Killing Lucas (8 page)

Lucas grabbed Nancy, ignoring the burning pinches on his arms, face, and neck. Shielding her against his body, he burst out of the trailer with Nancy now limp in his arms. He yelled for Trent to shut the door and Kiloran to get the hell back as he ran as far away as possible from the trailer.

Only when the last wasp stopped buzzing did Lucas slow his pace, confident they were far enough from the disturbed hive to be safe. The set medical team reached them just as Lucas lowered Nancy to the ground. Huge welts covered her face and arms. A few wasps still hovered but they weren’t attacking. He pulled a few stingers from his arm before giving in and letting the medic who had been waiting to treat him have a go at the rest. One, two, three
—
perhaps counting wasn’t such a great idea. He winced as the EMT dug at another spot. Diverting his gaze from the red welts forming on his skin, he looked to a pale Kiloran as she clutched Fenway. She either couldn’t or wouldn’t meet his gaze, as she looked about almost nervous. She looked guilty.

Guilty as sin.

Images assailed him of her coming out of her trailer with the picnic basket and locking the door. She had blushed and looked guilty then; was it because she had almost been caught? Too many questions that had no answers. Why had the police had no suspects in all these years? Nothing. No real evidence either.

Was this some sort of publicity stunt?

What had she done? Had all this been a big ruse to get him back in her life? Was he just a chump, thinking any of this was real? Brushing off the medic, Lucas stomped over, snatching the puppy out of Kiloran’s arms. Once he’d handed the dog off to the nearest person, Lucas all but dragged Kiloran away from the growing crowd.

With everyone outside, no one was in the old house they were filming in. Pulling Kiloran into what was set up to be the library, Lucas slammed the door. “What have you done?”

“Is she going to be okay?”

“No thanks to
you
.”

“What? I don’t understand.”

“Did you lock the door, Kiloran?”

“Of course I did. I double-checked it when I came out for lunch.”

He paced the room because if he didn’t he might just strangle her. “You were the last one in your trailer before Nancy went in?”

“I guess. I don’t know. Is she going to be okay?”

“I have no idea. But I’ll tell you this: if you set this up as some elaborate scheme to get me back, I will make you wish you had never met me.”

“Elaborate scheme…what are you talking about?”

He stopped just long enough to growl with rage. “This change in MO of the stalker, these sudden attacks against you. Both times you were the last one in those rooms. You had more than enough time to write that note on your mirror. As for that wasp nest, when I figure out how you did that…”

“You can’t be serious! What would I gain by doing these things? And wasps? Are you crazy? Who puts wasps anywhere on purpose?”

“I’m beginning to think you might be that crazy.”

“You son of a bitch.” Tears filled her eyes. “Do you think I don’t feel guilty enough? That an attack was meant for me! Or for you! And instead it found the only person in this damned world I call friend. Nancy shouldn’t have been in there, but I had her make an extra key so she could get some work done. It’s my fault.”

Guilt. Yes she felt guilty, but not for the reasons he’d assumed. Had Lucas gotten it all wrong, or should he follow his gut? His gut said she couldn’t be trusted; hadn’t he learned that the hard way once? How many times did he have to get kicked? She was an actress, one of the best in the business; of course she could play the hurt damsel. “Damn it.”

There was a knock on the door. “One second, please.” Her voice was calm and easy. Just more proof what an amazing performance she could put on.

“Kiloran, I need to speak with you,” Daniel, the director, said through the door as he turned the handle, uncaring that Kiloran had asked for a few moments of privacy. “Are you all right, Mr. Sherman?”

“Fine. Just a few stings, nothing that won’t fade in an hour or two.”

“Good. And thank you; it looks like you got to Ms. April in the nick of time. They’re rushing her to the hospital now, and they assure me she’s stable. How are you holding up, Kiloran?”

“It should have been me, Danny.”

“Stop that talk. It shouldn’t have been anyone.”

“That’s not what you came in here to say, is it?”

Shaking his head, he indicated a chair for Kiloran to sit in, which she declined. “Unfortunately, I do have some bad news. The studio is getting heat from the insurance carrier. Until this situation is cleared up, we’re going to shut down the shoot. Give the cast and crew a few days off. Then we can come back and work around your scenes. If need be, we can film your parts at a later date.”

Lucas didn’t know a lot about the movie industry, but he knew enough that if they didn’t catch this lunatic and soon, they likely would replace Kiloran and she would be virtually blacklisted. Lucas took a step toward her but she pulled away.

