Fate and Destiny (16 page)

The damn thing continued
thumping steadily.

Since she could not will
her body to cease functioning, she was going to have to do
something to save Andrew from her. The poor man had already been
shot. Now he was in danger from Doug and his partner, much less if
any other authorities found out she was there. One slip of the
tongue from Doreen and federal law enforcement would be on them.
Not only would she go down, but she would unwillingly take Andrew
and Matt with her.

Even if he cared for her
now, he would surely hate her when he found himself sitting in a
prison cell with Matt. Besides, her own feelings were a tangled
heap. She deluded herself about Andrew's feelings towards her. It
was probably also delusional to think she loved him. Under the
circumstances, her mind tricked her, mistaking security and comfort
for love. The cabin didn’t exist in everyday life. It was an escape
from real life for Andrew.

While here, Destiny became
part of that escape from reality and they both dissolved into the
fantasy. Now that dream was gone. She needed to wait for the right
moment to put everything back the way it should be.

 “
Oh hell, what
now?”

Lenny muttered, irritated
they were so close to ending this fiasco and now cops were outside
inspecting the truck. First the one on the mountain, now this.
Probably just more good old boys wanting him to clear another
mountain passage. Time to get rid of them so he and Doug could go
back up and get the bitch. Throwing open the door, he sauntered
towards the truck.

Confidence and ire seething
through every step as he closed in. Doug lumbered along behind
him.

“
Can I help you
officers?”

Count to three. Smile. Be
friendly. Control the irritation. He didn’t need some backwoods cop
taking any of his time. The officer standing closest to Lenny
glanced his way, then back to the notepad in his hand.

“
This your
truck?”

“
Yes Sir. Well actually,
it belongs to my boss. But he told me to drive it.”

The cop glanced back at
Lenny, his face an unchanging mask.

 “
Seems a truck
fitting this description was reported stolen. I’ll need you to show
me your license, insurance, and registration.”

Sighing, Lenny pulled the
keys and his wallet from his pocket, unlocked the doors, and sat on
the driver’s seat. One foot dangled from the open truck door as he
handed his Nevada drivers license to the officer. Then, he reached
around to rummage in the glove box for the insurance and
registration.

The idiots at the airport
had better have it in there somewhere, or he was going to have
their heads on the chopping block when he got back. Time was
wasting. Stretched across the seat, glove box open, Lenny noticed
the second officer coming around the truck to talk to Doug. Divide
and conquer. One cop for each of them. Very interesting. Doug would
be the weak link. The big dummy needed to just keep his mouth shut
and only answer any questions with yes or no.

The first officer stood at
the front of the truck near the open driver’s door with Lenny's
driver’s license in his hand, talking into a radio attached to his
uniform at the shoulder. He wore dark metallic framed sunglasses
and his hat pulled low over his eyes. Lenny couldn’t read any
reactions on the cops face, but he wasn’t too worried about it.
Lenny hadn’t done anything lately to arouse any suspicions. Or at
least nothing they could pin on him. From his position within the
truck, Lenny couldn’t hear the officer at the front of the truck,
however it was easy to eavesdrop on the conversation between Doug
and the second officer.

“
What are you boys doing
in this area? Long ways from Vegas aren’t you?”

In his mentally slow
manner, Doug paused before answering.

“
We’re working. Our boss
sent us out to clear the mountain passes.”

Lenny cheered inside his
head. Good boy Doug. Don’t tell them anything.

“
So you came all the way
over here from Vegas just to clear snow? When was the last time it
snowed in Vegas so that you would have a snowplow just lying around
waiting to do a good deed?”

“
The truck isn’t from
Vegas. It’s from Colorado.”

Lenny was impressed. He
still couldn’t find the registration or insurance, but he was
taking his time, listening to make sure Doug didn’t say too much.
So far, he was hitting two for two.

“
Son, I can see the tags
on the truck are Colorado. Still doesn’t explain why you two are
here with this truck clearing roads.”

Before Lenny could hear
Doug’s reply, the cop with the sunglasses was back at the driver’s
side door.

“
Sir, I need you to step
out of the vehicle.”

“
But I haven’t located the
registration and insurance yet.”

“
That’s all right Sir,
please step out of the vehicle.”

The cop spoke politely but
with an unmistakable tone of authority.

Doing as instructed, Lenny
leaned forward, staring at the cop. It never turned out well when
they asked nicely to step out of the vehicle. Standing at the open
door, Lenny was ready to jump in and drive off, leaving Doug to
fend for himself.

“
As I said, a truck
fitting this description was recently stolen. Since you don’t seem
to have the proper paperwork and you aren’t from around here, I
have probable cause to search the vehicle. Right now, I’m going to
need you to turn around and place your hands on the hood. Is there
anything in the vehicle you want to tell me about before I begin
searching it?”

