Coming Out of the Dark: Second Chance Series - Book 1

by Joan Davis

  Swallowing her shock and realization, Risa took pity on her dad and responded softly, “It is nice to meet you both. How do you know my dad?” She didn’t want to think about why she didn’t admit to having already met Samson. She just hoped he wouldn’t expose her omission.

  LuAnne waved a well manicured hand dismissively. “Oh, everyone knows everyone here in Dalton. I am the owner of ‘The Franklin Salon’ over on Riverdale Drive. I’m sure you’ve seen it. As a matter of fact, that’s why I came over to see you. I wanted to offer you a “Day of Beauty,” LuAnne gushed, her hand patting her immaculately coifed hair. She seemed to strike a pose every few seconds. It was a fascinating thing to watch. “I figured after everything you’ve been through it’s about time you paid attention to your looks.”

  Risa froze with embarrassment at her words. Risa looked down at her oversized baseball shirt and the baggy jeans and tennis shoes below it. She put a self-conscious hand to her hair and tried unsuccessfully to tuck a short, spiky, piece behind her ear. She took a deep breath trying not to show her hurt and said. “I appreciate the offer . . .”

  LuAnne continued on without pause, “We could try to do something with your hair and give you a whole new makeover. Wouldn’t that be nice?” she asked, as if she wasn’t quite certain Risa fully understood what she was offering.

  “LuAnne, as Risa said, we appreciate the offer but we’ll have to let you know,” Bill Landau said with finality. He had no patience for mean-hearted ignorance. “We have a lot going on right now, so it may be a while.” Bill turned his attention towards Samson. “How is the new location working out, Sam? Bill then turned to Risa so she would feel included. “Sam owns an amazing construction company that uses ‘green’ materials. I’ve worked on several of their projects. They just moved their home offices into a larger location.”

  “What are green materials?” Risa asked in confusion.

  “We use recycled and sustainable natural materials when building. It is better for the environment and the consumer as well,” Samson answered. “Bill, the new offices are great. I have you to thank for suggesting the location to me,” Samson said sincerely. “We have been lucky in this area to still have a relatively robust construction climate, but the deal we got on that building helped us.” He turned back to Risa and said, “If you are ever interested, I would be happy to show you one of our sites. It’s easier to explain the benefits of building green when you can see it.” He quickly smiled at Bill. “That invitation for a full time position is still open Bill. You know I’d love to have your carpentry skills all to myself.”

  Bill laughed and shook his head. “I appreciate the offer Sam, but I’m contracted out for the next few months. We’ll see after that,” he said, and Samson nodded in understanding.

  LuAnne shifted with feminine irritation. She was not happy that she was no longer the center of attention. “Oh, Sam, those construction sites are so messy. Honestly, I wouldn’t be caught dead at one of them. But then again, I guess it’s better than that little bounty hunting business your family has. I shudder when I think of the caliber of people you dealt with on a daily basis when you did that work. Give me a nice restaurant or a dance club any day. Don’t you agree Risa?” LuAnne asked, and then gave Risa a pitying look. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I guess you wouldn’t know would you?” she said thoughtlessly.

  Risa stared silently at LuAnne for a moment and then turned to Samson. “I would like to visit one of your sites. Thank you for offering,” she said quietly. She felt LuAnne’s displeasure and her dad’s amused shock. Samson caught her gaze and humor twinkled in his eyes as he nodded. Risa bit her lip as she caught the amused smile playing around his full sensual lips.

  “Anytime, just let me know. Well, LuAnne and I will leave and let you get back to your meal.” Sam looked directly at Risa. “It was very nice to meet you, Risa, and I hope to see you again real soon.” He winked. When he turned towards LuAnne he gripped her arm and practically dragged her away.

  Risa watched as Samson walked out of the diner. She caught herself rubbing the center of her chest. As always, his voice affected her in the most delicious way. Her exhaustion suddenly gone, she felt her heart beat pick up speed. He hadn’t seemed bothered by her earlier unexplained flight, and he had kept their earlier meetings to himself. Her gaze followed him until he was out of sight.

