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No Place To Hide
Lisa Harris
A witness to murder…Now she’s running for survivalFormer navy diver Ryan Kendall’s father sent him to Brazil with a simple assignment: extract compromised witness Ellie Webb. But with Ellie determined to trek into the Amazon, following a lead on her father’s murder, Ryan must protect her. As cartel members and pirates chase them, though, can they survive the dangerous jungle…and take down a killer?
A witness to murder...
Now she’s running for survival
Former navy diver Ryan Kendall’s father sent him to Brazil with a simple assignment: extract compromised witness Ellie Webb. But with Ellie determined to trek into the Amazon, following a lead on her father’s murder, Ryan must protect her. As cartel members and pirates chase them, though, can they survive the dangerous jungle...and take down a killer?
LISA HARRIS is a Christy Award™ winner and winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 from RT Book Reviews. She and her family are missionaries in southern Africa. When she’s not working, she loves hanging out with her family, cooking different ethnic dishes, photography and heading into the African bush on safari. For more information about her books and life in Africa, visit her website at lisaharriswrites.com (http://www.lisaharriswrites.com).
Also By Lisa Harris (#uda2b470f-7228-5a73-8eed-c418cf70fba0)
Love Inspired Suspense
Final Deposit
Stolen Identity
Deadly Safari
Taken
Desperate Escape
Desert Secrets
Fatal Cover-Up
Deadly Exchange
No Place to Hide
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
No Place to Hide
Lisa Harris
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08462-8
NO PLACE TO HIDE
© 2018 Lisa Harris
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“If we don’t jump into that water we’ll die.”
“And once we make it to shore?” Ellie asked. “Then what? We’re back in the jungle again.”
“At least we’ll be away from the men after us.”
“There’s a bounty on my head, Ryan. You don’t think they’ll find us again?”
“I don’t know what other option we have, Ellie.”
She blew out a huff of air. “So what’s your plan?”
“They’re not paying attention to us for the moment, so we jump. Hopefully, they won’t notice right away that we’re gone. Once we get to the shore...we run.”
She looked up at him, her eyes wide with fear, but also the courage he’d noticed before. Emotion washed through him—one he couldn’t quite identify. For the first time since Heather’s death, he felt something that left him wishing they were somewhere else—anywhere else—where he could get to know her better.
He slammed shut the thought. Now was not the time. He needed to stay focused on getting them out of here. Alive.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
—Isaiah 41:10
Dear Reader (#uda2b470f-7228-5a73-8eed-c418cf70fba0),
Ten years ago, my family and I headed to Brazil for language school, where we spent six months learning Portuguese. While our time was focused on school, I was able to take two short trips. One with my husband to Rio, and a second trip with our three kids to the Amazon. Thankfully, our adventures there were no more dangerous than swimming with the pink dolphins and fishing for piranhas! But it was definitely a time I’ll never forget.
I hope you enjoyed Ryan and Ellie’s story as they fought to survive in this beautiful country. And even more important as they learned that God is the one who upholds us when all hope is lost. May we always remember that He is the one who will give us the strength we need to face whatever lies before us.
Be blessed,
Lisa Harris
To all the wonderful friends I made while living in this beautiful country. You will always be a part of who I am today.
