Fate and Destiny (15 page)

Taking his cup from the
mantel, discovering it had grown cold, Matt ventured to the kitchen
to refresh it. Although he had seen many women and girls completely
head over heels for Andrew, Matt had never seen his cousin return
those feelings.

This one was different.
Destiny’s voice flowed with concern as Matt settled back into the
chair. She kept her eyes downcast on her lap. Refusing to let
either of them see her fear and acceptance.

“
So do you arrest me now?
Lock me up until you can ship me back there?”

“
No. As far as I’m
concerned, I thought I saw someone who fit the bill for the
warrant, but I didn’t have sufficient proof to make the arrest. You
will stay here in Andrew’s care while I see what’s really going on.
I think those two in the truck are going to be the biggest clues.
If I can’t arrest them for anything, or detain them, they will
probably be back. What will you do then?”

Andrew steeled himself
against his cousins concern.

“
We will fight for our
lives if we have to. Neither of us plans to go down easy. With the
newswires out, I don’t think it’s safe to take her to California.
Someone would see her picture on TV and we’d have law enforcement
all over us. I don’t think I could sway them as easily as I did
you.”

“
Well at least come down
into town and stay with me or Doreen. Someplace where you aren’t
alone.”

Andrew was shaking his head
before Matt even stopped speaking.

“
You know that won’t work.
If this goes bad, we can’t bring any of the family down with us for
harboring a fugitive. Especially you. Your career and life would be
ruined. What woman will ever want you then? You can’t find a good
one now even with the respect and authority you have.”

Matt puffed out his chest
in mock annoyance. Rising from the chair, he delivered his empty
cup to the kitchen sink.

“
Just so
you know, I have no problem finding women. I find them all over.
Drunk in their cars, being beat by their husbands, seeking me out
as a paycheck with medical insurance. For your information, I just
haven’t found one I wanted to keep. You are right about one thing
though. It would be a risk to anyone who knew she was here, but any
of us would gladly take that chance for
 
both
 
of you.”

He looked pointedly at
Destiny, who returned his gaze with awe and disbelief.

“
I gotta get going. Who
knows how many lawbreakers are out there running rampant while I’m
up here socializing.”

Moving to Andrew, Matt gave
his cousin’s shoulder a comforting squeeze.

“
I’m going to bring you a
two way radio so you can get a hold of me if you need me. And while
you’re here, you better get down to see Grandma. You know she will
drop a ton of guilt on you if you don’t visit. She already knows
you’re here.”

Grinning mischievously, he
winked at Destiny before directing his attention to her. Taking her
hands in his, he bent to look through her eyes into her
heart.

“
Everything will be okay.
In this family, we stand united and don’t let each other down. You
take care of yourself and this big oaf too.”

He gestured his head
towards Andrew, his gaze unwavering.

 “
Give me just a
little time to get this all straight, and please try not to shoot
him again unless it’s absolutely necessary. On second thought, try
not to do it even then. Maybe I better just take the rifle with me
and remove any temptation?”

Destiny almost laughed. So,
this is what family felt like. She wanted to immerse herself in
these people and never leave. Matt wrapped his arms around her in a
friendly and protective hug. It was Andrew’s turn to fight the
twinge of his own jealousy as his cousin embraced
Destiny.

Lenny didn’t intend to
drive back to DeMont without the body of Destiny as his prize.
Something about the cabin with the noisy dog tickled at the back of
his mind. They would have gotten a lot farther if that damn sheriff
hadn’t come snooping around. The grumbling in his stomach
interrupted his thoughts, drawing his attention away from
determining what it was about the cabin and the man that bothered
him. Just on the edge of town, a diner sat under a flashing neon
sign boasting the best food and last stop to eat for the next
eighty miles. Doug hadn’t said a single word since they arrived at
the cabin. If anything, he looked a little green around the
eyes.

“
Hey, dummy, I’m hungry.
We’re gonna stop in here and get something to eat. What’s wrong
with you anyway?”

“
That was a close one
Lenny. That cop could’ve figured out we had something to do with
that girl disappearing. Cops are pretty smart about stuff like
that.”

“
Shit. I haven’t met a cop
yet smarter than me. Bunch of donut eating, coffee drinking,
overweight slobs who sit on their butts in cars all day. Especially
out here in the middle of nowhere. Little dinky town like this
probably doesn’t even have its own law. They just ride on the state
patrol and county sheriff departments to get by. There’s no crime
here. These people are so dumb they sit around with their doors
unlocked, just waiting for someone like me to come along and take
what I want. By the time any of these hicks got the cops out there,
I’d be long gone with their money, jewelry, and daughters. Whatever
I wanted.”

Pulling into a parking
space right in front, Lenny’s smugly superior attitude rose even
higher.

“
Doug, look over there at
that girl. She’s about… what? Twenty-two? Twenty-three? Long legs,
long hair, big boobs. I’d love to get her to Vegas and into a club.
She would draw in some money.”

The woman under scrutiny
walked across the parking lot and into the diner, waving to a
waitress before taking a seat at the counter. Doug glanced at her,
but was too sick to his stomach to pay much attention. Not that he
paid much attention to women anyway. They never seemed to like him
much. Usually, they looked more frightened than interested when he
tried to talk to them. Lenny on the other hand, stared at her even
as they exited the truck and headed towards the twin glass
doors.

“
Yep,
take a woman like that out of this hellhole and show her the good
life. Let her get a taste of money and expensive things. Maybe hook
her up with a few mood inducers, nail her a couple of times,
then
 
bam
! She’s on the stage, topless and
begging for more.”

Doug’s stomach rolled. He
didn’t want to eat. He didn’t want to think about the girl. He
didn’t even want to be a part of any of this to start with. He just
wanted to get out of town and as far away from the mountain and
Lenny as he could. He wanted to go home. Not Vegas, but home. Spend
time with his mom. Get an honest job doing construction
again.

