Chasing Memories: The Forevermore Series, Book 2 (14 page)

Chapter Twenty-Three

India rose from the bed. She started to tremble—giant convulsions that had her whole body shaking from head to toe. Lucas rushed to her side, wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay.”

He’d seen it in her eyes the moment she’d connected the dots. Someone had set out to murder his grandmother and India. But why? What the hell had happened during the two months India couldn’t remember? “You’re safe with me. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“For now, maybe, but I can’t stay here forever. Neither can you. At some point we’ll need to get back to our everyday lives. What then? Someone wants to kill me, Lucas. And I have no idea why. What if I never remember?”

He didn’t have the answers, not yet, but no way would he let anyone harm her. He couldn’t lose her. Not now. Not ever. She meant too damned much to him. He shuddered. His heart pounded and he started to sweat as the reality slammed into him with the force of a freight train. India meant the world to him. Which meant what? He couldn’t think about it now.

Lucas eased away, needing to put some physical space between them. The sudden withdrawal from her left him chilled to the bone, which was impossible, figuratively and literally.

Lord, what the hell was wrong with him tonight?

India stared up at him. “I’m… I’m scared, Lucas.”

Oh hell.
He pulled her back into his arms again. How could he not when she gazed up at him, fear and confusion blazing in those troubled blue eyes? He rubbed a steady hand up and down the length of her back. “We’ll get through this together. I promise.”

She shuddered against him, wrapped her arms around him and squeezed as if her life depended on it. “Can you just hold me? Right now, I need you to hold me.”

Yeah, he could do that. Hell, he
wanted
to.
Needed
to keep her with him. He tightened his grip on her. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”

She burrowed into him, laid her head on his shoulder, and they stood together, wrapped in the comfort of each other’s embrace.

Lucas sighed. When had he ever experienced such serenity, such satisfaction, such peacefulness? Holding her close soothed all his rough, battered edges and chased away the restlessness, loneliness, deep inside him.

He had no idea how much time passed while they stood there, lost in each other, but when India finally eased away, he didn’t want the experience to end. Lucas loosened his hold, but he couldn’t find it in him to break all contact with her. He rested his hands on her shoulders. Neither of them spoke. They didn’t have to.

India stood up on her tiptoes and brushed her lips over his. The simple, feather-light touch sent a jolt of electricity racing through him. He groaned.

She smiled into his eyes. Cupping his face with her hands, she drew his head down. Her mouth fastened to his, lips nipping, tongue tasting, sweeping, exploring. God, it felt so damned good.

“Touch me, Lucas.”

The plea slammed into his heart and ricocheted around inside. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t put any pressure on her when it came to having sex, but he couldn’t stop his physical reaction to her. “Are you sure, sweetheart? We don’t have to—”

“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. I want you to touch me, Lucas.
Please
.”

The desperate need in those words shook him to his core. He gazed down into those gorgeous, glittering eyes. “Anything you want, baby.
Anything.
I want to make this good for you, so just tell me what you want.”

She stared at him, uncertainty etched in her stark features. “I-I…”

“Don’t be afraid, India. You never have to be afraid with me.”

She shook her head.

He almost doubled over, as if she’d punched him in the stomach. India still believed he might hurt her. Natural considering everything she’d been through, but it gutted him all the same. He needed to reassure her. “I won’t harm you. Won’t do anything that makes you uneasy. We can stop whenever you want. I promise.”

A heart-stopping smile formed on her sweet lips. “I know you won’t hurt me. I trust you, Lucas. Completely.”

The breath zoomed out of him like a balloon deflating. India trusted him. Wasn’t afraid with him
.
His heart swelled, spirit soared. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve this privilege, but he’d make damned sure she didn’t regret her decision. Lifting his hands, he grasped her cheeks and caressed the soft, supple skin with his thumbs. “Then why the hesitation?”

India wrung her hands together. “It’s just…well… I don’t have a lot of experience and—”

Comprehension dawned. She wasn’t sure what would give her pleasure. Other than their one time together, she’d never experienced how great sex could be. She would. He’d make damned sure of it. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out as we go.”

She nodded and relaxed against him.

