Surrender (3 page)

“Sorry, does this bother you?” He tossed the bag on the bed and unzipped it, inches away from her.
This man definitely has a big ego.

“No, prance around naked all night if you want. It’s definitely too hot in here for clothes.”

He laughed at her comment and threw the sarcasm back at her. “Feel free to do the same.” Lauren gave him a smug look and he laughed louder.

“You need to relax. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re very uptight,” Brett informed her.

“I have every right to be uptight. My husband just died. Someone wants me dead. You’re parading around naked. I’m stuck in a dingy motel room—with no air conditioning I might add.”

“There’s only one way to shut you up.” Brett smiled and took her in his arms quickly and kissed her.

Lauren took a step back and looked at him. She wasn’t sure whether to slap him or kiss him. An inevitable desire to kiss him answered for her. Her hands touched his chest. She felt his heart pound. He hadn’t yet dressed. She felt his arousal against her. His lips parted. His fresh-showered scent drove her senses wild. Nothing else mattered at this moment. Desire overcame her as she met his inviting kiss. His lips brushed against hers as the thought of danger left her thoughts. The fact she’d just buried her husband no longer registered. She opened her mouth to deepen his kiss and the outside world disappeared. She stepped back toward the bed. He followed her lead without letting go of the kiss. A tangled mess led to tangled sheets as they devoured every inch of each other’s bodies.

Chapter Three

The sun’s rays peaked through the ripped curtains in the motel room and Lauren opened her eyes. She felt rested for the first time in days. She remembered what happened and the smile left her face. She turned to see Brett and reality hit her hard. It
had
happened.
What was I thinking?
Guilt suddenly set in. She hadn’t cheated on her husband, since he was dead, but she still felt as though she had. She snuck out of the bed quietly. She needed a shower. She thought about Brett in the shower which only added to her guilt. The man irritated her. He wasn’t from her world. He’d taken her to a motel not to her liking. But then he made passionate love to her. No man had ever made her feel the way he had, not even John. She’d loved her husband and had no complaints. Brett was different. Something dark about him intrigued her. One thing she knew for certain, he definitely knew what to do in the bedroom.

“Lauren! We have to go, now!” Brett’s voice and loud knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. She turned off the water and grabbed a towel. Still wet, she opened the door to find Brett with his back up against the wall by the window and gun in hand.

“What the hell is going on?” Lauren stormed across the room.

Brett grabbed her with one hand and brought her back quickly beside him. “Stay away from the window,” he demanded.

His tone scared her. “Don’t tell me that man tracked us here.” Her lip quivered. She wondered if she was scared or cold because she stood naked and wet from the shower.

Brett must have seen the horror in her eyes. “I’m not sure. Someone knocked on the door. I looked through the peephole and saw two men. They didn’t appear to be motel staff, so I ignored the knock. They’ve been knocking on every door. My gut tells me we need to move fast.”

“Do you think they followed us to the motel?

“I feel certain someone did”.

She shook as she got dressed and gathered her belongings without another word.

Brett stopped her as she reached for the door handle. “We have to go out the back.”

“What back door?” 

“The bathroom window” Brett grabbed their bags and led her by the hand to the bathroom.

“You want me to climb through that window?” She pointed to the small window.

“Yes and do it quickly,” he snapped at her.

Without another word, she climbed through the window. Brett tossed the bags out the window first and then hoisted himself up and through. She wondered if he always lived like this. It didn’t seem to bother him in the least. It appeared he embraced danger. At least he offered to carry her bag. She thought back to the night before. Both pleasure and guilt entered her mind. Those thoughts ended quickly when she heard him announce they had to walk about two miles through the woods.

“In these shoes?” she barked at him.

“You can always go back to the men who want you dead,” he offered and began to walk toward the woods. Lauren grunted aloud but followed him. Anger set in and she walked quickly past him. “I wouldn’t walk so fast in those, it’s going to be a long walk,” Brett called out to her.

She just ignored him and didn’t look back. She’d reached the edge of the woods when she heard a noise from behind. She turned to see Brett swinging their bags at a man.

“Run!” Brett yelled at her.

Lauren ran between the trees and didn’t look back. She could easily get around the streets of New York, but not in the woods. She hoped she ran in the right direction. It was one thing to shop all day in heels, but to run in them was another story. She ran until she couldn’t and hid behind a tree. She shook in fear and tried to control her breathing. She began to pray and then wondered if it would help. Within minutes, she heard Brett’s voice call out her name. She moved slowly around the edge of the tree and saw him. She ran into his embrace with great relief. He wrapped his arms around her and held her. The comfort of his arms calmed her enough to release from his hold.

“It’s safe now,” Brett touched her face gently and smiled.

