Dear Reader,
To celebrate its second anniversary The Wild Rose Press and Editor-in-chief Rhonda Penders wanted a project that would give something back to the community. What could be better for a publisher than a book, and I was honored to be asked to write it. The result is ON THE RUN, a romantic suspense that focuses on domestic violence. All proceeds of this title will go to the Victim’s Advocacy Office of the San Antonio Police Department, chosen because the most of the story takes place in San Antonio. You can help contribute to this fund by purchasing a copy of this book and passing the word along.
Domestic violence should not happen to anybody. Ever. Period. But it does — and when it does, there is help. Maybe you have lived with abuse, maybe it happened just once; maybe you work or live next to someone who is being abused right now. In a 1995-1996 study conducted in the 50 States and the District of Columbia, nearly 25% of women and 7.6% of men were raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or dating partner/acquaintance at some time in their lifetime (based on survey of 16,000 participants, equally male and female). Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States. In 2000, 1,247 women and 440 men were killed by an intimate partner. In recent years, an intimate partner killed approximately 33% of female murder victims and 4% of male murder victims. And so to all of these victims, many of whose story will never be told, I dedicate this book.
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When Robin Fleming witnesses the murder of her sister, Jamie, her only thought is to grab her nephew and run, from her vicious brother-in-law. Running and hiding, covering their tracks, they eventually settle in Memphis to begin a new life. Robin, now Laura, though still grieving for her sister, is determined to make a good life for her nephew. Then illness hits Andy, and while Laura is dealing with that crisis, bad luck and unfortunate circumstances bring all the players together again and endanger everyone’s lives. Can Dr. Gage Hollander, who has fallen in love with Laura, find a way to save them?
Read an Excerpt
Taking the highway into Oregon might have been easier on her, but she was sure that was the first route C.D. would check. Instead, she cut east immediately into Idaho. Besides evading C.D., she had a specific reason for coming this way. Tomorrow they’d get to Helena, where she had important business to take care of. Things that would help keep her and Bobby safe.
Robin had only a vague idea of how long they’d been driving but it felt as if she’d been doing it forever. Her eyes were gritty from lack of sleep and her muscles rigid with tension. It didn’t help that she was constantly watching for some car to run her off the road.
She’d been lucky enough to find a couple of drive-through’s where she fueled up with coffee. Caffeine raced through her system like a wild horse, revving her up and making her edgy.
She slid a glance at Bobby, wrapped in a blanket and buckled into his car seat. What a lucky thing he was sleeping so heavily. Still, she knew they needed to find a bed pretty soon. And food. Starvation wouldn’t be a pretty way to die.
By the time they reached Kellogg, Idaho, she was more than ready to stop. She pulled gratefully into a motel whose sign blinked ‘Vacancy’ in big red letters. It was the most welcoming site Robin had seen in a long time.