Echoes of the Heart Read online

  Amanda hadn’t progressed nearly far enough away before her movement was arrested by a hand on her arm.

  ‘Amanda.’

  ‘Hugh.’ She felt a line of anxiety pleat her eyebrows. ‘We shouldn’t be seen together.’

  Glancing nervously over her shoulder, she saw the tight-lipped condemnation in Jake’s expression and felt shattered by it. She gave herself a mental shake. His opinion of her shouldn’t matter. When she had been the victim in this whole charade, she had no reason to feel guilty.

  Hugh took her hands in his. ‘Your hands are freezing.’

  ‘Please, don’t. People will see us, and that will only fuel the rumours.’

  He smiled bitterly and dropped her hands. ‘All thanks to Lloyd’s blasted suicide note claiming he took his life because we were lovers.’

  She let out a pent-up breath. ‘I’m sorry you were implicated in all of this.’

  Hugh’s lips thinned as he shook his head. ‘It isn’t your fault. Lloyd set us both up with his lies.’

  ‘He hated you because you started defeating him in the courtroom,’ she revealed.

  ‘He knew he could rely on lawyer-client confidentiality. I can’t expose his lies to reveal the hold he had over you, or to clear my own name. If I’d known how corrupt he was, I would never have agreed to become his lawyer.’

  ‘There was no way you could’ve realised. He was clever at covering his tracks.’

  ‘There were rumours…’

  ‘That’s all they ever were. There was never any proof of his activities or he would’ve been disbarred.’

  Hugh’s lips twisted in disgust. ‘There was enough suspicion to stop him being appointed as a judge.’

  ‘He could never understand why he wasn’t appointed. He blamed the fact that—‘

  ‘I know what he believed, Amanda. He was arrogant, malicious, and underhanded to the very last breath.’

  A shiver shook through her slender frame when she thought of Lloyd’s deviousness. She struggled to suppress tears that gathered and stung eyes that were already gritty and sore from lack of sleep.

  ‘His behaviour was unforgivable,’ Hugh said. ‘What will you do?’

  There was a wealth of caring in his voice, and she fought against the sudden need to throw herself into his arms and sob her heart out. It had been so long since anyone had stood up for her. She’d coped alone for what seemed to be an eternity.

  ‘I’ll survive.’ She heard the brittle edge to her voice and steeled herself to keep talking. ‘It’s over now. The most important thing is that my aunt continues to be cared for.’

  Hugh’s mouth tightened with suppressed anger. ‘If only I could clear our reputations with the truth.’

  ‘Mud sticks, Hugh. People believe what they want to believe and to them, I’ve always been a heartless gold-digger.’

  She watched his fists clench at his sides.

  ‘Lloyd really was a bastard. Not content with making your life miserable while he was alive; he had to send a copy of his suicide note to the press, making sure you suffered in his death.’ A vehement curse of frustration left his lips. ‘One last swipe to tarnish your reputation and divert people from discovering the truth.’

  She shook her head with regret. ‘He also wanted to blacken your name.’

  ‘Well, he’s succeeded. Quite a few people are convinced we’re lovers.’

  ‘All the more reason not to be seen talking like this.’

  ‘Damn him!’ Hugh punched his right fist into his left palm. ‘I feel like tipping off the press anonymously to the real circumstances of your marriage.’

  ‘Please, don’t,’ she said with a shudder. Trying to shut out painful memories, she closed her eyelids tightly. Her life with Lloyd had been a living hell, but somehow she was going to put it behind her. With supreme willpower, she wiped the tears from her eyes and the emotion from her face. ‘You know Lloyd’s got a hold over me, even in death. If the truth is revealed all I’ve been through will be...’ Her voice broke with the effort of suppressing her fears.

  He put his hand on her arm in a gesture of reassurance. ‘Don’t worry. I won’t do anything that will hurt you, and I’m too successful in court for this whole debacle to hurt me professionally. It will blow over in time.’

  Hugh’s focus darted to a point behind Amanda. The fine hairs on the back of her neck rose and all her self-protective instincts switched to full alert.

