Her Secret Amish Past

  “Get down!” Steve lurched at Joss. She whirled to face him. “Down! Sniper in the trees.”

  She dropped beside the bed. He fell at her side. A bullet smashed through the window.

  “Stay here!” Steve told her. “I’m going after him.”

  “Steve!”

  “I have to go now, Joss. While we know where the sniper is. Call 911. Tell them what’s happened and don’t hang up until backup arrives.”

  He fled down the steps and ran out the back door, letting it bang closed behind him. Steve raced toward the edge of the property. The shooter had come from beyond the metal toolshed. Possibly in a tree, as he’d hit the second-floor window.

  The pager hooked to his belt sprang to life. The dispatcher issued an active-shooting announcement, then she proceeded to spit out a call for police backup to Joss’s address. Within moments, Steve knew, the road would be barricaded and police would swarm the area. No one underestimated the danger of a shooter on the loose.

  Was this the same man who’d shot Linda, or was there yet another shooter out there intent on ending Joss’s life?

  Dana R. Lynn grew up in Illinois. She met her husband at a wedding and told her parents she’d met the man she was going to marry. Nineteen months later, they were married. Today, they live in rural Pennsylvania with their three children and a variety of animals. In addition to writing, she works as a teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing and is active in her church.

  Books by Dana R. Lynn

  Love Inspired Suspense

  Amish Country Justice

  Plain Target

  Plain Retribution

  Amish Christmas Abduction

  Amish Country Ambush

  Amish Christmas Emergency

  Guarding the Amish Midwife

  Hidden in Amish Country

  Plain Refuge

  Deadly Amish Reunion

  Amish Country Threats

  Covert Amish Investigation

  Amish Christmas Escape

  Amish Cradle Conspiracy

  Her Secret Amish Past

  Visit the Author Profile page at LoveInspired.com.

  Her Secret Amish Past

  Dana R. Lynn

  Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

  —Psalm 119:114

  For Virginia. More than family, you were a friend and a constant encourager. I will miss you. See you on the other side.

  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

  Chapter Seventeen

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt from Forced to Hide by Terri Reed

  ONE

  I KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

  Josslyn Graham plucked the note from under the windshield wipers on her mother’s car and frowned. She turned it to see the other side. Only one line, typed in large block letters, disturbed the crisp whiteness of the standard copy paper. What did it mean?

  Squinting against the afternoon sun glinting off the fresh January snow, she glanced around, searching for the person who left the note. When had it been left? The note hadn’t been there half an hour ago when she’d arrived home from work. Of course, it had been snowing on and off all day. Now, there was nothing suspicious in sight. All she saw was the thick line of pine trees surrounding the house. She didn’t even see footsteps, thanks to the constant precipitation.

  A drop of icy wetness hit her cheek. Then another. It was beginning to snow again. A feathery flake drifted onto the paper and melted. She held the note closer to her body, protecting it from the weather.

  Her mother stepped outside of the house and locked the door. Turning with a smile at her daughter, she held tight to the railing and descended the stairs. She walked to Joss, her fur-lined boots crunching on the snow packed on the driveway. It was time to plow again. By the time she reached her daughter, tiny snowflakes covered her salt-and-pepper hair.

  “We had better hurry. We won’t have time for dinner before the show if we don’t get a move on. It’s already a quarter to one, and the show starts at seven. I can’t believe we’re leaving so late.”

  Joss smiled at her mother. For Christmas, she’d given her tickets to see a play at the local theater. They planned to hit a couple of shops, then eat dinner and go to the performance. “We’ve got time. Relax.”

  “It’s a good thing the doctor’s office closes early on Wednesdays, and that you were free. I know you don’t like to take time off.” She pointed at the paper in Joss’s hand. “What’s that? Did you make a list?”

  Joss shook her head. Something in her hesitated to show her mother. But the note was on Linda Graham’s car. “No. This was tucked under your wipers.”

  She handed the note to her mother.

  Linda glanced at it. Her smile melted away and the letter fell from her hands. Her eyes bulged. The color drained from her face, leaving her pale and shaking. When she swayed, Joss hurried over and took her arm.

  “Mom? Mom! What’s going on? What does it mean? Are you okay? Should we call the police?”

  “No! No police. We have to go now.”

  Joss opened her mouth, intending to insist they call law enforcement. Something stopped her. She’d never seen her mother so freaked out. Sheer terror glazed her familiar eyes. Joss shivered. Maybe she should wait until her mother had calmed down. Once she got the whole story, she could go to the police if it was necessary. Her mom was her priority now.

  Linda turned to her daughter and clutched at her arms. “Jossie, we have to go!”

  “I know, Mom. I’m just waiting for you—”

  “No!” Linda’s fingers tensed on her arm. “Forget the play. We must go now, and we can’t come back. Quickly! Pack a bag. Only take what is essential. We’ll leave the rest behind.”

  Shocked, Joss stared. She’d never seen her mother this frantic.

  “Not coming back? Mom, I don’t understand. What’s going on?” Fresh goose bumps arose.

