Chasing Love

by Melissa West

  Lucas took a step back. “I just want what’s best for you.”

  “What’s best for me is Charlie.”

  He stared at her. “I know him, know the way he thinks. You should hear the way he talks about women.”

  Lila crossed her arms and glared at her brother. “Really, when? As an adult?”

  “Well . . .”

  “Because it sounds like you’re talking about a sixteen-year-old boy, with more hormones than brains. But that isn’t Charlie, and you know it. He’s not a boy now. He’s a man. A good man. A great man, in fact, and I don’t think he would say anything bad about anybody. That’s not who he is. And he’s smart, ridiculously smart. He’s built multiple businesses now, all on his own, and he’s about to launch a third that’s probably going to make him wealthier than either of us have a chance of being. And you know what? He won’t even care. It won’t change him, because he’s that good of a person. You’ve called him your best friend for all these years, but you’re not a friend. A real friend doesn’t treat someone this way.” She started for her car, then paused and turned back. “You should be ashamed of yourself. I am.”

  And then she got back into her car, shut the door, and put the car in reverse. It took all of two seconds for her phone to ring, and for her to peer down and see Lucas’s name. Her gaze lifted to find him still standing in the driveway, his hands lifted in surrender.

  She put the car in park again and got out. “What now?”

  “You’re right,” he said, shaking his head. “The things I see, the things I do . . . I just, it has changed me. Continues to change me. I worry about you. You’re my little sister. But you’re right. I’m not being fair, and Charlie . . .” He trailed off, and Lila took a step toward him, her arms crossed. But they were family. You didn’t turn your back on family. You didn’t run. You yelled and screamed, threw things if you must, but then you forgave each other.

  “Don’t tell me. Tell him. Because he’ll never admit it, but he’s hurting right now, and it’s your fault.”

  Lucas looked uncomfortable, and Lila almost laughed. “I’m not asking you guys to go cry it out. Just call him or go see him. Say you’re sorry.”

  “And what will you do? Wyatt is out there somewhere. You can’t go back to your apartment. Can you just stay here? Please. I’ll go see Charlie, bring him back with me.”

  Lila’s eyes found the grass. “Actually, I think that’s over now.”

  “Over what I said? Hell no. I’m going to talk to him.”

  “I don’t think it’ll matter. Honestly, I respect that he wants to do the right thing by you, but I want a man who would never push me away, no matter what. No matter who was between us.”

  Lucas put an arm around her and pulled her close. “Go on in, make yourself at home, and I’ll be back in an hour. With Charlie.”

  She opened her mouth to argue, when Lucas said, “Trust me.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Charlie grabbed a beer from his fridge and kicked back on his couch, his thoughts on Lila and what he was doing. He pictured her face again, the hurt there, and he wanted to chuck the beer across the room. Was he really so scared of giving himself over to someone that he wasn’t willing to take a risk? Because deep down, he knew this wasn’t just about Lucas.

  Everything that happened with Jade had messed up his thinking about relationships and women in general. It was hard to trust someone, and add to that the issues surrounding Lila and the strain on his friendship with Lucas, and the whole thing reeked of failure and pain. Plus, if he started things with Lila and they ended, he would lose both of them for good. That much was certain. Though maybe he already had.

  Closing his eyes, he tried to order his brain to think through a solution, and when that didn’t work he prayed for one, hoping the Great Man could give him the answer he needed. But when he opened his eyes, it was still just him in his house, no epic revelation or answer. He had to figure this out on his own.

  Needing something to do, he stood up, unsure what he was doing, and his gaze caught on the shelf beside his TV, where one of his yearbooks was set out. He walked over and checked the year. It was his senior year, Lila’s sophomore. And the start of guys noticing her the way he’d been noticing her for years. She must have taken it out when she was there earlier. He flipped it open to her year, and then to the Js, and there she was staring back at him, younger, for sure, and yet she looked exactly the same. Dark hair, beautiful blue eyes, a hint of a tan, huge smile. And then he noticed the note written in the margin in black sharpie. A note that hadn’t been there before.