The thoughts soothed him.
His gut settled until he looked up to open the door and caught
sight of Lenny’s infatuation. Her long hair hung just like
Destiny’s. She was shaped similar too. Curvy and leggy, but not as
tall. Doug gagged, sucking in air and looking away from the
counter.

Every time he thought of
Destiny, he imagined she wasn’t dead when he pushed her from the
truck. Very much alive but lost and disoriented. Falling victim to
wild animals and freezing on that cold lonely mountain all by
herself. Visions of finding her mutilated body flooded through his
head again. The same images haunting him since DeMont told them to
come back here and find her.

Lenny led the way to a
corner table with a clear view of the profile of the girl at the
counter. Doug scooted into the bench with his back to the girl
while Lenny sat across from him to enjoy the view. Clearing the
nightmare of finding Destiny out of his mind, Doug suddenly
realized he hated Lenny. Hated him with a passion. Lenny was cold
and heartless. Doug wanted to wrap his massive hands around Lenny’s
neck and squeeze until his eyes bugged out. Even better, get one
hand around Lenny’s neck and the other around Charles DeMont’s.
That thought made him smile, his stomach finally easing. Maybe he
would be able to enjoy his breakfast after all.

The waitress took their
order while Lenny openly stared her up and down. Uncomfortable, the
waitress turned more towards Doug to feel less naked in her
uniform.

Returning with plates of
pancakes, ham, sausages, and eggs, the waitress swiftly unloaded
the tray. A few moments later, she was back again to refill their
coffee cups.

“
Oh man, the hot chick is
coming over here.” Mouth full of food, Lenny almost choked out the
words to Doug. Wiping a piece of Lenny’s spittle from his cheek,
Doug looked up, his unbelieving eyes proving Lenny right. She was
beautiful. Large deep brown twinkling eyes, perfect lips set in a
friendly smile. She actually looked right at him and the smile
didn’t waver. The twinkle didn’t disappear. She didn’t seem to be
scared of him at all. She floated right up to the table next to
him.

“
Hi guys! I saw your truck
as I was getting ready to leave. Are you the ones who just cleared
off Millers Mountain Road?”

Dumbfounded and awed, all
Doug could do was nod. Lenny, as usual, was not at a loss for
words.

“
Yeah, that would be me.
You live up there or something?”

“
No, my cousin does and we
were worried about him because no one heard from him since before
the storm came in. My brother followed you up there and called back
down to let me know the road was clear and everything was okay up
that way. I just wanted to thank you. That storm was a doozy. Took
us all by surprise that it was so intense. Anyway, it was nice of
you to clear that pass out. Well, I really gotta get back to work.
Nice talking to you.” Turning on her heel, she breezed to the
doorway, Doug turned to watch her go. The waitress and several
diners calling out, “Bye Doreen! See you later.”

Opening the door, Doreen
waved to the diner in general, and then she was gone.

Rotating back around to
face Lenny, Doug was stumped at the look on Lenny’s
face.

“
You sick or something?
Your eyes look all weird.”

Doug thought Lenny’s eyes
were going to explode.

“
Oh man.
You idiot, didn’t you hear what she just said?
Her
 
cousin
 
 lives on that mountain, and her
 
brother
 
followed us up there.” The
blankness in Doug’s eyes didn’t even flinch, so Lenny made it even
clearer.

“
You dunce. Her brother is
the fucking sheriff and that guy in the cabin with the dog is his
cousin!”

Lenny got more
excited.

“
That little bitch is up
there in that cabin. That’s why the dog was going off so much.
That’s why that asshole didn’t step away from the door. Hell. We
gotta get our asses back up there and get her so we can get out of
this shithole!”

Doug, still trying to sort
it all out, didn’t budge until Lenny threw a couple of bills on the
table, stood up and nearly ran for the doors. His mind straining,
Doug followed. It was starting to make sense. If he understood what
Lenny was telling him, then that meant he hadn’t killed Destiny and
she was alive!

Moving faster, Doug nearly
shoved Lenny right through the glass plate doors of the diner.
Easily glancing over Lenny’s head, Doug spotted the two uniformed
cops standing next to the truck. A patrol car behind the truck
blocked any fast exit they might have expected to make.

16.

With Matt gone, the cabin
felt different. Andrew and Shadow were outside, clearing snow from
the Jeep parked alongside the cabin. Destiny lay on the bed after
persuading Andrew she was exhausted from the ordeal. In reality,
she needed time to think.

She had been alone with
Andrew so long she forgot a world existed beyond the log walls. The
nightmare turned into a fantasy while it was just the two of them.
The arrival of Matt and the men in the truck shattered Destiny’s
dream world.

Her heart ached, the
forerunner of breaking completely. Andrew had a life outside of
these walls. He had a large family and a job. People who cared
about him and he cared for them in return. She was a stranger to
his life and the people in it. Just some dumb girl dropped into his
lap and he took care of her out of some misguided duty because he
was a genuinely good guy. He pitied her, felt sorry for her. And
all the while, she had been seeing what she wanted to see. She
wanted him to care for her. Love her. Not once had she stopped to
think what would happen tomorrow, or the day after.

Andrew should have left her
on the mountain. Better yet, he never should have found her at all.
Why did fate decide to alert Shadow to her? Why had fate decided to
drop her into an icy hell where Andrew would find her, tangling his
life up in her problems?

Closing her eyes, she was
aware of her heart pounding in her ears, her lungs expanding
normally. How could her body continue to function with all the loss
in her life? At some point, she expected it to simply shut down and
give up. Just stop beating. She would drift off into blissful
oblivion.