  Linda broke away from her and ran back to the house, grabbing the railing so she wouldn’t slip on the fresh snow glazing the wooden steps.

  “Don’t ask me! There’s no time. I’ll explain in the car.”

  “What about my job? Mom?”

  Linda waved away the question. “They can get a new receptionist. You have to trust me.”

  The door slammed shut behind Linda, giving Joss no chance to respond.

  She could refuse to go. After all, it wasn’t like she was a minor. She’d turned twenty-five last month. If she really wanted, she could dig in her heels and stay behind. And what? Forever wonder where her mom was, or if she was okay?

  Bending down, she picked up the paper that had prompted her mother’s reaction. The words popped out at her. I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. She glanced back to the house. It was obvious her mother had secrets. Thinking back, Joss recalled starting school in a new city every year until they moved here. Every June, like clockwork, they’d pack up their belongings and move. When she’d ask why, there was always a reason. A better job, more opportunities, better climate for Joss’s health. Joss had lived in Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Virginia and Pennsylvania before they’d finally landed in Sutter Springs, Ohio, just in time for Joss to begin her sophomore year in high school. That was ten years ago. They’d lived in this small house on the outskirts of town ever since.

  She took in the familiar house, with its reddish-brown log cabin siding, the privacy line of trees and the familiar two-tenths of a mile-long driveway that was barely visible from the road. She’d always thought her mom had loved the quiet and the charm of the small home.

  Suddenly, she saw it with different eyes. What if this wasn’t just a comfortable home? Maybe it was some kind of safe house. The idea would have seemed ridiculous an hour ago, but now? Now, things she’d never questioned appeared suspicious.

  Things like the multiple moves they’d made while she was growing up.

  Had her mother been running all this time, hiding under the guise of searching out new opportunities? Joss shivered, but not from the icy wind buffeting her cheeks until they were numb.

  Why had she accepted it each time they’d picked up and relocated?

  Fueled by her mother’s desperation and fear, she bolted up the steps and into the house. Drawers opening and closing followed by rapid footsteps sounded in her mother’s room. Joss imagined Linda was running back and forth between her dresser and bed.

  Joss ducked into her own room. Pictures plastered the walls, mostly snapshots she’d taken. She hesitated. No. Whatever was happening, she didn’t have time to waste. She hoped she’d get the story from her anxious parent, and they’d figure out what to do. There was no question in her mind about the chances of them returning home.

  If only she knew who or what they were running from.

  Grabbing her suitcase out of the closet, Joss stuffed the
essentials into the bag. She stopped short at the books lining her bookshelves. Her throat ached. Those books were old friends, some of them read multiple times. They were all she’d had growing up because she had known better than to let herself get too attached to anyone.

  She didn’t belong anywhere.

  Except, she’d let her guard down in the past few years. Allowed herself to be lulled into believing the days of leaving at a moment’s notice were over.

  Pain hit her stomach. She doubled over, crossing her arms across her middle. She couldn’t do it, couldn’t abandon everything. Straightening against the pain, she set her shoulders. In a moment of defiance, she grabbed a second bag and crammed her favorite books, her Bible and her journal inside, together with her collection of highlighters and gel pens. She might have to leave, at least for the moment, but she’d bring as much with her as she could.

  “Joss! Let’s go! Now!”

  Sighing, she grabbed her bags then half ran out to the car. Her mom was already shoving her suitcase into it. Joss let the door clang shut behind her and hurried to the vehicle. Although her mother gave her a sharp glance when she spied the extra bag, she didn’t take the time to scold.

  Closing the trunk, Joss jogged around to the passenger side of the twelve-year-old four-door sedan her mother drove and got in. Had she grabbed the note from off her bed? She had meant to put it into the back with her journal so she could show it to the police later. She was pretty sure it was in the bag. No time to check now. Her mom revved the engine. One look at her mom’s expression told Joss that Linda Graham was not in the mood to wait until Joss checked her bags. Joss buckled her seat belt. She stifled a gasp when her normally cautious parent hastily backed up, spinning the steering wheel so the car swung in a wide arc. After a quick glance in each direction, Linda sped down the narrow driveway. When the car arrived at the end, she barely stopped before barreling out onto the road.

  “Mom! These roads are slick. Take it easy.” Wherever they were heading, she wanted to arrive in one piece.

  “We’re fine.” Linda’s mouth was a straight, tense line slashed across her face. “They’ve been plowed, and we have snow tires. We can’t risk being too slow. They’re coming.”

  Joss took a deep breath and closed her eyes. This was not how she’d planned to spend her day. Tears gathered, threatening to leak and pour down her face, but she blinked them back. She couldn’t break down. Not yet. She needed to know who was after them and why.

  “Mom. Don’t you think we’re overreacting? Who would warn us if they planned on coming after us? It doesn’t make sense.”

  Linda frowned. “No, it doesn’t. And warning us wouldn’t be his style. He’d be stealthy and corner us. Still, we can’t take the chance. I was a fool to stay in one place for so long. I let my guard down.”