  Bill shook his head and looked at Risa. “I thought they broke up last year.” he said, but then shrugged. “Who knows what goes on with Sam and that woman? I never understood why he stayed with her in the first place after all the hell she put him through last year.” Just then the waitress brought their food. Risa wanted more details, but she didn’t ask. Jealousy was a foreign concept to Risa, so she was surprised and confused by her feelings. She didn’t like it that Samson had a girlfriend. As the waitress walked away, the conversation between her and her father turned mundane. They quickly finished their meal and picked up their takeout order for later, then headed home. Risa wondered again if there was time for that swim in the lake.

  *****

  As it turned out the wind had gotten stronger, which made the lake too choppy for a late afternoon swim. Risa decided to take a short walk in the woods; she needed the peace that being outdoors always gave her. Her dad asked her to keep today’s walk short since the storms would be moving in soon. The wind was already whipping softly through the trees, and the air felt a little heavier.

  Despite the blustery conditions, Risa started her walk and let the nature around her fill her with serenity. She replayed her last therapy session in her mind. The therapist was correct. Once she was able to talk about the things that happened during her captivity, the memories had become easier and easier to manage. Perhaps, over time, Risa would be able to think about her mom without seeing her brutal death play out in her mind. She would love to remember the love and joy without the guilt and pain. There were still time periods that were very hazy and unclear. The therapist was working on ways to access those memories, but so far everything they tried had proved unsuccessful.

  Risa’s thoughts turned to a more pleasurable subject, Samson Knight. It had been such a treat seeing him today. He was fast becoming a constant source of fascination. His masculine beauty and amazing voice kept her imagination humming, but it was his ability to make her feel normal that drew her to him the most. He didn’t treat her like a broken doll. He spoke to her without caution and teased her without reservation. It was refreshing and intriguing. Maybe she would take another walk over to his place in the next few days. The thought didn’t seem as daunting as it had earlier.

  As Risa stepped over a small limb that had fallen into the path, she heard movement behind her. She turned with a smile thinking she would see her dad coming to join her, but there was no one approaching and except for the wind. There was only silence. Goosebumps ran up her arms.

  A little rattled, Risa slowly turned and started walking again. She had only gone a few steps when she heard movement behind her again. Fear crawled up her spine. She didn’t turn around this time. She began walking a little quicker, knowing the path looped around and went back to the house. She had only taken a few hurried steps when she felt someone rush up behind her. Before she could react, a large hand viciously grabbed her shoulder and yanked her backwards. She slammed into a large male body. She let out a terrified scream and twisted in panic. All she was able to see was an arm covered in bulky black material wrapped around her middle.

  The man leaned down and hissed into Risa’s ear, “Did you really think you had escaped me, witch? I told you, your life belongs to me. You owe me.” The grip on her shoulder tightened painfully and caused another terrified scream to rip from her lips. He clamped a hand over her mouth and began jerking her backwards.

  Risa whimpered and could barely think. This couldn’t be happening again. Not again. Terror and fear choked her, but she fought it. She had to think. Where was her dad? Was he hurt, or was he even still alive? Risa began to struggle as a desperate ra
ge filled her body. The man growled into ear again. “Stop fighting me or I will snap your fucking neck.” To make his point he yanked her head back by her hair until she gave a muffled scream under the hand that covered her mouth.

  Tears stinging her eyes, Risa tried to swallow her fear and think clearly. Since her return, she had spent many nights wondering what she could have done to stop her kidnapping. One frustrating memory would play in a repeated loop in Risa’s head. She remembered seeing an Oprah Winfrey show where the guest was a retired cop. His one passionate piece of advice for victims or possible victims of assault was to never, ever let the perpetrator take you to a second location. The cop said to do whatever it took to get away, even if it meant getting hurt. He had cautioned that once an assailant had a victim at that second location, the assailant had the advantage and the victim would have very little chance of escape.

