Page 1 of Shadow

Prologue

Eighteen months ago in Lawton, Oklahoma

“Well, my universal brothers and sisters, that’s it for me tonight. Thank you for listening to Lady Luck. I’ll be back tomorrow night with more news, stories and celestial happenings around the world. And for our local riders heading out for tomorrow’s charity ride, may the wind always be at your back and the sun, shine warm upon your face. I love you. Take care of yourself and ‘til we meet again.”

Clicking the button on my microphone, I looked up and smiled at Conner, my sound guy and friend. Giving me two thumbs up, I stood and stretched my back. It was a long night, but worth every ache. Grabbing my bag, I gave Conner a two-finger salute before walking out of the small Truth Refugee Radio station on the north side of Lawton, Oklahoma. Unlike the regular radio broadcasting stations that aired the latest music craze or spouted propaganda garbage, the shit big government wanted drummed into listeners, Truth Refugee Radio spoke the truth.

Well, truth in general, even if it was stuff we didn’t enjoy talking about.

Some called our little station Conspiracy Radio. They belittled us, tried to discredit us or made us out to be radical right-wing terrorist, which was the farthest thing from the truth. Big brother had banned, censored, de-platformed, demonetized and harassed us so much that we’d become numb to the government. All because we tell the uncomfortable truth from our point of view. We had wiccans, news, science and, yes, we even have people who cover the latest in spiritual healing, farming and the occasional esoteric debate. That didn’t make us any less than those who disagreed. We love what we do and wanted to share our unique knowledge and beliefs with the universe.

In today’s world where everyone has a voice, it seemed our voice was always being silenced.

Not that we would let that stop us.

Like my vocal brethren on this planet, my voice mattered too.

Not that many listened, but I had my loyal listeners, those who valued my opinion and were eager to talk about theirs.

Growing up, I never planned on being a radio host. Instead, my parents raised me to keep my mouth shut at all times. I never talked about my life before I became the woman I was today.

Not that I didn’t want to.

It was more about self-preservation.

Heading for my car, I looked at my watch and noted the time. If I hurried, I could meet my contact at the Diamond Bar.

I’d been conversing with a private investigator for months now regarding information about my father. Not that I cared one iota about the son-of-a-bitch, but I needed to know his whereabouts. The more I knew about him and what he was up to, the better prepared I would be. I hated being on guard, but it was the only way to ensure that my siblings and I survived.

I was the oldest of four siblings.

I had a sister and two brothers.

They counted on me, and I refused to let them down.

Making my way through the empty streets of Lawton, I made good time as I pulled into the almost empty parking lot. Parking close to the entrance of the bar, I could hear the loud music and patrons having a good time. Some small part of me wished I had the courage to join them. Not that I was ever a party girl, but sometimes it would be nice to get out of my comfort zone and meet new people.

Getting out of my car, I looked around and found nothing out of the ordinary. Never could be too careful in today’s society. Danger lurked in the most unsuspecting places.

The investigator texted me while I was live on the air and told me he would wait for me. He never gave me a reason to doubt him.

Only I didn’t see him anywhere.

Reaching inside my car for my phone, I heard a noise that had me looking up as a tall man walked from around the bar, out of the shadows, dragging something behind him. It was too dark to see what it was. But whatever he was dragging was big.

Upon seeing me, he stopped dead in his tracks.

My body glued to the pavement as I stared in disbelief.

I couldn’t stop staring at the body at the man’s feet.

Was he really dragging a dead body as if it were nothing?

Glass shattered, making me jump into action, and so did the shadow. Fumbling with my keys, I dropped them on the ground. Reaching for them, I almost had my hands on my keys when the shadow grabbed me by my hair and forcefully yanked me away from my car, throwing me down to the ground, hard.

I ignored the pain in my knees and hands from hitting the asphalt. Turning, I scooted away from the man looming over me.

“Please. I didn’t see anything.”

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