| Chapter Ten Unbeknownst to Sara, she had been watched carefully the rest of the week. The little man in the employ of Jeffery Parker dilligently watched her every move and listened in on every conversation that he could. That was how he found out about a party she would be attending that weekend with the dark haired woman and the man with the tattoos. He had entered the store one afternoon while the two women were working and had overheard their conversation. "I can't wait for you to meet everyone on Saturday" Kathy said as she arranged a display of merchandise. "I know. I'm getting excited about it all. I can't wait to see my other Good Samaritan" Sara joked with an arch of her brow. He had browsed through the store, hoping for a location to be announced, when Sara had asked, "Where is it that Nick lives again?" "He lives in Tampa. You can't pry that boy away from his water" Kathy had answered.'Bingo' he thought as he silently left the store. Now it was the day of the party and he sat in his car, on the street in front of the house where Sara had been staying. He was hunched down in the seat, so no one could see him. He lifted his head in time to see Sara and her two friends come out of the house and climb into the car. He waited until they were backing out of the drive before he started his own. He had hoped to catch her by herself, but it was of no consequence that she wasn't. He followed them all the way from Orlando to Tampa looking for an opportunity to run them off the road. He cursed loudly as they pulled into a driveway and shut the car off. Fearful of being seen he drove past and decided to wait and watch until they left, to do what he came to do. ~~****~~ "Hey you guys come on in" Nick said as he answered the door. He pulled Kathy into a fierce hug and high fived AJ. "Sara, its good to see you up and around" he said as he gently hugged her. "Thanks Nick for everything" she whispered before he stepped back. Nick led them into the living room and began the introductions. "Sara this is Brian, Howie and Kevin. And the lovely ladies with them are their girlfriends, Kara, Jill, and Beth. Everybody this is Sara." They all said hello and Sara smiled at them. "Its nice to finally meet you all" she said. Sensing her nervousness, AJ reached down and took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. Someone made mention of using the pool and the group disbanded to change. "I don't know about this" Sara said, self-conscious of the scar that showed high on her right chest. "Don't worry Sara, you look fine. I can almost guarentee you that no one will notice." "Almost? Look at it Kathy. Its ugly and red and no matter what you say, they're all going to see it." Kathy crossed the room and stood behind Sara. She turned her to the mirror and asked, "Do you know what I see? I see a wonderful woman who has the courage to face anything that comes her way, including being attacked on the street or her manical uncle. That's what they'll see too. Trust me" she said as she squeezed her friend's shoulders. Sara smiled at Kathy and grabbed her towel. "Let's go. I'm ready to have some fun!" Later in the day Sara was sitting in the yard, talking to Nick when an icy feeling ran down her back. She shuddered and drew in a sharp breath. "What's the matter Sara? Its not your wound is it?" Nick asked anxiously. Sara didn't respond, instead she looked around the yard and beyond out towards the street. She felt like someone was watching her. "Sara?" Nick asked again, begining to get worried. "Hum?" "Are you okay? You're wound isn't bothering you is it?" "No, no I'm fine" she answered, still feeling as if someone was watching her. She noticed the worried look in Nick's eyes and determined to put her own worries behind her. "Honest Nick. I'm fine. Let's dance" she said as she pulled Nick to his feet and began to move to the music. Nick watched her closely and decided he had just overreacted. The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying time spent with friends. At nine that evening AJ, Sara, and Kathy decided to leave. They said good bye to their friends and walked out to the car. The little man, who had sat in his parked car all day, sat up abruptly when he saw Sara exit the house. "Finally" he mumbled crossly as he started the car and waited for them to pull out. He kept a discreet distance behind them, waiting for a perfect opportunity to do his dirty deed. It came sooner than he thought it would. There were no other cars on the road, coming or going. He stepped on the gas pedal and his car began to speed up. "Man that guy must be drunk" AJ said as he peered into his rear view mirror. Sara turned around and saw the car come flying towards them. "Oh God! He's gonna hit us" she screamed. The dark colored late model sedan rammed them in the rear, causing Kathy to be thrown against the lap belt that held her in the seat. Then the car pulled into the oncoming lane and pulled up along side of them. Without giving them a chance to second guess him, the little man swerved his car into the side of AJ's car. Sara hit her head against the passenger window and whimpered. "Shit! What's he trying to do?" AJ yelled as he struggled to keep his car on the road. The little man grinned evilly as he once again rammed AJ's car with the side of his. "Hang on!" AJ screamed as the car flipped over a guard rail and began to roll down the side of a steep hill. The little man pulled his car to a stop and got out. He walked over to where AJ's car had went off the road and starred down at the wreckage. "Good job Jacob" the little man said, giving himself a pat on the back. CHAPTER 11 AJ came to hanging upside down in the car. He turned his head to look at Sara and groaned. "Sara, baby wake up" he said as he gently shook her. "Where are we?" she asked when she noticed they were upside down. "We're in a ravine. The car flipped and rolled. Are you alright?" he asked as he released his seat belt. "My ribs hurt and so does my head, other than that I'm okay" she replied. A groan of misery came from the back seat and Sara and AJ turned as one to look at Kathy. "Hey Bono, you still with us?" AJ asked his cousin. "Yeah, but I think my arm is broke." "You two hang on, I'm going to try to get my door open" he said as he began to put his weight against the door. After a minute of struggling, the door opened. He stepped out and opened the back door with ease and helped Kathy out. "Sara, do you think that you can crawl out this side?" AJ asked. "Yeah! Just give me a minute to get my belt