“You keep saying that. Can this be the last time?” A tear crept down along her cheek and he wiped it away.

“I can’t promise. Come on.” He put his arm around her.

She still trembled. “What about that man?”

“I dealt with him, but I’m not sure where the other one is,” he told her.

Lauren said no more. She felt numb. They walked silently for less than an hour before they reached the outskirts of the town. Brett’s superior sent a message where they could pick up a car.

  “Will I ever be able to go home?” Lauren finally spoke when Brett began to drive.

“We’re close to making arrests. Until then, I will keep you alive. That I promise.”

Lauren decided to accept his response. She knew she wasn’t going to get more from him on the matter. She turned to look out her window. People opened their shops and began their day in the small town they drove through. She felt envious they were living their normal everyday life. She only wished she could.

“Lauren, we need to talk.” Brett took her away from her moment of self-pity.

“About last night?” It was the last thing she wanted to talk about. She already carried enough guilt and decided she wanted to convince herself that it didn’t happen.

“I guess we should talk about that too.” He kept his eyes focused on the road.

“What do you mean? Is there something else I don’t want to hear?” She quickly addressed the possibility to get out of the conversation about what happened between them. She hoped the sarcasm in her voice kept him from discussing it.

“Maybe now is not the time,” Brett spoke with hesitation.

His comment only worried her.
What could he possibly tell me now? Hasn’t he already turned my world upside down?
She kept quiet and hoped he’d leave it for now. She didn’t desire to know any more unless he told her she could go back to her life. She knew that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon and turned back to the window.

By now they had driven through the town and all she saw for miles were trees. She watched them pass by as she thought about John. A week ago he was alive and they were happy. They began to plan their first anniversary and a trip to the same resort in Mexico they did for their honeymoon. Thoughts of that only made her remember their honeymoon and how he left her one day to do business in a nearby town. It never dawned on her that his business meeting might have been with the drug cartel. She didn’t know for certain but that’s what now crossed her mind.
How did he get caught up in such a mess? A mess that killed him, left me running for my life, and having sex with a man I don’t know?

Chapter Four

“Sorry I’m late Marion, I had an important call.” Charles Vanderholm took his seat at the head of the table and joined his wife for breakfast.

“They always are, dear,” Marion replied in a sweet and respectful tone. She adored her husband. They’d been married thirty-five years and respected each other completely. Marion always thought of her marriage as more of a professional nature than one of love. It had been a pre-arranged marriage by their families. They met at her coming-out party, the debutante ball her parents had planned since she turned ten years old. They were both raised to believe old-money did not mix with new-money. They’d raised Lauren the same way, but she had a mind of her own. She laughed out loud when her mother suggested a debutante ball for her. Lauren downright refused to have such an event. She chose college instead of marriage. Her attitude infuriated her father even more when she refused to work in the family business. He almost disowned her when she brought home John Reynolds, a man who came from new-money and not from their circle. Charles did not speak to his daughter for weeks.

“I received a message late last night from Lauren,” Marion told Charles when their 

breakfast came. Charles looked up from behind the newspaper he’d been so grossly engaged in.

  “How is she?”

He asked, expressionless.

Marion knew he loved his daughter despite their differences and her fiery independent ways he referred to many times over the years. Charles gave up long before to persuade her to marry into old money and become part of the family business. Charles’s family had come from a long history of Investment Banking. Lauren outright told him she did not want to work in the family business because numbers bored her. He’d been upset for a long time. Being his only child, no one would continue on with the family business unless she graced him with a grandchild that might. Marion had complications with Lauren’s birth and couldn’t conceive again which devastated Charles. He had wanted a son to carry on the name and the business. It had always been that way. Over time he said he accepted it.

“She’s grieving Charles, how do you expect her to be?”

Marion gracefully poured a coffee and sternly looked at her husband. She knew he loved his daughter and his wife but his business had always come first. A cold man who never showed any emotion; she learned over time to ignore his ways.

“She mentioned she planned to take a few days to clear her mind and not to worry.”

“Good,” Charles replied solemnly. Marion gave him a questioning glance.

“Don’t worry Marion, she won’t be gone long. If it makes you feel better, I can have her tracked,” Charles addressed their daughter like a business deal.

“Best not Charles, our daughter would be furious with us. She’s a grown woman. I’ll wait for her to call.”

Charles went back to his breakfast and reading the business section without further comment until his phone vibrated against the table.

“I assume that is an important call?” Marion asked. When he put down his paper, she took that as a yes.

“Hello? Can you please hold for a moment?” He walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek. “Have a wonderful day, my dear.”

His usual routine that Marion had grown accustomed to, and about the longest time they would see each other. She’d see him in the evening for a dinner party or an event they were to attend. After that, she retired to her own bedroom before he returned home from work. It had been that way for years.