Lucas drew her in close and glided his hands over her firm, round shoulders, down her shapely back and around her fine ass. He leaned in, tangled his fingers in her silky locks and placed a kiss on the edge of her ear. She quivered and moaned softly. Continuing the seduction, he ran his tongue over the lobe and gently tugged on it. A shudder ran though her.

Lucas smiled. “You like that, don’t you?” Hell, he did, too. Loved the way she responded to his delicate caresses. Adored her little cries of pleasure. He nipped, nuzzled. A hint of vanilla and citrus enticed him. He sucked in a lungful of air, and let the intoxicating scent surround him, envelope him. “Mm.”

She grasped his face and gazed at him. Desire blazed from her shimmering baby blues. She placed her mouth on his and kissed him. Tongue stroking, lips nibbling, and just like that she made him hot and hard and wanting in the blink of an eye.

“Slow down, sweetheart. We’ve got all night.” He tried to tamp down the fire burning inside. Tonight was about indulging her, not the other way around.

“Can’t. Need to touch you.” Her fingers shook when she tried to unbutton his shirt and she let out a cry of frustration.

“Let me take care of it.” He unbuttoned the cuffs, pulled it over his head and tossed it on the floor.

Eyes smoldering, her soft, smooth hands glided over his shoulders, down his arms and up his chest. He trembled. How was it this woman could give him such pleasure with the slightest stroke of her fingers? “I want to touch you, too.” The deep-seated demand coursed through him like a raging river. Fast, wild and out of control. “Okay?”

“Yes. Please.”

He slid his palms under her cotton top and skated them over her abdomen, her ribcage. “Can I take this off?”

India shivered. Eyes burning like molten pools of lava, she nodded.

Gently, he lifted the fabric over her head and tossed it on the floor. His gaze raked over her and a smile formed on his face. “My goddess.”

Her eyes danced and sparkled. “Goddess, huh?”

Lifting a hand, he caressed her cheek. “You’re perfect in every way, and you’ve got me under your spell.”

She twined her arms around his neck, lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed him. Nothing ever felt so good, so right.

He slid his hands down her back to her delicious ass and pulled her into full contact with his growing erection. “Do you feel what you’re doing to me?”

Her body quaked. “Yes. God, please, Lucas. Please be inside me. Now.”

He grinned. “Not yet. Just a few minutes more. I promise it’ll be worth the wait.”

“Okay.”

“Can I take off the rest of your clothes?” Lord, he needed to feel her soft, smooth skin against his. Craved it.

She nodded.

Lucas peeled off her jeans and thong and gazed at her glorious body. “Beautiful. Just beautiful.” Scooping her into his arms, he strode to the bed, tossed back the comforter and eased her down gently on the crisp cotton sheets.

He tugged off his pants and boxers with one swift move then stretched out beside her.

“You have the most exquisite body.” She stroked a hand over his pecs, twirled her finger through his chest hair and flicked his nipple with her tongue. “Mm.”

The air rushed from his lungs. “You don’t play fair.”

She arched a brow. “What’s good for me is good for you.”

He wanted to bury himself in her, so deep she’d never forget what it felt like when he touched her. He laced his fingers with hers and kissed her slow. Long. Deep.

India quivered. “Please Lucas, please.”

He released her hands and cupped one of her lush breasts in his palms, drew the distended peak into his mouth and suckled. She tasted of sunshine and flowers, all brightness and light and he couldn’t get enough of her. Would never get enough.

“Lucas, oh Lucas. Now, I want you now,” India cried.

“How?” He was as desperate as she sounded.

“You. On top of me. I want every inch of you touching every part of me so I can’t tell where you stop and I begin.”

Her gazed burned bright, stark need etched into her beautiful features. Dear God. No one had ever looked at him with such longing, such intense emotion. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. Now.
Please.
”

He lowered himself onto her. Enjoyed the feel of her beneath him, all her soft, lush curves pressed against his hard muscles. God, he needed inside her like a man needed air to breathe. “Okay?”

Her eyes locked with his. She snaked her arms around his neck and flashed a slow, sexy smile. It knocked him for a loop and left him a little dazed.

