No Reason to Run

No Reason to Run

A Harmony Novel

By Michelle Howard

Published by Michelle
Howard

Copyright © 2013 by
Michelle Howard

Edited by: Kelly
Lynne

Cover Design:
www.estrellacoverart.com

License Notes

This eBook is
licensed for your personal enjoyment only.  The eBook may not be re-sold or
given away to other people.  If you would like to share this novel with another
person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.  If you're
reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your
use only, then please buy an additional copy for each recipient.

No part of this
book may be distributed in any format, in whole or in part without the express
written consent of the author.

Thank you for
respecting the author's hard work.

This is a work of
fiction and is not a reflection or representation of any person living or
dead.  Any similarity is of pure coincidence. 

Dedicated to my sister for encouraging me to take this leap forward. Without
her motivation, No Reason to Run would not have been completed. Thank you from
the bottom of my heart.  

Chapter 1

Shane  Mitchell
stared at the rows of organized gum hoping to be drawn to one. A grimace pulled
at his mouth as he surveyed the limited offerings. He didn’t want any damn gum.
What he really wanted was a shot of nicotine. Unfortunately, he’d made a
promise to his mother that he would quit and if he broke his promise to his mom
one more time about his smoking, his sister would be all over his ass. Again.

He walked down the
aisle pausing at the colorful display of snacks and candy available for anyone
with a late night craving. Too bad none of the racks held cigarette flavored
candy. The nicotine gum meant continuing the habit so he avoided those brightly
wrapped teasers. He thought about driving to another store but at one thirty in
the morning, he wasn’t going to find a lot of places still open.

The only reason he
stood in his boot clad feet pondering unwanted gum selections was because the
Eagle Mart stayed open twenty-four hours a day. Shane paced back toward the gum
and snagged one. The tagline proclaimed it refreshing so it had to be good for
smokers trying to quit. A snort burst from his nose. Not likely. Nothing could
replace the joy of that first inhale and the rush of nicotine.

“Hey, wait. Don’t
leave me.”

Shane’s attention
snapped to the front of the store. A woman he’d passed on his mission for
nicotine substitutes ran from the other end of the aisle. Well, half ran since
she carried a small child. Curious, he strolled down the aisles to keep her in
his line of sight and still remain hidden if she happened to glance around. But
she didn’t. The blonde focused on a navy blue four door sedan pulling away from
the third pump on the left.

He’d give her
credit. The woman hit the door at a brisk clip despite her burden. The glass
doors flew open as she pushed them outward. She tried to jog faster when the
car didn’t slow. Shane tracked her awkward dash knowing she was too late. What
sort of jerk would abandon a woman and kid at a gas station in the middle of
the night?

“Wait, please,” she
yelled. The sedan roared out of the parking lot, the brake lights flashed
bright red for a moment before the tires squealed and the driver hit the gas,
making a right turn into the darkness of the long winding street.

The woman’s
shoulders slumped and her head drooped. Her hair was pulled up in a long
ponytail. Strands of blonde hair clung to the nape of a fine, shapely neck. An
air of defeat surrounded her but her hold on the child never wavered. Her feet
slowed and changed direction as she made her way back to the Eagle Mart. Shane
eased back a pace using the rack of chips to conceal his location.

She wore a black tee
shirt, the front view obscured by the child in her arms. The shirt was neatly
tucked into the waist of blue jeans that fit fantastic long legs. Black tennis
shoes covered her feet and the matching black duffle over her shoulder bulged
with its contents. The bell over the door jingled as she pushed inward with a
lot less enthusiasm than when she’d gone out. He wished she’d lift her head,
give him a glimpse of her face.

Her feet led her
right to the college-aged Asian employee behind the bulletproof glass. With her
back to Shane, her jeans displayed her curvy ass.

Shane cursed the
distance separating them and wished he could listen to the exchange. His hiding
spot kept him from hearing the conversation between the two. Curiosity almost
tempted him to approach the counter. The honorable man in him wanted to offer
assistance. The ex-soldier in him began sorting the pieces.

Whatever the young
cashier said didn’t please her. Her neck muscles tensed then deliberately
relaxed, a practiced motion almost seamless in its transition except for the infinitesimal
pause. At some point in her life she’d learned to hide and control her
reactions.

He shouldn’t care.
The pretty blonde fairly shouted trouble. And the last thing Shane needed was
trouble. To keep matters nice and easy, he should pay for his purchase and go
right about his business. Everything stayed calm and peaceful that way. And
Shane needed peace not trouble.

He fingered the
cellophane wrapped gum in his hand, keeping his eye on the woman’s dejected
figure. She nodded to the cashier and made her way out the door. The sleeping
child in her arms never stirred. His eyes tracked them until he could no longer
see her from his position. Shane tamped down the instinct to follow. The good
thing about the ten minute spectacle was that it eased his need for a
cigarette. All he had to do was get his gum and go home.

He mind continued to
whirl.
Don’t think about it, Mitchell
.
The
last thing you
need
is to be
saving some lone female in the middle of nowhere.
Even if
her pretty blonde hair tempted him to reach out and stroke a strand to see if
it felt as soft as it looked. The warning didn’t keep him from staring off into
the dark night after her.

Chapter 2

Olivia Anderson
wanted to cry. She wanted to sit down on the curb and bawl. But she didn’t have
time for that and she didn’t have the luxury of accepting defeat. Neither did
Chloe. Her arms tightened around the small warm bundle of her daughter in her
arms. Fortunately, Chloe slept on peacefully. The car ride from New Jersey to
Virginia had been a long one. The rocking motion of the vehicle and boredom
eventually wore her little girl out.