  ‘Jake Formosa’s heading this way. What’s he doing here?’ Hugh asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she replied honestly. Anxiety had her in its full grip, pressing down on her solar plexus, making it difficult to breathe. Any chance of composure was impossible if she was still in Jake’s vicinity.

  ‘I can’t imagine why he’d be here,’ Hugh puzzled. ‘I know Lloyd hated Formosa with a vengeance.’

  Unknowingly, Hugh had just detonated a landmine. Shockwaves made her body jerk.

  ‘What?’ Lloyd’s life had been a complex tapestry, woven with lies, deceit and paranoia. The longer they’d been married, the more dark secrets had been uncovered, but she’d never realised there was a connection between her husband and former lover. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘It was Formosa’s newspapers that started digging into Lloyd’s connections with the underworld crime bosses. One of his editors led the push for investigations to try to prove Lloyd was involved in jury tampering. I think the final straw was when Lloyd bought tickets to a major charity fundraiser that was under Formosa’s patronage. Lloyd turned up to the event and Formosa had him removed because of his underworld connections. Lloyd was publicly humiliated and vowed to get even with Jake.’

  The breath whooshed out of her lungs. She stumbled slightly on her feet and her stomach churned with the sour acid of bile. ‘When?’ The word was choked out. ‘When did this happen?’

  Hugh frowned. ‘You didn’t know any of this?’

  ‘I had no idea.’

  ‘Well, I guess it happened before your marriage. Probably about a year before. Why? Is this important?’

  Her mind reeled. Lloyd’s main motivation for choosing her as his bride had just become crystal clear. It was all about revenge. The corners of her mouth lifted just a little in what must be a bitter mockery of a smile. More fool Lloyd. His plan had backfired. He must have chosen her as his bride to hit out at Jake. He obviously hadn’t realised that she meant nothing more to Jake than a passing fling.

  ‘No,’ she said steadily. ‘It’s not important.’

  And it wasn’t. Lloyd couldn’t hurt her anymore, and Jake...

  She frowned. She still didn’t know what Jake was doing here.

  ‘I’m going to take this opportunity to warn the great media mogul that his newspaper editors had better back off printing all those lies about us being lovers. If they don’t I’ll file a lawsuit against them.’

  It was fight or flight time, and the last thing she wanted was a confrontation with Jake. ‘I have to get to the wake,’ she muttered.

  Desperate to avoid any further encounters with Jake, she almost tripped on the rough stone path that weaved through the cemetery. Her nerves were stretched to their limit, wound up like corkscrews, balancing on a razor’s edge and in danger of being completely severed, or at least irreparably frayed. Almost at the hall, her steps faltered as she neared a corner in the pathway. Two female voices carried clearly to her on the sea breeze.

  ‘I don’t blame Fiona for wanting to slap Amanda silly,’ one woman declared.

  ‘From what I’ve heard, Amanda’s an opportunistic little tart,’ another agreed.

  Humiliation and pain ate at Amanda like acid. Born on the wrong side of town, she’d been subjected to many scathing comments since she married Lloyd, but she’d never been able to develop a thick skin. Each insult and snub from his social set clawed at her heart, shred at the essential fibres of her being, and re-opened feelings of inadequacy that had been present long before she’d met Lloyd and entered his world of wealth
.

  ‘I don’t know what Lloyd ever saw in her,’ the first woman continued.

  ‘Amanda was definitely after the money,’ was the response. ‘Why else would a twenty-five year old girl marry a forty-five year old man—especially Lloyd?’

  ‘There were always rumours about him…’

  ‘Yes, but you know Amanda was pregnant when they married. That’s how she trapped him into marriage.’

  ‘I have to say I’ve always wondered whether Lloyd really was the father.’

  ‘I guess we’ll never know. All I know is that Amanda was lucky Jake Formosa intervened today, or she would’ve got what she had coming to her.’

  ‘But, why would he defend her?’

  ‘Exactly what everyone’s wondering. Lloyd moved in high circles, but Formosa’s like Australian royalty. What’s he doing here?’

  ‘You don’t suppose…’

  ‘You’re thinking he’s another one of Amanda’s lovers?’