  Joss’s stomach clenched. “Who? I have no idea what you are talking about. Who would come after us?”

  Linda met her eyes, then jerked her gaze away. Joss shivered at the despair in them. “Not now. Please, Joss, it’s really complicated. Now is not the time.”

  Joss’s world wobbled a little farther off its axis. For whatever reason, someone was after them and her mother knew why. She recalled her mother’s refusal to call the police. “Are you in trouble with the law? Have you done something illegal?”

  Linda laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. One that hit her heart like hard pebbles.

  “There was wrong done, but not by me. At least not intentionally.” Her mother shook her head. “Later, Joss. Please.”

  Nodding, Joss settled back into her seat, holding tight to a grab handle as the car zoomed down the road at an impossible speed. How was it possible that she didn’t know this about her own mother? Suddenly, the woman behind the steering wheel seemed like a stranger to her.

  The scenery passed by in a blur of white. Ice coated the branches. Normally, she would have taken the time to grab her camera and snap photos while she admired their beauty, the way they seemed as if they were made of crystal.

  Her mom opened her mouth. A roar behind them made Joss glance over her shoulder. A large SUV was gaining on them. It swerved to the other lane to pass. As it drove by, she glanced over and into the cold, dark eyes of the driver. For a single, frozen moment, she stared into his face. He raised his arm.

  She screamed. “He has a gun!”

  He opened fire. Linda jerked the wheel to the right. Bullets peppered the side of the car and shattered the windows. The car slid off the road, slammed into the edge of the guardrail and flipped over before sliding down the embankment toward the tree looming in its path.

  Slam!

  When the motion stopped, Joss turned, opened her eyes and shuddered. The car had stopped at an odd angle, so she was looking down at the mangled front windshield. Her stomach lurched. The airbags had not deployed, probably because the vehicle was so old, and her mother had been less than vigilant about maintenance. Ignoring the searing pain slashing through her head and neck, she turned to look at her mother.

  “Mom!”

  Linda’s head hung limply. Blood plopped onto the steering wheel in large droplets. Joss struggled to release her seat belt so she could assist her mother. It clicked, and she fell forward, banging her head on the dashboard.

  “Mom.”

  Her mother didn’t respond. Joss’s forehead throbbed. She leaned toward her mom. Before she could touch her, a wave of dizziness washed over her. White noise bloomed in her head. She fought against it, even as she fell back in her seat and lost consciousness.

  * * *

  “All units. Shots fired on West Willow Avenue.”

  Sergeant Steve Beck listened to the dispatcher’s voice coming through the radio, frowning. He was minutes away from the location. It was a sparsely populated residential area. He hit the button on his radio and responded to the call. After he disconnected with dispatch, he flipped on his Sutter Springs Police Department cruiser’s lights and siren.

  Steve glanced around. There was no other traffic on the road, so he executed a precise U-turn and headed away from town. A large SUV sped past his cruiser, whipping up a cloud of snow and dust in its wake. Steve slowed, his hands tightening on the wheel, unable to see the road ahead of him through the whiteout conditions. When the air cleared, he surged forward.

  He needed to get to the scene, but he couldn’t ignore someone driving so recklessly.

  Punching in the button to connect him to dispatch, he waited until someone answered. When the dispatcher at central picked up, he kept it brief.

  “Hey, Leslie. Sergeant Beck here. A large blue SUV heading south on West Willow Avenue just went by me, exceeding the speed limit and driving dangerously. I’m unsure if the driver was involved in the shooting. I will be on location in under two minutes.”

  “Understood, Sergeant.”

  He approached a blind curve and tapped his brakes to slow his cruiser, hugging the outside edge of the road to avoid colliding with any oncoming vehicles. Coming out of the twist, he sucked in a hard breath. There was no sign of a shooter. Instead, he noticed the edge of the guardrail was a buckled, mangled mess, strangely flattened as if an enormous weight had crushed it.

  An enormous weight like a car flipping and rolling over it.

  He’d seen this before. Clenching his jaw, he fought back the memories of the wreck that had taken everything from him. Someone needed his help. Now was not the time to get bogged down with painful recollections.

  Later, much later, he’d think about it.

  He swerved over to the narrow strip beside the snow-covered blacktop. The moment his cruiser rolled to a stop, he jumped from the cruiser and hurried over to peer down the slope. The car below was nearly as mangled as the guardrail. He ran back to the cruiser and contacted dispatch again, calling for backup, an ambulance and the volunteer fire department.

  “Tell them they might need the Jaws of Life.”

  “Yes, Sergeant,” Leslie replied briskly. “I’m putting the request in now.”

  He hung up, satisfied. Leslie was as efficient as they came. Now he had to wait, and that could be another issue. It would take at least six or seven minutes for anyone to arrive. And that was if any of the local volunteer firefighters were available to take the call. Most of the firefighters had full-time jobs. If no one responded, the dispatcher would have to widen the call to the nearby departments.