Hold Me Closer: A Rebel Walking Novel

Dedication

To my street team..... I have the best group of girls who promote me every single day.  I love our chats and they've proven they can be trusted more than once.  It's amazing to be able to reach out to a group of strong women who do nothing but support one another.... (and help me keep track of all of my models, lol).  You make this journey entertaining and I wouldn't have it any other way!!!  Lots of Love ~Hil

Series Order:

In A Heartbeat

Heaven Sent

Banded Together

No Strings Attached

Hold Me Closer

Chapter One

Holden

"I don't need your help landing a date.  Just drop it."

"Holden, I didn't say you need help, I just know this girl that will be perfect for you.  She needs to see what a good guy is like and I just really feel like you two will hit it off."

"Ev, I really hate this shit.  Blind dates aren't my thing and I can't bring myself to look forward to a night out with a girl that I've never seen.  What's wrong with her, anyway?  Why isn't she taken if she's such a great catch?"  I know Eaven means well, but this is the worst idea I've heard in a long time.

I'm so bu
sy working and trying to get my new business off the ground that I haven't had time to think about the opposite sex.  My life needs to be simple, and in my experience, simplicity goes out the window the second a female gets involved.  I don't have time for distractions right now.  Eaven has good intentions, but damn if I don't need her to quit harassing me about this girl. 

"Shouldn't you be worrying about my brother and taking care of business for him?" 

"Talon can wait.  I'm on a mission here!"

"Oh
, really?  Exactly what is that mission?"

"Just to get you out for one night.  One night of you not working like the damned workaholic you are.  Holden, you need to have some fun every once in a
while."

"I have fun."

"Oh, yes.  I see you having a blast all the time.  When is the last time you took a girl out on a date?"  I try to pull from my memory the last time I went out on a real date.  I'm not sure why she is associating a 'blast' with a date, but decide to admit defeat just to get her to stop the interrogations.

"It's been a long time.  Ok
ay.  You win, but if she's a crazy bitch I'm blaming you."  She wraps her arms around me and tries to calm her excitement as she begins to plan the date for me out loud.  I pull her away from me and make her focus on me as I try to take control of this fiasco before everything begins to spiral again.

"Hold the hell up. 
I'll
plan the date.  I don't need you to organize my date in order for me to show a girl a good time.  I think I can manage on my own."

"Just be good to her, Holden.  She's had it rough the last couple of years and now she's trying to run her brother's bar all by herself.  Honestly, she's had nothing but assholes in her life and I want you to show her what a real man should be like."

"Okay.  Okay.  I get it!  Treat her like glass and be on my best behavior!"

"You don't have to treat her like glass, but please be nice.  I worked really hard for you to get this date."

"What?  When did I become the guy getting pity dates?  I change my mind.  The answer is no."

"No Holden.  You already said yes and I sent her a text her right away, so it's done."

"Text her back and undo it, Ev.  I have no problems finding a girl when I want one.  I'm too busy for anyone right now."  I begin to walk away only to have her following right on my foot steps.  This will never end unless I agree to the date, it just pisses me off that she's pushing so hard on this.

"I need to get some work done.  You need to go find Talon or Ivy and see if they need saved.  I'm good right now."

"Holden Walker.  You need this date.  I wont quit nagging on you until you agree once and for all.  I just need a simple yes again and I promise to walk away."

"If I agree, you'll leave me alone... no matter how the date turns out.  No exceptions."

"I promise."

"Fine.  Send me her number and I don't want to hear you say another word about it."
  Why is it I feel like I've just been sucked into a disaster waiting to happen?  Eaven retreats quickly, moving towards Ivy and Taron as they come through the door.  Watching Taron with their baby, Heaven, still surprises me.  She has him completely wrapped around her tiny pinky, even more so than Ivy does. 

"Awwww.  There's my beautiful baby girl!  How does it feel to be six months old?"  That doesn't seem p
ossible, but when I do the math from when we lost Lilly, it seems right. 

Everything completely changed the day Lilly was killed by the drunk driver.  We haven't seen Luke since the funeral.  He left without leaving a trace for us to
find him.  I keep trying to locate him because I know he needs someone, but damn if he hasn't made it impossible to find him.  It's been hard because we've all needed to grieve ourselves which makes helping others almost unbearable, but we've managed to be there for each other.  In a way, we’re closer than ever before, but it's extremely hard to talk about it. 

