Dead Run. Jodie Bailey

      

      A SOLDIER’S SECRET

      Kristin James’s morning run turns deadly when she’s attacked by a stranger who’s after something her deceased soldier brother stole overseas. Her neighbor Sergeant First Class Lucas Murphy steps in to help her and won’t let her brush the attack under the rug. He’ll do everything he can to keep Kristin alive, but he can’t tell her that he’s under orders to investigate her link to her brother’s misdeeds. Kristin has no idea what the bad guy is after and doesn’t want to believe that her brother wasn’t on the straight and narrow. But as evidence against him piles up, can they catch the criminals without becoming the next casualties?

      “The cavalry has arrived.”

      Adding to her sarcastic comment, she looked at him as if he was the last person she wanted to see.

      Didn’t she realize a man had nearly choked her and shoved her back into a tree hard enough to break her? He stepped closer. “Are you okay?”

      She waved a hand, anger darkening her eyes. “I’m fine. Now, if you’re done playing the hero, I’m going to finish my run.” She started past Lucas with nonchalance, as if some assailant hadn’t just thrown her around like a rag doll.

      He stepped into her path, his arms crossed over his chest. “You can’t pretend nothing happened here. The police are on their way.”

      Everything about her hardened, from her expression to her posture. “You had no right to call them.”

      Something flittered across his flesh, a chill, an instinct. Whatever he called it, it was what had kept him alive in the desert.

      This woman was hiding something.

      And he had to find out...before it got her killed.

      Dear Reader,

      First off, I would like to say that my brother is nothing like Kyle Coleman.

      This book was a little bit different than any other suspense, because I usually start with a crime and then build in characters and their faith. This time, Kristin came along and demanded to be put in a story. Of course she did. Would you expect her to do anything different? I knew she’d had pain. I knew her life had been tragic.

      And I knew her brother was not the good guy who only looked guilty.

      That was tough. What do we do when people aren’t who we thought they were? When we have to face that there is fault in all of us, even in the people we love? Kristin had to face those questions head-on. Why? Because we all have to face them at some point. And it is our relationship with our Savior that determines whether we face those moments with grace or with devastation.

      Me? I don’t know where I’d be without Jesus. And like Kristin, I find surrender hard. Every day I find it hard. I like to do things my own way, to take care of things myself. Is anybody else nodding their head right now, or is it just me?

      The one thing I’ve found is this... Surrender doesn’t mean life becomes this giant la-la happy land of roses. But it does make the hard days easier. I meant when I said I don’t know where I’d be without Jesus. Because when I look back on the hard times, I don’t see pain. I see Him. I see the people He placed in my life. I feel His presence. And I know I never was alone, not even for one moment.

      The very thing that Kristin had to learn.

      And I feel compelled to ask... Are you there yet?

      Thank you so much for running the race with Kristin and Lucas. (Fun story about Lucas—that wasn’t his name at first. But when I tried to type his story with his original name, he refused to show up on the page. Kept insisting he was Lucas and refusing to talk. Stubborn man.) I hope you’ll stop by and visit me at www.jodiebailey.com or, if you’re curious to see if the pictures in your head match the pictures in mine, you’ll drop by Pinterest and check out the story boards there. And I always love to hear from you at [email protected].

      Thanks again for reading. I’m honored.

      Jodie Bailey

      JODIE BAILEY writes novels about freedom and the heroes who fight for it. Her novel Crossfire won a 2015 RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award. She is convinced a camping trip to the beach with her family, a good cup of coffee and a great book can cure all ills. Jodie lives in North Carolina with her husband, her daughter and two dogs.

      Dead Run

      Jodie Bailey

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

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      I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

      —John 16:33

      To my brother Matt, my first best friend.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

       Dear Reader

       About the Author

       Title Page

       Bible Verse

       Dedication

       ONE

       TWO

       THREE

       FOUR