“Nick, where are you?”
She heard footsteps on the stairway and she looked over in time to see a couple of men coming at her. They looked determined and one stopped in front of her. He threw his arms around her and got emotional.
“Oh my God, Jessica, I didn't know if I was ever going to see you again.”
Amber let him hug her for just a moment before she pulled away. She would have let it happen for longer because there was something about the way the stranger made her feel. He didn't feel like a stranger to her. He felt like someone that she had known before.
When he pulled away and searched her face, she looked into his as well. It was the man from her dreams. In the dreams, he was a little fuzzy, but now Amber was convinced that she had seen him before. Not only that, but he was a big influence on her life.
“Jessica, are you okay?”
She agreed, but she had to repeat the name that he had given her a couple of times. It didn't sound right, though. She still wasn't getting all of these rushes of memories that she had been promised.
“Who is Jessica?”
He looked at her a little funny. “You're Jessica.”
It was then that the man seemed to notice that she was big and pregnant. He must have felt it when they were hugging, but now, he was really seeing it, and his eyes were the size of dinner plates.
“You're pregnant...”
She agreed that she was and he just kind of looked at her stunned. “When did this happen?”
“You have a lot of questions for someone who just broke into my house and assaulted my husband. Where is he?”
“Your husband?”
The dark-haired man that felt so familiar was looking at her like she was crazy. Again, Jessica got the feeling that she was missing something. Something important.
“Yes, my husband, Nick. He was downstairs and I heard him yelling. What have you done with him?”
He looked at her a little guilty. “I didn't think that it was someone that you wanted to be around.”
“Why do you keep talking to me like we know each other. Do I know you?”
He just shook his head. “What the hell happened? Why don't you remember me?”
“Why would I remember you?”
“Because we were together, and it meant something. One minute, we were together, and everything was perfect. The next minute, you were gone. I have been searching for months for you, so I'm going to need a little bit more of an explanation than what you're giving me. What happened, and who the hell is the man that you are trying to call your husband?”
“I don't really know him all that well, except that he is my husband. His name is Nick, and we've been married for a few years now.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Amber didn't like the feeling that he was giving her. He was making her question everything and considering none of it made sense, trying to find an answer to it was even more complicated.
“I'm not sure about anything. I woke up about seven months ago and I couldn't remember anything. They told me that my memory would probably come back after a while, but it hasn't. I know just as little now as I did when I woke up. But it is kind of funny because I have seen you before.”
“See, I told you. There isn’t a way that you could forget what was between us.”
“It's not a full memory, though. I just remember you. You always come into my dreams almost every night.”
“And what do we do in your dreams?”
That made her face get red. She didn't want to talk about that.
“Trevor! Come on, come on, let's go! More people are coming, and I don't want to be here when the rest of the Syndicate gets here.”
Trevor looked at Jessica and tried to make her understand. “It's not safe here. We really need to go.”
“I have been here all these months; it's safe. You are the only one that has come here and wreaked havoc.”
“No, it's not safe here. As soon as the Syndicate finds out that you're pregnant, they're going to try to sell your baby. Do you know how far along you are?”
“I am almost nine months pregnant. I’ll have the baby really soon. No one is going to take my baby.”
He agreed with her. “I wouldn't let anybody have our baby either.”
“Our baby?”
“Like I said, Jessica, we know each other very well. I don't know what's going on or what happened to your memory, but we need to get out of here. I will explain everything later. Just, let's get out of here.”
Jessica didn't know what to think. She certainly didn't even know the man, so how could he be the father? Was that even possible?
“I don’t know you. I am not going anywhere with you. Where is my husband?”
“You don’t have one. We’re going to be married soon, but you are not married now. You’re mine, Jessica.”
“My name is Amber!”
He just sighed and finally threatened to carry her if she didn’t get a move on. Jessica didn’t want him to be that close, holding her in such a way, so she agreed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I don't know what's going on with her, Dylan, but she thinks that her name is Amber. She also thinks that that guy that we killed back there is her real husband and that she is carrying his child.”
“Does she?”
Trevor felt his anger grow almost immediately. The very idea that she was carrying another man's child was more than he could handle.
It was impossible to believe that she had been gone for over eight months and his feelings for her had not changed. Trevor had not been banking on her being ready to burst with pregnancy, though. He wanted to believe that it was his child, had to believe it, but then again, he wasn't sure. The only assurance that he had was that she was a virgin when they were together.
Even though he wanted to ask questions, there was no way that he was going to ask such a thing right then. It wouldn't end well.
“It's mine. I know it.”
He wanted answers from Dylan, but he didn’t have them. They had been tracking the Syndicate for so long, nothing surprised them anymore, and nothing much made sense either.