  Risa let her body go limp and pretended to faint. Her full body weight slumped downward. It caused the man to loosen the painful grip he had on her hair and shoulder. He tried to handle her limp form, but he was finally forced to lower her to the ground. The second he released her, Risa spun around on her back until her legs were close to her attacker. She began to kick out and connected with his groin more than once. At the same time lightening began whipping across the sky and thunder rumbled overhead.

  The man dropped to his knees and let out a high pitched scream. Risa didn’t wait to see if he recovered. She rolled over and tried to get to her feet, but the man grabbed her shirt and slammed her back to the ground. The wind began to swirl debris into the air, making it hard to see. “You fucking bitch. You’re dead. I should have killed you long ago!” he howled harshly over the wind. He got unsteadily to his knees and yanked her up towards him.

  “Not yet, asshole,” Risa screamed with terrified courage. She threw herself backwards as hard as she could. She crashed against him and caused them both to pitch sideways. Risa felt rocks and debris bite into her right arm and hand, but she ignored the pain. As soon as the attacker lost his grip on her shirt, she lunged away from him again. This time she succeeded in getting to her feet, and she didn’t waste time. She ran.

  *****

  Samson Knight sat on his back porch with his best friend Conner. He eyed his friend with irritation, waiting for the lecture to continue. It had been going on for the last half hour.

  “I don’t get it, man. What were you thinking? Didn’t you get enough of LuAnne’s brand of torture the first time?” Conner asked, as he took a drink from his bottle of beer. He kept shaking his blond head and looking at Samson with disbelief.

  “Let it go, Conner. It was just a lunch at Maybell’s. It wasn’t like I moved her back into the damn house,” Samson sighed irritably. Conner Matthews had been Samson’s friend since childhood. They were polar opposites in some respects. Conner had Robert Redford blond hair and sea-green eyes. He looked more like a buffed-out surfer than the security expert Samson knew him to be. Conner was quick to laugh, but Samson wouldn’t want anyone else at his back during a fight. Conner was a street fighter and he knew how to fight dirty.

  There had always been wild side to Conner that he kept hidden from most people. Samson caught glimpses of it as they got older. He remembered Conner grinning recklessly before he jumped off an incredibly tall rock wall of granite and into a crystal clear quarry lake on a dare. Samson watched over the years as Conner drove fast, drank hard, and played even harder, all this with an eager grin and a wink. Conner had an edge, but Samson couldn’t ask for a better or more loyal friend.

  Samson’s mind turned to his late afternoon meeting with LuAnne at the diner. He was furious and wished he’d never agreed to meet with her. He knew LuAnne always had an agenda, but Samson had let her convince him that this lunch was strictly about business. Why had he ever found her attractive, inside or out? It was so clear to him now what an ugly spirit she possessed. He remembered the hurt look in Risa’s eyes when LuAnne made that thoughtless comment about her appearance. He had nearly dragged LuAnne out of the diner before letting her know just how insensitive he thought she had been. But he knew it fell on deaf ears. With LuAnne, if it wasn’t about her, then it didn’t really matter.

  Just thinking about Risa made Samson feel like smiling. Underneath the sadness and fear, she carried with her a strength and resilience that he admired. He had seen evidence of it today when LuAnne had made her catty comments. Instead of cowering, she had accepted his invitation to visit one of his construction sites, despite LuAnne’s obvious displeasure. Underneath it all Risa had grit, and Samson loved it.

  Conner leaned forward, trying to make his point. “It is never just lunch with that woman. I’m telling you, LuAnne wants you back. Her sugar daddy is not living up to her standards, I mean, have you seen the old man? She must have to wear blinders and drink herself into a stupor to get into to bed with that dude,” Conner said with a humorous and dramatic shudder. “Sam, the bitch is on the prowl. Even after fucking around on you and spending all your damn money she expects you to bend over and take it again. Damn man, don’t do it.”

  Samson rubbed his temple. He really didn’t need this. “For the last time, we just went to lunch. She needed financial advice. I agreed. We had lunch, talked and went our separate ways. End of story. What do you not get about that?” Samson questioned in frustration.

