Kara's Protector

by Angela Franklin

  Kara glanced in her rearview mirror and noticed a black SUV. This road could take you to the interstate, so she didn’t always recognize the cars behind her. Kara turned her radio up to help distract her from what happened at the diner. She was embarrassed by how scared she had been for no apparent reason. Bless Susie, she acted like it was no big deal and handled the table herself. That hadn’t happened before. Kara had never had a reaction to a voice like that.

  She glanced in her review mirror again and noticed the SUV was much closer now. She looked down at her speedometer, but she was doing the speed limit. These people must be in a big hurry. Thankfully her turn off was coming up soon. Kara turned on her turn signal and started slowing down, giving them plenty of time to do the same. When she looked back again, she tried to see the driver. The windows were heavily tinted, but she could tell the driver looked like the guy from the diner.

  She was almost ready to turn in her driveway when the SUV sped up and rammed into the back of her car. The impact made her seatbelt jerk her tight, and Kara braced her arms on the steering wheel. She had pulled her feet away from the petals, not sure what to do. When she checked the mirror again, she saw the SUV was backing away from her. It looked to be about fifty feet back, so she pushed the gas and tried to turn the car sharp in to the driveway. She heard tires screeching and looked up to see the SUV speeding toward her again. Her car was pointed toward the driveway, causing the SUV to hit the back left corner of the car. The impact spun the car into the ditch. The front end of the car was nose down. The force of the spin had slung Kara’s head into the driver’s side window causing it to shatter. Kara could feel warm blood running down the side of her head. Her right leg hurt, and both of her wrists ached. When the car went into the ditch, the air bag deployed and the force of it hitting her face knocked her out.

  “Hurry, get her out and let’s go!” Kara barely heard the scary voice say. The voice sounded far away, and her brain couldn’t pull out of the fog it was in to register what was happening.

  *****

  “Hey Susie, what’s up?” Cameron answered his phone on the first ring.

  “Hey Cameron. It’s probably nothing, but there was a group of tourists in here earlier, and they scared Kara. She said it was like her body was scared, but her brain didn’t know why.” Susie sounded confused.

  “Did they say or do anything to her?” Cameron asked cautiously.

  “No, but I took over the table since it was affecting her.” Susie replied.

  “Are they still there?” Cameron asked, already getting into his car to go check it out.

  “No.” Susie told him. “Like I said it’s probably nothing, but I was worried about Kara.”

  “That’s fine. Is she still there?” Cameron asked. He could check on her, and maybe still a kiss or two to hold him over till he got home.

  “No, she left about ten minutes ago.” Susie told him.

  “Okay. It’s a slow day. I will head toward the house and check on her.” Cameron told Susie.

  “Thank you. I know she is safe, but I worry about her.” Susie said quietly.

  “Me too. I’ll call you later so you don’t worry yourself to death.” Cameron joked, and hung up when he heard Susie laugh.

  Cameron couldn’t wait to get home. He couldn’t stay long, but maybe he could eat a quick sandwich with Kara before he had to get back to work. He had radioed in to let his deputy know he was running home. It wasn’t unheard of for them to run home for lunch if it was slow. When Cameron came around the last curve before his driveway, his heart stopped. He could see Kara’s car in the ditch, and four men around her car. He radioed in for back up and an ambulance. He didn’t know what had happened, but even if it was an accident, she would need medical help. He flipped on his lights as he pulled up behind the SUV. He barely had his patrol car in park before he heard a gunshot and the windshield cracked. Thank god for bullet proof glass he thought as he leaned his seat back and crawled out the back passenger side staying as low as possible.

  Cameron radioed in shots fired as he tried to look around his car. When nothing else came at him, he quickly moved to the front of the SUV keeping out of sight. He peeped around the front of the SUV and saw two men pulling on Kara’s door. He heard one man yell, “hurry up you idiots. The cops will be here soon. I don’t want a shootout. The others will be warned and not so easy to take out.”

