Savior Read online

  SAVIOR

  Copyright

  Savior©2019

  Author: Lane Mason

  Publisher: Magicblood Media Corp

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  34

  35

  Author Notes

  Uprising Preview

  1

  The only thing on Erica’s mind as she entered the parking garage was food, specifically a spicy chicken wrap from Olivers. It had just the right amount of kick to it. It had been a long and frustrating morning and getting out of the office, if only for a few minutes, looked to be the highlight of her day.

  Being an accountant was tedious at times. When the computers malfunctioned and you had to go through hours of documents by hand it was downright painful. But it paid the bills and got her out of the apartment.

  As she reached to unlock her car door, a hand grabbed her from behind.

  Startled, Erica turned and jabbed with her keys. The move was partially instinct, partially training. She’d taken self defense courses before and had practiced throat punching a dummy, stabbing her keys into its eye sockets and delivering a knee to the balls. Basically, the concepts were simple. Attack. Hit your attacker in their weak spots, get free, scream and run. So, when her arm had been roughly grabbed, Erica went right into savage mode.

  The attacker grunted as Erica hit him in the throat, but he didn’t let go of her arm. He was trying to drag her towards a van. Erica slammed her foot down on top of his and screamed as loud as she could.

  The elevator at the other end of the parking lot opened and two men came out. They heard her screams and started yelling and running towards them.

  The man who was trying to pull her into the van looked at the two men and then back at Erica. In frustration he pushed her away. She flew through the air, slamming into the side of her own car.

  The man jumped into the back of the van which then sped off, almost hitting the two men running to save her.

  “Are you OK?” asked one of the men as he reached her.

  Erica nodded. Her back was sore from slamming into the car, but that was minor. She’d gotten off lucky. “I’m OK. Did either of you get the license plate of that van?”

  The two men shook their heads. “I don’t think it had one,” said the first man.

  “I’ll call the cops, they’ll find it.”

  Erica wasn’t so sure about that. She’d had her dealings with the local police and the results had been disastrous. They would probably think she’d arranged to have herself mugged. They already thought she was a murderer. But she wasn’t going to say that to her rescuers.

  “I’m fine. I’m going back up to my office to sit down while I wait for the police.”

  The second man nodded. “Sure, you must be terribly frightened. We’ll tell the police everything we know and send them up to talk to you.”

  “Thank you both so much. If you hadn’t been here... I don’t know if I could’ve fought him off.”

  Erica headed back up to her office. Her day had just gone from shitty to total disaster. The only thing worse than the fact that she’d been mugged was that she’d have to deal with the cops and there was no spicy chicken salad in her immediate future.

  Fuck, she thought as she headed back to the safety of her office. Life sucks.

  2

  “I’m so glad you decided to come out,” Rebecca said.

  Erica smiled. The women at her office liked to go out once a month for dinner and drinks. She didn’t often attend as the single women in the group often liked to go out afterwards dancing, and it had been a while since she’d wanted anything to do with dancing or fun. But after the week she’d had she needed a fun night. The attack in the parking garage had been scary, but it wasn’t going to turn her into a recluse. “I’m glad I came out to. That Thai chicken salad was amazing.” It wasn’t the spicy chicken salad she’d been craving from Oliver’s but it did the trick. And being surrounded by a group of women had been a good distraction from all the bullshit she’d gone through that week. As she’d expected the police had been very suspicious of her story, and seemed reluctant to file a report. She bet if the men hadn’t shown up the cops would’ve just called her a liar and said she’d made it up.

  “I told you this place is great,” Sally said. “And the deserts are to die for.”

  “I shouldn’t have desert,” Erica protested.

  “Oh please. You are in great shape and you promised to come out dancing tonight so you’ll burn off all the extra calories.”

  “Fine. Twist my arm,” Erica said with a wink.

  Their server came back to the table. “How were everyone’s meals? Did we decide on deserts?”

  “Yes,” Sally said. “I’ll have the apple pie no ice cream, and my friend wants the chocolate mousse.”

  “I’ll have the mousse as well” said Trish, the fourth of the group.

  Erica raised a question eyebrow at Sally.

  Sally smiled. “Oh please, as if you were even considering ordering anything else. I know your chocolate is your weakness.”

  Erica sighed. “You’re right.” She nodded to the waiter. “And I’ll have another red wine.”

  “Have you heard anything from the cops yet, Erica?” Trish asked.

  Erica shook her head. “Nope. They basically told me to take a hike. That if he didn’t take anything and I didn’t have a good description of him, there was nothing they could do.”

  Rebecca shivered dramatically. “It freaks me out. That you were attacked in the parking garage. It could’ve been any of us. And don’t take this the wrong way, Erica, but I’m glad it was you and not one of us. You take self-defense classes. I wouldn’t know what to do if in that situation.”

  “No offense taken. I just feel lucky. Things could’ve gone a lot worse.”

  “Alright. No more talking about that. I don’t want that weird creep ruining our night,” Sally said.

