Threat of Darkness Read online

  TO PROTECT THE CHILD

  As a nurse and special advocate for children, Samantha Rochard is used to danger in small town Serenity, Arkansas. But when she suspects a little boy is in jeopardy from his powerful father, the danger turns on her. Her only source of protection? The handsome police officer who broke her heart five years ago. Yet after John Waltham comes to her rescue in more ways than one, Samantha must trust in him—and the Lord—to watch over her...and save one sweet little boy.

  The Defenders: Protecting children in need.

  Enjoy a special 15th anniversary bonus story from Love Inspired, Small-Town Romance by Arlene James

  “I’m not going to hurt you, Samantha,” John said. “I’m not like your father, okay?”

  “I know.”

  He offered his hand to her, waited a few heartbeats, then started to pull back.

  Samantha moved quickly to grasp it before he could change his mind. The feeling of safety and concern in John’s tender touch was all-encompassing and so comforting it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

  Holding his hand like this was dumb, given their stormy history. It was also something she was not ready to relinquish. Not when the police were still at her house searching for her attacker.

  “This whole drug-conspiracy idea might be nothing more than a big misunderstanding.”

  “Even if it is, there’s still somebody out to get you, Sam. All the good intentions in the world won’t protect you from evil if you don’t use your head.”

  He was right, of course. That was what she was doing when she volunteered through CASA. And that was the same thing John had been doing when he’d put himself in place to protect her.

  Books by Valerie Hansen

  Love Inspired Suspense

  *Her Brother’s Keeper

  *Out of the Depths

  Deadly Payoff

  *Shadow of Turning

  Hidden in the Wall

  *Nowhere to Run

  *No Alibi

  *My Deadly Valentine

  “Dangerous Admirer”

  Face of Danger

  †Nightwatch

  The Rookie’s Assignment

  †Threat of Darkness

  Love Inspired Historical

  Frontier Courtship

  Wilderness Courtship

  High Plains Bride

  The Doctor’s Newfound Family

  Rescuing the Heiress

  Love Inspired

  *The Perfect Couple

  *Second Chances

  *Love One Another

  *Blessings of the Heart

  *Samantha’s Gift

  *Everlasting Love

  The Hamilton Heir

  *A Treasure of the Heart

  Healing the Boss’s Heart

  *Serenity, Arkansas

  †The Defenders

  VALERIE HANSEN

  was thirty when she awoke to the presence of the Lord in her life and turned to Jesus. In the years that followed, she worked with young children, both in church and secular environments. She also raised a family of her own and played foster mother to a wide assortment of furred and feathered critters.

  Married to her high school sweetheart, she now lives in an old farmhouse she and her husband renovated with their own hands. She loves to hike the wooded hills behind the house and reflect on the marvelous turn her life has taken. Not only is she privileged to reside among the loving, accepting folks in the breathtakingly beautiful Ozark mountains of Arkansas, she also gets to share her personal faith by telling the stories of her heart for all of the Love Inspired Books lines.

  Life doesn’t get much better than that!

  Threat of

  Darkness

  Valerie Hansen

  Dear Reader,

  In 2012 Love Inspired Books is proudly celebrating fifteen years of heartwarming inspirational romance! In honor of this special occasion, we’re spotlighting the Love Inspired Suspense series this month.

  If you haven’t read a Love Inspired Suspense book before, now is a wonderful time to discover them. Love Inspired Suspense offers gripping suspense, compelling romance and an inspirational message—all within one series. These edge-of-the-seat, contemporary romantic suspense stories feature Christian characters facing challenges to their faith…and to their lives!

  We’re excited about our author line-up this month. Look for Threat of Darkness by Valerie Hansen, the latest book in her exciting miniseries, The Defenders. Terri Reed delivers the dramatic finale to Love Inspired Suspense’s continuity series, Fitzgerald Bay, with The Deputy’s Duty. Rachelle McCalla’s Reclaiming the Crown miniseries continues with Prince Incognito. Susan Sleeman rounds out the month with Double Exposure, the first book in her new miniseries, The Justice Agency. And enjoy a fifteenth anniversary bonus story at the end of each book.

  I hope you enjoy each and every story. Look for four new Love Inspired Suspense books every month for the perfect combination of riveting suspense and inspirational romance!

  Sincerely,

  Tina James

  Senior Editor

  This book is dedicated to all the unsung heroes who take a stand against injustice for the sake of others. Many thanks, also, to Joe and Karen for their support and work on my behalf, and to the many faithful readers and friends who keep me in their prayers.

  “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.”

  —Romans 12:21

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Dear Reader-Author

  Questions for Discussion

  SMALL-TOWN ROMANCE

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  ONE

  The keening wails echoing down the usually quiet halls of the Serenity Medical Center made the hair on the back of Samantha Rochard’s neck prickle. Every natural instinct told her to flee. Instead, her experience as a registered nurse sent her racing toward the sound of misery.

