Read Online Reckless Hearts: A Billionaire Romance by Lucy Lambert - Free Book Online

wasn't, though. Last night I dug up a few tidbits, finding that particular piece of forest owned by a logging company. Nothing else. It was all very mysterious, just like a certain man I knew.
    The driver took the sheet of paper, pulled his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose and peered at the typed lines, his jaw working.
    He was well-trained, though, putting his reservations aside and punching the address into the GPS.
    The car clicked into gear and we started off. This was the second time I had used this service. The first being the Manhattan trip. It was an extravagance.
    More than anywhere else on campus, it made me realize just how out of place I was. Though the car itself tried to subdue me with comfort. Cooled and heated leather seats with plenty of back support. Screens built into the rear of the seats in front of me. Individual climate control.
    All things designed to set me at ease. They put me on edge though, each little luxury telling me I didn't belong.
    My clothes didn't help, either. Blue jeans again, this time with a long-sleeve shirt and a light jacket to cut the breeze. And boots. Sturdy ones. They were lace-up work things, purchased last summer when I spent my time between semesters picking apples at an orchard to make up for a shortfall my scholarships didn't quite cover.
    Little grass stains still marked the toes, and some dry dirt still caked the treads. Some of that dirt came off while I watched, dotting the pristine black carpet of the foot well.
    The driver glanced at me in the mirror, and I could see the curiosity in his eyes.
    I knew that the school frowned on the hired help fraternizing with the student body. They were certain standards of decorum to be maintained, you see.
    "Curious?" I asked.
    " Make your next left ," the robot voice of the GPS said, barely audible to me in the back. The driver took the turn, the angle letting the morning light stream in through my tinted window.
    He glanced at me in the mirror again. "Just wanting to make certain that I'm not taking you anywhere dangerous, ma'am."
    "You aren't." Another thing I couldn't say for certain.
    He nodded, then kept his attention on the road. I tried engaging him a couple more times, but each attempt gave me only brief, necessary responses.
    He obviously wasn't used to his passengers making small talk with him. I figured most of them probably pretended he was some sort of driving robot.
    I swear, if having this school on my resume wasn't going to get me pretty much any job I wanted, I wouldn't have been there. But it would get me anywhere I wanted to go, so I needed to grin and bear it.
    "Nice day out," I said, leaning against the armrest and watching the trees flash by. All the morning sunlight brought out the vibrancy of the New York countryside in early fall.
    "Indeed," he said, making a quick merge after hesitating for a moment behind a yield sign.
    From the campus, it took us half an hour to reach the address Owen gave me. I knew because as we pulled up I took a quick look at the GPS, which displayed the elapsed trip time.
    The driver pulled onto the shoulder, even though no other traffic came down the road in either direction.
    The address was for a gated road. Not some fancy gate, just one of those single arm affairs you might find on any private driveway out in the country. It even had a NO TRESPASSING - PRIVATE PROPERTY sign flapping gently in the breeze, the sharp noise of the steel on steel muted by the car.
    It was a dirt road, too. In the rear view mirror, I saw the look of concern on his face. This wasn't a car meant for dirt roads.
    "Don't worry," I said, "This will be fine. Thanks for the ride!"
    I hopped out of the car, the air warmer outside than in. I squinted at the sudden brightness, my eyes used to the artificial dimness of the interior.
    The driver rolled his window down. "Are you sure, ma'am? I'm not sure I should be leaving you here, all by yourself."
    He was right. I peered down the dirt road and saw nothing