  “Yes, save the weird creeps for the nightclub. At least there they buy you drinks,” Rebecca said with a laugh.

  After the desert, which Erica had to admit was heavenly, Rebecca and Trish shared a cab home. They both had families and while the hubbies agreed to babysit, both women knew their husbands would be happy to have them home. Sally decided that she was in the mood for dance music, which was a fifty-fifty proposition for her. She also loved line dancing and would hit the country bars. Erica didn’t care either way. She liked all music and could dance to anything.

  As soon as they’d gotten into the club they’d hit the dance floor. It was nice to get out and have a little fun. And it didn’t hurt that they were turning the head of more than one man tonight. Erica hadn’t dated since her husband had been murdered. And she finally was starting to feel like she’d gone through her grieving process and was willing to consider meeting men again.

  The club was now very busy. The dance floor had become a swaying sea of bodies. The deep bass of the dance music enticed Erica to keep dancing the night away, dancing away the tension that had been building and threatening to tie her up in knots.

  Suddenly, Erica felt a powerful pair of arms grab her, pinning
her arms to her waist and start pulling her through the crowd. Sally had her back turned to Erica and hadn’t noticed at all! Erica opened her mouth to scream as a shot of electricity stunned her. The pain took her breath away. The sound she made was anything but attention grabbing.

  The sound she did make was muffled and drowned out by the loud club music. Panic flowed through her veins. Erica searched for a face to look at her as she was pulled towards the door, through the sea of oblivious dancers. She spotted a bouncer at the edge of the dance floor, she struggled with all her might, shook her head, and mouthed the word ‘help’ at the large muscular bouncer. Luckily, the observant man quickly assessed the situation. The burly bouncer rushed to her aid, pushing bodies aside as he tried to keep Erica in his line of sight.

  As the bouncer confronted the person pulling Erica through the crowd, Erica found herself flung to the floor as her attacker turned to deal with the oncoming bouncer. The bouncer was knocked down by a punch he never saw coming. Erica looked up, getting a quick glimpse of her assailant. A narrow-faced, beady-eyed blond man, much too small to have manhandled her and downed the bouncer the way he had, glared at her with evil intent before slipping through the slowly dispersing crowd toward the door and off into the night.

  Sally finally noticed Erica on the ground and came over to her, “Are you okay? What happened?” She yelled over the music.

  “I was attacked! Right there on the dance floor. He was pulling me towards the door,” Erica said as she pointed to the bouncer. “Thank God he noticed and tried to stop him.”

  With a helping hand from Sally, Erica got up and went to check on her helper, who was groggily starting to get up. One of his co-workers had arrived to help him to his feet.

  “Thank you so much. I can’t believe that just happened.” Erica said to the bouncer who saved her from the strange assailant.

  “Did you know that guy? What was that about?” asked the bouncer.

  Erica shook her head, the attacker’s face had a familiar look to it, but he was no one she knew. “I have no idea who he was, or why he attacked me. I think he fucking tasered me!” Indignation, anger, and adrenaline made Erica’s voice reach a higher than normal pitch.

  The bouncer shook his head in disbelief. “Well, he certainly had a strong grip on you. Man, that was strange! I have never seen someone move so fast. I spotted him pulling you through the crowd, and I wasn’t sure what was going on. But then I read your lips and knew you were in trouble. I went to grab him, then suddenly you were on the ground, and he hit me all at the same time. That was one dangerous dude! I'll make a police report of an abduction attempt.”

  Erica could only nod her head in agreement, until the bouncer mentioned police. She had felt the man’s strength with the vice-like grip he had had on her arms. The look on his face when he stared down at her before leaving had been one of sheer evil. She rubbed her arms, certain there would be bruises showing by morning. Erica turned to Sally, “I need to go home now.”

  The bouncer interjected, “You need to stay if I call for the police, ma'am.”

  Erica shook her head. “You can call them, but I am not staying one minute longer. The police are useless.” When her husband Thomas had been murdered, the cops had struggled to find a suspect and had turned their investigate on her, trying to blame her for her own husband’s death. Only that she’d had an airtight alibi kept her from being arrest.

  Erica did not want to give them another excuse to look at her again as a suspect. This would fuel their theories that she and Jack were involved with a drug cartel or something equally dangerous and illegal. They had asked if she was an accountant for clients with offshore bank accounts, trying to drag her employer into their crack addled theory. No. Erica wanted nothing more to do with the police.

  Sally nodded her head in agreement with Erica. The glare in Erica’s eyes said it would be useless to argue. “We’ll share a cab. I am not letting you out of my sight until you are safely home.” Sally was fighting to be heard over the music. “I’ll get a bouncer to escort us to the cab, just in case that creep is still around.”

  Still frightened, Erica wanted to go home. Strange things had been happening to her ever since Thomas’s death. She had often felt like she was being watched. But that had probably been the police detectives trying to find her in some incriminating act to justify their incompetence. Eventually, she had given up trying to alleviate their suspicions and just ignored those feelings of being watched.