Talon and Taron haven't given up on Rebel Walking.  I'm supporting them as much
as I can while starting my new security team.  Aiden and I have built a team of guys that are serious about taking this beyond local jobs if we're ever given the opportunity.  Working security for Rebel Walking was a great way to start, and a few of the agents have contacted me for information about touring with another group.

I keep holding off, hoping Rebel Walking will get back together and we can do what we originally set out to do.  Aiden and I have both been pulling small gigs to keep afloat while we wait for the fate of the Rebel Walking crew.
 

As I walk toward my office, I hear Taron following
. 

"Hey
, big brother.  Any word?"  Everyday he asks if I know anything about Luke.  Unfortunately, it's always the same answer. 

"He doesn't want to be found.  I'll find him
; I won't stop ‘til I do."

"I just really wish we knew he was at least alive and breathing.  I mean
, who just disappears off the face of the Earth without even a call to let anyone know he's doing okay?"

"He did call his mother.  She told me he just called to let her know he needs more time and that he's doing fine for now."

"Fine.  Sure he is.  If he's so fucking fine, he needs to get his ass back here so that we can all be 'fine'." 

"I'll keep looking.  Aiden and I are both putting out feelers for him.  We'll find him."

"Talon and I are doing an interview on one of the big networks soon.  I'm going to put a subtle message in there to get to him.  I hope he will get in touch soon because we need to build it back up and get out there again—if not for ourselves, then for Lilly.  She would've had our asses for as long as we've been sitting on this."

"We both know she would've wanted Luke in on it, so we have no choice but to wait." 

"So, I hear you have a date!  Do you need an escape plan?  You know if it's a blind date, there's a reason!"

"Don't think that hasn't crossed my mind.  I'll have an escape line ready to use, but Eaven swears she's perfect."

"Surely she wouldn't steer you wrong."

"So what's the deal with you and Ivy?  Are we having another wedding soon?"

"Nah.  It'll be a while.  That night started out so perfect, and then quickly went to hell.  We're waiting until things settle.  I'm happy just knowing she said yes to me."

"Yeah.  She
's stubborn, isn't she?"

"Hell yeah she is!  Turns me the fuck on!"

"What
doesn't
turn you on?"

"When it comes to her, there isn't anything."  I watch my
crazy brother, that I thought would forever be single, look at Ivy with such attraction and love and a ping of jealousy hits my chest before I turn to gather some paperwork. 

"I guess I'll leave you to your work.  Talon and I are meeting a guy we hear is great on guitar over at Smitty's in half an hour.  This sucks, but we need to get someone in there and see if we can light the fire again."

"Yeah.  I know."  I say this knowing it's true, but the day they play on stage without her is going to gut us all. 

The quiet after they leave allows me to think about everything going through my mind.  I need to go on this date without any intentions of a second date.  If it takes being a complete bore, then I'll do that to make sure she's not interested.  With the new business and the stress of the band, I have enough to worry about.  The last thing I need is a woman to complicate things.

Chapter
Two

Lyndsey

"Eaven you know I don't have time for this.  You were the one telling me to take a break from men for awhile."

"I
did
say you need to get away from that ass you had living here, but Holden is a great guy.  I really feel like you two will hit it off perfectly.  Just go on one date with him and see what happens from there." 

"I already said I would.  I'm just saying you need to know that I'm really trying to do things without a man this time.  You know my track record with men isn't
that great, and I'm looking to soul search a bit before I jump right back into something."

"I'm not asking you to marry him!  It's just a date."

"I know, but I can see how excited you are just standing there.  Don't get your hopes up because I'm only promising
one
date with him.  That's
it
!"

"I know you'll hit it off!  You'll see!  Did he say when he'll pick you up?" 

"No, I haven't heard from him."

"Damn that guy.  I told him to call you."

"I'm sure he will. Now I've got to get going so I can be ready for this date tonight."   

"Have fun!  I promise you'll like him."  She pulls me into a hug as she says this and it occurs to me just how long it's been since I've had a real date.  The guys I usually 'date' don't to anything official like this.  It's more like a hookup that turns into a permanent live-in rodent living with me.  I'm not sure how I always manage to find the guys without jobs and a freaking car that runs.  I guess that's what happens when you let guys pick you up from the bar. 

I've been running my brother's bar for a few years now.  Before that, I worked for him, so it's really been the only place I go to meet anyone.  I obviously need to figure out what I want in a man before I try to do this dating thing.  I was really looking forward to taking time to figure out who I am.