  Apparently, they thought he was dead. That explained why there hadn’t been any more shots fired. Cameron carefully lined up his shot, and shot one of the men pulling on Kara’s door.

  “What the hell.” The same guy yelled. “You said you took care of the cop.” He snapped ashe pistol whipped the one not helping with the door. “Come on out you stupid cop, or the girl dies.”

  Cameron peeped around again to see if the gun was pointed at Kara. The guy wasn’t very smart. He was looking around for Cameron. When Cameron saw the gun shift away from Kara, he shot the man holding the gun. Both of Cameron’s shots had been kill shots. Before the guy dropped, his finger managed to pull the trigger. The bullet hit the other guy fighting the door in the knee and he fell to the ground as he screamed in pain. Cameron waited to see if either guy would reach for the gun. When neither did, he called out to them.

  “Hands in the air both of you, now.” Cameron demanded.

  He wanted to run to Kara, but he had to finish this first. The man that had been pistol whipped put his hands up immediately, the other kept screaming and grabbing his knee.

  “I said hands up, or I shoot.” Cameron yelled, making sure the man could hear him.

  The man slowly moved his hands up over his head. Cameron gaged the distance between them and the gun and slowly stood up. “If you move I will shoot you.” Cameron said, his gun trained near where the gun lay on the ground as he watched both men. When he got to the gun on the ground, he kicked it under the SUV away from them. He walked over and cuffed the one with the quickly swelling face first, then the one who had been shot. He read them their Miranda rights quickly as he moved toward Kara. As he got to her door, he heard sirens getting close fast. He looked at the shattered glass of the driver’s window and his heart froze. Looking up, he saw blood running down the side of her head, her body was limp, only being held in place by the iron grip the seatbelt had on her.

  “Sheriff.” He heard his deputy call.

  “It’s clear. Two dead. One more shot, not by me, and one pistol whipped, also not by me.” Cameron told him never looking away from Kara. He put his hands on the door, and used all of his strength as he pulled it. The door finally opened and he rushed around it to get to her.

  “Need a medic. Now!” Cameron shouted. He heard his voice crack, but he couldn’t help it.

  “Sheriff, we need you to step back and let us help her.” He felt a hand on his shoulder and nodded stepping to the other side of the door so he could still see her.

  “Got a pulse.” One of the paramedics said and Cameron almost dropped to his knees. He had been to afraid to even touch her. “We will have to cut the seatbelt off her. Get the neck brace.” He called and the other paramedic helped him get it on her.

  Cameron watched as they worked. He knew his deputy was handling everything else. He had heard him call the Coroner, and another ambulance. The guy with the gunshot wound had screamed when his deputy put a tourniquet on his leg to slow the bleeding. Everything played in the background, as his focus stayed on Kara. He watched the medics brace her as best they could before cutting her seatbelt off. Her limp body slumped down into their arms. He watched as one took all of her weight while the other grabbed a back board to hold her back to as they carefully pulled her from the car. Once she was out, they laid her and the back board on the ground. One of the medics went to get the gurney as the other checked her. Cameron knelt on the ground ten feet away so they had room to work on her. He could see that her face was puffy and red, probably from the airbag. Also, both of her wrists were swollen, and he watched as they cut her right pant leg b
ecause of the swelling of her leg. he stood up as they lifted her on the gurney and strapped her down.

  “Come on, Sheriff. Let’s get her to the hospital.” One called to him as he jumped into the back of the ambulance.

  Once they got to the hospital, they started working on her immediately. They cut all of the clothes off, and she had a lot of bruises across her chest from the seatbelt. They took her to x-ray, and warned Cameron it would be a while. They had reassured him that she was stable. Her blood pressure was a little high, but it was probably because of the trauma to her body. Her pulse and oxygen levels were good. Cameron decided to use the time to make a few phone calls.

  “Hey Cameron.” Susie said when she answered the phone. “Sorry I overreacted earlier…” She started.

  “Susie, Kara’s in the hospital.” Cameron interrupted her.

  “Oh God, not again.” Susie sobbed.

