FEARLESS Read Online Free PDF Page A

here.
    Davis had a contingency for everything. Well, everything but her, which was part of the reason she’d handed back the ring and still cried over the loss.
    “It’s my get-out-of-Dodge-fast plan.” After ducking his head inside and taking a look around, he held the door open and motioned for her to pass through. “After you.”
    It was not as if she had a choice. Her life had careened out of control hours ago. Now she just held on and hoped not to throw up. Her knee throbbed and the drum-crashing thumps in her head promised a killer headache any second now.
    They stepped inside a fenced-off square consisting of a small shed and what she guessed was a car under that slipcover. When they reached the shed, Davis flipped open a black box and typed in a code. The gate at the back end of the enclosed space opened. It spilled out into the alleyway that ran behind his house, the same house he’d moved into a week after their engagement had ended.
    They were supposed to have bought it together, even put in the offer together, but when the relationship fell apart he went through on his own. Funny how the original sales listing forgot to mention a secret car compartment at the back of the neighbor’s property.
    “Any chance you’re going to tell me what’s happening here? I feel like I walked into a movie a third of the way through.”
    A door Lara hadn’t even seen on the house side of the enclosure opened and a tiny older woman walked out. “Is it time, Davis?”
    Lara couldn’t help but stare. The lady wore a long royal-blue robe buttoned up to her throat, dwarfing her under-five-foot frame. Her shocking white hair was long enough to tuck into her collar but thin enough for Lara to see the woman’s pale scalp underneath. Slippers and cheeks rubbed pink with bright blush rounded out the look.
    Whoever she was, she knew Davis and wasn’t surprised to see him. She walked right up and put her hand on his forearm. Her eyes twinkled as she looked at him.
    “Hi, Mrs. Winston.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back. “I need the car.”
    “Go ahead.” She patted his arm then turned to Lara. “Well, who is this pretty young thing?”
    “This is Lara, my...” He shot Lara a warning glance. “Fiancée.”
    “Well, it’s about time, young man. Come here, dear.” Mrs. Winston gave him a squeeze and shuffled over to Lara.
    It was her turn. Mrs. Winston hugged her, though her arms barely reached to Lara’s back.
    “Uh, hello.” The older woman was so small and thin that Lara worried about crushing her by accident, so she kept the hold loose.
    When the older woman pulled back, she took both of Lara’s hands in her curved ones and her smile faded fast. “Did that boy fail to give you a ring?”
    Lara glanced at Davis. He stood behind Mrs. Winston with an unreadable expression. Clearly this woman viewed Davis in a grandson sort of way. Lara wasn’t about to unload about all their past problems. It didn’t hurt anything to let this woman think what she no doubt wanted to hear.
    “Don’t worry. He gave me a beautiful ring.” And technically that wasn’t a lie. He had. A perfect solitaire with baguettes on a platinum band.
    It had broken her heart, actually shredded it in two, to hand it back. Not because she loved jewelry—that sort of thing never mattered to her—but because of what it symbolized. The commitment she so desperately wanted from Davis.
    Mrs. Winston reached out and absently patted Davis’s shoulder. “He’s a nice boy.”
    He handed her a cell phone. “You remember what I told you, Mrs. W?”
    “Stay inside, don’t talk to anyone including anyone in a uniform, put the alarm on, pretend I don’t know you and wait for you or Pax to come back.” She peeked around Davis’s muscled arm. “I guess I can add Lara to the list of people I can trust.”
    He kissed her on the cheek. “Nicely done, Mrs. W.”
    “My mind is just fine, you know.”
    “All of you is.” He winked at her. “Now,