Contents
Cover (#u75ec33c7-845a-53e6-8455-5bc138dd5d1b)
Back Cover Text (#ue5fe25c4-4690-5225-ab03-e70c3c130f13)
About the Author (#ub5054659-633f-5059-9f80-b512031e0870)
Booklist (#u8ccfa074-ebcf-5ab7-93f5-f0b27fa87f19)
Title Page (#uffbda742-3b8c-5ea7-a3ca-28b3008018ec)
Copyright (#u41ba2a9d-aa1c-5315-90d5-283714b266a6)
Introduction (#uee5108a9-20c9-5418-8c41-56e36f10bea4)
Bible Verse (#u6c8b655d-9aea-5647-86f4-6060493f67be)
Dear Reader (#u72a63f74-0342-5b4a-8ad3-c2b0f570d5f1)
Dedication (#u9831c63c-a9a1-5d16-b6b0-699a2446ae68)
ONE (#ub223490d-3b79-55ca-a5fd-a122c972b407)
TWO (#u98c9324b-031d-5d20-be5e-688ad29250f0)
THREE (#u0a007de5-1fbe-5a95-b815-ec99ea3bd359)
FOUR (#u5581aa02-fcc8-5864-a4e3-26dac221ef45)
FIVE (#u62bdc4f1-c99b-5edd-b188-89cd0cc9af9b)
SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
ONE (#uda2b470f-7228-5a73-8eed-c418cf70fba0)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Ellie Webb made her way down the steep incline of the favela, where hundreds of homes sat packed together in a sprawling maze of steep streets and unpaved narrow alleys. While the working-class shantytown was home for thousands of lower-middle-class Brazilians, for her the tight-knit community had become the perfect place to disappear during the day while she taught English to local kids hoping for the chance of a better future. And for her, darker skin, along with an ability to speak fluent Portuguese, had allowed her to blend into the community.
Almost.
She caught the incredible view of Sugarloaf Mountain that sat at the mouth of Guanabara Bay and jutted out into the Atlantic as she headed past a family-run restaurant and dozens of other tiny shops and homes. In reality, she’d never completely fit in, just like she would never be able to forget why she was here. Long days at the center offering outreach programs and development opportunities had helped keep her busy enough to numb the pain, but she still missed her job and her friends. Still wondered if her best friend, Maddie, had found another maid of honor for her September wedding, and how Lucy, her miniature golden retriever, was doing.
Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts, and she pulled it out of her back pocket, hoping it was Dr. Reynolds letting her know he’d arrived.
“Hello?”
“Ellie? Ellie, I can’t believe it’s you.”
Her heart thudded in her chest. “I’m sorry...who is this?”
“It’s Audrey.”
“Aunt Audrey? Wait a minute. How did you find me?”
Because it wasn’t possible. Her mother’s sister was the only family she had left, and yet even Audrey had been told she’d died in the same fire that killed her father. It had meant no communication that might risk Arias’s men finding her. No telephone calls or letters. No social media. Nothing that could bring the cartel leader and his hit men back to her. Not until he was back in prison along with whomever he’d hired for the hit.
“I was visiting your father the night he was killed. I saw you run out. I went after you but lost you in all the commotion. After that I...I was so scared they’d come after me.” Her aunt paused. “Later when the authorities said you were dead, I couldn’t believe it. But I never stopped looking for you.”
Ellie stood in the middle of the busy street, barely noticing the group of kids playing an impromptu game of soccer, or the loud hip-hop beat pumping through someone’s radio. Because her aunt’s revelation was like a punch to the gut. She’d kept her aunt in the dark in order to protect her, but if Audrey knew she was alive, who else did?
She started walking again. “I don’t understand.”
“I know you don’t, and I don’t have time to explain right now.” Her aunt sounded frantic. Terrified of something. “All you need to know is that I hired a private detective to find you, but he’s been murdered. He’d managed to track down your cell phone and where you are, but now I’m afraid that the men who killed him have that information and know where you are. I’m so, so sorry, Ellie, but you need to run.”
Ellie’s mind fought to untangle her aunt’s words. Because nothing made sense. No one besides her father’s best friend, Jarrod Kendall, knew where she was. He’d assured her of that, and she trusted him with her life. He’d arranged for her false papers, a visa and even the leak to the media that her body had been discovered in the fire. Which was why everyone believed she was dead.
“Where are you now?” her aunt asked. “Because you need to leave Rio.”
“In the favela where I work. I was on my way to grab lunch for my team—”
“You can’t go back to your work or to your apartment.”
Ellie bit back the list of questions she needed to ask and looked behind her, feeling vulnerable even in the middle of the crowded favela. How had a private detective managed to track her down?
