Immortal Memory (Book One) Read Free Page A

promise to keep you safe. Hang in there.”
Mandy gave Simra her word before they disconnected.
    Tears misted Simra’s eyes when her
greatest pain drowned her senses. What about Lucinda? Her
grandmother’s precious life mattered more to Simra than her own.
Stifling a deep sob, she removed the high heels from her throbbing
feet. No, Simra refused allowing God to take anyone else from
her!
    The cell phone buzzed on the table. Her
body froze like a block of ice. Simra picked it up and gasped.
Tristan’s name blinked across the screen. She dared to answer as
chill bumps bit into her arms.
    “Quint?”
    Static crackled and faded on
her cell until the person disconnected the call. There was the
light scent of smoke again. I’m really
starting to lose my mind now. Either I’m delusional or this is a
nightmare.
    Tristan called her from the darkness of
the bedroom. “Come, Princess.”
    Her racing heart leaped to her throat,
and she gasped in disbelief upon entering the room. He sat on the
bed with a zealous smile. “Tristan, I thought you were dead! How’d
you get in my house? Leave. Now.”
    His wicked but charming smile stirred
all the unbearable memories with him she tried to forget. “I’ve
come to be with you, Baby. Always and forever. Our moments together
are just beginning.”
    His possessiveness caused her to
shudder. She pressed her lips together. The notification of a text
message buzzed from her phone, and she read it. A message from
Mandy stated:
     
    JEFF WANTS TO MEET US AT MY CHURCH AT
8PM TONIGHT. THEY’RE HAVING A VALENTINES DANCE. SEE YOU
THERE.
     
    Tristan bolted from the bed, and his
fanatical smile turned into a monstrous frown. “Leave your high
school and college sweetheart out of this. And stay away from my
deceitful brother. They’ll only tear us apart.”
    Jeff was never her boyfriend and she
had tried to convince Tristan countless times in the past. Her
insides jolted with rage and fright. He eavesdropped on their
entire conversation!
    Simra clenched her fists.
“You have no brother! At least you never told me about him. What
else are you hiding? We’ve been torn apart for a while now,
Tristan, and you caused it. Go home, and don’t come back!”
She would get
answers tonight.
    Tristan snatched her toward him when
she turned to exit the room. His cold whispers against her ear sent
shivers of dread down her body. “Dr. Hanley’s my brother. He wants
to kill your grandmother. Zach’s dangerous. And I’m watching you,
Princess. Every move.”
    Turning to shove him away, she almost
stumbled when she found no one there. Was she dreaming? Or had she
gone completely mad? Searching the entire house for Tristan, she
found nothing. More tremors slithered up and down her
spine.
    Perhaps he did commit
suicide, and his ghost returned to possess her. Unless she dreamed
everything, nothing else could explain these disturbing incidents.
Maybe Mandy was right, and stress caused her to imagine things.
Ghosts weren’t real. Simra needed to be on guard with
Tristan and Zach.
She must tell Mandy about what just happened!
    Grabbing a dark red jacket to wear to
the dance, Simra also grabbed the car keys with her trembling
hands. She couldn’t stop her maroon Honda Accord’s tires from
squealing out of the garage. She had to get out of that house.
There were no longer any moments she felt alone. The feeling of
someone watching her all day exhausted her.
    Simra tensed after realizing it had
been years since she walked into a church. Arriving on time, she
parked her car beside Mandy’s vehicle. She walked inside the large
fellowship hall. The soft romantic music loosened her shoulders
somewhat.
    The colorful flashing lights swirled in
waves as couples danced beneath them. Love and adoration glistened
in their eyes. Other men and women sat on couches against the wall
and drank pink punch from their clear glasses.
    Her heart stung to remember how happy
Tristan made her in the beginning. He destroyed what they