  ‘Well…’

  ‘There’s no way a man like Formosa would be interested in Amanda!’

  ‘But —’

  ‘Forget it. He’s got women throwing themselves at his feet—especially since his divorce from Sophie Hamilton.’

  ‘You’re right. Amanda might be able to dress in designer clothes, but she’s got no pedigree. He wouldn’t want her.’

  It gave Amanda no satisfaction to know Jake had wanted her once. She hadn’t realised at the time that he’d only been interested in her as a bit of holiday entertainment to assuage his incredible libido while he was apart from his girlfriend—the woman who later became his wife.

  Used and abused.

  It was a common phrase, but in her case it rang true. She’d been used by Jake and abused by Lloyd. She’d let it happen, but she wasn’t going to repeat her mistakes. Now she was free and she was determined to chart her own life.

  With a defiant tilt of her head, Amanda turned away from the hall and decided to boycott the wake. Lloyd hadn’t honoured her in his lifetime, and she would be damned if she was going to pretend to honour him in his death. She’d paid enough during her marriage. She owed nothing more.

  Increasing her pace, she walked in the direction of the cemetery gates. A few minutes later she could see Hugh in the distance, getting into his car. If she could reach him in time, he’d take her away from here. Even if she was spotted leaving with Hugh and someone took it as confirmation they were lovers, it was tough luck. She just had to get away.

  Hugh was closing the door.

  She broke into a run. She had to reach him.

  ‘Hugh!’ she called, but he didn’t hear her.

  The car door closed as she sought the most direct path to him and rounded a corner between a couple of massive headstones.

  ‘Aah!’ The air rushed out of her lungs as she collided with a hard, broad, muscular frame of tensile steel. Masculine arms closed around her, steadied her and caged her against him, preventing her flight to the sanctuary of Hugh’s car.

  In an instant she recognised the essentially male scent of him, and knew the hard strength of his chest. Memories of the long length of his body against her own came pouring back, and her blood thundered at every pulse-point in response.

  ‘Running to your lover, Amanda?’

  Jake’s deep, sexy voice, blew every fuse in Amanda’s nervous system and created sensations that prickled up and down her spine. Her surroundings blurred. She fought against the loud whooshing noise in her ears to try to stay alert and in touch with the reality of her situation.

  Taking advantage of her confusion he steered her a few steps to the left, into relative seclusion between two huge crypts.

  Slowly she raised her eyes, sucked in great, gulping breaths of air and shook her head in helpless bewilderment. ‘This isn’t real.’

  Black eyes mocked her. ‘It’s no dream,’ he stated with quiet calm. His hands slid down to the indentation of her waist, leaving a trail of fire where he touched.

  It wasn’t a dream, it was a nightmare.

  Her breath constricted in her chest. She tried to pull away from his embrace, but he held her tight. The warmth of his body seeped into hers, and a flame of awareness ignited within her. A flame that had burned between them when they’d first met and had quickly raged into an inferno of uncontrollable passion.

  It was imperative she extinguish that flame right away. She needed to walk away from him before she was singed.

  Jake’s closeness severely undermined her self-confidence and made her forget that he was her enemy, not her friend.

  Her friend. Hugh. Turning her head in the direction of Hugh’s car, she saw him driving off. A half-sob escaped her parted her lips. Her heart was like a caged bird in her chest, flapping its wings fruitlessly against her ribcage to find a way to freedom. But there was no escape now.

  Jake ran the tip of one finger down her left cheek. ‘Your lover’s not sticking around to face the music with you. He’s gone.’

  ‘Hugh is not my lover.’ Although she pulled out of his hold she couldn’t bring herself to turn and walk away. ‘What are you doing here?’ Her voice was a mere whisper.

  ‘I had some unfinished business to attend to.’

  ‘Unfinished business? At a funeral?’ That didn’t make sense. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘It’s quite simple.’ His eyes hardened aggressively. ‘Lloyd Bennett had something of mine that I want. And I’ve come to claim it back.’

  Chapter 2

  ‘Lloyd had something of yours?’ Amanda frowned. Was she to add theft to Lloyd’s long list of criminal activities? ‘I hadn’t even realised you knew each other.’