  Wide-eyed she looked about her. This was the second time within a week she’d been attacked.

  First the creep in the parking garage and now this. She couldn’t just ignore those feelings any more. There were a few curious faces from dancers close to them, but no predatory stares that made her feel as if she had a target on her forehead. Her eyes kept sweeping in every direction as she and Sally were escorted to the street, where a cab waited for them. Even the cab driver was suspect, until she took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves.

  As the cab took them home, Erica could hear Sally talking to her, “God, I can’t believe you were attacked in the middle of the club. Men are so fucked up sometimes....” But Erica’s mind was racing a million miles an hour and she tuned out her friend’s voice. The attack had been real, not a figment of her imagination. Maybe all the other strange things that she had tried to convince herself were the product of a distraught and overactive imagination were also real. Maybe someone had been following her, had actually broken into her apartment and now had tried to abduct her right off the dance floor of a nightclub? It made no sense, but something strange and disturbing was going on. She reconsidered calling the police. She changed her mind quickly. They had looked at her with so much suspicion she did not trust them. Any fool would know she had no motive to kill her own husband. They were Idiots. Erica felt Sally’s hand on her shoulder; the touch brought her back to reality. “Sorry, what? I was lost in thought.”

  “I said we’re at your apartment building. Do you want me to walk you up to your door?” said Sally, with a worried look on her face.

  “No, it’s okay. I will have Brent, the doorman, walk me up. I’ll be fine. I’m sorry our night was ruined.”

  Sally shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous! It certainly wasn’t your fault. I’ll talk to you at work tomorrow. Besides, dinner was excellent. No one can take the near heavenly experience of that chocolate mousse away from you.”

  Erica forced a smile. The mousse had been divine. Maybe Sally was right. But the feeling of something being amiss wouldn’t leave no matter how many delightful deserts she ate.

  The doorman escorted Erica up to her apartment. “Are you feeling okay, Ms. Erica? You look a little pale tonight.”

  “I’m okay, it has been a trying day,” Erica said. Erica’s head was spinning. She was much more shaken up than she had let on to Sally. Erica wasn’t ready to try explaining to anyone from work, even her closest friend, about all the weird things going on lately. She felt alone. “Do you mind coming inside for two seconds? I thought I might have had a break in recently, and after tonight I’m not feeling comfortable,” Erica asked, as they reached the apartment door. There was a tremor in her voice. She handed her keys to her escort.

  “Not a problem,” said Brent. After Erica opened the door, he walked through the apartment checking the balcony and all of the windows. After what had happened in her apartment, he did not blame her for being nervous. Why she stayed after Mr. Jack was found dead inside was a mystery. She certainly had guts. Whatever shook her up tonight must have been serious. “All clear Ms. Erica.”

  Everything was secure, and the apartment was empty. No boogey men were waiting in the closets tonight. Erica felt relieved and a little silly for asking Brent to check out the apartment for her. “Thank you, Brent,” she said as she handed him a fifty. “Sorry for the inconvenience.”

  “Oh, that’s not necessary,” Brent said with a smile as he tried to hand back the money.

  “Trust me, you
darling man, after the night I’ve had, having you come up and check my place was worth every penny. I may even get some sleep tonight,” Erica said as she refused to take back the tip.

  “Thank you, and if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. That is what we’re here for,” Brent said as he headed back to the elevator. He shook his head as he left. He had a very soft spot for the young widow. How the police could have even suspected her as a murderer was beyond his comprehension. Anyone who observed the couple together would have seen they were madly in love. He wondered about all the mystery surrounding Ms. Erica’s husband’s death. The doorman’s protective instincts had kicked into high gear. He often discussed with his wife, the worries he had for the young widow.

  Erica closed the door behind him and locked the deadbolt. She thought back to the nightclub and the way the man had grabbed her, and knocked down the very large and muscular bouncer with ease. Brent the doorman was a kindly man, handy for bringing in groceries and was always polite and friendly. She considered him a good doorman, but he would be useless, if her assailant had actually been in the apartment. But having someone besides herself going through the apartment and declaring it empty had been good for her peace of mind.

  Finally able to relax and ignore the night’s drama, Erica’s thoughts drifted back to Jack. She missed him. She missed sharing her day with him. She missed having him to turn to for advice. The habit of unconsciously turning to Jack for advice was going to be a habit difficult to break. Something was bugging her. She took out the elastic band holding her hair up and shook her shoulder-length blonde hair loose. She rubbed her grey eyes, and then massaged her temples. “What a day.”

  She missed how Jack would massage her shoulders; easing the tension of a stressful day. More often than not the shoulder massage would lead to a more exciting massage and pleasurable tension release. She sighed and chose to bottle those memories. If she chose to remember those times she would inevitably cry. She had cried enough. Erica kicked off her pumps. What would Jack tell me to do? Something was tugging at her memory.