On His Honor by Jean Brashear Read Free Book Online Page B

slept more than any human should, read until her eyes blurred. This place was gorgeous, but she was close to begging Sophie to put her to work. Idleness had never been her cup of tea.
    It was time to go out. Live in the world again. She’d always faced her fears in the past, and she wasn’t going to give in to them now. She threw her legs over the side of the hammock and rose, glancing down at her attire. In plain black yoga pants and a hoodie, hair scraped back in a ponytail, surely she looked nondescript enough to avoid notice. She’d put a ball cap on her head and was wearing sunglasses to hide the eyes too much of the world would recognize.
    There was a coffee shop a couple of blocks away, Jenna had mentioned last night.
    She wanted desperately to go running, but she’d use this quick jaunt to reconnoiter the area, then make better plans for later.
    At the notion of venturing out, her spirits lifted. She hurried to her quarters, grabbing cash and the key card Sophie had told her would, along with her personal code, get her in and out of the innocent-looking but highly secure walking gate beside the remote-control entrance used for vehicles.
    Then she was on the other side of the gate, and for a moment the freedom was almost frightening. She had to remind herself that it was she who’d immured herself inside the fortress, that she was not a prisoner escaping. But she also felt naked and exposed, as she did whenever she left her compound in L.A. on foot.
    Though, in reality, she could hardly remember the last time she’d done so in L.A. Too much of her life was spent being whisked from one safe vehicle to another, from one carefully chosen venue to the next.
    When she was a kid, she’d ridden her bicycle everywhere, spent untold hours exploring with her brothers or friends. Ventured fearlessly and joyously into the unknown.
    Had she realized, when she’d set her sights on acting, on being the best, what the price would be? The freedom she’d be sacrificing?
    She had not. And yet, Violet grinned, ruthlessly honest with herself…she wouldn’t have listened even if anyone had warned her.
    But she wasn’t going to waste this beautiful morning pondering the road not taken. She was going to remember what it was to be bold and fearless, and she would relish every second of this outing. She increased her steps to a good, strong stride, letting her muscles warm as she drank in her surroundings.
    Soon she reached South Congress Avenue, for which this SoCo district was named, according to Sophie. She hadn’t asked Jenna for directions last night, not envisioning that she’d leave the hotel this soon, so she glanced up and down the wide street, then spotted the sign for the coffee shop on her left, across the street and a block or so up.
    She waited for the light then crossed, unable to resist smiling widely because no cars skidded to the side, no photographers jumped out.
    No one noticed her. No. One.
    “I love Austin.” She laughed and barely resisted shouting, throwing her arms out wide to embrace this place. “Oh, yeah, Violet, that would be just genius. Draw attention to yourself.” Still, she did a quick little dance step then forced herself to stop grinning like a fool.
    She couldn’t take it all in fast enough as she passed the old motor court all shined up, the mix of funky shops she was dying to prowl. Somewhere up here was a huge costume shop Avery had mentioned to her.
    When she reached the coffee shop, she noted that it was more of a stand than a restaurant—all the seating was outside, some under an extended roof and some under the trees. She spotted a table and thought how lovely it would be to simply sit there unobserved.
    Though it was early, there were still a number of customers, and she waited in line behind two. The street sloped ever upward, she noted, and then realized that of course it would because the land would drain into the lake she had glimpsed from her aerie. She turned her head to the