“I understand, Danny.”

“Kiloran, I don’t want this. Maybe they’ll catch the person responsible and we can all rest for a while.”

“One can always hope, I suppose.”

“I can’t put anyone else in danger. I’m very sorry. Mr. Sherman, you take good care of our girl. And catch the creep doing this.”

“I will. That I can promise.” Once alone again, the silence crackled with their joint frustration, anger and pain. “Look, maybe I jumped to conclusions. I—”

“
Maybe?
Is that your idea of an apology, Lucas? I realize I screwed things up years ago. But I swear I had nothing to do with these attacks. And as for a scheme to get you back, you aren’t that amazing. Perhaps that’s something I should have remembered before now.”

She stormed out of the house, leaving Lucas with the need to hit something—anything at all. The wall was the only thing that he knew he could punch and would be repaired.

Shaking his now-throbbing hand, Lucas took his time leaving the house. He ignored the odd looks from some of the set hands and the few actors still hanging around. They must be waiting to get back to their trailers to collect their things. “Don’t let the stress get to you,” one of them said as he passed. Not feeling the desire to answer, Lucas just nodded.

Trent and two of the rigging crew were loading the last of the stuff into the back of his truck. Kiloran stood off to the side looking lost and alone. “I think I have everything packed and Fenway is asleep on the front seat. Are they shutting up shop early?”

“Shutting down for a bit, actually.”

Agent Vassar walked up behind them. “That’s the smartest thing I‘ve heard yet.”

Lucas greeted the agent, no longer questioning how the man got everywhere so fast, and introduced him to his brother before getting to the heart of the matter. “What do you think?”

“I think he, who ever this guy is, is a sick fuck—excuse my language. Anyway, as soon as pest control gets out here to deal with the wasps we’ll go in a see what we can learn at the trailer. But I doubt it will lead us any closer than we have been.”

“How the hell did someone get that thing in the trailer without anyone seeing them do it?”

“No idea. But we hope to find out. We’ll get this guy. He’ll mess up, and we’ll be there. They always mess up.”

Deep inside, Lucas just hoped this guy messed up before someone got killed. It was escalating to that level, anyone could see. “Let me get Kiloran home, if that’s okay?”

“I think that would be a great idea. If we find out anything, we will let you know.”

Coming out of her haze, Kiloran joined the conversation without coming any closer to Lucas. “Thank you. My purse is still inside; when you’re able to get inside would you mind terribly bringing it to me?”

“Of course.” He waved them away as a truck with a giant ant painted on the side pulled into the lot.

Lucas stood for a moment, trying to clear his thoughts. His world seemed to shift as if he had fallen in a cavernous hole and had no flashlight or rope to get out. Control was the basis for his life; nothing out of place, everything in its place. In the Sherman order of things, Spencer had been the leader, Tony the Playboy, Trent the comic relief. Lucas was the levelheaded, reliable brother. When you need something done right, Lucas had been your man. The job would be done with precision. But that was a Lucas he no longer knew. Over the past few years he had lost control more times than he could count, and anger he couldn’t control had made him lash out at those around him.

“How about I follow you two back to the house? I can help you set up this stuff, have dinner, grab some shut-eye, then be out of your hair in the morning,” Trenton suggested.

“Sounds fine.” Lucas headed to his car.

“Give me your keys and you ride with your brother.”

“What?”

Kiloran took a deep breath and put her hand out, palm up. “I don’t want to be in the same car with you and you probably feel the same. So you can ride with Trent and I’ll drive your car to the hospital so I can check on Nancy while you two do your thing back at the house and we can both cool off.”

“I don’t think—”

“I don’t give a fuck what you think. Give me the damned keys.”

Lucas handed over the keys, slack jawed. He had never heard her curse before. And watching as she yanked open the car door, he wasn’t about to say a thing to her. She was combustible and he needed her calm behind the wheel. Leaning over her, he grabbed his phone from the dash and dropped a kiss on her lips before moving out of the car and closing the door.

Just a kiss for show
, he told himself. It was all just for show.

Chapter Eight

“What am I, your damned Sherpa?”—Trenton to Lucas

“S
o—”

“So?” Lucas looked at Trenton from the passenger seat.

“So.”

“Just spit it out.”

Trent clicked his tongue against his teeth before glancing quickly over to look at him. “What did you say to Kiloran to have her shooting daggers at you? I’d have thought she’d be clinging to you like a damsel in distress.”

