Burned (Cunningham Security Book 5) Read online

  Burned

  Copyright 2019 by A.K. Evans

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, distributer, or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Cover Artist

  cover artwork © Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations

  www.okaycreations.com

  Editing & Proofreading

  Ellie McLove, My Brother’s Editor

  www.grayinkonline.com

  Formatting

  Stacey Blake at Champagne Book Design

  www.champagnebookdesign.com

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  Connect with A.K. Evans

  Other Books by A.K. Evans

  About A.K. Evans

  I miss you, Moo…

  “The last bus just pulled away!”

  “So, you’re officially done for the summer?” I asked my closest friend, Gwen, with my phone pressed to my ear.

  Gwen taught second grade.

  “With the kids, yes,” she replied. “I still have to come back in next Monday and Tuesday to finish up a few things, but I’m done teaching until next school year.”

  “We should celebrate,” I suggested. “I had a client scheduled for four-thirty today, but she needed to reschedule. If you want, we can meet up at Earl’s Pub for a bite to eat and a drink.”

  I heard some rustling around before she answered, “I can meet you there in twenty minutes.”

  “Perfect. I’ll see you then.”

  After disconnecting the call, I set my phone down and went about shutting down my computer. I worked as an agent for an insurance and financial services company, a job I’d gotten immediately after graduating from college.

  My job was just that.

  A job.

  While I really liked my co-workers, most of them driven, focused individuals, the work itself wasn’t necessarily my thing. I spent a lot of time in my car, driving to meet with clients. I worked odd hours and had a lot of evening appointments since most of my clients were at their own jobs during the day. Even though the work wasn’t necessarily demanding, it wasn’t something about which I was truly passionate, and I often found myself longing for something else.

  But the income was great.

  And that was something that kept me going back day in and day out.

  That, and the fact that I didn’t want to be a failure. I’d been unsuccessful in other areas of my life that I wanted to prove to myself I could see this through. So, I’d stuck with it for the last ten years. I went into the office every morning, made calls, ran reports, set up appointments, and met with clients before heading home every night.

  Now that it was Friday, my last client for the evening had canceled, and Gwen was done with school, I was going to go out.

  Gwen and I met seven years ago at a party for a mutual friend. I was never one for having a massive social circle, but Gwen was someone I was drawn to. We had similar personalities, both of us unable to deal with nonsense and drama. When she had no problem telling one of the party-goers that he was being a belligerent drunk and was ruining it for everyone, I knew I couldn’t not be friends with her.

  I pulled into the parking lot at Earl’s Pub and saw Gwen’s car parked at the front of the lot. There was an empty spot right next to her, so I swung my car in.

  As soon as I walked in, I scanned the room and found Gwen sitting at one of the high-top tables to the left of the entrance.

  “Hey,” I greeted her, climbing up onto the high-back stool. “Have you been waiting long?”

  She shook her head and answered, “Nope, I literally just sat down.”

  At that moment, the waitress came over and we each ordered a glass of wine. When she walked away, Gwen sighed, “I’m so glad I don’t have to create another lesson plan for a solid two and a half months.”

  I laughed. “How are you going to spend all your free time now?”

  “Planning your wedding and trying to get my husband to put a baby inside me,” she returned.

  My shoulders fell.

  Gwen and her husband, Jason, had recently gotten married and they’d been trying to get pregnant since before their April wedding. She was frustrated, convinced there was a medical issue. I did my best to reassure her that once she was no longer under the stress of school and had time to just relax, she’d have better luck. Gwen, being her cynical self, wasn’t so easily convinced.

  Thankfully, if she was going to have a rough time of it, she would at least have my upcoming wedding to distract her. My fiancé, Brad, and I had gotten engaged about a year ago, following three years of dating, and were getting married at the beginning of August. I had already done most of the planning for it. All of the big stuff had been taken care of, but Gwen insisted I wait for any of the small details until school was done since she’d have the time to help. She was taking her role as matron-of-honor seriously and wanted to do the work that came along with having the title.

  “Well, we’ve got plenty of centerpieces and favors to get through over the next few weeks, so I hope you have your crafty fingers ready,” I warned.

  “You know my artistic abilities are limited,” she reminded me. “But my stubbornness won’t allow me to not get something perfect. Don’t you worry, Zara, I’ve got you covered.”

  I smiled at her just as the waitress arrived with our drinks. We made our food selections and dove right back into our conversation.

  During that conversation, I brought Gwen up to speed on my plans for the remainder of the loose ends for the wedding. First, I wanted to take care of getting my wedding favors completed. My biggest reason for this was that I wanted to spend most of my time and effort on my centerpieces. I told Gwen several months ago that I wanted floral centerpieces, but that I wanted to make them myself. She promised to help me do whatever I wanted however I needed.

