Preview to Fearless

            She drew in a deep breath, and stepped inside. The house was pitch black, and she blinked, holding her gun in front of her as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Somewhere in the middle of the room, she detected movement and she swung around. A moment later she was staring into the wide eyes of a young boy who was hovering behind a couch that had been flipped upside down.

            Dimitri. She smiled at him and brought a finger to her lips, lowering her weapon.

            The boy smiled back at her and nodded. Then his eyes widened and he pointed behind her.

            Elena turned and a fist slammed into the side of her face. She gasped and stumbled backward.

            “Who are you?” A man shouted, charging toward her. He grabbed her by the waist and threw her to the ground.

 “Ouch!” She raised her head and watched as he walked toward her. “Damn, that hurt,” she said as she pushed herself to her feet. Her gun. She glanced around and spotted it lying on the floor in the middle of the room.

            “Who are you?” The man shouted again as he raced forward. He grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall.

            Elena gasped as pain rolled through her body. “You mean you don’t know?” She asked, feeling as if she could barely breathe. “Why is it that no one seems to know who I am? Doesn’t Abel tell you anything?”

            “I don’t care,” the man said, pulling a knife out from behind him and tracing it along her cheek. “Because, you’ll be dead.” He thrust the knife toward her.

            Elena jerked free of his hold and brought her knee up hard, striking him in the stomach.

            He gasped and stumbled backward.

            “I’m not the one who’s going to die today!” Elena shouted. She lunged forward, her hands wrapping around his arms, and slammed him against the wall. “I have spent too long doing his dirty work. Today, I am finally my own person. I finally remember who I am.”

            “Except you’re not your own person. You may have your memories. You might be able to think. You might be able to feel, but you will always be his.”  His hand shot out, grabbing her by the wrist. He twisted her arm and she winced, spinning away from him. He raised his leg, the heel of his boot catching her in the knee and she gasped, dropping to the ground. She lifted her head and watched as his foot rose again. As it came toward her she rolled out of the way. The heel of his boot grazed the side of her head and her vision blurred for a moment.

            He was going to kill her, she realized. She tried to get to her feet, watching, as he stalked toward her. Fear rose up in her body, and she scrambled backward, her hand brushing against something cold. Her gun. She swung around and pulled the trigger.

“I am not his. I will never be his.”

            The man stumbled back, hitting the wall, blood spilling across the front of his shirt.

            “You’re Elena,” he whispered, as his breath shortened. “How did you do it? How did you get your memories back?”

            Elena shrugged. “That’s a mystery to both you and me, Soldier. But it doesn’t matter. Because now that I have my memories back I’m going to do the one thing I should have done a long time ago. I’m going to take him and the whole fucking organization down once and for all.”