  I loved you then, and I love you now.

  Thanks for being you.

  —L

  God, he was a moron. A giant, stupid, freaking moron. But he knew what he needed to do now, and he wasn’t about to let Lucas or even his own doubts get in the way. Because he didn’t just care for Lila, he loved her. Deep down in his bones, so much it hurt to even consider going on without her. That kind of love needed to be nurtured and allowed to thrive and grow. They might not make it—hell no one knew the future—but he had to try. He would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn’t.

  Grabbing his keys, he threw open his door only to slam into Lucas.

  “What the hell?” Charlie said, startling back. “What are you doing here?”

  Lucas eyed his keys, then him. “Where were you going?”

  Charlie glared at his best friend. “To get your sister, whether you like it or not. I love her. This isn’t a game for me. It’s my life, and I want her in it, and if she’ll give me a second chance, then I’ll be damned if you’re going to stand in the way.”

  A slow smile crept across Lucas’s face. “Finally.”

  “What?” Charlie spit out, growing more frustrated by the second.

  Lucas motioned inside the house. “Can I come in for a second?”

  “You’re not going to talk me out of this.” Charlie knew what he wanted now, and every second they stood here talking about it meant one more second away from Lila and his future.

  “Look, I’m sorry I was an ass before. Seriously. I was out of line. I think I wanted you to want it enough to fight for her. Then I’d know it was real for you. Sure, I was worried. Sure, I was being a dick. But inside, I just wanted to know you cared enough to not hurt her. I can see that you do now, and she loves you. I’m happy for you, man. Both of you.”

  “Yeah, you’ve got a jacked up way of showing it.”

  “Well, I’m done with that. And I shouldn’t have said that you’re not good enough. You’re my best friend, always have been, always will be. But right now, Lila is hurting and it’s both of our faults, not just mine. So I was hoping I could convince you to go with me to talk to her.”

  “Where is she?”

  “My house.”

  Charlie shot his friend a look. “And we’re good? Because I’m not trying to get in the car with you just so you can axe me and dump my body in Lake Cherokee or something.”

  Lucas released a booming laugh. “Tempting, but nah, we’re good. I’ll still kick your ass if you hurt her.”

  “I’ll kick my own ass if I hurt her.”

  Lucas’s brow furrowed. “We seriously need to work on your comebacks.”

  Charlie laughed, his chest lighter now. One down, one to go. “Duly noted, thanks.” Then he pushed past his friend.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To get my girl.”

  A grin flashed on Lucas’s face. “Jeep’s still running. Hop in.”

  * * *

  Lila peeked out the foyer window, then walked around to the kitchen, then came back to the window. Still nothing. Nearly an hour had passed, and Lucas still wasn’t back with Charlie, which could only mean that Charlie didn’t want to come for her, right? What other explanation could there be?

  An accident?

  A long conversation between the two where they made up and caught up on old times? Maybe.

  But deep down, Lila knew C
harlie’s insecurities about them were too great for him to take a chance, and if he didn’t want to take a chance, if he didn’t want to try, then. . .

  She grabbed a blanket from the back of Lucas’s couch, wrapped it around her shoulders, and stepped outside onto the porch, needing some fresh air. And needing to do something to occupy her mind. Because right then, she felt . . . hopeless. How could one day change so much between them?

  Last night had been amazing, out of this world, beyond her wildest dreams amazing. And now all she could think about was what she could have done differently, what she could have said to convince Charlie that they were worth a little bump in the road with Lucas. That she wasn’t Jade, wouldn’t steal his things and his dog. But then those thoughts made her sad, too, because if he were the right man, her soul mate, then she wouldn’t have to convince him to want her.

