Prologue: Luka
I looked around the small cabin as I sat the last of my belongings on the floor. I decided with satisfaction that it was going to be perfect—the perfect place for me to start my new life.
I said a quick thanks to my uncle, who had passed away about a year ago and left me his cabin. He had no children, and I was his favorite niece.
I was never the one who needed a large, fancy house. I wasn’t materialistic. As long as I had basic necessities, I was satisfied, so the cabin fit my needs wonderfully. My uncle had come here when he needed to escape from his crazy life as an attorney because it was remote in the woods, far away from city life. Although it was tucked away in the trees, it did have electricity and an indoor bathroom, complete with a bear claw bathtub and running water. I considered those to be necessities.
A fireplace in the center room would heat the entire cabin if a storm knocked out the electricity. The caretakers had made sure there was plenty of wood stacked up outside. I suspected that if a snow or ice storm happened to take out the electricity, I would not be among the first to be restored. The linemen, bless them, had a lot of hard, dangerous work to get done, and they would need to take care of the masses before the individuals. That was fine. I had heat, lanterns, and lots of candles. I had solar chargers for my computer, too, so that I could continue to work, although the loss of electricity would make a wonderful reason to take the day off—or even a couple of days off.
A gorgeous pond sat close by, and I spotted some turtles playing in the water as I drove in. I had watched them, entranced, for half an hour. The pond was clear, and I could see several feet into the water where the fish swam around. It was a welcome change. All of the ponds and lakes in the city were polluted with chemicals, dirt, and trash. Even the rivers were a dirty, sludge colored mess. There were signs everywhere that warned people not to go swimming or to eat any of the fish they caught from the water. Here, not even algae clouded the pristine waters. It was paradise.
The pond felt like a metaphor for the difference in life at the cabin versus in the city. Here in the clean, clear air, I would be free from physical and mental pollutants. There was no one else around for miles, and the cabin could not be seen from the road. I was away from everyone and all of the drama and problems that people brought. I could recharge and find myself.
I walked out to my front porch and let the sound of the birds and the rushing water in the stream behind my house bring peace to my soul. The wind whistled through the trees, making the leaves dance on their branches. The cool air from the wind kissed my cheeks and whispered in my ears that I had finally found heaven.
Smiling to myself, I closed my eyes to fully take in the sounds around me. There were no sounds of cars driving by on the roads. There were no horns honking or sirens blaring. Only the sounds of nature broke the silence.
All of the chaos that had been surrounding me had made me feel lost. It had made me feel empty inside and made me feel that I didn’t know who I was anymore. There was no time to sit down and think or to enjoy the simple things in life.
My publisher was always harassing me for my next book. In the past, I got a thrill out of sitting down and plotting out my next book, but that had changed with all the pressure I felt. My paranormal mysteries became so popular that it was making my publisher a killing, and so, ever in search of that next great paycheck, he hounded me constantly for the next one. It had gotten to the point where I avoided his phone calls.
He has taken the joy out of my work, and I feel like I constantly had writer’s block. I had a lot of wonderful ideas when I was cleaning the house or taking a walk. However, when it came time to actually put those ideas into play, my mind went completely blank.
By getting away from the city and my old life, I hoped I would be able to rekindle the fire and creative passion for my work that my publisher and the chaos of my life stole from me. I told my publisher I was moving into the mountains where I would have no phone service. I would call him when I was ready to send him another project.
He wasn’t happy, but I decided I was out of the business of trying to make everyone else happy. It was time that I took care of myself for a change.
I had stayed in the city for two reasons. The main one was my father. For years, he had been fighting a battle with lung cancer. Last month, cancer won the war, and my father passed away. I was certain that he had only been fighting his cancer for my sake, as he hated the thought of leaving me alone on this earth. However, finally, he let go.
Tears trickled down my face, and my heart squeezed painfully as I thought of my dad. In the last several months, he had suffered great pain, and I knew he was ready to join my mother in heaven. She had lost her own battle with breast cancer several years ago. Both of us had been devastated by her leaving us. I felt sure that he would have gone with her earlier if it weren’t for me. I knew in my heart that he was better off having gone from this earth. Since Mom died, though, it had been him and me against the world. He had been my strength.
Now with my father gone, I decided it was time to go in search of myself. I had lived so long taking care of dad, pleasing my publisher, and being with a man who wanted to own my mind and my soul that somewhere along the way, I had been lost. My individual identity had been replaced by bits and pieces of everyone else.
I sold the house that my dad left me, packed up my belongings, and moved to what I considered to be my oasis from the world.
I was honest enough to admit to myself that I was also trying to hide from my ex-boyfriend. We had dated for three years, but I had broken it off four months ago. He had become too demanding and too possessive. Jason started to see me more as a possession for him to parade around, order around, and completely control and own. Daddy had warned me against him, but I was stubborn and didn’t listen.
After Daddy died, I had a complete breakdown, and everything in my life had shifted in focus. My eyes opened, and I saw everything that my dad had been trying to warn me about. However, Jason did not seem to understand that I was completely done with him. I guess he figured I was only having issues because of my father’s death.
Jason acted like I was a wayward child who was trying to run away from home. He continuously stalked me. If I went to the grocery store, he was there. When I went to the bank or the dry cleaners, he was waiting outside. When I was at home, he called and texted me non-stop. There was no escape. He had made me feel like a caged rat.
I shook my head as if to toss out all of the negative feelings and thoughts. I was here to start anew, not to relive the past.
I went back into the house to unpack all of my belongings and get settled. It would not take me long since I had sold most of my stuff before I left the city. All I brought with me were my clothes, my books, some yarn for crocheting, and some pots and pans. Everything else, I left behind. When I finished, I was quite happy with the results. The cabin was mine. It reflected who I was.
I made myself a glass of sweet iced tea, and I was about to head out the back door to relax by the pond when I heard a familiar voice screaming my name.
“Luka. Luka, I know you’re in there. Get out here now.”
My heart dropped to the floor so heavily I could have sworn that I heard it thump.
How had he found me? I hadn’t told anyone where I was going, not even my publisher. He must have followed me.
“Luka, come out here. You can’t hide from me,” Jason Boatwright bellowed at the top of his lungs. He yelled so loudly that I was sure that people from miles around must have heard him.
Slowly and carefully with a shaking hand, I set my drink down on the counter. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves, and willed my heart to stop beating a million miles an hour. I didn’t want to have a heart attack before I even started my new life.
Taking small steps to give myself time to regain my composure, I walked to the front door and stepped onto the front porch to see a nightmare standing in front of me.