  “So, is Brad looking forward to the wedding planning coming to an end?” she wondered.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “He’s really not been involved in it much beyond telling me to do whatever I want. And recently he’s been working so late so often that he wouldn’t be able to do much anyway. I don’t really mind, though. The only thing I’ve insisted he help me with is the seating arrangements. As you know, we sent out the invites. We’ve already started getting responses and I’ve got to be worried about who isn’t getting along and can’t sit with one another.”

  “And here we are again—only two months after my wedding—suddenly remembering that there’s an upside to eloping,” she offered, her tone t
easing.

  She wasn’t lying.

  Gwen had dealt with a nightmare leading up to her wedding. I’d been there for her through it all, but it certainly should have made me reconsider the traditional wedding ceremony and reception.

  Our food arrived and we dove in. After we’d both gotten in a few bites, I redirected the conversation.

  “Well, speaking of your wedding or, more specifically, your husband,” I began. “How’s he been handling everything on the baby front?”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Are you kidding?” she asked incredulously. “He’s just fine. Don’t get me wrong, he wants a baby just as much as I do, but he’s not overthinking it like I am. While I sit every night completely freaking out about what could possibly be wrong, he just takes it all in stride and waits for me to insist that we’ve got to have sex again.”

  “I’m guessing he’s enjoying this then?”

  She shook her head in disbelief as she chewed and swallowed a bite of her food. “More than he should.”

  My mood turned serious before I urged her, “Don’t get yourself too worked up over this, Gwen. I know we’re sitting here joking and teasing, but I don’t want to see you making yourself crazy about this. The stress will likely do more harm than good. You’re still young and you’ve got the whole summer to settle and relax yourself.”

  “I’m thinking about seeing a fertility specialist,” she shared, her voice now quiet.

  I was shocked. “Really?” I asked after setting my fork down. “You’ve only been married two months. It’s a lot of pressure to be putting on yourself.”

  “I know we’ve only been married two months, Zara,” she started. “But we’ve been having unprotected sex for the last year and I’ve not gotten pregnant. I’m sure there’s something wrong…it’s probably me. Either way, if we’re going to have a long road ahead of us, I want to start now.”

  My heart broke for her. I knew Gwen was going to be a mother one day, but it saddened me that she was dealing with such heartbreak over it now.

  Reaching across the table, my hand settled over hers and gave a gentle squeeze. “Whatever you need from me, you know I’m here for you.”

  She gave me a nod and a soft smile. “I know. I haven’t told anyone else yet. You’re the only person, besides Jason, who knows what he and I are going through.”

  As awful as I felt for her, it warmed my heart to know that she valued my friendship enough to trust me with this.

  “Anything at all, Gwen…you know I’m here.”

  At that, I let go of her hand and looked back down at my plate. I reached for my fork, filled it, and was just about to lift it to my mouth when I heard Gwen call cautiously, “Zara?”

  I looked up to see that she wasn’t paying attention to me.

  Instead, her gaze was directed behind me. The look on her face told me that something was not right.

  Hesitantly, I turned in my seat and immediately felt the ice seep into my veins. A knot formed in my stomach, my lungs burned, and my nose began stinging.

  Sitting in a booth across the room, to the right of the entrance, I saw another woman wrapped up in my fiancé’s arms, his mouth on hers.

  “Oh my God,” I whispered.

  As much as I couldn’t stomach watching it, for some reason I couldn’t look away. Somewhere, deep down, I think I was hoping I was seeing things.

  Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. “What do you want to do, babe?”

  Not taking my eyes away from the gut-wrenching scene in front of me, I answered, “I need my phone.”

  I heard Gwen dig through my purse a minute before she slid my phone into my hand. For the first time since I laid my eyes on what had caught Gwen’s attention, I looked away and directed my attention to my phone.

  Unlocking the phone and finding him in my list of recent calls, I tapped on Brad’s name and held the phone up to my ear.

  Then, I watched.

  And I saw him as he struggled to tear his mouth from hers, disappointed and irritated at the interruption. He pulled out his phone, looked at the display, and silenced the call before sliding the phone back into his pocket.

  I struggled to swallow past the boulder that was now lodged in my throat.

  Vaguely, I heard Gwen’s voice. “We need the check now, please.”

  Within minutes, minutes that kept my eyes focused on my cheating fiancé, Gwen wrapped her hand around my arm and stated, “We’re good to go now, Zara. You want to get out of here?”

  I nodded slowly. My head felt like it weighed a ton and everything was happening in slow motion.

  I lowered myself from the stool and walked with Gwen toward the front door of Earl’s. We were about to walk out when I stopped and looked at her. “I have to confront him,” I explained when she looked inquisitively at me.