  Even though it wasn’t night yet, the moon shined down from above, the sun dropping away, and soon darkness would be there, and with it would come all those feelings of hurt she’d been avoiding. Because for as long as she could remember, she had wanted Charlie Littleton, and though she’d suffered pain at his hand before, this was different. This wasn’t childhood crushes and misunderstandings. This was real adult stuff, and frankly, Lila didn’t want any part of it. Times like these, she wished life was like a book, where you could skim over the bad parts and reread the good parts over and over, experiencing them all over again. But life wasn’t a book or movie. It was hard, with real challenges and real pain. Something Lila kept learning the hard way.

  A shiver worked down her spine as the wind picked up. The weather had called for a cold front that would bring daytime temperatures down to the mid-fifties and night temps into the forties. Apparently the front was here, which meant it was time for her cold-natured self to go back into the house.

  She had just turned around to go inside when a sharp sound from her left pulled her attention away from the door. One step in the direction of the sound, then two, and then a loud bang, followed by sharp pain from the back of her head, and then the world around her became blurry.

  All at once, her instincts kicked in and she whipped around, her fists poised to protect her, but she couldn’t focus past the throbbing in her head. Warm liquid trailed down her neck, cueing her into two hard truths—she was bleeding and someone had hit her from behind.

  And that was when she saw the dark figure walk around from the left side of the wrap-around back deck, and every fiber in Lila’s body screamed for her to run.

  Flashes hit in her mind. A nice, kind smile. A trusting voice. Easy conversation. Warm hand on her back as they walked into the restaurant for their first date. Nothing about their encounters had hinted at danger. But then the third date she went to the bathroom, came back, and suddenly her vision was blurry, her thoughts clouded.

  “Ready to go?” he’d asked, saying he had an early meeting the next day. They walked back to his car and then. . .

  “Hello, Lila,” Wyatt said, each word drawn out, his tone as soft as ever. Like they were old friends being reunited, instead of what they were—attacker and victim.

  Lila took a step back, her hand tightening around her cell phone, but she couldn’t make a call without looking at her phone, and she refused to lose focus on the danger before her. One wrong move, and he could have her again, and then, then. . .

  Her breathing escalated as terror ripped through her. Come on, Lucas, come home. Help me, she thought, and then she remembered something Charlie had said to her when they were camping—she wasn’t a victim. She wasn’t helpless. He had failed.

  He had failed.

  And though she didn’t consider herself weak when the first attack occurred, she did consider herself naïve. Well, not anymore. Her defenses were up, her body toned and ready to fight. And this time, she knew who the monster was, and he was staring her straight in the face.

  Wyatt took a tentative step toward her. “This doesn’t have to be hard.”

  “Is that what you said to the other girls?” Lila asked, allowing her anger to overcome her fear. She took another step back. But she knew this house well, had visited numerous times when Lucas had it built, and she was near the end of the back deck, which meant she had two options—fight or run.

  He stopped mid-step and cocked his head. “How do you know about them? Were you checking up on me? Seeing what has my interest. That sounds an awful lot like affection.”

  “Affection?” Lila spit out. “You took those girls. Where are they?”

  A smile curled his lips. “Elsewhere.”

  “But they’re alive?” Lila’s heartbeat sped up, a plan forming. If she could keep him talking, get him to admit where he’d taken the girls, then maybe she could help ensure their rescue.

  “Now, now, why would I kill them until I find the perfect replacement?”

  Her eyebrows pulled together, and she realized that all three of them—she and the two women he’d taken—all had similar features. Dark hair, blue eyes, light skin. This new piece of information mixed with something else he had told her when they first started emailing. He was a widower; his wife had died in a car crash two years before he and Lila met. The perfect replacement . . .

  “Your wife, what did she look like?”

  He paused again. “My wife? How did you—Oh . . .” Realization crossed his face, and she knew he was remembering what he’d told her. But instead of the mention of his wife throwing him off, his face twisted, the smile deepening, his eyes slanting up, making him appear all the more evil. He took a step now. “Dark brown hair.” Another step. “Blue eyes.” Closer. “Fair skin.” Lila’s chest tightened, fear taking over. “Just. Like. You.”

  And then he lunged for her, just as she scrambled back, falling over the back railing of the deck and landing hard in the mulch below. Wood chips cut into her hands, but she pushed aside the pain and scrambled to her feet.

