Safe at Home (Warm Springs Trilogy Book 1) (30 page)

She heard his heavy boots hit the porch as she stepped off, a little unsteady now without having the railing for support.

“Get back here, Samantha,” he spat. “You can’t get away from me. There’s no one there for you. You’re alone. No one would dare help a murderer like you. A child murderer.”

She tried to ignore his voice as she went through the gate, but it was hard. The dark and the rain were adding to her disorientation. She paused to blink the water from her eyes and then he slammed into her back, knife first. She screamed, stumbled and landed on her knees. She crawled through the wet grass, her hair hanging in wet tendrils around her face. She made it to the front yard and then he grabbed her ankle.

He pulled her back and she could feel him breathing on her neck even through the rain. He flipped her over and she clawed his face where she’d already cut him. It earned her another backhand, but he dropped his knife to hold his face. He reached for her neck and began to squeeze. She tried to grab at his hands to pry them off, but they were too slippery, she couldn’t get a grip. She kicked and fought, but she knew there was no beating him. He was too strong.

“Shit,” Spencer yelled. He threw the phone onto the seat next to him. He rounded the corner for Sam’s street and saw someone running. “Oh my God, Alex.” He hit the brakes and the truck slid to a stop.

With a hand raised over his eyes, he jumped out and into the rain. He ran to Alex and gathered him close. “What’s happened? Alex, what’re you doing out here?”

“Uncle Spencer. There’s a man.” Alex gasped between breaths. “He was shouting at Sam and she made me hide, but I climbed through the window.”

Spencer lifted Alex and jogged back to the truck while consoling him, but he could barely breathe. He put it in gear and drove like a madman the rest of the way down the street and then slammed on the brakes. He saw that bastard on top of her in the beam of his lights. She wasn’t moving.

“Stay in the truck, lock the doors and call 911.” He jumped out of the truck and sprinted across the lawn.

Eric placed most of his weight on one leg and then stood up with a grunt in time for Spencer to tackle him. Spencer pinned Eric on his back and straddling him, began to punch him repeatedly in the face. He kept picturing Sam scared, Jenny all beat up, the look on Betsy’s face when she stood worrying about Earl, and he snapped. He hit him until Eric quit fighting. Quit moving.

“Spencer,” Sam whispered. “Please, stop.” She tried to reach for him, but she could barely lift her arm. “Spencer, please.” Something in her voice broke through the red haze of anger. Spencer crawled to her, relief washing through him.

He put his arms around her and lifted her so he could hug her, but she cried out and went slack in his arms. “Sam, oh my God, Sam.” He could feel the warm blood on her back. Red and blue lights shone in the distance, but Spencer couldn’t stop looking at Sam’s face. It was bloody and bruised. He’d almost been too late.

“Stop right there,” someone shouted.

Spencer looked up and saw a police officer pointing a gun in their direction and then turned to see Eric coming at him with a knife. A gunshot rang out. Eric seemed to freeze where he stood and then he crumbled to the ground. Spencer gathered Sam to his chest and held her. “Don’t you leave me, Samantha. Don’t you dare leave me.”

Epilogue

It was strange to be back. Her bruises were mostly faded and her back only gave her a little trouble, luckily the stitches would be out soon. The last couple of weeks with her parents had been good ones. Her mother cooked everything she loved and her father hugged her as if he was afraid to let go.

It was time to say goodbye to her old life on her terms, not out of fear. Seeing her city, didn’t stir the same emotions for her anymore. She would always have a soft spot for Chicago, but it didn’t feel like home. Her family was no longer there, her friends had all moved on with their lives and there was no Spencer.

She missed him with every breath she took. She hoped he would be able to forgive her when she returned. She knew she shouldn’t have left the way she did, but she also knew this was something she needed to do on her own. Spencer had barely left her side.

Her drive out to the cemetery where Denise was buried wasn’t a long one. The air was crisp and the light snowfall was already beginning to melt. She found the grave without much trouble. It was silent except for the light crunch of her boots on the ground. It was strange how just a few weeks ago the quiet would have made her nervous, but not anymore.

“Denise, I am so sorry for what happened to you.” Sam crouched to the ground. “I miss you every day. I wanted to be the one to tell you that he’s gone. It’s finally over.”

“Have you heard from her?” Jake glanced at Spencer from the driver’s seat of the truck.

“You mean since she disappeared from the hospital? No.” Spencer turned his head and went back to staring out the window. “Maybe she missed home more than I thought.” He tapped his healed knuckles on the glass. “I was stupid to think she would stay here.”

“She’ll be back, Spence.”

“What makes you so sure?” He didn’t look at his brother for fear he’d see how scared he really was that she wasn’t coming back.

“All her stuff is still in the house. She probably just needed some time.”

“I guess,” he said. “So, what is it you need me to help you do this morning?”

“I thought we could stop by the hardware store and then I thought you could go with me to Sam’s house and put it back together.”

Spencer’s head snapped up and he stared at Jake.

Jake shrugged. “Someone needs to fix the back door. The temporary fix isn’t going to last forever and Ann told me she didn’t want to see me for a few hours. She’s trying to get me out of the house.”

The physical activity was good for him. It kept his hands busy and almost kept him from thinking about Sam, except that this was her house. And it was a mess. The back door didn’t take long to fix so they moved inside to clean up the TV, tree, and all the other broken things. There was a patch of blood on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. It made his heart lurch. He’d almost lost her. She may not have been there now, but he knew she was okay.

He heard the front door open behind him.

“You missed a spot.”

He paused, a ghost of a smile crossing his face.
Sam
. He turned to look at her and they stared at each other. She looked great. There were no circles under her eyes. She was happy.

“I really appreciate what you’re doing here, with the house.” She smiled at him.

“Sure.” He stood and in one long step, pulled her into his arms. Kissing her, he poured every ounce of longing into it. He needed her to know how much he loved her. How he’d missed her. “I didn’t know if you were coming back,” he said with his lips still against hers.”

“Of course I came back. You’re here. Where else would I go, Spencer?”

The following weekend found everyone gathered at Jake and Ann’s house. Things were back to normal. Sam went back to work and got settled again in her house. Spencer was there every night, making up for lost time as he put it. All of their friends were there now, and she couldn’t help but think, as she looked around at Ann holding her new little boy on her lap, and Alex playing with Boomer on the floor, that this was the happiest she’d ever been. It was a life beyond any she could have wished for. She was so lost in her thoughts, it took her a moment to realize the room had grown quiet.

“Sam?”

She turned to see Spencer down on one knee behind her.

“Sorry your Christmas present is a little late.” He held a ring out to her and smiled. “Are you ready to spend the rest of your life with me?”

A tear slid down her face as she looked at him. “I never got you a present.”

“I don’t need a present, I just need you.”

“I better say yes then,” she said in a watery voice.

He stood up and hugged her as all of their friends looked on. “Never leave me again,” he whispered in her ear.

“Never,” she replied, looking in his eyes. “My home is here with you.”