  She didn’t hesitate to step to the side and assure me, “If that’s what you need to do, I’ve got your back, babe.”

  “I have to do it now because I don’t ever want to see him again after this,” I muttered.

  Gwen gave me a sorrowful look as she jerked her chin down in understanding.

  I walked from the front door toward Brad’s table, sliding the ring from my finger as I did. The second I was standing at the table, I threw the ring down. It clattered against the utensils and startled both Brad and the woman he was cheating on me with. When he looked up at me, he stammered, “Z..Zara.”

  “Save it,” I clipped. “I never want to see you again, you lying piece of shit.”

  “Brad?” the woman beside him called.

  His eyes left mine, went to her, and he said, “Melanie, I’m sorry. I’m engaged.”

  He was apologizing to her?!?!

  Her eyes widened and she audibly gasped.

  “Was,” I corrected him, looking at her. That’s when I took her in. She was absolutely stunning. I hated her, but I couldn’t deny how beautiful she was. I knew then exactly why he strayed. I wasn’t hideous, but there were a lot of things about myself that could be improved. Knowing I’d never measure up, knowing I couldn’t compete with someone who looked like Melanie, and knowing he’d cheated, I was finished with him. “He was engaged,” I finally told her. When my eyes went back to Brad’s, I seethed, “Don’t ever call me again. We’re so done.”

  Without giving him a chance to respond, I turned and walked away. Gwen followed behind me.

  I heard Brad call my name, but I never looked back.

  Never.

  Ten Months Later

  The incessant meowing alerted me to the fact that it was time to get up and get moving. Tossing the covers back, I rolled to my side and let my legs hang over the edge of the bed. Instantly, the soft coat of my personal wake-up call moved across the skin at my feet and ankles.

  Leaning over, I reached down and ran my hand along the back of my one-year-old Bengal cat. Callie was a gray-brown color, which essentially meant that her coat was gray with jet black markings. I thought she was gorgeous.

  “I’m up, Callie girl. Is it time for breakfast?” I asked, looking to the clock on my nightstand.

  She meowed in response.

  Sure enough, it was five minutes until seven. This meant if I didn’t hurry in getting up and getting a move on, Callie’s breakfast would be served late.

  My girl liked sticking to her routine and if I didn’t deliver each of her meals to her on time, she let her displeasure be known.

  Not wanting an angry kitty on my hands, I hopped down from the bed, made my way to the bathroom, and quickly took care of business before I went about getting Callie her breakfast. Once she was busy eating, I filled my tea kettle with water and retrieved a mug from the cabinet.

  Then, I did what I did every morning for the last eight months.

  I hoisted myself up on the countertop so I could sit and wait in comfort for the water in the kettle to boil. While I waited, I typically watched Callie, and I went through my plans for the day in my head. Sometimes, though, I would let my
mind wander to everything that had happened in my life since that day at Earl’s Pub roughly ten months ago.

  That is precisely where I found my mind heading this morning.

  A lot had changed in my life. I was no longer engaged, which was final the minute I saw my ex-fiancé with another, albeit beautiful woman in his arms, his mouth on hers. After I left him there that day, I went home. Gwen followed behind me and spent the next few hours bitching with me about Brad before holding me while I cried.

  That surprised me.

  Not the bitching, just the crying.

  I was never a big crier. And even though I’d just learned that the man I was supposed to be marrying in two months was cheating on me, it shocked me that I actually broke down and cried about it. Long before Brad came along, I learned that life was full of ups and downs. Some people were lucky enough to experience more successes than disappointments, but I hadn’t ever been one of them.

  So, I should have expected he’d cheat. Life had taught me that there weren’t many people who cared or wanted to be in my life.

  With my face buried in my friend’s shoulder while she wrapped me in her arms, I came to that realization. In coming to it, I decided to do what I had to do to start over.

  Making my decision to start over didn’t mean I wasn’t hurt, because I was. It was simply that I wasn’t going to sit around devastated over the loss of a man who didn’t think I was worth being faithful to.

  I spent the next two weeks doing a lot of research while Gwen took care of everything necessary to cancel my wedding. When I’d finally gathered all of the information I needed, I walked into work and handed in my resignation.

  After being there for ten years, I knew my co-workers would be shocked. Sadly, they also knew that I’d called off my wedding. They didn’t know why because I never shared it, and thankfully, they respected my right to privacy.

  Over the next three weeks that followed, I poured myself into checking off all the items on the list I made. Pack up my things, donate what I no longer needed, and list my house on the market. It was during those three weeks that I gave myself a pat on the back for not officially moving in with Brad. During our relationship, we’d each spent the night at one another’s homes, but we still had our own separate places. We had originally planned to move into his house after we got married, but since we hadn’t joined any of our assets, I didn’t have to worry about his opinion when I was making the choice to start over.