Excerpt from PURSUED ON THE RUN by Terri Reed:
As she settled in the rocker for lullaby time with Charlie, a pounding at her door shattered the peaceful moment. Her stomach lurched in surprise.
Had her thoughts somehow brought her ex to her door? No, he wouldn’t be banging on her door like that. He’d always been so considerate of her. A true gentleman.
Debating not answering, she waited, hugging Charlie tight until he squirmed in her arms.
The pounding continued. More insistent.
Whoever was at her door wanted in desperately. Was someone hurt? In trouble? Or was there danger lurking outside?
With her heart in her throat, she laid Charlie in the crib and set the circus animal mobile over his head to spin, with a soft, soothing tune filling the nursery.
She hurried out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Not willing to take any chances, she went to her bedroom safe, where she retrieved her handgun.
Even before everything that had happened with Sean, her boss had insisted she learn to shoot. Sean had been the one to teach her how to handle a weapon. Sean had been the one to set her up with the biometric safe next to her bed and had been the one to instruct her to always be cautious.
Heeding his words, she approached the front entrance.
The banging against the wood echoed through her, jerking her nerves tight.
Did she dare open the door?
“Tracy, I know you’re there.” Sean’s familiar voice permeated through the wood.
Her insides quivered, and alarm raised the hair at the nape of her neck.
She wasn’t ready for this. Why was he here? What did he want?
“I can’t do this with you tonight,” she called back. “Come back in the light of day.”
“Tracy, you’re in danger.”
His words knocked her back a step. “I don’t believe you.”
“I’m not lying to you.” His words were slurred.
Had he been drinking? He’d never imbibed when they were together.
“I know you don’t trust me anymore,” he continued, the slurring growing worse. “You have to believe me. Open the door, and I can explain.”
She shook her head. Then realized she needed to say something. “What kind of danger?”
She heard a thud. Then silence.
Hurrying to the front window, she pushed aside the curtain. In the pool of the porch light, she could see Sean’s prone body lying on the low-to-ground porch in front of her door.
What kind of ploy was this? What would he gain if this were a trick? Was he hurt?
Her gut twisted with alarm.
Oh no. Was he dying on her porch?
The questions bombarded Tracy, causing a headache behind her eyes.
Instead of opening the door, she rushed to the phone and punched in 911. Her finger hovered over the call button. Should she ask for an ambulance? Or the police? Or both?
She went back to the window. He was still lying there, unmoving. Indecision warred within her. This was Sean. The man she had once loved with all her heart. The man she had promised one day to marry.
Setting the Glock 19 on the credenza next to the door and keeping her finger poised over the call button for 911, she unlocked the door and cracked it open, then immediately put her hand back on the gun.
Sean lay there in a heap on the wooden planks. Through the soft glow of the wall sconces, she could see dark blood matted in his hair.
She gasped.
He was hurt.
Empathy and panic flooded through her.
Her brain kicked in. A calmness spread through her. First, she needed to check that he was still alive. Keeping the phone in her left hand, she set the Glock aside again.
With caution prickling her skin, she stepped out of the house and knelt next to his body. With a trembling hand, she reached toward his neck.
His strong fingers grasped her wrist, and he moaned.
She jerked back in surprise. “I’m going to call for help.”
“No.” He clenched her wrist. “No police. No ambulance. We can’t trust any of them.” Then his fingers went slack.
Copyright © 2026 by Terri Reed
He’ll do anything to clear his name…
and protect his son.
Framed for a crime he didn’t commit, former sheriff’s investigator Sean Donovan is finally released from prison, only to be ambushed by unknown assailants—and left with a chilling warning. With his attackers now targeting his former fiancée, Assistant District Attorney Tracy Lynwood, he must take her under his protection…along with the son he didn’t know about. Fleeing to a remote location in Lake Tahoe, Sean and Tracy must navigate a web of corruption to expose the truth. But with fatal threats and untrustworthy allies everywhere, can they prove Sean’s innocence…and stay alive?
From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.
Christian Romance | Romance Suspense [ Love Inspired Suspense, On Sale: March 31, 2026, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781335957658 / eISBN: 9780369772824 ]
Lose Yourself In Heart Warming Romance, Heart-Pounding Suspense
Growing up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Terri Reed is a country girl at heart but loves exploring big cities as well as going on adventures around the world. An avid reader, she dreamed of writing her own romance and romantic suspense novels and set out to learn the craft and business of writing.
Now she has numerous published books that have been Fresh Picks on Fresh Fiction, have made the Publishers Weekly Mass Market Paperback Bestseller list, Nielsen’s Bookscan top hundred, Amazon Bestseller list, and have been featured in USA Today. Her books have been finalists in the Romance Writers of America RITA contest, National Readers’ Choice Award, Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, and American Christian Fiction Writers The Carol Award contests.
When not writing, she enjoys spending time with family, friends and doing agility with her dog.
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