Olivia moved her
body side to side in a similar motion meant to soothe the child but really
Olivia needed it for herself. She hated to admit it but she’d reached her wits’
end. She had no idea what to do next and she was down to her last forty
dollars. Money she’d managed to withdraw from her account before she’d run from
her ex-husband Brian. Stupid Brian O’Donnell and his immature, reckless
behavior.

She’d changed the number
on her cell phone because calls from her ex moved from pleading to cursing to
outright threats. Somehow, he’d gotten the new number and continued his
harassing calls. She’d checked into a hotel but he’d sent men to follow her
there as well. Big frightening men, who’d made no attempts to hide the ugly
thoughts on their faces. Her next step had been the big guns. She’d left a
message for his parents but they’d yet to call her back.

Olivia glared off
into the distant night as if her ex stood before her. All his fault repeated
through her head. Pete Fuller, if that was his real name, promised to drive her
down as far south as possible. They’d agreed on North Carolina with the hundred
dollars she’d given him in cash for gas. The jerk took off with her money and
she was nowhere near far enough away from Brian.

She nibbled her
bottom lip and tried to plan her next move. The duffle nestled over her
shoulder contained all the clothes she’d managed to grab for her and Chloe.
Basic changes of clothing needed to get them through the short-term. If the
senior O’Donnells returned her call she’d let them handle their son and get him
to leave Olivia alone.

For the right amount
of money, she knew he’d agree. Brian always folded to his parents’ wishes and
money only sweetened the deal. If she hadn’t been caught in the fairy tale of
love with his wine and dine routine she would have seen through his façade long
before she walked down the aisle and accepted his ring.

She rubbed a
reassuring hand over her daughter’s back. If not for Chloe, she’d erase the
whole ugly affair from her mind but their brief one-year marriage resulted in
her beautiful daughter and Olivia could never regret that.

Think, Olivia.
Her eyes scanned the empty parking lot. Not quite empty. Hidden by one of the
side pumps sat a dangerous looking car, shiny and black with large wheels.
Instead of regular hubcaps, bright silver ones gleamed in the moonlight.
Definitely a man’s car. But whose?

Continuing to search
the vacant lot, she didn’t see anyone. The store’s only occupant was the
college-aged cashier. Unless someone had hidden in the back unnoticed. She
darted a look over her shoulder into the brightly lit interior of the Eagle
Mart. Chloe stirred, her sweet breath puffing against Olivia’s neck. Decision made,
her shoulders squared and she headed straight for the black car and the
unknown.

When she reached it,
her heart quickened.
Are you really going to do this, Olivia?
God, if
she had any other choice, she’d never in a million years do what she was considering.
But choices were limited for her. Always had been. She thought of her earlier
years spent ducking her father’s fists when he got good and drunk. Memories of
her mother existed but without the spark Olivia remembered as a child.

Olivia’s mouth turned
down. Living with Brian lacked the physical damage but her marriage didn’t
differ too much from her mom’s. If she could go back in time and make a better
choice for Chloe’s father, she would.

Her mouth filled
with a sour taste as she thought of her brief marriage. The short honeymoon
phase quickly became nightly verbal fights. Arguments that even now she
couldn’t recall because they were pointless turned routine. Until finally she’d
forced herself to face the option of leaving. Keep up the façade of happy wife
while her spirit faded to nothing or take their one-year-old daughter and
divorce him.

Olivia chose the
latter and it had been the right thing to do. She’d suddenly been free to do
what she wanted. As luck would have it, she’d landed a teaching job at Chloe’s
preschool. The next two years moved forward at lightning speed. Brian got
visitation with Chloe one weekend a month and Olivia got her the rest of the
time. She nuzzled the top of her daughter’s sweet smelling curls. The mandated
visits proved her ex for the jerk he’d always been. He had no interest in Chloe
but God forbid anyone on the outside figure that out.

If only she’d
ignored his call last week. The one where he’d been the honey voiced man she’d
fallen in love with. Hope sprang eternal and while she had no interest in
rekindling the fires of that dead blaze, she did believe him when he said he
wanted to try harder to be a better father to Chloe. So she’d caved and dropped
her daughter off Friday night for an extra weekend. But Sunday changed
everything.

She wished she could
erase the events of that fateful day. Brian’s calls began as soon as she
arrived home from what she’d witnessed. She promised not to tell anyone.
Promised to keep the details to herself but Brian became beside himself and came
by the house. He’d threatened her then their daughter. That’s when he
frightened Olivia, because he’d been deadly serious. She’d never seen him that
upset before.

Olivia reached the
driver’s side of the big muscle car and peered inside. The crisp black leather
reflected an interior as pristine as the exterior. A shiny dash without a hint
of dust and more knobs than she could find a purpose for. The owner took really
good care of the car.

Olivia’s SUV sported
crayons on the floor and a lost French fry or two from various fast food spots.
The back row where Chloe’s car seat rested contained emergency provisions like
pull-ups, a couple of toys to entertain and snacks for extended car trips. She
wished she hadn’t left it behind but Brian knew her car. The first night after
the phone calls started, she’d run. The hotel seemed an ideal place until Brian
calmed down. Men had shown up at the hotel within hours to speak with her.

Of course, that was
a euphemism for threaten. Olivia’s assurance that she wouldn’t talk about what
she’d seen hadn’t been enough. Brian’s nerves tipped over toward obsessive as
he tended to do when he spiraled out of control. With no one to turn to and
nowhere to go, she’d hitchhiked with a stranger, leaving her truck behind.

Olivia checked the
back window. Its empty seats declared the owner childless. Maneuvering Chloe to
her hip, Olivia freed her hand and tugged on the door handle. Another glance
over her shoulder at the glass windows of the store and Olivia decided on her
next course of action.