  ‘I knew who he was. Although we were often at the same functions, I gave him a wide berth. He was only introduced to me once,’ Jake replied with disdain. ‘You were with him.’

  The night at the restaurant.

  Amanda relived the clawing horror she’d experienced when she realised that her husband of only a few hours was intent on introducing her to colleagues who were dining at the same restaurant—and that those colleagues were dining with Jake. Worse still, Jake was there with Sophie Hamilton, the beautiful heiress to a mining fortune who was destined to become his wife.

  The pain Amanda had experienced that night was so intense it had felt as though her heart was being ripped out and trampled on. She’d walked away from Jake when she found out he’d been sleeping with her while he was as good as engaged to the heiress.

  ‘I met Bennett six weeks after I’d last seen you.’ His tone was accusing.

  ‘A lot happened in those six weeks,’ she said, her voice rasping through a tight vocal tract.

  ‘Evidently. While I was called upon to attend crucial meetings in New Zealand and the U.S. to stave off a takeover bid on the family company, I had no idea the reason you weren’t returning my calls was because you’d taken another lover to your bed.’ His expression was one of revulsion. ‘I thought you were upset because you were feeling neglected.’

  ‘Calls? You didn’t call me.’

  His eyes narrowed. ‘I called your mobile phone only to find the number was disconnected.’

  She’d lost her phone. Lloyd had kindly had it replaced but had said the number had to be changed.

  ‘I phoned the legal firm where you worked only to be told you didn’t wish to speak to me and that I was not to phone again.’

  Her eyes hurt as they widened in stunned surprise. Horror hurtled through her as she pieced everything together. Now, armed with the knowledge that Lloyd had hated Jake, pieces of the puzzle began falling into place. If it had been anybody other than Lloyd, it would seem far-fetched. But knowing him, and the elaborate schemes he’d hatched, she felt instinctively that her suspicions were correct. Lloyd had worked very hard to keep her away from Jake.

  He’d overheard her confessing to another legal secretary in the coffee room about her relationship with Jake. Only days later, when the phone call she’d made to Jake had been answered b
y Sophie, Lloyd had found her crying at her desk. He’d comforted her.

  If Jake was his sworn enemy, he would’ve wanted revenge. That was the way Lloyd operated. In his twisted mind, making sure Amanda didn’t receive and return Jake’s phone calls would have allowed him to score points against his sworn adversary. Then, when Amanda’s aunt had fallen drastically ill, it had given him the chance to press Amanda into marriage. He’d intended her to be parted from Jake for good.

  Pain shot through her as her heart clenched.

  It didn’t matter that Lloyd had come between them. It didn’t matter either that Jake had tried to phone her. His attempts to contact her wouldn’t have changed the outcome of their parting. Their break up had been inevitable.

  ‘I didn’t know about your phone calls.’

  ‘I find that hard to believe.’

  ‘Even if I had, there was no point to them. We didn’t have a future together.’ There was no way she could have stayed with him knowing that he was planning marriage to Sophie.

  ‘Only weeks after you’d shared my bed, I discovered you were Bennett’s bride,’ Jake continued. ‘That you were expecting his child. That was a pretty low blow.’

  She didn’t want to relive those memories. They brought back all the heartache and sadness of losing Jake and the knowledge he’d betrayed her. The night he’d referred to at the restaurant, he’d been so totally removed from the person she’d fallen in love with—so bitter and caustic—she’d barely recognised him. The ugly scene that had ensued as Jake followed her when she went to the restroom was indelibly etched into her mind. As hard as she’d tried to erase it from her memory banks, she recalled it as vividly as if it had happened mere hours ago.

  She sank against the hard support of the restroom wall with relief, shaking from head to toe. Her wobbly legs threatened to collapse beneath her. Releasing a pent-up breath, she raised her hands to cover her face.

  Seconds later, the sounds of conversation and laughter from the restaurant intensified over the softly piped music in the room when the door swung open. Her hands slid from her face and her eyes were snared by the intense, smouldering fury radiating from Jake.