Page 237 of Fearless

“Of course I am. You need me. I’m here.”

“Shit that’s?—”

The bell above the door dings and cuts off what I was going to say, and when I glance over, I forget what topic we were even talking about because… it’s her.

White noise fills my ears as I study her.

I would swear on my life that I’ve never seen her before. But I also can’t deny that there is something vaguely familiar about her.

My eyes drop to her belly, and thank everything that is holy that no obvious baby is growing there.

The diner around me spins as I sit frozen in place, equally as desperate to find out who this girl is as I am terrified.

Her eyes scan our group and they widen in fear.

She was probably expecting Ezra to be sitting here alone, not to have dragged his entire family with him.

Her gaze lingers on him for a beat, but then it comes right back to me.

She doesn’t seem at all fazed by Reid, I can only assume that she has no idea who he is.

But then… she knows who I am, apparently…

She’s hesitant but eventually, she makes her way over to us, her eyes still locked on me.

If there was any doubt that she was stalking Ezra to get to me then it’s eradicated with every step she takes.

“J-Julian D-Dempsey?” she stutters while silence falls around the table. Daisy stops chattering, even a three-year-old can sense the tension falling around us.

That is not good.

Sitting a little straighter, I squeeze Alana’s hand beneath the table.

“H-Hi, I’m Rose. P-Primrose. Roe, actually. I prefer Roe,” she babbles.

“Okay,” I muse, hoping to encourage her to get to the point.

“I think… um… Hi,” she says again before thrusting her hand at me. “I’m Roe and I think I’m your sister.”

Silence.

All the air rushes from my lungs as I sink back against the leather of the booth.

“Hi Roe, I’m Alana. JD’s…girlfriend,” she explains after a brief hesitation. She nudges me with her shoulder. “Shall we go and have this discussion somewhere a little more private?”

Wordlessly, I slip from the booth and trail behind Alana as she leads us to an empty table out of earshot of everyone else.

It’s not until I sit down that I realize Reid and Mav have followed us.

If I wasn’t so lost in my own head, I might laugh at the confusion written all over Roe’s face as they lower themselves down beside us.

“This is Reid and Mav. They’re also my…”

Her eyes widen as the penny drops.

“Oh wow. That’s… something.”

“Sure is. Now, Roe. Tell us why you think you’re Julian’s sister,” Alana demands, taking charge of the situation.