Free Desert Guardian by Karen Duvall Page A

dangerous these people
were. "They want to kill you, Jake."
    Stepping
even farther away from her, he said, "You're wrong, Kelly. It's rebirth
they're offering, not death. The Arrow lies to you. He deceives you because he
wants to turn you against me."
    "That's
not true. Sam is trying to help you." There had to be something she could
say that would make Jake change his mind. Then she had it. "Dad says he's
sorry for everything he did to us, everything he did to you."
    Jake's
expression changed as a spark of life flickered in his eyes, though he scowled
as if confused. "Dad told you he's sorry?"
    Kelly
nodded, her heart leaping with a jolt of a hope. "He told me to tell you
he wants you to come home, to live in your old room and finish high school. He
said everything would be different now." Not that she believed it herself,
but she'd say anything to help Jake change his mind about the cult. Her tongue
seemed to swell inside her mouth as she forced herself to say what probably
wasn't even true. "Dad says he loves you."
    Jake
cocked his head, still confused, still processing information that must be
foreign to him after all this time. But he had come this far, had made the
effort to seek her out. He obviously still cared about her or he wouldn't have
gone to the trouble of finding her. Which made her wonder how he'd made it here
by himself in the first place.
    Slow
footsteps thudded up from behind her.
    "Sam,
is that you?" She gritted her teeth against the quaver in her voice. From
the corner of her eye, she saw the white sheet just before it enveloped her
head. Not Sam. A pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders and hoisted her off
her feet.
    She
screamed, her mouth next to what she hoped was an ear. Whoever it was teetered
and howled, loosening his hold just enough for her to squirm free. She fell
hard to the floor, landing on her side, the wind knocked out of her. Dazed, she
wrestled with the sheet until her hands came free, only to be tackled from
behind.
    "Jake?"
she called. "Jake, where are you? Help me!"
    Her
brother didn't answer.
    Years
of running had Kelly's leg muscles as taught as coiled springs, and she used
every ounce of strength to kick at the man holding her down.
    He
struggled to keep her still, but he was obviously out of shape. She could tell
by the flabby feel of his biceps and forearms, as if he did nothing but sit
behind a desk all day. He was still bigger than her, and though he had her
pinned to the floor, she swore it wouldn't be an easy fight.
    Kelly's
arms and legs burned from the strain of fending him off. The realization that
someone from the Star Mother cult was trying to kidnap her and coming close to
succeeding inspired renewed panic. Adrenalin pumped through her like a blast of
fire. The man wrapped the sheet more firmly around her head, cutting off her
air. She fought for oxygen, but his arm blocked her nose and mouth. Darkness
closed in around her. The man's heavy breathing echoed in her ears.
    Little
by little, her muscles turned to jelly. She saw the oak floor through an
opening in the sheet. Her focus dimmed, and the floor became a soft blur as she
lost consciousness.

Chapter Five

 
    A
distant crash registered in Kelly's fading awareness. The man let her go, and a
welcome flood of air rushed into her lungs. Thudding feet pounded the floor by
her head. The smacking sound of flesh against flesh reached her ears, and she
finally understood what was happening.
    Sam
had come home.
    She
struggled to free herself from the tangled sheet, but the twisted wad of fabric
had a life of its own. The more she fought, the more tightly the sheet held.
Because she couldn't see, she focused on what she could hear.
    Dazed,
she tried desperately to make sense of what was going on only a few feet away.
She heard mostly grunts and groans, a couple of shouts, and she saw only
shadows through the sheet. To her left came a sound like a chair toppling over
and banging to the floor. Someone cried out in pain. More