“Well, you should know real life doesn’t always work that way—and if you click that tongue one more time, I will rip it out of you skull.”

“Touchy. You know, she can’t drive worth shit.”

Lucas refocused back to the car in from of them. They had reached the stretch in the road where the ascent into the mountains became a curvy mess of roads, first climbing then descending again into to small ravines before ascending again. “She’s going to burn up my brakes if she keeps riding them.”

“If she’s riding them, why is she speeding up?”

Picking up the phone, he both hoped she would answer and wouldn’t so she could focus on the road. When she did she was panicked. “Lucas I don’t have any brakes and the power steering just went out too.”

“Sounds like the fluids.” Even as he said it, Lucas didn’t believe it was the fluids. And he didn’t dare look at Trenton to see the look coming from him. “Can you use your emergency brake and shift into the lowest gear you can? We’ll try to pass you where it’s safe.” Lucas knew, just like she did, there was nowhere safe to pass on this mountain. Their only hope was to slow the car down until they headed uphill again. “Honey, listen to me. I need you to slowly apply the emergency brake the same time you down shift.”

Kiloran dropped the phone with a
thump
. Lucas watched in horror, hoping she could get the car in control. But just as he thought she had it, that very moment where he was convinced the car was slowing, she lost control and hit the guardrail.

“It’ll slow the car,” Trenton assured. He tried twice to get in front of the little subcompact car but couldn’t pass.

The next few moment things seemed to happen in slow motion. The little car did slow a bit, but just as Kiloran got control the slope sharpened, giving the car momentum. Lucas heard her scream through the phone as the car crossed the centerline and grazed the side of the mountain. The impact spun the car back into the guardrail. The car scraped along the metal beam and the car broke through the railing, finally stopping with a loud crash of metal.

Trent slammed on his brakes, stopping just feet from the wreckage. Lucas didn’t wait for the truck to stop, running for the car teetering on the edge. “Don’t touch anything,” Trent yelled, pulling Lucas back from the car. “Kiloran, if you can hear me turn off the car, engage the parking brake as gently as you can, and don’t move.” Lowering his voice, Trent said between clinched teeth, “Don’t you dare go help her.”

“What?” Lucas demanded.

“Look at the car. If you touch her, you could cause the whole thing to fall down the embankment.” Trenton threw a rope at Lucas. “Find a strong tree and wrap this around it.”

“But—”

“I know what I’m doing, Lucas. Just do as I tell you—Kiloran, we’re going to get you out but I need you to be very still. Do you hear me?”

“Yes,” she said in a shaky voice.

“Good girl.” Trent got down on all fours to look under the car. Standing up, he looked around then followed Lucas to the nearest solid tree. He grabbed the rope knotting it around the thick, old tree as he talked. “The car is on three wheels—just barely. It’s a good chance it’s going over. What we need to do is try to secure it so we can get her out.”

“Okay.” Lucas didn’t know what else to say.

Just as Trent approached the car to secure it with the rope, the vehicle slid a few feet down the hill, a set of trees barely holding it back from plummeting down the rest of the twenty-foot ridge. “Damn it!”

Lucas ran to the edge, but Trenton shoved him back. “I’m going to save her, but I can’t do it if I have to keep you safe too. And if you think I am going to save her over you, you’ve lost your mind. Think for a minute, will you? I need you levelheaded. So stay put.”

Trent wrapped the rope around his legs and waist. He tested the tree’s ability to hold him before starting his descent. “Lucas, when I get her you’ll need to help me. Get on your belly and grab her by the back of her shirt, you’ll have a better grip that way. I know she doesn’t weigh much, but trust me, that’ll make it easier.” Leaning back over the edge he gave his brother a smile before walking down the edge, little steps at a time. “Kiloran, I’m coming down. Just try to stay still a few more minutes.”

Lucas watched his baby brother as he descended little by little, doing his best not to disrupt the unstable ground. Being up on safe ground while his brother and Kiloran were over the edge went against everything Lucas believed, but Trent was good at this. This is who he was. He rescued people who needed the best. And as proud as Lucas always was of Trent, now he was bursting with it.

“Okay. Kiloran, I want you to slowly open the door to the car. Move as smooth as possible and keep your seatbelt fastened until I tell you otherwise.”

Holding his breath, Lucas watched as the driver’s door opened inch by inch. He could hear Trent speaking but he was so intent on watching the car he couldn’t make out the words. Trenton maneuvered down next to the car, careful of the way open and letting it rest against the swaying tree limbs. The car groaned as a tree branch snapped.

