Encountering Evil: Dark Horse Guardians Book Two (29 page)

In a chaotic moment, the police arrived along with an ambulance. Two policemen walked into the master bedroom and one of them seemed to know Lara, "What the hell
happened
here?" the tall policeman demanded. Hawk explained everything as quickly as he could to the officer. He instinctively knew this was the officer that Lara had saved with her quick shooting skills at the dojo. The tall officer was more concerned about Lara than the bloody man with his hands and feet bound on the floor. "Haul him out of here -- get him to the hospital, but hand-cuff the son-of-a-bitch!" the officer ordered the other policemen.

The medics went to work immediately administering oxygen to Lara, and they gave her an injection to help awaken her. Gradually, she started to move and Hawk watched as her chest heaved a deep breath. She was naked and he hadn't even noticed until now. The medic covered her with a cotton blanket and slid her into the ambulance. "Are you a relative of the victim? They asked him. "I'm a friend," he replied. The medic said, "That's good enough for us right now. Bring her purse. We need her name and information. You can ride with us…does she have any allergies?"

Before he jumped into the ambulance, Hawk saw the intruder who he had beaten to a pulp, dragged away by the police. He didn't care about anything at that moment except for Lara and whether or not she would live. Hawk climbed into the back of the ambulance and sat next to Lara. With tears sliding down his face, he held her hand and stroked her thick dark hair. He saw her breathing the oxygen in ragged breaths and watched her chest rise and fall. She was connected to all types of monitors. Hawk spoke softly, "Oh God, don't let her slip away." The medic looked Hawk in the eye, "She's breathing and that's a good sign…we'll do our best. Now tell me exactly what happened." Hawk gave the medic the details or at least all that he knew.

In the emergency room, Hawk spoke with the doctor and gave all of Lara's pertinent information from her wallet. He noticed the loaded gun in her pink leather sack and pepper spray and a fixed blade knife.
This girl is terrified of something
, he silently told himself. He wanted to know so much more about her. An overwhelming urge came over Hawk to protect her.

The doctor asked Hawk to wait in a separate waiting room, but he refused. He took Lara's phone number and found the name "Ben" and tapped it. It went to voicemail, so Hawk left a message, "Hi Ben, this is Hawk. I'm the landscape designer working for your wife. She didn't come to an appointment and I stopped by the house and, well…I don't know how to say this…but, she was being attacked." Damn. The voicemail beeped and wouldn't allow him to continue. So, Hawk dialed the number again and made a second message. "She's okay. Your wife is okay. I just wanted to tell you she's at Maine General Hospital and she's breathing. I'm with her. She's okay. I have her phone. I’ll answer it if you call." The voicemail beeped and the call ended.

Hawk sat next to Lara for six hours as she breathed oxygen and was intravenously hydrated. He felt he was her sentinel. Watching her sleep off and on, he prayed she would be all right. He couldn't fathom any man trying to hurt her. She was so beautiful, kind and considerate. If she were his wife, he would never leave her side. He couldn't imagine a husband who would ignore two voice mails like the ones he recorded earlier.
Where the hell was her husband
? Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, Hawk saw Lara's eyelids flicker and her beautiful green eyes opened. She appeared groggy but she looked at him. Hawk touched her arm, "You're okay now, Lara. I'm here with you. Everything's fine. I'm here, Lara. I won't let anyone hurt you."

~ Ben ~

After what seemed like the longest day of his life, he walked to his trailer in the dark. He was finally alone and could check his phone. As he entered his trailer he locked the door and sat on the small sofa. He tapped the security code then noticed there were two voicemails from Lara. He knew she would not call him unless it was a dire emergency. His hand shook as he listened to the voice of Grant Hawkins and was momentarily stunned. Who attacked his wife? What was going on at the hospital? He contacted Habib, "I need to go to Springfield right away…pick me up. I need to get to Springfield for a something
urgent
…hurry." He felt like a caged animal as he waited for Habib to pull the Chevy alongside his trailer. Ben was focused on getting off the compound to contact Lara immediately.