  “They hit her car and caused her to wreck. She is stable. They are doing tests and x-rays now.” Cameron’s voice was shaking, but he didn’t care.

  “I’ll be there soon.” Susie promised.

  “Drive safe.” Cameron said then hung up. On to the next call.

  “What’s up, Cameron?” Luke answered on the second ring.

  “It’s Kara.” Cameron whispered, then tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

  “Oh hell, what happened. I thought she was safe.” Luke’s voice was full of worry and frustration.

  “A group of guys ran her off the road and she wrecked.” Cameron was trying to hold it together.

  “I’ll make the calls. Call with any updates. Is she stable?” Luke asked quickly.

  “Yes.” Cameron answered then hung up. It had been an hour and a half since they got her to the hospital, and now it was time to make the last call.

  “Sheriff.” The deputy answered on the first ring. “How is she?” He asked.

  “She’s stables. They are doing tests and x-rays now. Have you questioned either of the guys yet?” Cameron asked him.

  “The one that was shot is at the hospital with a cop watching him. The other is singing like a canary.” The deputy told him.

  “Great. Did you call in the SBI? What is he saying?” Cameron asked feeling some relief.

  “The SBI guy is here and sitting in on the interrogation.” The deputy said.

  “Do we know why they did this?” Cameron needed answers.

  “Yeah, he said Aiden owed his boss money. When Aiden couldn’t pay, he said he would give him Kara.” The deputy explained.

  “Why Kara?” Cameron was confused.

  “Remember when she said she saw Aiden shoot someone, then heard people talking?” The deputy asked.

  “Yeah.” Cameron said.

  “The guy Aiden killed owed his boss money. His boss had come to the house the night she escaped. When Aiden found out she escaped, he was trying to get her back to keep her quiet. When he lost money he owed his boss, he told him Kara knew everything, and if he let him live he would bring her to him. When Aiden didn’t come back, the boss went after her.” The deputy told him.

  “Damn.” Cameron breathed. “Do we know what the plan was?”

  “They were going to kidnap her, rape her, then either sell her, or kill her.” The deputy said quietly. Cameron’s whole body shuttered at the thought.

  “Is the state going to take over the investigation?” Cameron asked trying to keep his brain in sheriff mode.

  “Yeah, and as you know, you are on administrative leave. Let us know how she is. The SBI will need to talk to y’all later.” The deputy told him.

  “Yep.” Cameron said and hung up the phone as they brought Kara back in the room. Cameron moved his chair beside her and carefully slid his hand under hers. He was afraid to touch her. He didn’t want to cause her any more pain than she was already dealing with.

  “Any news yet?” Susie said as she walked over to the bed.

  “No.” Cameron whispered.

  “Is it safe to touch her?” Susie asked looking Kara over.

  “I don’t know.” Cameron shook his head.

  “Alright Mr. Denton.” The doctor said walking in the room. “Who is she?” He asked.

  “Mother.” Cameron answered automatically.

  “Okay. According to the x-rays, her right leg is broken, both of her wrists are sprained, and luckily her chest is only bruised. The scans showed no sign of bleeding on the brain. I will have someone bring an ultrasound in to check the baby soon.” The doctor looked up at him. “You should have told us about that.”

  “B-b-baby.” Cameron stammered.

  “You didn’t know?” The doctor asked confused.

  “No.” Cameron said then looked to Susie.

  “Baby?” Susie just stared down at Kara.

  “Is the baby okay?” Cameron asked terrified.

  “I really don’t know. The ultrasound will tell us more.” The doctor said. “Congratulations.”

  “When will Kara wake up?” Cameron asked quietly.

  “There’s nothing stopping her. It could be anytime, but don’t worry if it takes a while. The body will do what it needs to heal.” The doctor said then left the room.

  “Baby.” Susie said looking at him this time.

  “Kara, love, you have to wake up now.” Cameron whispered. He laid his hand gently on her lower stomach and kissed her lips softly. “Please, baby, wake up. We need you.” He said then kissed her lips again.

