Dark Memories (The DARK Files Book 1) Read Online Free

cart her off to safety. But she wouldn’t have it. Nor would the general, damn him.
    “You saved my life. I —” A sob cut off her words.
    So many emotions whirled and tumbled through Laura that she could scarcely get her bearings. Fear and fury at Markos’s latest attempt on her life were only part. Harder to accept was her treacherous relief that Cole was the one to pull her from the car and hold her in his arms.
    “Don’t thank me yet,” he growled. “That may be only his first attempt. I bet my saddlebags that those brake lines have man-made holes. If we had doubt about Markos trying to kill you, this is proof.”
    He sprang to his feet and stalked to the hatchback, buckled into the muddy field like a permanent growth. He stared as though X-ray vision would reveal the reason for the brake failure.
    Deep breaths gradually calmed her. She smoothed back her hair and tried to stand.
    “Whoa, babe.” Arm around her shoulders, he eased her back down. “Take it easy. Maybe we should get you to a hospital.”
    “No hospital.” She just wanted to get away from him.
    He peered at her, clearly still worried. “I know better than to argue with that tone, but you shouldn’t ride back to the resort on a motorcycle.” He flicked on his cell phone. “Stan can send somebody.”
    She eyed the Harley as if it were a fire-breathing monster. Ride back with him, on that, her knees pressed to his hips? She was relieved she didn’t have to create an excuse. “I can’t leave my suitcase and other box in the car. It’s everything I own.”
    “Everything you own? A downsized princess.” He stood, shaking his head in disbelief. “I’ll load them myself when your carriage arrives.”
    As he waited for a response, she caught him watching her, puzzlement on his face. “Laura, what was that you said when I pulled you out of the car? ‘My’ something?”
    Her heart stopped at the fear he’d puzzle out her garbled cry. Then she’d have no choice but to reveal the secret locked in her mangled heart. Only six months after they’d broken up had come her first brush with death.
    She dropped her gaze to the ground. “I … I don’t know.”
    ***
    It wasn’t Stan who arrived in a resort pickup truck, but the hot-eyed kid Burt. An amazingly perked-up Laura installed herself in the truck’s passenger seat before Cole could object.
    He followed them on his bike. He didn’t trust anybody where Laura was concerned. The shifty-eyed Burt especially.
    He ached to grill her about what she said as he pulled her out of the wreckage. My … something, but what? She knew all right, but she didn’t want him to know.
    Opening that can of tarantulas would get them nowhere fast. Yesterday he’d blown it, and she’d run. Not from a killer, but from him. So he had to toe a tightrope with her. And after today’s so-called accident, the present — not the past — demanded one hundred percent of his attention.
    Desiring her and remembering how she’d gotten him better than anyone before or since were logical consequences of being near her. But she’d dumped him long ago. He had to put personal concerns aside until the threat to her life ended.
    Sure.
    Later a visit to Libby’s Garage where the hatchback was towed confirmed his suspicions about the car being sabotaged. The mechanic pointed at tiny holes along the brake lines. He said in his laconic down-East drawl that corrosion could cause the fluid to drain out slowly and, “Ayuh, might be a accident. Might not.”
    But it was no accident. So Cole was sticking to Laura the rest of the day like ugly on a warthog.
    He stood to the side of the tennis court as she stowed the ball machine in the adjacent shed. “You should see a doctor. At least rest for a while.”
    “I’m perfectly fine. Coaching tennis beats sitting around like a caged bird.” She juggled her sunglasses and racquet and stepped forward to face him. A white visor with the Hart’s Inn logo shaded her eyes. She’d had