Forced to Hide


 
 
 
 Tucking Adele into his side, Brian placed his hand on his weapon.
 “Back inside—now.”
 The driver’s side window lowered, a black muzzle appeared and the driver fired. The loud retort echoed off the stone walls. Adele gasped. Heart jolting, Brian shoved her toward the safety of the glass doors and was gratified she didn’t hesitate to run.
 Pulling his weapon free, Brian returned fire, hitting the sedan and shattering the front windshield. The car reversed, spun 180 degrees, swiping the end of a luxury coupe, and shot forward, disappearing as it sped out of the parking garage.
 “Brian?”
 He turned to find Adele standing in the hospital doorway, her topaz eyes wide with shock.
 Moving swiftly to her side, he ushered her farther into the hospital. She trembled beneath his hand.
 “What was that?” she asked.
 “Someone tried to kill you. Again.”
 
 
 Terri Reed’s romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on the Publishers Weekly top twenty-five and NPD BookScan top one hundred lists and have been featured in USA TODAY, Christian Fiction magazine and RT Book Reviews. Her books have been finalists for the Romance Writers of America RITA® Award and the National Readers’ Choice Award and finalists three times for the American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award. Contact Terri at terrireed.com or PO Box 19555, Portland, OR 97224.
 Books by Terri Reed
 Love Inspired Suspense
 Buried Mountain Secrets
 Secret Mountain Hideout
 Christmas Protection Detail
 Secret Sabotage
 Forced to Flee
 Forced to Hide
 Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit
 Detection Detail 
 Alaska K-9 Unit
 Alaskan Rescue
 True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn
 Explosive Situation
 True Blue K-9 Unit
 Seeking the Truth
 Visit the Author Profile page at LoveInspired.com for more titles.
 
 
 Forced to Hide
 Terri Reed
 
 
 
 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. 
 —Psalm 56:4
 
 
 To my son—you are a joy, a man of honor and integrity. I love you.
 
 
 Contents
 Chapter One
 Chapter Two
 Chapter Three
 Chapter Four
 Chapter Five
 Chapter Six
 Chapter Seven
 Chapter Eight
 Chapter Nine
 Chapter Ten
 Chapter Eleven
 Chapter Twelve
 Chapter Thirteen
 Chapter Fourteen
 Chapter Fifteen
 Chapter Sixteen
 Dear Reader
 Excerpt from Kidnapped in Texas by Virginia Vaughan
 
 
 ONE
 “All rise.” The bailiff’s voice rang clear through the high ceilings of the courtroom and bounced off the wood paneling. “The federal district court of the great State of Texas is in session. The Honorable Judge Adele Weston presiding.”
 Adele hesitated a fraction of a second before entering the courtroom through the open doorway of the judge’s chamber. A ripple of disquiet cascaded through her limbs at the barely perceptible sound of crinkling paper.
 The parole hearing notice she’d stuffed into the pocket of her judge’s robe weighed her down. She smoothed a hand over her black robe and took a breath. The scent of wood polish teased the air. She rolled her shoulders, putting the past out of her mind. At least for now.
 She needed to be fully present to do her job.
 After two years of sitting on the federal district court bench in her home state, she still battled nerves every time she entered the courtroom. But she couldn’t predict when something, like the piece of mail she’d opened earlier, might trigger the panic lurking at the edges of her consciousness.
 Gathering her bravado, she let out her breath, squared her shoulders and strode forward.
 You can do this. The mantra played on repeat through her brain. You are strong.
 She smiled and nodded to Harry Calvin, the court bailiff, as she passed him. Harry’s stoic expression didn’t crack. The older officer took his job as court guard seriously, and his presence steadied her nerves. She was safe here within the domain of the courthouse.
 Her judicial assistant, Jordan Umi, fresh out of college and eager to please, gave her a nod as he took his seat off to the left side of the bench. The court reporter, Rachel Brown, sat in front of the bench.
 Taking comfort in the familiar tableau, Adele stepped up to the dais, her gaze sweeping over the sea of faces staring at her.
 Up front was the federal prosecutor and his two clerks sitting at the table to the left, while on the right was the criminal defense attorney, her two clerks and the defendant, Tomas Garcia.
 The gallery teemed with potential jurors and the US marshal detail assigned to guard and keep track of the man whose fate would be in the hands of twelve men and women.
 Several months ago, the US Marshals Service managed to bring down the head of a vicious drug cartel operating in Texas. Today’s proceedings started the process of giving Mr. Garcia his day in court.
 “You may be seated.” Adele enunciated each syllable in a clear voice, thankful her earlier tension had dissipated.
 She took her own seat and scooted the chair forward, her knee bumping up against something hard underneath the desk. Aware of all the gazes intently staring at her, she ignored the stinging sensation and silently lamented the bruise no doubt already forming. She made a mental note to have maintenance inspect the bench after the session. The courthouse and its furnishings were old and in need of updating. Apparently, the bench was falling apart.
 Adjusting the microphone, her gaze once again brushed over the potential jurors. Men and women of varying ages and ethnicities stared back at her with expressions ranging from boredom to curiosity.
 “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” Adele intoned with slow and deliberate intention. “Thank you all for doing your civic duty and responding to your jury summons. This is a sacred responsibility of participation, and we couldn’t function in our system without the assistance of people like yourselves.”
 She shifted in her seat, her knee hitting the hard object and causing her to jerk away from