I hope you enjoy the Prologue for Sleep then My Princess. I'll be posting the first chapter shortly.
PROLOGUE
This was his night. He wouldn’t allow
anything to mar what he was about to set in motion.
He
killed the engine and waited inside his van as darkness fell. He saw a light
come on in an upstairs window of the contemporary clapboard house across the
road. Reaching for the bottle on the seat beside him, he gulped a mouthful of
water while continuing to watch the house.
When
the light went off, he gloved up and climbed out of the van onto the quiet
residential Santa Barbara Street where the sultry sea breeze caressed his face
and set the palm fronds rustling. Their menacing shadows swooped and retreated
on the lamp-lit sidewalk. It was what he would call an ideal night for the
perfect crime if ever there were one. He paused to wipe the beads of sweat from
his forehead with a tissue and stuffed it in his pocket. Cautiously, he skirted
the large oak tree beside the driveway.
The
soft, flickering glow from a television seeped from under the curtains at the
window as he crept across the lawn heading to the garage. Small stones
scattered when he stumbled on the uneven pathway. Jesus, he cursed silently as he hesitated.
Thankfully,
no dog barked. He pulled out a penlight, shone its beam low, until he reached the
back entrance of the garage.
Once
inside, hands trembling with adrenaline, he dropped the penlight. It clattered
to the floor and went off. Cursing to himself, he scrambled around in the dark
until his fingers closed around it.
Opening
the Ford, he leaned under the steering wheel, felt for the hood release and
pulled it. Holding the penlight in his mouth, he lifted the hood and found the
hydraulic brake fluid line. He pulled his wrench from his pocket, undid the nut
holding line and eased it off with urgent fingers. Finally, he gently closed
the hood.
Back
in his van, he tried to still his trembling hands and ignore the nervous sweat
soaking his shirt. He itched to rip it off.
About
an hour later, the external house lights went on, and a tall, slim man and a
boy carrying a stuffed animal appeared. The child could only have been his son.
The
man opened the garage door and secured the child into the Ford, went around and
climbed in. The man backed the vehicle onto the street and drove away.
He
tailed the man and the child, keeping several car lengths away so as not to
arouse suspicion, his heart thumping with anticipation.
The
Ford picked up speed down the hill, took the first curve too fast and the next
one even faster. It careened on two wheels at the next curve and flew over the
embankment, tumbling end over end, tearing bushes and bouncing off boulders.
Over and over the Ford tumbled with bits of vehicle tearing away until it halted
in the valley, wheels spinning. Breathing hard with pent up pleasure, he
stopped to see if the man or his son climbed from the battered vehicle.
Free with KU. Sleep then My Princess is available for pre-order @ 99cents till launch on 30 October.
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