Enraged when she finds her husband with another woman, Fiery Lily goes on a rampage and becomes one of the most wanted criminals in Texas, and the most elusive. Many are hesitant to hunt her down, but when she brutally murders Hector Quintanilla, a mysterious figure with flames in its eyes pursues her with only one thing on its mind: revenge.

Prologue
Surprises

Lily Goldsmith stepped out of the local general store with a bulky paper bag in her arms. She hummed cheerfully as she made her way down the dirt street in the evening light, stopping momentarily to peer appreciatively into the dress shop before stepping down an alley.

Careful not to let her black skirt drag in the dirt, she checked her gold pocket watch.

“Shit,” she muttered disdainfully, “I’m late. Edwin just got home ten minutes ago.” She sighed and tucked the watch into her burgundy shiloh shirt. “Well, that ruins the surprise.”

Today was the anniversary of the day she and her boy friend first met two years ago. He had yet to ask her to marry him, but that was ok with her. She was a patient woman. She could wait a few more days. . . .

Edwin thought she was gone visiting her folks up in Houston, so he didn’t expect her home for another three days. She had been planning to get home before him and surprise him, her being late just ruined it a bit. He would still be surprised. She was going to fix him something nice with the steak and wine and other goodies in the paper bag, then treat him to some entertainment later that night.

Yes, a lovely surprise indeed!

Stealthily she crept up the front steps to her house, holding her breath. She warily placed her ear to the front door and listened. She could hear her love’s voice inside, probably talking to some of his friends.

With a smile Lily opened the door and stepped in.

What met her inside was not what she expected. Far from it.

A blonde woman, in only her skimpy undergarments, came bounding towards her, looking over her shoulder and giggling. Edwin, shirtless, came running after her, laughing and reaching his arms to her.

With a squeak the woman crashed into Lily. She fell back in a heap. Lily stared down at her, aghast, then rose her cold eyes to Edwin. Edwin came to a halt at the woman’s head, his handsome face paling at the sight of Lily.

Complete silence filled the entrance way. Lily’s icy green eyes bored holes into Edwin’s face as she slowly closed the door. The woman on the floor trembled between the couple, glancing warily from one to the other.

“Well?” Lily hissed acidly. “Are you going to say something?”

Edwin opened his mouth to reply, but his lover beat him to it.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed from the floor, “I’m so embarrassed! I didn’t know! I swear I didn’t-“

“Shut up,” Edwin snapped, never looking at her. “Get back to the bedroom. Now.”

The woman whimpered and leaped to her feet. Neither Lily nor Edwin watched her bolt to the bedroom.

“For how long?” Lily asked. She was surprised at how steady and calm her voice was. She felt she should be shouting.

“If you don’t know,” Edwin replied slowly, “then it’s not important.”

He had regained the color in his face and had puffed out his chest, looming dangerously over the red head. But his hands were trembling, and Lily was certain she could hear his heart chattering against his chest.

“Tell her to leave.” Lily said. Her hands were clutching the paper bag tightly, almost tearing holes in it. “Now. Tell her you never want to see her again.”

She almost stepped back from the thunderous laugh Edwin gave her in reply. He threw back his brown hair and began to advance on Lily, his muscles flexing threateningly. “You will not tell me what to do, woman. Never.”

Lily backed away into the kitchen. Edwin followed.

“I can have two women in my life if I wanna,” Edwin said. “Hell, I can have four.”

Rage built up in Lily’s chest. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to beat the idiot man into a pulp and beg him to tell her why.

Why? She thought desperately. Why, Edwin, why? I thought you loved me.

“We were in love.” She muttered, glancing around the kitchen. Something caught her eye, something leaning slick and dangerous in the corner.

“That’s what you think,” said Edwin.

Lily, began to back up to the object, sweating and breathing hard. Something in the back of her mind told her what she was going to do was wrong, but she didn’t listen. The man deserved what was coming.

Edwin, blessed be his dimness, had no clue what she was about to do. He thought her sweating and breathing meant she was frightened.

“Don’t be scared,” he said in a mock soothing tone, “I won’t hurt you much. Just enough so you’ll know not to step out of line.”

Lily screamed and threw the heavy paper bag at him. Edwin caught the bag curiously and peered inside as Lily leaped for the object in the corner. When Edwin looked up he was staring into the barrel his own rifle.

Once again all the color left Edwin’s face. He wet his mouth and croaked pleadingly, “Lily, please, I love you-“

Less than half a minute later, Lily was striding to the bedroom, rifle in bloody hand and furious face painted red with her ex’s blood.

She casually pushed the door open. Edwin’s lover sat in shocked silence on the bed, fully dressed in her ruffled clothes. Her fair face was bloodless and her hands over her mouth, staring wide eyed at Lily.

“Please,” she began, “I didn’t mean to! I didn’t know! He made me-“

Lily’s ears went numb with the blast. She never looked back as she left the blood splattered room, dismissing the thump of the nameless woman’s body falling to the floor.

Half an hour later, after Lily had washed herself clean of any blood, she put her fiery red hair into a bun on top her head and dressed herself formally in a clean white blouse with ruffles at the neck and wrists and a stiff black skirt.

She left the house with a bag at her side and the rifle nestled in her arms.

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A/N: There you have it. The prologue of With Fire In Her Eyes. I was inspired by the movie that I adore, Tombstone, and had been wanting to write a western for years. I hope you liked it. Stay tuned for chapter one, Devil of a Woman.

Please leave a review. Constructive criticism welcome with open arms and a cookie! Praise welcome with all that and two more cookies! Flames are blown to bits with Edwin’s rifle.