“Perfect.”

Yes, she was. In every way possible. He eased into her and, holy hell, hot, wet heat engulfed him. Excitement tore through him, threatening to consume him like a wildfire scorched everything in its path. She clamped her legs around his waist. He started to move—had no choice, really. Her body felt too damned good. “Don’t let me hurt you.”

“You won’t.”

She fastened her lips to his, thrust her tongue inside and plundered, ravaged. Drove him to the edge of sanity. His entire body vibrated from head to toe as sensations swamped him. He liked this confident, liberated woman who took what she wanted, and gave as good as she got.

All of a sudden her body tightened around him. India let loose a strangled moan and Lucas swallowed it greedily. She clenched and squeezed around him, plunging him over the edge.

His orgasm crashed down on him with the force of a wrecking ball. He cried out, drove deeper, harder and spilled himself into her sweet body until there was nothing left of him.

Lucas pushed up onto his elbows. “You okay?”

She grinned. “More than.” Making love with Lucas was one of life’s finest pleasures. A delight she planned on experiencing again, and again and again, if she had her way. Holy cow, what the man could do with those lips and his hands and that mouth… She quivered. Lord, thinking about it had her hot for him all over again.

He chuckled.

“Why are you laughing?”

He flashed a wolfish grin. “Because I know what you’re thinking.”

Heat scorched her neck and face. “Oh really.”

He wiggled his brows. “Yes, and I’m totally on board for a repeat performance, but you’ll have to give me a few minutes to, ah, recover.”

Anticipation sizzled inside her. Lord, the man had the power to turn her from a rational, level-headed woman into a lustful, wanton creature with the snap of his fingers, and she just loved it.

He pulled her closer against his body. “Mm, this is nice.”

Yes, but somehow reality crept in. Unwanted thoughts filled her brain. Someone out there wanted her dead.

Lucas lifted her and set her down beside him, then sat up.

She gasped.

“Come on, out with it. What’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know where your mind wandered off to, but you’re definitely not thinking about having sex anymore.”

“No, I’m not. Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He patted her thigh. “Tell me what’s troubling you.”

“I want to go back to where the accident happened.”

Lucas stiffened. “Not a good idea.”

“You’re right. It’s probably not, but I have to do this.”

“Somebody is after you.” He shuddered. “They want you—” He didn’t finish the sentence. “We still don’t know who this person is.”

“That’s why we have to go back. I can’t sit around and wait anymore. I have to do something to spark my memory. Believe me, I’m not thrilled with the idea of returning to the crash site.” She shivered.
Understatement of the year!
The notion scared her worse than any horror movie she’d ever seen. “But, I have to try.”

He cupped her cheek and glided his thumb over her face. Such gentleness with him. Always gentle. Never harsh.

“It may not help.”

“Maybe not, but I still want to go.”

Lucas sighed. “You’re not going to let me talk you out of this, are you?”

“No. I want my memory back, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

India drew in a deep breath and then released it slowly as they sped across the Golden Gate Bridge in Lucas’s BMW M6 Coupé. The early morning fog had burned off and now radiant sun blazed in a bright, cloudless, blue sky and glinted off the rippling waters of the San Francisco Bay below. A perfect day. The exact opposite of the night Evelyn lost her life.

“You okay?” Lucas laid a hand on her thigh and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

No.
Her stomach pitched and rolled. One minute she’d sweat, the next, chills racked her body. And the tightness in her chest… Good grief, it felt as if an elephant had settled on top of her and would crush her. Dear Lord, she was an absolute mess of jangling nerves, and the closer they got to where the accident happened the worse the sensations became. Lucas was right. Returning to the “scene of the crime” had been a giant, colossal mistake.

“We don’t have to do this. We can go back to my father’s place right now if you’ve changed your mind.”

No, no, no.
She wouldn’t let a little unease deter her. She couldn’t hide forever. She
needed
to find a way to spark her memory and regain what her subconscious refused to let surface. With every passing day, the not knowing gnawed at her, and eroded the belief she’d completely regain the lost time. Stop it, she ordered fiercely. She couldn’t, wouldn’t accept such an outcome. She would remember what happened and finally put the nightmare her life had become over these last few weeks to rest once and for all. “Keep going. I’m fine.”

