“Hello?” Her voice shook. Only a few people had her number, and five of them were sleeping upstairs.
“Ms. Jackson.” The sound of Mr. Espina’s voice saying her name—her new name, the one he shouldn’t even know—jarred her. Jules reached out and put a hand against the wall to steady herself.
“What are…how…?” She was having a hard time getting enough air needed to talk. Why was he calling? Did Courtney know where they were? Was he going to warn her that they needed to run? Her heart collapsed at the idea. She’d just gotten Theo; she didn’t want to lose him. “Does she know?”
“No.” Mr. Espina’s answer made her muscles weaken in relief, and she sagged against the door. “Her investigator is following up a lead in Dallas.”
Something about the way he said it made Jules certain he’d been the one to plant that false trail, and she let out a relieved huff of air. God bless Mr. Espina.
“You’ll have a visitor tomorrow.”
Jules blinked. That was not expected. “Who?”
“Grace Robinson.”
That told her nothing. “Who is she?”
“She needs a place to stay.”
Her brain racing, Jules tried to comprehend what he was telling her—and what he was not telling her. This Grace must be on the run, and Mr. Espina was sending her to Monroe, to Jules’s house, to Jules’s family’s house. “Is she dangerous? Is someone after her? The kids—”
“She won’t hurt any of you.”
Jules noted that he didn’t comment on whether the person after Grace Robinson would be a danger. “I don’t think—”
“I’m calling in a favor,” he interrupted.
Jules closed her eyes, leaning more heavily against the door. He’d kept her stepmother from calling the police, plus he was leading her private investigator away from them. He also knew how to find them. Really, she had no choice. “How long will she be staying?”
“As long as she needs to.”
“Okay,” she sighed, resigned. How was she going to explain to Theo that a strange woman would be living with them for an undetermined amount of time? “What time will she be arriving?”
There was no answer.
“Mr. Espina?”
He’d already ended the call.
Order Katie Ruggle’s next book in the
Rocky Mountain K9 Unit series
On the Chase
On sale September 2017
Special Bonus!
Have you ever read a fabulous book and thought to yourself: I wish there was more?
Well, you’re in luck! There were so many interesting characters and scenes to explore in Run to Ground that whole chapters found their way to the cutting room floor. Usually that material would never see the light of day, but we’ve polished it up and included it here for you…that little bit more to whet your appetite as you wait for book 2 in the Rocky Mountain K9 Unit series.
Here’s how it works. Each bonus scene will include a brief summary so you can reorient yourself with what is happening at that point in the book. Then read the scene that was originally intended to come next. There’s so much to love in these scenes, and we’re so excited to be able to bring you this very special extended edition of Run to Ground.
You wanted more Katie Ruggle? Well, who said wishes didn’t come true…
EXCERPT #1
SUMMARY: Jules’s original introduction. Having accepted that gaining custody of her siblings will be expensive—if not impossible—Jules makes a decision.
Juliet Young knew the exact moment she decided to commit a felony. It was when her sixteen-year-old, six-foot-two, two-hundred-pound jock of a brother cried.
“Oh, Sam…”
“J-J-Juju…” His stutter hadn’t been this bad since he was thirteen. It killed her that they were talking on the phone and she couldn’t hug him—not that he’d probably want to be hugged. “Puh-puh…” His inhale shook with tears. “Please!”
Resting her forehead on her kitchen table, she felt all the despair and hopelessness and frustration that had swamped her after talking with her lawyer consolidate into a hard ball of resolve. She sat up straight. “New plan, Sam-I-Am.”
“Wh-wh-wh…” When he couldn’t manage the word, he just went quiet, waiting for her to tell him.
Now that she’d decided to do it, to break her life-long law-abiding streak, Jules felt strong again. No wonder people became criminals. “The lawyer said that, with the FBI investigation and without my CPA license, it’s unlikely I’ll get custody. The money’s almost gone, and I’ll need a really good, really expensive attorney to even have a chance at winning y’all.”