Chapter 24

Time passes and heals many wounds but mental and emotional wounds are hard to heal. Lora remembered all the good times she had with Ralph and her friends when she was awake but at night the nightmares began. Why couldn't the memories leave her alone? She was ready to start her life over.

Two months had passed since they left the island. Tracy's pregnancy was going well she was 6 months in. She and Carlos bought a beautiful country house and were very happy. Carlos supported his family very well as an electronic engineer. He was happy with his hours and was able to spend a lot of time with Tracy. Tracy still worked as a legal counselor and was preparing to take the bar exam.

Denise and Marshall were happy together in their cozy condominium. Denise was working as a social worker and Marshall worked with Carlos. They worked through most of their problems but Denise still had problems when Lora was around. She could still see that night when they were both in the room. She knew Marshall loved her but it bought back so much pain. Marshall's parents were happy he was alive but confused about how he could let them think he was dead. They were angry but their love for him was stronger. They allowed him back into the family and accepted Denise as their new daughter-in-law and that Michael was no more. They called him Marshall.

Lora lived alone in a simple two-bedroom house. She had started working in a newsroom as the arts and culture anchorwoman, reporting all the events of the area. She loved her job but wasn't secure about being in front of the camera. She knew that someone who had her that night was watching her and wanting her again. She wouldn't let people get close to her because of her fears and suspicions. The only one she had to talk to was her therapist. Doc Lin was so persistent.

Carlos received a shocking letter from his friend on the island. Ralph had been released from prison and was trying to find Lora. The letter said that Ralph had murder on his mind. He intended to get Lora back for damaging his "Pride". They advised him to tell Lora to get out of that area. Carlos couldn't understand how Ralph got out of jail. He wasn't to be paroled and was to serve the whole of his sentence. How in the world did Ralph pull that stunt off? Carlos was going to find out.

The letter took four days to get to Carlos and in those four days, Ralph had made it to the states. He used his contacts and didn't take any time to find Lora and made plans to take off with her. He saw her as she left her parents' home, got into her sedan, and headed to a large country house. He watched her as she walked into the house. She was still as beautiful as ever. He couldn't wait to have sex with her again even if it kills him.

"What did you want me to see, Carlos? You made it sound so urgent." Lora said.

"I think you should sit down. This is going to throw you." Carlos replied as he took the letter out of his pocket. "I don't want you to panic and I am here for you. You don't have to handle this alone."

"Shut up and tell me what you are trying to say!" Lora exclaimed.

"Here read this and understand we do have plans already in place for you."

Lora read the letter. She was at first confused, then angry. She started plotting things in her mind. She was going to kill him if he ever comes near her. She was not going to run from him. Lora was not going to let him ruin her life again.

"How did this happen?" Lora asked. Carlos explained "Well, I looked into that and found out that Ralph's family was able to persuade a judge to suspend his sentence. The family paid a $10,000,000 fine and Ralph was released."

"You mean the son of a bitch bought the judge!" Lora said. "And what family? Ralph said he didn't have any family."

"Yeah, well don't worry we are not going to let anyone hurt you. You are scheduled to be on a plane in an hour. Tracy is the only one who knows where you are going. You will be safe and ..."

"No, you can't protect me and I am not going to put Tracy in harm's way. She is too close to delivery. I am not going to let Ralph upset my life again. If he is coming after me then let him come. He is not going to be the controller of my life."

"What are you planning to do? You can't face him and think you will beat him. You have got to let us help you." Tracy begged Lora.

"Don't worry about me. I am not going to do anything stupid. I will bring the police into this. He'll have to come after me. I will not go looking for him. If he is anywhere near me I have the right to call the police and then defend myself against him till they get to me. If that means killing him then he is dead. As long as I have this restraining order I am in the right." Lora was proud of her plotting mind and was seriously getting things set in her mind. Lora was going to make sure she had enough food in her home so that she would not have to leave out for three months. Summer was about to start and she had enough reports on the back burner to allow her to take a vacation. Her assistant could stand in for her. She would be ready for him. There would be no way a judge could say she was in the wrong when he turned up dead in her house.

Ralph watched as she got into her car and drove off. Then he saw Carlos and Tracy through the window. He knew that Lora must have gone home. He headed over to her house. He watched her and watched her. He thought it was strange that she stayed in the house and never went to see her parents or her friends. There were several times that her parents and friends would come and visit her but she never left home. It had been two weeks since she left her house. He would have to figure out a way to get into the house and to her, without her knowing it.