****

  Charles took his call to the den and closed the door.

“Sorry I wasn’t alone,” he apologized for the held call and then interrupted before he could say anything else.

“There’s a problem.” Charles heard his caller state, sounding quite disturbed.

Charles already knew he had a problem.

  “I heard the break and enter went sour. What happened?” Charles remained calm.

“An unknown man”

“Who,” Charles asked.

“My man didn’t recognize him.”

“Then find out.” Charles demanded and reminded his caller the importance of this job.

“I’m led to believe the man is one of uniform by the way my guy described his actions. Should we be worried?” The caller asked Charles.

  “I don’t worry. That’s your department. Just get it done and quickly. I don’t want this to affect my business,” Charles warned the caller and ended the call. He gathered some papers from his desk and closed his briefcase. His eyes met the picture of his daughter. Charles Vanderholm quickly moved his eyes away from the picture. Business always came first.

Charles noticed Marion with her personal assistant Cheryl in the foyer on his way out. He wondered why she needed one, but she got whatever kept her happy and quiet. He did not pry. In fact he didn’t really care as long as she portrayed the perfect corporate wife.

“Marion.”

“Yes dear,” she answered sweetly and politely excused Cheryl.

“Did Lauren mention if she had someone with her?”

“No dear, why?”

“A friend might do her some good,” he lied to his wife. His only concern—his business. Everyone respected him as a well-known shrewd businessman. That’s how he stayed on top. The love he showed publicly for his wife and daughter was only an act for appearance’s sake. Marion wished him a good day. He waved and left without another word. She portrayed an excellent corporate wife and did her job well. He knew all Marion expected in return was a never-ending spending account.

Charles made a call once he reached his New York office. He needed to know what went wrong. There is too much at stake to risk his business or his name. He wouldn’t be caught up in this mess if his daughter had listened to him in the beginning and married into old-money. She brought John Reynolds into their lives and without his blessing. Charles had done a thorough check on John and his business associates. He learned of the business association with Nick Mendez. This discovery changed Charles’s mind about John. Perhaps John could be the son Charles always wanted. Then Charles began to warm up to the idea of accepting John into the family and mold him into the business. Charles set his plan in motion and pressed for an elaborate wedding. He knew Marion would convince their daughter that he would come around; at least for appearance’s sake. John and Lauren were married within six months.

Charles’s plan ran smoothly. He befriended John and publicly accepted him into the family. He included John in business discussions and gatherings, the legal ones at first. Days after the wedding Charles received a call from Nick Mendez. Nick informed Charles that John had confronted Nick to end their business association because he got married and he wasn’t going to screw up his dream of a family he never had. Charles calmly told Nick not to worry. After the honeymoon, Charles offered John a partnership offer he couldn’t refuse. Charles believed his plan would work. After all, John had already been in business with Nick. He figured John was worried about Charles discovering the connection to Nick, but would assure him that the connection with the Mendez family was good for business. Charles convinced John he could have Lauren, the family he never had, and much more than he could ever desire.

The plan had backfired. After the honeymoon, Charles offered John a partnership in the family business. John had been thrilled and he accepted immediately. The two had formed a bond like father and son. Charles respected John’s ideas and complimented his business mind. The problem appeared when Charles held a private meeting with Nick Mendez and invited John. He only announced shock when he learned of the connection between Charles and Nick. Adamant that he wanted to run his business legally, he warned Charles he would tell Lauren, and then stormed out of the meeting. Shortly after that meeting, John went to the warehouse to meet the new owner and sign the papers. The explosion happened before the ink dried. Nobody threatened Charles Vanderholm. Nobody walked away from business with the Mendez family. Nick had taken care of the problem within an hour of John’s outburst. The only concern shared between Nick and Charles if John had told his wife. Charles figured Nick wanted all loose ends tied; he knew he could not save his daughter.

John had been an orphan but Charles still checked out all foster families he had lived with. John had kept in touch with no one, not even foster parents. It appeared he had no friends in college. John had been a loner his whole life. The only connections he’d made were through his business. The few women he dated never spoke with him again. John’s record came up clear. John’s only connection that could ruin Charles’s business was Lauren.

Charles brushed his hand over his face, frustrated to think he had missed a piece of information about John’s life. His phone rang and stirred him from his thoughts.

“Do you have any news for me?” Charles got right to the point. He had waited to hear from the man who ran the search on John Reynolds months before.

“Good morning Charles. I got your message. I thought John Reynolds died. Is there a need for further investigation into his life?”

“You didn’t do a thorough job. There was a man at my daughter’s home last night. Find out who he is.” Charles demanded.

“Yes, sir, I will get on it right away.”

“Do it discretely, of course.” Charles wanted an answer but he also had his reputation to uphold.