They’d decided to take the same route she and Evelyn took that night, which meant driving from Sonoma back to the city. Departing from the Young building, they crossed the bridge and headed north on Highway 101.

Lucas slowed the car a few minutes later, turned off the highway and looped onto the narrow side road. “This is about where the vehicle I saw the night of your accident passed me.” He continued on for a minute more, and then pulled over and parked.

They sat in silence, and stared out the window. Bile roiled in her stomach as she gazed at her surroundings. Dry, paved road, clusters of foliage and low bushes, scattered patches of earth and green, all familiar. They should be. It wasn’t as if she’d never been here before the night in question. She had, but she’d hoped, wished, prayed revisiting the spot would stir something in her subconscious. It hadn’t.
Damn it, damn it, damn it.
She wanted to throw something, or hit someone, or scream at the top of her lungs. Do anything to ease the chaos and disquiet whirling around inside.

India sighed, opened the car and got out. Lucas followed. She leaned heavily against the passenger door and rested her elbows on the roof, then dragged in a deep breath and blew it out.

A grouping of tall, leafy trees stood on the right side of the road a short distance away. A sizable chunk of bark was missing from one of the larger trunks. She turned to face Lucas over the rooftop. “Do you see where Evelyn’s Seville slammed into the tree?”

He didn’t answer. Only stared off into the distance as if he hadn’t heard her, the same grief-stricken expression on his face he’d worn the day he’d come to her room at the Acquati, when he recounted to her what happened.

“Lucas?” India walked around to the other side of the car.

He sucked in a ragged breath. “I found Evelyn over here.” Hand shaking, he pointed to the left side of the road, directly across from them. “Her Cadillac was in the same spot, partway down the hill.”

India finally understood why he’d been against this field trip. Unlike her, Lucas remembered all too clearly every aspect of that night. It had affected him on a deep level if his ashen complexion and vacant eyes were anything to go by. Yes, as much as she wanted to remember, it seemed Lucas wanted to forget.

A pang of guilt stabbed through her for making him relive what had obviously been a horrific experience. And it was all for nothing because she hadn’t remembered anything more. She still had no idea what caused Evelyn’s death, or how the car ended up over the embankment. She gripped his hands and squeezed. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

He nodded. With wooden movements, he opened the car door and slid in.

India walked back to her side and did the same, then the engine roared to life.

“Shit!” Lucas glanced out the side-view mirror.

She whipped her head around. A dark, four-door sedan came barreling down the road toward them.
Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.
Images flooded her brain. Every muscle inside her body stiffened. “Holy hell. It’s happening again.”

“Whatever you’ve just remembered is going to have to wait.”

The next few seconds seemed to pass in slow motion.

Lucas stared out the rearview mirror, watching, waiting, for what, she wasn’t sure. Lord, why the hell didn’t he get them the hell out of here?

The other car zoomed closer.

“Hold on, sweetheart. This could get ugly.”

She gaped at him. “What?”

“Hold on.”

India grabbed the edges of her seat, twisted her head and stared out the back window.
Too close.
The sedan was too damned close. What the hell was Lucas waiting for?

He gripped the stick shift.

The other car swerved toward them.

India opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out.

Lucas slammed the BMW into reverse and hit the gas. Wheels spinning, gravel spitting, the car jumped.

Oh God, oh God, oh God.
They raced backward. Her body jerked, the sudden acceleration pinning her against the cool leather seat. Everything outside blurred into massive blobs of gray, green and brown.

“See if you can get a plate number,” Lucas barked.

Her eyes flew to the other vehicle, and widened. “There aren’t any.”

“What?”

“They’re missing.”

“Shit.”

The M6 stopped short. Lucas gripped the wheel, whirled it around. Tires screeching, they spun. India dragged in ragged breaths. “Tinted windows, too. Can’t tell who’s driving.”

“Son of a bitch.”

When the car faced the opposite direction, he hit the brakes and shoved the shift into drive. The car lurched forward. She jolted against the seatbelt and then fell back. They went barreling down the road.