The next day, Lora's electricity went out. She tried to call the police and then Carlos and Tracy, but the phone went dead. She knew then that Ralph was on his way into the house. Lora sat in front of the fireplace, in a candle-lit room.

She knew that the only way he could sneak in was to blind her by cutting her lights out. She was ready for that. There was only one way in the room and she was ready, gun cocked and pointed.

A dark figure appeared in the doorway.

"Who is it?" Lora asked. There was no reply. "If you don't answer I am going to shoot."

Still no answer. The figure moved forward and she shot. It was a direct hit in Lora's eyes. The figure fell to the floor. Lora didn't move to inspect the "corpse"; instead she moved to an alarm box and cut it on. When she turned her attention back to the "corpse", it was gone. She began to be nervous. She pointed her gun and shot at anything that moved. As Ralph moved through the room he blew out the candles. After a while, she was left with only the light from the fireplace. He jumped her and they began to struggle. He wanted the gun. She kicked and swung her arms wildly, violently. Ralph finally pinned her to the floor and threw the gun to the other side of the room.

"Stop fighting me. You know that turns me on." Ralph said with a look of anger mingled with love.

"Get off me, you bastard. You know the police are coming. You can't win."

"I'm going to be done by the time they get here."

He pinned her hands in one of his and slit her underwear with the knife he had in the other. She screamed. She was not going to let him do this again. She didn't want him in her ever again. Lora kicked him and when he tried to kiss her she bit his lip.

"You bitch, this could have been pleasant but now, I'm just going to hurt you."

He made a quick move and was inside her. His thrusts were hard and painful. He grabbed at her nipples with his teeth. She couldn't believe it was happening again.

"You know that all I want from you is love," Ralph said as he was about to reach a climax. She knew she couldn't let him come inside her. To have his fluids in her was unthinkable. She was able to get her hands free (actually he was that cocky, he knew she couldn't stop him from fulfilling his dream of filling her with his sperm) and she searched for something to get him off her with. The fireplace poker was within her reach. She grabbed it and as he was about to release his flow of love juice, she nailed him across the back. Ralph winced and she hit him again. She was able to get him off her and hit him again and again. She saw his body go limp and the blood mingling with bruised flesh. She stopped. She noticed that there was a bullet wound on the right side of his body. As she inspected the rest of his wounds, she heard the police coming. Lora felt that at least an hour had passed but only 15 minutes had actually passed. The last 15 minutes she would suffer at Ralph's expense.

The police broke the door in and came running through the house. Leading the team was Lieutenant Stanley Benton. The Lieutenant was well-built and very tall. His broad shoulders made him look very commanding. One of the officers entered through the garage and went into the utility room where the circuit breaker box was and turned on the electricity. The lights lit up the house illuminating the sight of the struggle and of a young woman sitting in front of a fireplace on a rug. She didn't move, smile, blink, or cry. She stared blankly into space with a strong grip on the poker.

Stanley studied her. She was beautiful.

"Hello, Miss. You are O.K. now. We are the police and we won't let anyone else hurt you. "Stanley tried to comfort the woman, mostly so that he could get the poker, but also because she looked innocent and in need of love. He slowly moved toward her.

"Miss, please, let go of the poker. You are going to be O.K., but you have to let go of the poker. Please, we can't help you if you don't put down the poker". Stanley wasn't sure she heard until he saw the poker drop to the floor in front of her hands. He quickly moved it away.

Before he could react, the woman looked up at him and threw herself into his arms. She began to cry, hard pain-filled crying. He hugged her tight and soothingly spoke to her. Her crying finally calmed down and he sat with her on the couch.

"Please tell me who you are and what happened," Stanley questioned.

Lora told the whole story to Stanley and gave him the name of her contact on the police force, Barbara Star. Stanley confirmed the story with Barbara and stuck around Lora to be sure he got all the details of what happened that evening.

Carlos and Tracy showed up at Lora's while Stanley was there.

"What's going on? What happened?" Tracy asked as she looked around at the mutilated room. "Are you O.K. Lora?" Tracy ran over to hug and comfort her friend.

"Ralph came here to rape me and whatever else he had in mind and I killed him." Lora's recognition of the facts in such simple terms shocked everyone, especially the Lieutenant.

"Well, yes, that is in fact what happened or what seemed to have happened. After an investigation of the entire event, we'll be able to say for sure." Stanley was trying to be business-like and not to fall captive to the lovely woman's eyes. "You need to get your friend to the hospital. Get a rape kit done and get her completely evaluated. We'll go from there." With that Stanley and the other officers left.