  A doctor, white coat flying behind him, shoved her aside and burst through the curtain into an E.R. exam cubicle. She heard him start to speak. Then, his words were abruptly cut off.

  A sixth sense brought Samantha to a skidding halt before the weighted curtain had stopped swinging behind him. Was that scuffling? Fighting? A thud?

  She peeked through a slit between the panels. Dr. Weiss, the physician who had elbowed her out of his way, lay on the floor, moaning. A thin, scraggly figure she judged to be male stood with his back to her. The only thing about him that caught her attention and held it was the small, silver-colored revolver he was waving.

  Samantha wheeled and flattened herself against a nearby wall. Hands trembling
, she pulled out her cell phone, called 911 and cupped her hands around the instrument to muffle her speech.

  “We need help at the medical center. Hurry.”

  “What’s the nature of your emergency, ma’am?”

  “I don’t know.” Samantha wanted to shout instead of whispering. “I heard a scream and…”

  When the dispatcher interrupted to ask, “Is that you again, Ms. Rochard?” she figured her report wasn’t going to be taken seriously. So what else was new?

  “Look,” Samantha said, “we’ve got a guy in our E.R. with a gun. Isn’t that enough?”

  “Okay. Stay where you are and let us handle it.” There was a rumble of conversation and beeping noises in the background before the dispatcher returned. “We have units on the way. Stay on the line with me.”

  Samantha was about to reply when someone grabbed a fistful of her shoulder-length, dark hair and jerked her off her feet. The cell phone hit the floor with a splintering crack. She was being dragged backward into the exam area where Dr. Weiss lay!

  Her scalp felt as though it was on fire. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t reason. All she could do was keep screaming “No! No!” and try to regain her balance enough to fight back.

  The attacker flung her aside like a sack of dirty laundry. She landed hard. The instant she looked up she knew who had manhandled her. It was one of the teenage Boland boys. What’s his first name? Why can’t I remember? Marty, Jimmy, Bobby? It was Bobby. Bobby Joe. At least that sounded right.

  Shying away while her thoughts whirled, Samantha stared at the young man in the tattered jeans and T-shirt. His eyes were wide and darting, their pupils dilated. He was under the influence for sure, which made him even more unpredictable. His demeanor reminded her of an animal caught in the jaws of a steel trap and willing to chew its own leg off to escape.

  She licked her lips and found her voice. “Hey, it’s me. Samantha Rochard. You’re—you’re Bobby Joe, right? I used to go to school with your big sisters. Remember?”

  His eyes flickered. His body was shaking so uncontrollably his hand kept jerking. The hand with the gun in it. “I—I know,” he stammered. “I came to see you ’cause you’re a nurse.”

  “Okay. I’m here,” Samantha said with forced calm. “I’m going to get up now, Bobby. Will you let me do that?”

  His nod was quick, twitchy. “Yeah.”

  Using the edge of the exam table to steady herself she kept her concentration on the teen’s face, waiting for him to do something else irrational thanks to his drug-induced paranoia. The biggest plus of the whole situation was the fact that she knew all of the Boland kids had been raised with strong morals and lots of love, even if they hadn’t had much else.

  Samantha took a deep, settling breath and squared her shoulders. “I’m listening,” she told the skinny, long-haired teen. “Why did you want to see me?”

  He stepped aside so Samantha could view the occupant of the narrow gurney for the first time. A homemade quilt wrapped a frail, blond child about two years old. The little body lay quiet. Too quiet.

  Whipping her stethoscope from around her neck she pushed the teen aside, threw back the edges of the quilt and began to check the child’s vital signs. There was a heartbeat! Thank You, God.

  “What happened?” she demanded.

  “I don’t know. I was just watchin’ him for a friend and…”

  “How long? How long has he been like this?”

  Instead of answering, the gunman stepped back and began to weep as if his heart was breaking.

  Samantha was no longer concerned about anything except the ill child. “Talk to me, Bobby Joe. Tell me everything.”

  Sobbing was all she heard so she doubled her efforts. “Listen. Time matters. If you think he swallowed something I need to know what and when. Talk to me. Help me save him.” She was searching for injuries on the little body as she spoke and finding none.

  The young man sank to the floor near Dr. Weiss’s feet. Samantha heard him mumble something about a stash and the little boy being too curious. That was enough to get started. She threw aside the curtain surrounding one end of the exam area and found herself staring at a trio of quaking coworkers.

  “Narcan,” Samantha shouted. “And find me a doctor who’s conscious enough to give the order to administer.”