The other vehicle tore off in the opposite direction.

Lucas slowed the car to comply with the speed limit a few minutes later. They made the trip back to Knowles Wood in silence, and her brain tried to wrap itself around what happened.

Someone had tried to slam into them. Again. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Not when the license plates were removed, and not when they tinted the windows dark enough so the driver couldn’t be identified. Dear God, if they’d succeeded, the BMW would have gone over the embankment, like Evelyn’s Seville had. She started to shake. If she hadn’t believed someone wanted her dead before, she did now.

The question of why still remained, and she wasn’t any closer to answering it, even with the flash of memory she’d had as the other vehicle raced toward them.

The car stopped and India realized they’d reached the security shack at the entrance to Edward Morgan’s home. After clearing them to enter, the guard opened the gate and they drove through. Lucas stopped the car when they arrived at the house, but didn’t get out. Instead, he stayed seated staring out the front window.

“Are you okay?” he asked a few minutes later.

“Yes. I’m fine. Thanks to you. You did a hell of a job getting us out of there unscathed, and you were right, we shouldn’t have gone back.”

“The burning question is how did whoever is behind this know where to find us?”

“Maybe someone waited outside the compound, watched for us to leave and then followed us.”

“No way. The paparazzi tried that years ago and my father installed additional security cameras as a result. The guards now monitor the entire property. Including outside the gate. We would have known if anyone was out there.”

“They could have waited elsewhere.”

“No one knew what we’d planned today. It’s more likely they tracked us somehow.”

“Does your car have an anti-theft tracking mechanism?”

He nodded. “I don’t believe the culprit has been tracking my car, India. I think they’ve been tracking you.”

Her eyes widened. “Me? That’s not possible.”

Lucas shook his head. “Then how do you explain the kidnapping attempt at my condo, when no one knew you’d be there, or what happened today when we hadn’t told anyone of our plans?”

“But how?”

“I’ve been thinking about it and I believe I’ve come up with the answer. Can I take a look at your phone?”

She frowned, pulled the cell from her purse and handed it to him. “Sure, why?”

“Do you have a password?”

“I activated the fingerprint lock feature, so I don’t need one.”

“Can you unlock it for me? I want to check something.”

Where was he going with this? India placed her print on the screen, and then handed it back to Lucas.

He touched the display several times, and then let out a low whistle. “Damn.”

“What is it?”

“This.” He turned the phone and showed her what he’d found. “It’s a tracking app. With the same application installed on their device, someone could monitor your every move.”

“There’s a tracking app on my phone? It must have come pre-programmed, because I certainly didn’t load it.”

“No. It’s not standard issue, and if you didn’t put it on there, someone else did.”

Holy friggin’ crap!
Someone placed a tracker on her phone and could follow her every move?
No way.
“Impossible. This is a brand-new phone, Lucas. I replaced my old one after the accident, and I am absolutely sure no one has had access to it other than me.”

“What about your previous cell? All your apps and data would transfer from the old device to the new one once you’ve logged into your account.”

“Yes, but I had it password protected.”

“Makes it harder, but not impossible. Did anyone have access to your PIN?”

“No.” Victor’s text floated into her mind.
I’ll find you and then we’ll be together. Forever.
Had he somehow learned her code? Watched her enter the four digits on the keypad?
Shit.
She dragged shaky hands through her hair.

Lucas arched up a brow. “But…”

“I never gave out my password, but it’s possible someone might have figured it out.”

“Victor. He must be responsible for all the occurrences over the past few weeks.”

“As far as the kidnapping is concerned, you’re right. He must have tried to snatch me after all.” She’d been wrong in believing it hadn’t been him. “But I can’t imagine he’d want me dead. It doesn’t make sense. Everything he’s done over the past few weeks revolves around him wanting me back, not killing me. And there’s no link between him and Evelyn Young.

Lucas scrubbed his hands over his face. “You have a point.”

“Someone other than Victor wants me dead. They’ve already murdered Evelyn—”

Lucas’s eyes flew to hers. “Murdered?”

India nodded. “Based on what I remembered right before the sedan tried to hit us, I’d say yes.”