off" she said as she struggled with the latch. It finally gave and she braced her feet on the roof of the car and began inching her way across the front seat. She neared the door and AJ pulled her the rest of the way out. "Ugh!" she groaned as AJ stood her to her feet. "Now what are we going to do?" Kathy asked, craddling her broken arm against her chest. "Did you bring your cell phone?" AJ asked Kathy. "Its in my bag in the back seat" she replied. AJ reached in the back seat and pulled the bag out. He searched the bag and came up with his prize. "My name is AJ McLean and I and my friends were ran off the road." He gave the location to the female operator and breathed a sigh of relief when she assured them that help was on the way. In minutes they could hear the sirens in the distance. AJ had crawled up the ravine to flag down the police car and the ambulance. "What happened here son?" the elderly officer asked. "We left a friends house and we were on our way back to Orlando. This car comes outta no where and hits us in the rear. Then he speeds up.." "He?" the officer asked. "Yeah, it was a man. Anyway he speeds up and rammed the side of my car. I managed to keep control of the car, but then he hits us again and the car flipped and we went rolling down the hill." "Can you describe the car or the driver?" another officer asked. "The guy was maybe in his late thirties, early forties. He was scruffy looking, his hair was longish. It was dark so I didn't get a good look at him" AJ answered. "Ma'am, what about you?" the new cop asked Sara. "I didn't get a good look at him, but the car was a dark colored late model sedan." The officers made little notations in their notebooks as they took Sara's, AJ's and Kathy's statements. "I think that's about it for now. We'll get a tow truck out here and have your car towed back the garage, take some paint samples and see if we can match them." "Oh wait! I remember something else" Kathy exclaimed. The officers attention swung to Kathy and she said, "I remember seeing the front license plate. It was from South Carolina." Sara gasped at hearing her home state mentioned. "And I remember seeing a 56 or a 59 with the letters R and L in it." "Thank you young lady. We'll get right on this" the elder officer said as he stepped back so the ambulance crew could help the three friends into the back. AJ held Kathy's good hand in one of his and Sara's in the other. "I'd say we were mighty lucky ladies" he whispered as he laid his head against the wall of the ambulance. When they arrived at the hospital they were taken to differnt rooms for the doctor on duty to check them out. Kathy definately had a broken arm and Sara had bruised ribs and a slight concussion. AJ came out of the accident with a few minor scrapes and bruises, but otherwise he was fine. AJ had called his mom and his grandparents and told them what had happened and his mom was on the way to pick them up. When Denise got there she pulled all three of them in for a hug, thankful that they were all okay. "Let's get you all home" she said as she led them out to her car. CHAPTER 12 AJ quietly stepped into Sara's room. It was time to wake her up, according to the doctor's orders. He was surprised to see her sitting up in bed fully awake. "Hey what are you doing up?" he asked. "I couldn't sleep after the last time you woke me up. I.. I have something to tell you" she said in a frightened whisper. "Sara what is it? You can tell me." Sara played with the edges of her blanket as she began to speak. "I'm from South Carolina AJ." "Yeah so?" "Don't you see? The car that ran us off the road was from South Carolina. That can mean only one thing" she said getting hysterical. "Sara sweetie, calm down. I think you're jumping to conclusions. You can't be sure that its connected." "Its too much of a coincedence not to be. I'd never forgive myself if you and Kathy or any of your family were hurt because of me" she sobbed. AJ wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "Sh now. I'll call the police tomorrow and see if they'll look into it. Okay?" Sara nodded her head and tried not to sniffle. "Now you need to lay back and get some rest." Sara clung to AJ's arm and whispered, "Please don't leave me." He leaned down and kissed her forehead and said, "Scoot over." When she had moved over, he climbed into the bed and held her in his arms. She drifted off to sleep feeling safe in his arms. The next morning AJ did as promised and called the police officer that was working on the Orlando end, explaining the situation. They in turn promised to look into it and contact the police in Sara's hometown. A week later, AJ, Kathy and Sara were sitting on the deck relaxing and taking it easy when the phone rang. "Hello" AJ said, answering the phone. "This is Detective Moran. May I speak with AJ McLean?" "Speaking." "Mr. McLean, we found the driver of the car that ran you off the road last week. He's been arrested. I just thought I'd let you know. Your friend was right. The guy spilled everything. He was hired to kill Sara Parker." AJ swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat at that news amd asked, "Did you find out who hired him?" "I'm sorry, no. He won't say anything more than he already has." "Thank you Detective. I appreciate you letting me know." "That was Detective Moran," AJ said as he hung up the phone, "They caught the guy that ran us off the road." "That's great news!" Kathy exclaimed. "Yes it is, but why do I get the feeling that that wasn't all that he told you?" Sara asked as she watched AJ's face. AJ took a deep breath and let it out. "You were right. It was connected, the guy was hired to..." "To what?" Sara asked nervously. "To kill you" AJ said softly. "Oh my God! Who would do something like that?" Kathy shrieked. "Detective Moran said that the guy wouldn't say." Sara paled considerably. "I'm sorry. I.. I think maybe it'd be a good idea if I moved out of here" Sara said as she tried to rise from her seat. AJ grabbed her hand and stopped her. "You sit right down in that chair. You're not going anywhere." "But.." "But nothing. We want you to stay" Kathy said after she got over her shock. "But you were almost killed because of me last night." "Sara, honey it wasn't you're fault. None of it was" AJ said as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "I know you think it is Sara, but we don't. At least stay for another few days and give this some thought. Please?" Kathy begged. Sara smiled wanly at them and agreed, praying she was making the right decision. |