Lucas eased down on the ground, moving as close to the edge as he could without endangering the two below. He clenched his fists until his fingers hurt, welcoming the pain to give him focus.

“When I count to three, I want you to unlatch your seatbelt. I’m going to grab you and pull you out of the car. I need you to wrap your arms around me tight.” Trenton looked up at Lucas and winked. Damned jackass, was now the time to be cocky? “Okay Kiloran. One—take a deep breath and relax—two…three!”

How could a few moments seem to move so slow and so fast at the same time? In one moment Trenton had reached into the car, and the next he and Kiloran were swinging away from the car as it shook in the trees but didn’t slip further down the side of the hill.

Lucas let out a sigh but didn’t really breathe. They were still hanging five feet down and there was little to no chance for them to get up, not with Kiloran holding on to Trent for dear life and showing no signs of being able to climb. Trenton might have said the best place for Lucas was on the ground but the engineer and athlete in him knew the only way to get his woman and his brother up on to flat ground was with muscle power.

Lucas ran to the truck and found a bag that had tape in it. As he ran to the tree, he wrapped his hands in the tape to protect them, braced one foot on the tree trunk, and grabbed the rope.

“Get ready to climb,” he yelled before reaching with his left hand and pulling. He ignored the yelp from Kiloran and the angry curse from Trent. Right hand next, and he grabbed the rope again. Left hand. Right hand. Over and over, Lucas hauled until he saw Trenton’s hand reach over the ledge. But Lucas didn’t stop. And then Trenton was pushing Kiloran up and over the edge. She scurried over to Lucas, and wrapped her arms around his waist. For a brief instant, Lucas’s grip slipped, dropping Trenton a foot. But he grabbed the rope and continued to yank until Trenton was able to heave himself up.

Lucas looked at his brother lying on his back, then at Kiloran looking up at him, terror still in her green eyes. He looked at Kiloran for a few more seconds before relief washed over him and he pulled her into his arms and kissed her as if his life depended on it. Kissed her deep and demanding, letting out his frustration, anger, and relief. He squeezed her to him and she squeezed right back, meeting every lash of his tongue and every breath with one of her own.

“For the love of Buddha, you two. And yes, I’m okay—thanks for asking.”

Lucas pulled away from Kiloran but kept a secure arm wrapped around her waist. He held out a hand to help his brother up. When Trent was back on his feet, Lucas pulled him into a large bear hug. “Thank you.”

“I—can’t—breathe.” Trenton pulled away. “I knew you were strong, but damn.”

“Come on, Kil, let’s get you into the truck, while I call the state police and Trenton gets his gear.” Walking Kiloran back to the truck, Lucas steadied her as she tripped once. She was shaking now and only seconds away from a losing it. As they approached the truck, doors open, did it occur to him that Fenway might have gotten out. But the dog was still asleep on the seat as if nothing had happened.

Lucas lifted Kiloran with ease into the cab and reached behind the seat for a blanket he had seen earlier. Wrapping her up tight, he closed the door and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. He was pissed and done dealing with this psycho. And he was disgusted with himself that he had thought for one second Kiloran could have set any of this up.

Nothing was clearer to him now; had Kiloran been doing this to herself, there was no way she would have gotten into that car. Lucas had no doubt someone had tampered with his brakes. Bile rose at the thought that he had allowed her behind the wheel. If he was correct, then the wasp hive had been placed there to attack while she was getting ready. The ambulance would have taken her, leaving him to follow in a car that was nearly guaranteed to be a death trap. That meant the damned stalker had been all over the set today without raising any alarms. Someone knew him.

“Agent Vassar,” a gruff voice answered.

“It’s Lucas.”

“We haven’t been able to get in yet, so I don’t have any news.”

“Well I have some for you. Someone tampered with my car and it’s over the side of the fucking cliff in the Goddamned trees. If you want to send someone down to retrieve it, you might have more luck getting evidence if it’s on stable ground.”

“I’m on my way. Is everyone all right? Do you need an ambulance?”

“We’re fine, thanks to my brother.” Lucas looked at his brother who was back at the edge, looking at the car below. Emotions flooded him: anger, gratitude, fear. Too many to name but he would never question his baby brother’s choice of professions again. Lucas answered a few more questions and told them where they were.

“Hang tight, be there in a few.”