  “I can do it,” Weiss said, rolling onto his hands and knees and pausing before pulling himself erect. He cast a wary glance at the assailant who was still babbling incoherently, then nodded at a middle-aged nurse who stood outside the immediate area. “You. Alice. You heard her. Meds. Stat. And somebody order a chopper. We’ll transport to Children’s in Little Rock as soon as we stabilize.”

  “Respirations are slow, pulse rapid and weak,” Samantha told him.

  “That figures.” Weiss blew a sigh. “I’ll start an IV while you give him half the dose IM. If the problem isn’t opiate-induced, Narcan won’t hurt him.”

  “Right.” She administered the injection while other nurses and the doctor worked on the opposite side of the gurney.

  The sound of approaching sirens caught her attention. Tensing, she eyed Bobby Joe. He apparently hadn’t noticed that the police were almost there.

  “Vitals are improving. Somebody take my place for a second,” Samantha said before leaving the patient in other capable hands and going to crouch beside the distraught teen.

  “We’ve given the boy an antidote and he’s starting to respond. It’s going to be okay.” Reaching for his weapon and closing her hand around it, she made sure it was pointing in a safe direction, then exerted steady pressure. “You can let go. Give me the gun, Bobby Joe. Everything’s under control.”

  Relieved beyond words when he did as she asked, Samantha stood, holding out the small, silver pistol, butt first and muzzle direction safely diverted, just the way she’d taken it from its owner.

  Several police officers were already approaching warily when she turned to face them. Their guns were drawn, their expressions deadly serious so she announced, “You can relax, fellas. Everything’s under control. I got his gun away from him for you.”

  One deputy sidled past her to cuff the addict while another stepped up and took the pistol from her hand.

  If Samantha hadn’t already been so keyed up that she could barely think straight, she might have shrieked when she saw that cop’s face. Her jaw did drop and she was pretty sure her gasp was audible. His light brown hair and eyes and his broad shoulders were all too familiar. It couldn’t be him, of course. It simply couldn’t be. She hadn’t had one of these déjà vu moments for months. Maybe years.

  Her pulse leaped as reality replaced imagination. She couldn’t catch her breath. This was not another bad dream. John Waltham, the man who’d broken her heart so badly she’d wondered if she’d ever recover, was standing right in front of her, big as life.

  Before she could decide how to greet him, he set the mood of their reunion. His “What did you think you were doing?” was delivered with such force it was practically a growl.

  That attitude stiffened her spine and made it easy to answer, “My job.”

  “You’re a nurse, not a cop.”

  “Oh, so I’m supposed to just stand there while you and your buddies waltz in here and start shooting?”

  “If necessary, yes.”

  “Don’t be silly. I knew Bobby Joe wasn’t going to hurt me,” she insisted, wishing she fully believed her own assertion. When an addict was under the influence there was no way to predict what he or she might do.

  Handling the pistol expertly, John unloaded it and passed it to one of his fellow officers to bag as evidence before turning back to Samantha.

  She noticed that his expression had softened some but it was too little too late. She was already bristling. “What
are you doing back in town?” She eyed him from head to toe. “And why are you dressed like a member of our police force?”

  “Because that’s what I am. I’ve come home,” he said flatly.

  Samantha couldn’t believe her ears. After all he’d put her through, all the tears she’d shed after he’d left her high and dry, he had the unmitigated gall to return and go back to work as if nothing had changed. How dare he!

  * * *

  Seeing Samantha again had been disquieting to begin with. Seeing her with the perp’s loaded gun in her hand had dealt him such a staggering blow he’d almost been rendered speechless.

  Although Sam was prettier than ever, she now exhibited an element of authority and expertise that floored him. The last time they’d been together Sam had clung to him, crying and begging him to stay in Serenity. She’d acted as if she couldn’t bear to see him go and was positive she couldn’t live without him.

  Now, however, she was behaving with such self-assurance he was stunned. His high school sweetheart had grown up in his absence. Boy, had she!

  Waiting until the addict had been escorted to a patrol car and stuffed into the backseat, John approached her for the second time.

  She looked up from her task of packaging the quilt and the child’s clothing. She didn’t speak, didn’t smile.

  John cleared his throat. “I think we got off on the wrong foot just now. It’s good to see you again, Sam.”

  All she did was nod.

  “Nice job calming the suspect. Just don’t try anything like that again.”

  He’d thought she might reply because her jaw dropped slightly but she snapped it shut and kept mum. “I told you I was sorry a hundred times,” he said quietly so others wouldn’t overhear. “What happened between us in the past was for the best, Sam. You and I both know that.”

  With a noisy sigh and shake of her head she regarded him for long seconds before she finally spoke. “I’d adjusted fine to you being a detective in Dallas, John. What the… What are you doing back in Serenity?”