Fearless

by Brigid Kemmerer

Genres: YA Paranormal; YA Romance

Synopsis

Being a force of nature doesn't keep you safe. Hunter Garrity is used to watching his back. The kids at school sense something different about him. And they're right. Hunter has powers that have nothing to do with how hard he can throw a punch. Maybe that's what Clare Kasten is picking up. She's shy, quiet, and intense, but she's sought him out. There's no telling what she wants from him. But Hunter knows enough to sense a secret when it's close. And getting close to Clare is a danger he's ready to face. . . "Plenty of romance and non-stop action. . ..Elemental is the new series to watch." --Inara Scott, author of The Marked Praise for Brigid Kemmerer and The Elemental Series "Magic, suspense, and enough twists to keep you reading until sunrise. An incredible start to the series!" --Award winning author Erica O'Rourke "Overflowing with action, snappy dialog, and hot guys--The Elemental Series will take your breath away." --Kim Harrington, author of Clarity Brigid Kemmerer finds time to write between her family and her day job, but sometimes she ends up mothering her coworkers and managing her family. 11,000 Words

Release date: August 1, 2012

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 45

Sample

Hunter Garrity ducked behind a copse of trees and waited. The last week of school, and those jerks were still pulling this crap.

He held his breath and listened. Nothing.

But someone was still back there. He could feel it. He’d been feeling it the entire walk home, but sometime during the last fifteen minutes, they’d drawn close.

They’d never be able to wait him out. He knew that from experience. He had patience in spades and could sit here all night, letting the air and the earth feed him information. His talents weren’t strong enough to demand answers from the elements—yet—so he had to wait, to pay attention to what they were willing to offer.

But if he missed dinner again, his dad would be pissed.

A branch snapped underfoot about twenty feet behind where he was hiding.

Hunter eased out a breath and waited. Another branch, a rustle of leaves.

It seemed like one person, which was surprising. None of them ever had the guts to face him alone—not anymore, anyway. Freshman year, sure, before he’d come home with one bruise too many and his father had taught him to put up a fight.

This year had started differently. Jeremy Rasmussen had been the first one to find out the hard way. On the second day of school, he’d walked into the boy’s bathroom and slammed Hunter face-first into the tile wall.

Hunter had slammed him face-first into a mirror.

Jeremy had earned a broken nose, stitches across one cheek, and a chipped tooth. Hunter had earned two days’ suspension and some greater regard from his classmates.

But they didn’t leave him alone, though they wouldn’t mess with him at school. No, now his walk home was a challenge. A gauntlet. They kept coming up with more creative ways to screw with him.

He kept coming up with more creative paths to travel.

Like this afternoon. He’d turned his walk from one mile to three, cutting through the dairy farm at the end of his road, easing between fence boards until he reached the acre of corn that led to the woods backing his parents’ property.

Just because he could fight didn’t mean he wanted to.

The crunching underbrush stopped, but Hunter couldn’t look without giving away his hiding place. He held his breath again, wondering what their weapon would be this time. Bricks? A two-by-four? Once they’d actually thrown cow manure at him. Idiots. Maybe one day they’d shock him with something effective.

He let a breath out, drew one in, and held it.

Another step, another snap of underbrush. A breeze kicked up and whistled through the leaves overhead, whispering across his cheeks. He focused, waiting for information about his pursuer, but the wind cared for nothing more than the sunlight and the trees. He touched his fingers to the ground, and the earth confirmed it was one person.

One person, drawing close.

Hunter braced himself. Time slowed down, an eternity passing before the next crunch of leaves.

His eyes registered movement beyond the edge of the trees, and then he was all motion. Wh. . .