Her Last Chance
The mysterious man at her door swears he recognizes her.She's Leah Farley. Mother, wife–and suspected murderer. But her amnesia has wiped away memories of her former life. When a shower of bullets follows the man's claims, Leah is forced to accept the truth. She's in danger. And unless she can make herself remember, there's no way to stay safe.With bounty hunter Roman Black's help, she must uncover her lost memories–before the killer succeeds in keeping Leah's past and future buried forever.
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>*The McClains
>*The McClains
>*The McClains
>*The McClains
The way Leah looked at him with such hope and trust made his gut clench.
âDonât be thinking Iâm some kind of hero,â Roman told her. âIâm not. Iâm just a guy doing his job.â
One side of Leahâs mouth curled. âIf you say so.â
âI do. Good night,â he said and retreated as quickly as he could.
He had no illusions. He hadnât been able to save his mother all those years ago. He couldnât save anyone. He could find the truth, he was good at that. But thatâs as far as heâd go here.
When the truth was revealed, he would have to walk away from Leah. He couldnât get caught up in her just because he liked her spunk and found her attractive.
Heâd be a fool to allow himself to form any kind of attachment. Because odds were she was guilty of murder.
WITHOUT A TRACE: Will a young motherâs disappearance bring a bayou town togetherâ¦or tear it apart?
What Sarah SawâMargaret Daley, January 2009
Framed!âRobin Caroll, February 2009
Cold Case MurderâShirlee McCoy, March 2009
A Cloud of SuspicionâPatricia Davids, April 2009
Deadly CompetitionâRoxanne Rustand, May 2009
Her Last ChanceâTerri Reed, June 2009
TERRI REED
At an early age Terri Reed discovered the wonderful world of fiction and declared she would one day write a book. Now she is fulfilling that dream and enjoys writing for Steeple Hill Books. Her second book, A Sheltering Love, was a 2006 RITA>® Award finalist and a 2005 National Readerâs Choice Award finalist. Her book Strictly Confidential, book five of the Faith at the Crossroads continuity series, took third place for the 2007 American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award. She is an active member of both Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her college-sweetheart husband, two wonderful children and an array of critters. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, gardening and playing with her dogs.
You can write to Terri at P.O. Box 19555, Portland, OR 97280, or visit her on the Web at www.loveinspiredauthors.com or leave comments on her blog at http://ladiesofsuspense.blogspot.com/.
Her Last Chance
Terri Reed
Special thanks and acknowledgement to Terri Reed for her contribution to the Without a Trace miniseries.
For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.
âJeremiah 29:11
I want to say a big thank you to my cohorts in writing this series: Margaret Daley, Robin Caroll, Shirlee McCoy, Patricia Davids and Roxanne Rustand. It was fun working with you as we explored all the possibilities of the series.
To Leah and Lissa, as always,
Iâd be lost without you.
To Kelly and Maddie, thanks for your friendship.
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
PROLOGUE
Pain. So much pain.
Her head, her limbs, fingers and toes. There didnât seem to be a spot on her limp body without pain.
Water splashed onto her face from above. Cold. Freezing. Rain? No, sleet. Stinging her flesh even through her sweater and jeans. An insect buzzed in her ear. Something crawled across her ankle. She twitched. More pain.
She was outside. But where?
Opening her eyelids, she cried out as the glow from the full moon overhead seared her eyes, sending flashes of brightness crashing through her brain in agonizing waves. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut again, she waited for the tiny pinpricks of white dots to subside and the throbbing to abate.
She strained, listening. A rustling off to her left, the distant squawk of a bird, the serenade of a frog closer and the chorus of mosquitoes evidently hoping to feed on her skin. But no human noise. Where was she?
More important, who was she?
She searched her mind but found no sense of self, no identity, no history, no memory. She fought back the panic that threatened to overtake her. Why couldnât she remember anything?
So cold. A shiver racked her body, causing a cascade of horrific aches to wash over her system.
Survival instinct kicked in. If she didnât move soon, sheâd die here. Wherever here was. She tried to focus, to remember.
But beyond the moment of her awakening, there was no recall, only blank spaces of nothingness. She didnât know her name, where she lived or why she was here. Fear slithered through her.
She had to move, had to get out of here. She shifted and a scream escaped, the sound deafening to her ears. She hurt so badly.
Slowly, she opened one eye, letting the sharp white lunar light seep in, allowing her vision to adjust. When at last she had both eyes open, she dared not stare at the round ball shining through the cloudy night sky. Instead, she took note of the treetops, the shadows of branches bowing to the sharp wind that kicked up and blew across her face.
Closer still, she saw that she was wedged against packed mud filled with sharp, pointed rocks. She lifted her arm and pain exploded, reverberating through her system. She had to fight it, had to get up. She had to find help.