  “Has she mentioned anything to you?” Susie asked him softly.

  “No, you?” He asked her.

  “No. I haven’t noticed anything either.” Susie said confused.

  “She’s been tired, but that’s all.” Cameron said trying to think back. “Kara, sweetheart.” He rubbed his nose against hers and lightly kissed her lips again. “It’s time to wake up, baby.”

  *****

  Kara felt something rub against her nose, then she heard his voice. It sounded distant but she fought to hear him. Her world was pure darkness, but his voice seemed like a tiny light. She fought to get to the light. She felt pressure against her lips and wanted to respond. His voice sounded again and the light got brighter. She fought the inky blackness until she could hear the actual words he spoke not just the sound of his voice. “Wake up, baby.” She heard, and forced her eyes open. Wow the room was bright. She squinted until someone turned the light off.

  “Better?” Cameron asked leaning over her. She could see now. There was still a light on, but it wasn’t shining straight into her eyes.

  “Yeah.” She whispered, her throat felt like the Sahara dessert.

  “Water.” Cameron said holding the straw to her lips.

  “Thanks.” She said her voice a little smoother now.

  “Where am I?” She asked. “The hospital?” She was confused.

  “Do you remember what happened?” Cameron asked her softly.

  “I was going home to take a nap…” She started, then her eyes opened wide. “They hit me on purpose.” She gasped.

  “It’s okay, relax.” Cameron said, then told her the whole story.

  “How did you know to come home?” Kara asked him confused.

  “Susie called and told me about what happened at work. I was just coming home to check on you. I didn’t think I would find a real problem.” Cameron told her. “Thanks, Susie. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t called me.” Cameron’s voice was shaky. Kara squeezed his hand and he leaned over to kiss her.

  “How bad am I hurt this time?” Her head hurt, but she was afraid to do more than squeezes his hand.

  “You have seven stitches in your head where it hit the window, your right leg is broken, both wrists are sprained, and your chest is bruised from the seatbelt. You also have minor burns on your face from the airbag.” Cameron told her, watching her close.

  “Well, I guess everything considered, that’s not too bad.” Kara said smiling at him. He was giving her a strange look, almost like he was waiting for her to say so
mething. “So… when can we go home.”

  “We are waiting for an ultrasound.” Cameron narrowed his eyes at her.

  “Why do they need to do an ultrasound?” Kara was confused.

  “To check the baby.” Cameron whispered.

  “What baby?” Maybe Kara had a concussion too, because none of this made sense.

  “Our baby.” Cameron rested his hand on her lower stomach. Kara’s eyes got wide and she looked down at his hand and back into his eyes.

  “Our baby.” She whispered in wonder.

  “You didn’t know?” Cameron asked her.

  “No. I would have told you. Oh no, is the baby okay? Did I hurt it?” Kara was freaking out as her mind processed that she was pregnant, and that the events of the day weren’t good for a baby.

  “We don’t know yet.” Cameron said shaking his head.

  “When will they do the ultrasound?” Kara asked placing her hand over his.

  “Soon. The doctor has already called someone to come and do it.” Cameron told her.

  “Are you mad?” She asked him worried.

  “About what?” He asked tilting his head to the side.

  “About the baby?” They hadn’t talked about kids. He said this was forever, but he might not want a baby. She bit her lip and looked into his eyes.

  “No, Kara. I’m worried if it’s okay, but I’m not mad. I’ve been wanting to ask you about kids, but haven’t gotten around to it.” Cameron smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. She could see the fear in his eyes and prayed everything would be okay.

  Within twenty minutes someone rolled in the ultrasound machine. Unfortunately, they had to do an internal one to get a better look at the baby. A few minutes later, a loud whooshing sound filled the room.

  “That is the baby’s heart beat.” The tech told them.

  “Is it supposed to be that fast?” Cameron asked worried.

  “Yes, that is a good strong heart beat.” The tech told them, then pointed out the baby to them. “Do you know how far along you are?” The tech asked Kara.