and pressed her huge boobs into his side. His arms stayed in place, and his narrowed eyes never left us as she leaned in and whispered into his ear.

  Shaking his head, he flicked his wrist and dismissed her without a word. My jaw nearly dropped when she pouted and walked away. If that were me, I’d be furious. I’d rip him a new ass. This was definitely a side of him I’d never seen, nor did I like.

  He looked at Holden and jerked his head to the side, demanding him to come over. All I could see was the back of Holden’s head as he kept his pace on the machine. He must’ve said something with his eyes because, a moment later, Dante grunted and stormed away in the direction of where Vince's office was.

  Huffing out a frustrated breath, Holden shook his head, then looked at me. “Sorry about that. He seems to think everyone should accommodate him, and I’m supposed to just bow down to whatever that is. I get so tired of that shit.”

  I got the feeling he’d been holding that in for a while but didn’t have anyone to tell. I’d gladly listen to anything he wanted to share with me.

  “It’s okay.” I glanced over at the woman Dante had dismissed. She was now stretching in front of the mirror, checking herself out. “I have a feeling most people are willing to do anything to please him.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I’m guilty. Most of our lives, he’s been the one to take charge, but now that we’re business partners, it’s been difficult getting him to understand that I have an equal share here.”

  “So that was business? For a second, I thought that was about me.” Oh crap! Why do I keep opening my mouth!

  Smirking, he leaned toward my machine. “That’s because you’re very intuitive, Jules.”

  I blinked. “Wait, that was about me?” The timer on my elliptical went off, breaking my concentration.

  Holden stopped moving, stepped down, then helped me off mine. “It doesn’t matter. He’s got some issues he has to work out. You haven't done anything. Believe me.”

  His words were soft, but his downturned mouth and rigid posture said something completely different. Was it fear or regret? I couldn’t quite tell.

  I nodded, deciding to accept his reassurance as he motioned for us to head toward the locker rooms. Holden picked up the hem of his shirt, exposing his incredible abs and swiped his face.

  Holy mother of God…

  “What’re your plans today?” He blinked hard before swiping his mouth and chin.

  I tried to focus on his face and not the distracting thin line of hair that led from his tight abs down past his waistband. “Ummm, I was gonna grab some lunch, then do my laundry.” Lame. Why did I tell him that?

  He let his shirt fall as he gave me a sideway glance. “Mind if I join you for lunch?” he asked, just as we stopped by the women’s locker room.

  A beautiful woman passed by, staring at us, but Holden’s eyes never left mine.

  I cleared my throat. “Sure, but can we do a little more low key this time?”

  “Okay. Mind if I choose?” He began strol
ling toward the men’s locker room.

  “Sure.” As I turned, I almost ran into another gorgeous, completely made up woman. This place was full of Barbie dolls, it seemed. “Oh, sorry.”

  She made a disgusted noise in her throat, then was on her way.

  Well, excuse the fuck out of me.

  As I grabbed my things, I ignored a few more Barbies on my way to the shower. I hadn’t realized I needed to be beauty pageant ready to step foot in this gym.

  Remembering the cash in my bag, I didn’t want to just leave it outside the shower, and I definitely didn’t want to go back through the parade of women. It felt like I was in high school all over again, never measuring up.

  Snatching up a few towels from a bench, I stripped off my shoes and socks, then stepped into the sparkling clean shower. Thankfully there was a small dressing area where I could hang my bag. I began to remove my top and bra when someone called over to me.

  Turning around, I pulled the curtain aside and held it in front of my chest.

  “So how did you earn your free pass?”

  Fucking great, it was the girl from the front desk. “I’m sorry, are you supposed to harass members in the shower?” Hey, if Holden could give her shit, why couldn’t I?

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, you aren’t a regular member, though.”

  I frowned at that. “What’s your problem?”

  “I don’t have a problem. I’m just wondering what the trick is to get one of those passes.” Her pissed off eyes traveled up and down my body, like it held the answer to some mystery.

  I shook my head. This was childish. Some people had real problems. “You work here. I assume you already have a membership.”

  A woman stepped up behind her with her arms across her chest. By the firm muscle tone in the woman’s biceps, I’d say she spent plenty of time at the gym. Man, I hope she isn’t here to back this dumbass up.

  Front desk blondie spoke up again, “I don’t have the same membership you do. But I will.” She puckered her lips with a sarcastic look on her face. “Maybe even before you have a chance to really cash yours in, only mine won’t be a handout.”

  What the hell is that supposed to mean?

  I held in a laugh when she turned to strut away and bumped into the woman with folded arms standing between her and the exit. The woman did not look happy.

  “Oh hey, Christina, I didn’t see you come in. How was your workout?” She tried to suck up to who I now assumed was named Christina, who was clearly not buying the innocent act.

  “Vince’s office. Now.” The authority in this woman’s voice was undeniable.

  The skanky receptionist had the nerve to sneer back at me before scurrying out of the room like a coward. She sure had enough balls to spout shit out to me, but was too chickenshit to own up to it when she got busted.

  Seeing as I was already half naked and aggravated, I was ready to rip the curtain closed when ‘Christina’, stepped closer. “Sorry about her. She won’t bother you again.”

  “Thanks.” I calmed a bit and gave her a sheepish smile.

  “Saw you with Vince earlier, I hope he talked you in to joining.” I was thrown by her friendly demeanor. Beautiful girls were never friendly to me. “We have a great program here and I promise Amber won’t be a problem anymore.”

  I was still standing with the shower curtain covering me when I answered. “Yeah, I just signed up.” I pointed behind my shoulder. “I’m um, gonna take a shower now.”