The Chevy arrived within minutes. When Ben hopped in, Habib queried, "What's up?" Ben spoke softly but with great urgency, "It's an emergency. Just get me to the outskirts of Springfield a few miles away from here…I need to make a phone call without anyone around." Ben noticed Habib's look of concern, but didn't want to tell him anything just yet. The Chevy cruised along a major road then turned off onto a long stretch of strip malls. They were about seven miles from the compound. Ben nodded and said, "This is good. Now, go inside and buy some stuff, anything, food preferably something edible." Ben peeled off a few hundred dollars and Habib disappeared. Ben locked the Chevy door and tapped Lara's cell number. Grant Hawkins answered.

Ben had to throttle back his tone of voice and questions. "What's going on? Is she okay? Tell me
everything
, now!" Hawk recounted the story to the best of his ability. "Your wife didn't show for an appointment. Not like her. I called her cell repeatedly and it went to voicemail. Not like her. I had this terrible feeling that something was wrong so I drove to Clearwater Farm. There was a strange truck there and your dog was outside on the porch in a bad thunderstorm. I knocked but the door was locked. I instinctively knew something was wrong." Ben felt his heart sink. His pulse raced and he didn't want to ask the next question. "
What happened to her
?" Hawk continued, "I breached the door with a tool and heard a sound coming from the master bedroom…when I got in there a man was on top of Lara on the bed and she wasn't moving." Ben slammed his fist into the dashboard filled with frustration. He closed his eyes tightly and held his breath, "
Did he hurt her
?" Ben was doubled over in the seat of the Chevy feeling a wave of nausea pass through him. Hawk replied, "No. He was tearing her clothes off, but that's as far as he got. Apparently, he dosed her with chloroform. She was unconscious. I beat the shit out of the guy. The police have him. I've been at Lara's bedside since she got here. She’s going to be all right."

Ben breathed an audible sigh of relief on the phone. Relief replaced the tension and he regained control before he spoke, "Thank you, Hawk…" There was an awkward silence on the other end of the line. Finally, Hawk said, "I just did what I had to do." Ben whispered, fighting the tears welling up in his eyes, "Can she speak on the phone?" Hawk said yes and handed the phone to Lara. Ben heard her voice. She sounded tired, "Ben, I'm fine. Don't worry. I love you…Ben?" He couldn't speak for a moment. Embarrassed by the overwhelming sense of relief and the fact that he was crying didn't help. "I'm here, darlin', and I'm sorry this happened." His voice cracked. He blamed himself for leaving her alone. It was all his fault. He should have been the one there protecting her. "Oh, Lara. I miss you so much. I'm sorry, darlin'…" It was all he could say. Hawk got back on the phone and said, "I'll answer her cell phone if it rings. If you need any more information, call and I will pick up and let you speak to the doctor or whomever you want." There was a brief moment of silence and Ben said, "Thank you, Hawk, for everything you did. I really can't thank you enough, man."

On the drive back to the compound with Habib, Ben felt he was going in the wrong direction. He wanted to take the Chevy Blazer directly to Lara's bedside and hold her in his arms. He knew his agitation was evident as Habib eyed him cautiously, "You all right, Chief?" Ben told Habib what happened. Having lost his wife to terrorists, Habib was more than understanding. He touched Ben's shoulder and said, "She's safe now. You still have her. Be grateful, man.
Be grateful
." Those words burned into Ben's brain.

~ Bettencourt ~

At 10 PM, the tall officer relieved Hawk of his watch over Lara in the hospital. Bettencourt shook the
landscaper’s hand. "I don't know how to thank you, Hawk, you saved her life. She saved mine once, you know. I feel I owe her." Bettencourt knew that Hawk hadn't slept for twenty-four hours. He assured him that Lara would be in good hands, "I'll keep an eye on her. You go home and get some rest, and some food – you must be starving." Reluctantly, Hawk left Lara's side. Night was falling and Bettencourt sprawled his lanky body in the chair next to her bed as he watched her sleep. He was working the day shift and was now dressed in street clothes.

Lara's eyes opened and she smiled when she looked into his soft brown eyes. "Hey, what are
you
doing here?"…she uttered sleepily. He smiled back and whispered, "I had to send your bodyguard home…he looked exhausted." Lara nodded, "I know. I felt badly for him. He called mother and Rusty and they came here. Then they left to bring Einstein to their place on Panther Pond. Hawk made sure the kitchen door got repaired, too. I want to get out of here, Bett. Do you think I can?" Bettencourt hesitated for a moment, knowing all that she had been through. He knew she was physically all right, but he saw a chink in her psychological armor and it worried him.