  Conner raised an eyebrow. “Well, I heard she was parading you around the diner like you were her new toy.” At Samson’s hard stare, Conner held up his hands. “Hey, I can’t help it if people gossip.” Conner grinned, leaned back and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “Regardless, it doesn’t sound like it was a quickie lunch to me.”

  Just then, a gust of wind whipped across the yard and Samson looked up toward the stormy skies. It smelled like a big storm would be coming soon. The weather matched his present mood. “Like I said, drop it. I learned my lesson the first time. I don’t have any plans to let history repeat itself. Satisfied?” Samson asked.

  “Just looking out for you,” Conner grinned recklessly. As the wind picked up and a few drops of rain began hitting the ground, Conner sighed. “I guess grilling steaks is out.”

  Samson shrugged and took a swig of his beer. “We can always use the kitchen grill. I paid enough for it, might as well use it once in a while.” What he didn’t say was that LuAnne had found his original kitchen lacking. She had spent a ‘shit load of his money’ as Conner was always saying, ‘creating’ her dream kitchen, including that grill. She then proceeded to redo practically every room in the house before she was done. Looking back, Samson realized that LuAnne had tried to recreate his entire existence during the time they were together. He then slammed the door on those memories.

  As Samson and Conner stood up to go inside they heard a piercing scream come from the wooded area that sat between his property and the Landaus’ property. The wind distorted it a bit. “Animal . .?” Conner looked at Samson in question.

  Samson’s piercing gaze was locked on the wooded area. He shook his head, trying to listen. Just as he began to relax, another scream rang out. He didn’t think, he just jumped off the porch and began racing towards the trees. Conner was on his heels. The rain began to fall in earnest, and they were completely soaked in seconds.

  As they raced into the woods, Samson’s large body moved fast and yet made very little sound. He was already 20 feet ahead of Conner, even though they had started running at the same time. Lightening streaked across the sky and thunder followed right behind it. The storm was right on top of them. Conner followed Samson and didn’t question the direction he was taking. Tracking was second nature to Samson, but the rain was making it difficult.

  Samson’s heart was pumping. He somehow knew those screams had come from Risa. He increased his speed, desperate to reach her. The rain was beating down in thick sheets, but he still raced forward. He reached a small clearing and paused briefly. He tried to listen in spite of the noise of the storm. As his hand swiped at the water sh
eeting down his face, he spotted Risa racing wildly through the foliage. She was wild-eye and her shirt was torn on one side. She was soaked through, but he could still see blood running down her arm.

  “Risa . . . !” Samson called sharply. He saw her flinch and she veered away from him. “Damn it,” Samson cursed and raced after her. When he saw Conner moving in to block her, Samson cautioned him to stop. Conner slowed and allowed Samson to take the lead. Risa was just ahead of him and with very little effort he caught up with her. Samson tried calling out to her again. He heard her whimper as she tried to dodge around a tree root. Instead, she tripped and fell hard. She lurched to her feet again, dirt and debris clinging to her body.

  Samson reached out to steady her, but when she felt his touch she spun around and tried to claw his face. He had to grab her wrists to stop her. “No!” she screamed and tried to jerk away from him. When that didn’t work, she threw herself at him and began to punch and kick him with all her strength. She kept screaming. “No more, no more.”

  Not having any choice, Samson closed his arms around her small body and took her to the ground. He threw his leg over her lower body and used his free arm to stop her head from thrashing. He was afraid she was going to hurt herself. Her screams grew hoarse and her body shook violently. “Risa . . . Stop baby, please. Look at me. It’s Samson. Remember me? You’re safe, Risa. Just look at me.” Samson cupped her face gently as he spoke and tried to block the harsh rain from hitting her. He felt Conner behind him and was glad he was staying back, out of the line of sight. “Risa . . .? Look at me, baby.” Samson was relieved when he saw her slowly start to focus on his face. He kept speaking to her in gentle tones until he felt her start to relax.

  “Samson?” Risa whispered on a sob.

  “That’s right. I’ve got you, baby. You’re safe. It’s going to be okay.” He smiled gently as he spoke.