“Well then, we just have to get her to remember you. They must have done something to mess with her memory. There are a lot of ways to do it, but most of the time, it's a potion that comes from the witches. When we get back, I can get ahold of a few and see what they can do.”
Trevor wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about it. There was a big part of him that wanted to go to her, kiss her, and take her as his woman. It was one of the only things that he had thought about for months now. To see her big and full of his child only made her more beautiful in his eyes. He knew that with a little bit of time and energy, she would understand everything. Then she would feel the same way again. The connection that they had wasn’t one that was just going to disappear.
“What am I supposed to do until then?”
Dylan shrugged. “I'm sure you'll think of something. We will be back to your place in a few hours, and then we can take it from there.”
Trevor hoped that Dylan’s optimism would rub off on him. It wasn't even important that it actually ended that way, just that he thought it had a possibility to end well. At the moment, it felt like everything was just teetering on the edge and with one tiny flick, he would be going over it. The woman that he wanted and dreamed about every night didn't even know who he was.
It was a lot to take, but having her with him, where he could see her and know that she was okay, made it worth it.
By the time they got back to Trevor’s place, he was nervous about how the next meeting would go. His daughter missed her something fierce, and she was bound to be hurt by the idea that Jessica did not know who she was.
He went inside first with Jessica, staying back a little bit. She was obviously nervous about what came next too, and he wanted to talk to Emily first. He wanted to tell her that Jessica was having trouble remembering things. Trevor didn't want he
r feelings to get hurt, so when he saw her, she asked the same question that she always did, and for once, he had a better answer.
“You found her finally? Really?”
Trevor nodded. “I know that it took me a little while, but yeah, we finally found her.”
“Where is she? I can't wait to see her.”
“There's something that I need to tell you about first.”
Emily must have gotten a feeling that something was serious because she wasn’t as animated.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well, it seems like someone has messed with Jessica's mind. She does not remember who she is, and she doesn’t remember us either.”
“Oh, Daddy, she’ll remember me.”
She was so sure of it that Trevor was worried that she wasn't right. He wanted to believe that she would see her and immediately remember Emily, but there was no way of knowing if that was actually going to happen.
After he got Emily to agree to be calm and not getting her hopes up too much, they went out to see Jessica finally. Even though he had told Emily that she wouldn't even remember her, it obviously didn't bother her one bit.
Jessica was looking at his daughter like he had been looked at earlier. Like a stranger.
“Jessica, I want you to meet Emily.”
“It's nice to meet you, Emily.”
“Nice to meet me? We've met before many times. Do you really not remember me? Dad said you wouldn’t, but I didn’t believe him. How could you forget me?”
Trevor could see that whatever had happened to her, it had wiped her clean.
“It's okay, honey, she's had a rough few months. Why don't we give her a little bit of time to get back and get cleaned up? We will talk to her in the morning.”
Emily was reluctant, but she finally agreed to give Jessica a little bit of space. They both we're going to find it difficult to deal with the new reality. She was still under the pretense that she was married to another man and carrying his child. She believed herself to be kidnapped, even though they were trying to rescue her.
When he brought her to her bedroom, Jessica looked around the place and he asked her if she remembered anything.
“No, why, should I?”
“This is where we made our child.” He was hoping that she would at least remember that.
She looked at him, stunned. “You can't expect me to believe that.”
He shrugged. “It's the truth whether you believe it or not. Sorry that the man you were with was not really your husband. That seems to be upsetting you.”
“And you are, what, saying that you’re supposed to be my husband?”
Trevor shook his head and said that he wasn't. “You don't have a husband.”
“So, you got me pregnant and didn't even marry me? Man, at least Nick was willing to marry me.”
“We were together one time, and then you took off, leaving me a note telling me to stop looking for you.”
“So, you don't listen to me, either. Well, it looks like the two of you have one more thing in common.”
Trevor chuckled. “I guess you could say that. I was pretty sure that you had been taken by the Syndicate and that you were going to need my help.”
“I don't need your help, though. I was doing just fine. Now I am knocked up by another stranger, and I am unwed. This isn’t all that much better.”
“You don't even remember who you are, you have no memories whatsoever, and you think that you're doing okay? I think you should think about that before you say such a thing again. It's not okay to be with somebody that has to take your memories away to win you over.”
Jessica just shook her head. “I don't know who to believe.”
Trevor was terrified of it all going wrong. Too much hinged on him being able to convince Jessica that they were in love. He had expected the night to go so differently. Instead of the two of them being together, something that he had been dying for, he walked out of the room and wasn't able to look back.
Trevor knew that this new existence was going to take some getting used to.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jessica went to bed that night and her dreams kept her awake. Or at least it felt like they did. They were so real, so fast-moving, that she didn't even get a break. By the time she woke up in the morning, she was even more tired than when she started.