“A few” ended up being about twenty minutes. And Agent Vassar looked none too pleased by the way things were shaping up. After speaking with Kiloran for what little information she could give him, Vassar turned to Lucas. “I think it would be best if you headed straight back to the house. There are two agents parked outside the house as guards, and I’ll come up when I’m done here so we can discuss plans for keeping you both safe.”

“We need more than a plan at this point, and I promise you if I find this guy first I
will
kill him.”

“Just make it look like self-defense if you could.” Agent Vassar waved them away.

Trenton started the truck as Lucas approached, and Kiloran moved to the center of the cab to let Lucas in. Lucas wasn’t sure who moved first once his seatbelt was secure, her or him, but she was in his arms holding on for dear life as they made their way with slow precision back to the house. He worried that his tight embrace might be crushing her but every time he tried to pull back she clutched tighter.

As Trenton pulled up to the house, they were greeted by the two FBI agents now patrolling the grounds. Once they assured themselves that Trenton posed no threat, they returned to their lookout points at the top of the driveway.

Lucas got out of the car and Kiloran nearly jumped into his arms. He cradled her in his arms heading straight for the house.

“What about all this stuff?”Trenton whined.

“Just take it to the basement.” Lucas didn’t bother to look back as he made his way to the front door.

“What am I, your damned Sherpa?”

Lucas turned for a moment to stare down the youngest Sherman. “Dump it on the front lawn. I don’t care. I’ll be down in a little while. Until then, do whatever the hell you want.”

Entering the house, he managed to disarm the alarm without putting Kiloran down. Up the stairs, into her new bedroom, and then Lucas finally put her to her feet. As they stared at each other, a familiar feeling came over him. She must have seen his eyes burning with desire, because the next instant she kissed him.

He didn’t question this need to have her. They might both regret this in the morning, but right now he needed to feel alive and it had to be with her. He had to know she was with him all the way. Kicking off his shoes, Lucas lifted Kiloran’s small frame into his arms. He held her in place against the wall using his own weight to keep her still so his hands could explore.

Her shapely legs wrapped around his hips, pulling him closer with her feet. Agile fingers worked at the buttons of his shirt making quick work of them, until she was able to push the material over his shoulders. He savored the feel of her touch as Kiloran worked her hands over his taut muscles.

His lips never left hers. When she tried to pull away to focus on other parts of him, Lucas took the kiss deeper. He wrapped his other arm around her waist, spinning away from the wall and bringing her to the bed. Only when she was lying there did he let go.

She reached for him. “Don’t go.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He reached for the waistband of her pants and eased them down over her hips. The scent of her arousal nearly had him jumping her like a madman. “I don’t think I can be gentle tonight, not this time.”

Lifting up she kissed him, taking lead this time, working the button of his jeans free. “Don’t want gentle.” Lucas bit his lower lip and pushed his jeans and boxer briefs off as one, and kicked them to the side as Kiloran made quick work of the T-shirt she wore, no bra needed. She had always said she was too small, but her breasts were perfect. His hands ran over the outside of her hips, relishing in the feel of soft skin before running up her inner thigh. She hissed and fell back against the bed, and let knees fall to either side, leaving her open to him. Lucas ran his fingers through her soft red curls, not sure what made him harder—her whimper or the feel of her wet lips as his fingers worked into her.

It didn’t matter. He couldn’t wait. In a heartbeat he was on the bed and the next he was guiding his cock into all the way into her. This was heaven, what he had been missing all these years. He hadn’t wanted anyone because no one else was Kiloran. No one else could touch him the way she did. When he pulled back, she whimpered again and wrapped her legs around his hips and pushing on his ass with her heels.

“More,” she demanded.

Slamming back into her, Lucas watched as pleasure washed over her. He wanted to cover her with his body, have her feel his whole weight as he took her, but watching her was more important. So he held himself up on trembling arms as each push forward brought them both closer to the end. There was nothing elegant about the way he made love to her. It was primal and rough, full of grunting and panting.

“Come for me, baby. Come now,” he whispered into her ear. Kiloran dragged her nails down his back, the pain easing into pleasure as she stilled under him. She threw her head back as she fought for air, and memories of so many nights flooded him, all the times she had come for him just like this. And then the waves crashed over her, shaking her to the tips of her toes. He followed her over the edge, letting his body release all he had deep into her.

How long they lay together, neither willing to let go nor able to release the other, Lucas didn’t know. They had been blessed with a second chance, no matter how it had come about. The question was, was he man enough to take it? And was there any heart in him left to give?