Page 1 of Lulu

Prologue

Lulu

I ran. I ran so hard, yet I got nowhere. His evil laughter sounded so close behind me that it touched me with its icy fingers, threatening to hurt me. To kill me. I screamed and pushed myself some more, determined to put distance between us. But it was hard running in my bare feet, in the dark, through the forest surrounding the house. Branches ripped at my thin nightgown, tore at the flesh on my face and arms. Blood mixed with tears and my heart was about to burst out of my chest, it was beating so hard and fast. I couldn’t breathe. A pain in my side brought me to my knees as I struggled to stay on my feet, to catch my breath. For a full minute it was all I could do not to give up and collapse as I tried to fill my starved lungs.

He was going to catch me.

And kill me.

The harshness of his breath sounded like the panting of a wild animal as he tore through the same tree branches that I was. His growl sent goosebumps down my thin body and turned my blood cold. The threats that he’d shouted after me when I’d first run from the house caused a chill to spread over me. I had no doubt that he would carry out every threat he’d uttered. I’d seen too much. I knew too much. I knew the truth. And there was no one to save me.

I had to save myself.

As the tears flooded from my eyes and I continued to kneel, panting, I thought about my mother’s and sister’s bodies that I’d found at the house. If I hadn’t come down for a drink when I had I would have missed seeing Eddie butchering them. I’d have missed seeing the frenzy he’d been in as he’d gripped the bloody cleaver in his hand. He’d hardly resembled a human being. His expression had been so demonic, his actions so brutally barbaric. I’d stood there in the doorway in silent shock before something alerted him that he wasn’t alone. He’d snapped his head in my direction and seen me.

I’d never forget the madness I saw reflected in his eyes.

For a quiet second we’d stood there and stared at each other in disbelief, almost as if we were both too afraid to move.

A gasp for breath had drawn my attention away from him to where my mom lay bloody on the floor. She was still alive, but barely. Her chest had heaved for every gurgling breath. I’d met her eyes and clung to the tiny light of life still in them as she croaked, “Run, baby girl!”

Eddie had raised the hand he had clutching the blade above my helpless mother, and I’d known what he was about to do. I’d let out a single bloodcurdling scream, and then turned and fled from the house, hearing my mother’s weakened voice beg Eddie not to hurt me, even as I knew that he was finishing her off.

I’d managed to make my body move, but I’d been too shell-shocked to form a thought. I hadn’t known where I was going. I just knew that I had to run and keep on running, or Eddie was going to catch me. The thought of being hacked to death was more terrifying than anything I could imagine.

He was getting closer, and I forced myself to my feet. If I couldn’t outrun him, I would have to find a place to hide, and then, when he’d stopped searching for me, I could run somewhere for help. I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to make it all the way into town, but there were plenty of places between our house and town that I could stop at.

I heard a loud thud, and then Eddie swore harshly. It sounded as if he’d fallen. I had a split second to think about what I was going to do next. If I kept running, he would hear me and

follow. I glanced around for a hiding place, but it was too dark to really see anything, and Eddie was getting closer. In the end, panic and fear won out, and I rushed off in the opposite direction he was coming from, tears running down my cheeks.

The Dickerson’s were the closest neighbors, so that’s where I headed. With Eddie cursing and hollering behind me I ran and ran some more, praying to God that I made it. I broke through to a clearing and fell to my knees again, but this time I got back up. I could see the Dickerson’s old farmhouse in the distance, the single light coming from their living room a beacon to guide me. Old man Dickerson would most likely be up waiting for his wayward daughter to get home.

I ran and ran and didn’t stop running until I raced up the rickety old wooden steps and slammed into the old chipped and peeling wood door. I began to pound with my fists. “Help! Help! Please open the door! Please!” I screamed over and over, not taking my first breath of relief until the porch light came on and I heard the doorknob turn. I took a step back. “Please hurry!” I cried in a panic, looking behind me for Eddie.

The door opened.

I swung back around, screamed, and passed out.

Chapter 1

Lulu

Present day.

My eyes flew open and I sucked in a loud gasp that almost choked me. It only took me a second to realize that I was safe in my bed, and that it had only been a dream. Why now? All of a sudden? It had been years since I’d had that particular nightmare. As I continued to lay there and force myself to breathe calmly, I couldn’t help but wonder if the changes I’d made in the last year had been the cause of it returning.

Maybe it was because after all the years of sharing my bed, I was sleeping and waking alone these days. I was finally moving on with my life, leaving the Desert Rebels and moving in a direction that was new and exciting. Oh, I was still connected to them, and always would be. They were family, and I was close to some of the old ladies, but I no longer made my body available to their men.

My whoring days were over.

For good.

So were my hiding days.

After eleven years of hiding, Eddie had finally been captured and sent back to prison. Now I had a life that was my own. I had a real job, one that I loved, and I had a place of my own. All thanks to the generosity of the Desert Rebels. They’d paid for my education, encouraged me to pursue the dream I’d had of becoming a veterinary technician, and had given me a generous down payment to buy my little house in the desert. After years of putting my life on hold, of being afraid, everything was falling into place.

Maybe in time I’d meet someone and have a family.

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