The Runaway cover

The Runaway

by Nicholas Petrie

"When Peter Ash rescues a stranded woman, he finds she's in far deeper trouble than he could ever imagine. Working nights at a gas station in an isolated Montana town, Helene is desperate to escape both her low-paying job and her predatory boss. So when a kind stranger stops to fill up his tank, Helene barely hesitates before asking for a ride, willing to go anywhere to start her life over. But she may have fled one danger only to run straight into another. War veteran Peter Ash is driving through northern Nebraska when he encounters a young pregnant woman alone on a gravel road, her car dead. Never one to abandon someone in distress, Peter offers her a lift, but what begins as an act of kindness soon turns into a deadly cat-and-mouse chase across the lonely highways with the woman's vicious ex-cop husband hot on their trail. The pregnant woman has seen something she was never meant to see... but protecting her might prove to be more than Peter can handle. In order to save the woman and himself, Peter must use everything he has learned during his time as a Marine, including his knowledge of human nature, in order to escape a ruthless killer with instincts and skills that match - and perhaps exceed - Peter's own.

More by Nicholas Petrie

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?