Bettencourt heard the night nurse approaching and he winked at Lara, "Let me see what I can do." After the nurse spoke with Bettencourt in the hallway, she came in to talk with Lara and said she'd be released in the morning if all was well. Bettencourt was relieved to see Lara so happy once again. But he didn't want her to be alone at the house. He tapped his cell phone to let Rusty know the good news. "Yeah, Rusty? She'll be released in the morning. Ben gets home on September 12
th
, if all goes well. Yes, I will have Lara call you right away."

~Lara~

Leaving the hospital and driving to Panther Pond with Rusty was a strange but comforting feeling. She observed
Rusty’s profile while he was preoccupied with watching the traffic light, but his soft deep voice was reassuring, “You will be fine with us for a few days, Lara. We can go fishing, just you and me, like old times.” As Lara spoke she thought her voice didn’t sound like her, “Oh, I can’t wait… I miss doing things like that. And, some practice at the range, too.” Within forty minutes they pulled into the gravel driveway that led down to the cottage perched near the water’s edge. Flat and calm, the pond looked like a mirror on the warm sunny September morning. The early sun felt like it was feeding the beginning of a heatwave.

Lara’s mother was waiting on the porch and hugged her, too tightly. There were tears in her eyes. “Oh Lara, I’m so glad you’re here.” Einstein bounded out and poked her legs with his cold wet nose as if to say,
pet me, I missed you
. Lara dropped to her knees and the bull terrier whined with excitement to see her. After eating lunch on the porch, Rusty encouraged Lara to go for a little boat ride and stowed the fishing poles and bait into the small aluminum skiff along with two life-jackets. He glanced at Lara on the dock, “Ready?” She hopped into the boat and smiled, “Ready!” Rusty tugged on the motor’s old cord and it started on the second pull. His eyes crinkled into a smile and he said the usual, “Old reliable.” Lara smiled, “Old reliable – just like you.” Rusty grinned, “I like the reliable part, but hope I’m not old just yet.”

Stirring from her nest
, a loon slipped by them soundlessly. Heavily forested, the shore across from the cottage jutted out forming a point. Around the bend was a favorite fishing spot where spring water fed the pond. Rusty’s weathered face turned her way, “The usual?” Lara nodded. Being a weekday, the pond was fairly empty on the east side. Lara watched as Rusty shut off the motor and Lara took the anchor and watched it slip beneath the cool water. They both baited their hooks and dropped their lines in unison. It was a perfectly warm sunny day, but Lara was not feeling sunny inside. On the outside she had been struggling to maintain composure. But on the inside she was filled with chaotic emotions as old wounds opened and festered once again.

Rusty spoke first with a fatherly hint of concern, “You okay?” Thank
God he wasn’t looking at her, she thought, as she felt her face contorting. Lara didn’t answer right away. She loathed crying. It made her feel weak and vulnerable, but there was no stopping the tears as they filled her eyes. “I
hate
feeling like this…” she finally uttered with a sense of desperation. Rusty looked away, “I know…” Lara felt safe enough with him to unleash all of her inner thoughts in one massive torrent, “I’m so
stupid
. Why did I open the door for a stranger? What’s the matter with me? If Ben had been home this wouldn’t have happened. Why does he have to be gone so much? He loves his superman job more than he loves me. He wants to save the world while his own wife is left alone for weeks to move by herself, to fend for herself, to be
attacked
by some lunatic. I’m having second thoughts about
everything
. This is why his first marriage didn’t work.
He was never there
. He doesn’t even have a relationship with his own son.”

~Rusty~

Rusty was all too familiar with Lara’s anger. He was surprised it hadn’t surfaced much sooner. He expected to hear this while she was in the hospital. Although she wouldn’t agree, he knew the sobbing was good for her and he was comfortable enough with the process to let her finish. But there was one important point he had to impress upon her, and he would do so once she gave him the time and space. She was dancing all around the
real
problem. Blaming Ben and doubting herself would not serve her well in the end. But right now he knew she had to go through the roller coaster of emotions, fear and anger and blaming…and after she was done with
that
part…she would become rational again.