  Her hand came up to smack her forehead. “Oh, right, duh.” She continued to talk to me as she backed out of the room. “I’m Christina by the way, Vince’s wife. Let me know if you need anything.”

  I finally closed the curtain and slowly let out a breath of air as I turned on the water, expecting a cold blast. Surprisingly, warmth drizzled from the showerhead. As I relaxed under the spray, I began to analyze everything that had happened since I’d stepped foot in the gym today.

  I never felt like I fit in with these pretentious L.A. people, but if I was going to keep coming here, I’d have to accept it. The biggest decision these women probably had to make today was what color lipstick to wear. I, on the other hand, was struggling to stay in a less than habitable motel room.

  Fuck, I bet these are Dante’s type of people, and he really does just feel sorry for me. I hated pity, but for some reason, it bothered me even more that it was possibly coming from him. As I’d first learned years ago while planting flowers in the soil above Casey’s makeshift grave and many other times since, nothing in life was free. Just because I let myself think he was being nice didn’t mean he was.

  I couldn’t help but wonder why he was so mad, though. Then it hit me. I bet he didn’t want his brother spending time with me. Lowering his standards.

  At least Holden seemed to have a little more faith in me. He was the one that kept encouraging me to go to school and thought I had the potential to do more with my life, given a chance. Then again, he had said he wished he’d thought of giving me the membership first.

  I shook my head and soaped my body. These guys were beginning to confuse me. It would’ve been better if they’d offered me a job. I didn’t need their freebies. I wanted to be seen as someone who took pride in bettering herself, not taking the easy road. It broke my heart to think they saw me as some loser.

  Another few minutes in the shower, and my mind was made up. I was going to earn this membership by working here. The warm water beat down on my head as I squirted some of the shampoo from the dispenser on the wall. The scent of mango filled the steamy space. This certainly wasn’t the same cheap shit I used from the dollar store. A girl could definitely get used to this.

  Once I was dried off, dressed, and almost done blow drying my hair, I realized that was the first shower, in I don't know how long, that I hadn’t had a flashback. Huh. I would be taking more of them here.

  Enjoying the lavender in the air, I took a deep breath and headed out. Now showered, wearing jeans, and what looked like a designer t-shirt, Holden was sitting on a black leather chair just outside, fiddling with his phone. “Hey,” he stood up, “ready for lunch?”

  I held up a finger, doing my best not to gawk at him. “Yeah, but can I ask a question first?”

  Curiosity covered his face as he slipped his phone into his back pocket. “Sure.”

  I was nervous as hell but tried to hold my head high like I actually had my shit together. “I don’t like getting things for free. I earn my way. So do you have any odd jobs I can do around here that would cover the monthly cost?” I pulled the strap of my bag up on my shoulder, bracing myself for his answer.

  He looked at me like I was being ridiculous, yet there was something else in his expression. Respect, maybe? “Jules, I’m not going to have you do crap around here to use the gym.” My eyes followed his index finger as it tapped his lips. “We do however need someone to help out in childcare. Ever worked with kids before?”

  Kids? Hmm… “Not really, but I love children.” Now I was starting to get excited. But like when most good things attempted to come near me, I waited for the familiar hammer to crush my hope.

  Unsurprisingly, that mallet dropped the very next moment in the form of a tall, dark-haired, suit-wearing asshole with eyes as dark and cold as Mt. Everest.

  “She’s not working here. We would need to run a background check.” Dante spoke from the entryway, staring at me as he joined us. I couldn’t fight it this time. My head dropped as my eyes closed. Humiliating.

  Holden turned his back on his brother and offered me a sweet smile. “Do me a favor and wait for me in the reception area. I’ll be right there, then we’ll go to lunch, okay?”

  Peeking around his large frame, I found Dante gritting his teeth, then I gave a quick nod and walked away obediently. I only made it as far as the doorway when I heard Holden’s lowered voice. “What’re you doing? She’s not one of your whores, you know. There’s more to her than that.”

  When I spied from around the corne
r, I caught the tail end of Holden backing Dante up against the wall. He wasn’t using anything other than his steps to eat the distance between them.

  Irritated more than anything, Dante didn’t appear to be backing up in fear. His glaring eyes seemed more like the kind an exhausted parent would give after the drama of their two-year-old child throwing their fifth temper tantrum of the day. After seeing how he dismissed that slutty whore in the cardio room, I wondered if Dante had any regards for another human at all, even his own flesh and blood.

  As I moved out of sight, I heard him retort, “I’m well aware of that, brother.”

  I leaned my back against the wall, just on the other side of where they were arguing. Thankfully, both of the bimbos that had been behind the counter earlier were now standing in Vince’s office door, talking to him and Christina, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

  “Leave her alone.” That was the second time I’d heard Holden’s gruff voice today. “And why the hell would you give her one of those fucking memberships in the first place, huh? Just to have her come in here and treat her like a leper? She’s not yours, and you know damn well how I feel about her.”

  I gulped at that. Feelings? For me?

  “I’m sorry, I can’t do that,” Dante ground out. “Things have already been set in motion, and you have no idea who she is.”

  “Neither do you.” Holden spat.

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I know everything I need to about her. Trust me on this one.”

  Oh shit. What does he know? And why did he mention the background check as if he knew I was hiding something?

  I pushed away from the wall and rushed toward the exit, noticing a heated conversation going on in Vince’s office between him, the receptionist, and Christina. I’d just made it to the door when I felt Holden run up behind me.

  “Hey, where are you going? I thought we were grabbing lunch.” I knew he could see it, the pain and embarrassment all over my face. “Don’t let that jackass scare you off. This is about him, not you.”

  I didn’t want to talk about it. “No, it’s not that. I completely forgot I was supposed to help stock the bar today.”