  Then he grabbed her from behind. “Nah ah, beautiful lady. I have you just where I want you now.”

  But he didn’t know what Lila knew. That she had suffered through countless lessons with her brother when he visited her, then a private instructor in Charlotte, all to teach her exactly what to do when someone larger than her had her in his control. She bent down and threw her head back as hard as she could, knocking him in the face, then spun out of his hold, right as car lights shined out from the driveway to the woods behind them. She started to run just as Wyatt grabbed her, pulled out a gun, and pressed the barrel to her temple. “Don’t move. Or I will kill you. Do you understand?”

  Lila nodded slowly, her salvation so close and yet so far out of reach.

  “Good girl.”

  The sounds of car doors opening pierced the silence, followed by footsteps. Lila said a prayer that they would come this way, but then she heard the front door open, the screen door slap shut, and then voices.

  “Tiny, where are you?” Lucas called.

  “Was she here when you left?” Lila’s eyes closed at the sound of Charlie’s voice, her heart warming with the smallest bit of relief. Please, I’m here. Out here. “Did you make sure she was okay?”

  “Calm down. She’s here somewhere. Her car’s out front.”

  A slow breath worked through Lila’s lungs. Her car! They knew she was here.

  “Then where could she—”

  There was silence from inside the house, and Lila wondered what was happening when Lucas spoke up again. “I bet she called Audrey to come get her, girl time or something. I’ll call Audrey and check.” Silence again, followed by, “Audrey, hey, it’s Lucas . . .” The words became muffled, and Wyatt tightened his grip around her and started dragging her back, but all she could think was No, not again.

  Without thinking, she stomped hard on his foot and spun out of his hold, just as he raised his gun, and Lila’s heart stopped, time standing still, her life flashing before her eyes, but instead of a gunshot ringing out, another voice, a voice she’d recognize anywhere said, “Drop it, n
ow.”

  Wyatt’s mouth curved up into a sick grin. “Hello, Charlie. I wondered if I would meet you.”

  Charlie cocked his head. “Yeah, I wondered if I’d meet you, too. You know, you behind bars, me on the other side while you’re introduced to Big Al. I’m sure you can imagine what Big Al’s greatest talents are.” In the time Charlie had told his small story, distracting Wyatt, Lila had taken a step toward him, closer to safety. “And you’re going to rot there like the scum you are,” Charlie continued. “I’ll make sure of it.”

  “Yeah, you and what army?” Wyatt asked.

  “Me.” And then before any of them could react, Lucas leaped over the back deck, landed, and then immediately crushed his foot into Wyatt’s chest, throwing him backward, the gun flying out of his hand. And then Charlie was over Wyatt, gun poised, when Lila rushed to them.

  “Don’t shoot him!”

  The man she loved turned to look at her. “Why the hell not?”

  Wyatt shook on the ground, his hands out. “I’ll—”

  “Shut it,” Charlie and Lucas said at the same time. Lucas was beside Charlie now, both men towering over Wyatt, ready to end this if he made a wrong move.

  “If you kill him, they will never find those two women. Please.”

  Just then sirens sounded in the distance, drawing near, until two police cars were in the driveway and then four cops were out, guns raised. One yelled, “Drop the weapon!”

  Charlie dropped his gun and turned, hands up; Lucas did the same. The officers approached and handcuffed Wyatt, while Lucas explained what had happened. And as though everything, the rush of it, the fear hit her at once, Lila faced Charlie, tears in her eyes and he started for her.

  “Don’t cry, Tiny girl. I’m here.” He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. “And I’m never letting you go again.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Charlie gripped Lila’s hand as they walked out along the river bank, fishing poles in her other hand, tackle box and cooler in his. Two days had passed since the attack at Lucas’s, and Charlie had asked Lila what he could do to take her mind off things, and she had said, “Take me camping. I want to out-fish you.” So with a grin, he closed down Southern Dive, packed up his camping gear, and here they were.