Emily, the little girl that knew her very well apparently, came in the next morning and told her that breakfast was ready.
“I don't think I want breakfast. I'm not much of a breakfast person.”
The little girl shook her head, a weird look on her face.
“You love breakfast. Come on, Dad made your favorite.”
Jessica didn't have a choice but to follow her. She had been eating foods that did not seem to go well with her body. She had been lied to quite a few times since she had woken up with Nick. The idea that they actually knew what she wanted told her that they probably knew her better than her own husband had. Or whoever he was. If he wasn't her husband, that left Jessica with even more to think about.
She followed the bouncing little girl that had the same hair and eyes as Trevor. Jessica felt that the little girl was familiar, that they had some strong bond that she didn’t quite understand at the moment. It was there, though, just underneath the surface. The familiarity was strong, and she thought that there was a good possibility that they were telling the truth. There was a lot that was left out, though, answers to some pretty major questions.
When they got downstairs, she looked at the plate and then up to Trevor. It didn’t look like something that she would eat.
“What is this? Your daughter said it was my favorite.”
“Stuffed French toast with bacon and sweet cream cheese. I made it for you one time when you first came here and you really liked it. Said it was your new favorite thing.”
Jessica looked down at the food on her plate and she wanted to quickly say that there was no way that was her favorite food.
“You cook?”
“I have since my wife died. I've gotten pretty good at it, too, I think. Emily seems to like it, and you used to like it before.”
Jessica apologized about his wife. It felt like something else she should have known, something important that made him honorable. Why didn't she remember him? It was obvious they remembered her, and once she got a taste of the stuffed French toast, Jessica started to believe much more of what he said.
He was right. Obviously, she thought that his cooking was the best thing ever. It certainly tasted like it at the moment.
“It's no big deal, Jessica. You already know about it, and it was a long time ago.”
Emily listened to the two of them talk for a while, but it became clear that she had questions of her own. Namely, she wanted to know how in the world she was pregnant. She wanted to know who the father was, and Jessica didn't know what to say. She looked to Trevor, and he was the one that put the impossible situation into words. Jessica was still a bit surprised to hear his explanation.
“That's my baby inside of her stomach, Emily. It's going to be your new baby brother or sister. We don't have much longer to wait now.”
The little girl about jumped out of her seat when she heard it. It must not have occurred to her before that it could possibly be her brother or sister. She obviously wanted to have one. She could barely contain herself, and Jessica found herself smiling. How could she have forgotten such a precocious little girl?
While Jessica still didn't remember much about her life, there was more familiar feeling in those moments with Trevor and Emily than she had at any point staying with Nick and his clan. That had to explain it, or at least make it a little bit more plausible than the idea that they had kidnapped her for some reason.
Emily talked for a while, chatting about what had happened while Jessica was gone. She actually felt guilty that Emily had missed her so much, even though she didn't remember her. It wasn't like she had a choice; it sounded like she had actu
ally been kidnapped and her memory wiped. She was fed another life, one that had seemed so foreign to her, for obvious reasons. It was because it wasn't her life, and now Jessica felt like she was where she was supposed to be.
Even though Emily wanted to spend the day with Jessica and Trevor, she had a playdate with another girl. Jessica had a feeling that it was set up so that they could have a little bit of time together. She had a lot of questions, and Jessica hoped that Trevor had the answers. She wanted her memory back, and that was the first thing on her mind. When she got her memory back, she would be able to make a decision, a real decision about her life.
They said goodbye to Emily after she got ready and left. Jessica didn't say anything for a while, finishing her breakfast and coffee.
“I wish I could remember you. Emily too. She seems like a complete doll.”
“She has missed you, Jessica, probably more than I have. And that is saying something because I thought about you every day. I've been waiting for you to come home, because I knew you would. There was something that told me that you would be back. I just didn't think you would be back like this.”
She smiled. “Are we talking about the fact that I am about to burst or are we talking about the fact that I have no memory?”
“A little bit of both, I guess. The first thing won’t take long to work itself out. I'm glad that Emily will have a sister or brother soon. I always wanted more kids, but I didn't think I'd ever find anybody to have them with. Now I have you, and it's perfect.”
She was a little uncomfortable with how he talked about them, like they were destined to be together. Wouldn't she remember her soul mate?
“And what about the second part?”
“That's easy enough. I have a potion that will put you to sleep for a little while, and then, when you wake up, everything will be as it was. You will remember everything, and you can tell us what happened to you. This isn’t over with the Syndicate.”
She was amazed that it was that simple.
“I want to ask you something, something serious.”
Alpha Shifter Bride Service: (A Paranormal Romance Series) Page 42