Unbelievable. Lenny wanted
nothing more than to pull the 9mm Taurus from his shoulder holster
and dispose of the cop. Before he could even place his hands on the
hood, much less the weapon, another police car pulled in behind the
first one. The entire police force must be here now. Fine. Let them
search the damn truck. They won’t find a thing. Even if they figure
out it belongs to the airport DeMont owns, he and Doug can be on
their way to dragging the girl from the cabin.

Concentrating on how he
would catch her, Lenny assumed the position. He knew it too well.
Hands splayed across the hood, face down, legs spread.

“
Sir, do you have anything
that may poke me? Any weapons? Cannon? Grenade
launcher?”

Too late, Lenny realized
his jacket may not be thick enough to hide the discovery of the gun
secure in the holster under his arm. The officer’s hand was already
there, briskly rubbing along his chest to the weapon. Doug was
across from him on the hood in the same position. Catching sight of
his eyes, Doug appeared very calm. Too calm. His eyes looked
emptier than usual.

“
Yes, I have
a—”

Before Lenny could even
inform the officer about the gun, pressure thumped onto his back
and shoulders, pinning him in place.

“
Sir, is that a gun you
have under your jacket?”

The authoritative yet so
polite voice now held a twinge of irritation matching
Lenny’s.

“
Yes Officer. As I was
saying, I do have a weapon. It’s for self-defense. I have a permit
for it.”

The jacket was pulled up
and the gun removed before Lenny finished speaking.

“
I will need to see your
permit, sir. We will just hold onto that for
safekeeping.”

“
It’s in my wallet. I left
it on the seat in the truck when I gave you my license.”

The pressure across his
shoulders didn’t ease. If they pushed any harder, Lenny would have
black and white paint permanently tattooed across his cheek. Facing
the diner, he could not see which officer reached into the truck
for his wallet. However, he could see the waitress and every
customer in the diner watching through the glass front building.
After he found the girl and got rid of her for good, he was going
to blow up this whole damn town with every cop and person in
it.

“
Sir, it is a felony to
carry a concealed weapon without a permit. This permit is good for
the state of Nevada, not Colorado. You must have a permit for the
state of Colorado to carry a concealed weapon within our
boundaries. We accept permits from some states, but Nevada ain’t
one of them.”

One of Lenny’s arms
suddenly wrenched backwards as cold steel circled his wrist. The
other arm quickly slipped into the matching bracelet and the
distinctive click echoed in Lenny’s head. Someone gripped his
shoulder, pulling on the cuffs to stand him upright. Lenny turned
his head side to side to alleviate the kinks from being flat
against the freezing hood of the truck. Everything happened so fast
that it took him a moment to figure out what happened.

“
Wait a minute. What the
hell are you cuffing me for?”

“
Sir, as I just explained
to you. It is a felony offense to carry a concealed weapon in this
state without a permit.”

Doug stood across from him,
his hands loose and free. A smug look on his face. Another cop
walked up and took a stand next to Doug.

“
This guy was clean, and
the tags come back belonging to a business over in Hinsdale
County.”

 
Lenny’s mind raced.
All was not lost yet.

“
Doug, I need you to call
our boss and tell him I can’t finish the job. You’re gonna have to
finish it. My cell phone’s in the truck.”

Doug only nodded. Lenny
hoped it sunk into Doug’s thick skull he would have to go up, get
the girl, and let DeMont know Lenny was sitting in jail. DeMont
would get him out quick. Maybe not out of any sense of loyalty to
Lenny, but certainly because Lenny could alert the authorities to
DeMont’s true actions regarding the death of the old man and the
girl.

Doug watched as the police
led Lenny to a patrol car and sat him in the backseat. At least
Doug wasn’t going to jail with Lenny this time. He didn’t want to
ever sit in a jail cell again. As far as he was concerned, Lenny
could rot away in prison. Part of him wanted to scream to the
police that Lenny and DeMont killed the old man and tried to kill
Destiny, but if he did, he would end up in the jail right along
with them.

Knowing Lenny and DeMont,
they would find some way to pin all of it on Doug. He would spend
the rest of his life in prison while they escaped punishment. He
wondered if Nevada had a death penalty. Another thought occurred to
him as he watched the police car containing Lenny pull out of the
parking lot. A sense of comfort rolled over him. He was free. He
could just leave and go home. Drive the truck all the way. He had a
credit card and some cash.

He dismissed the idea.
DeMont would report the truck stolen soon if he took off with it
and didn’t tell him anything. Maybe he could leave the truck here
and catch a bus back to Texas. Now he was getting somewhere. That
was a much better idea. He just needed to take care of a few things
first, then he would be on his way home.

17.

Although Destiny didn’t
need to take a nap, she did close her eyes. Thoughts tumbled over
one another through her mind.

At some point, Andrew and
Shadow returned to the cabin. The door opened and closed quietly.
Another log added to the fire. Vegetables washed, chopped, and put
into a pot to simmer with chicken. Destiny recognized all of the
normal activities going on around her, but she didn’t move a
muscle.

Lying on the bed with her
face to the wall, it was easy to feign sleep, even when Shadow
leapt into the bed, warming her back with his bulk. Eventually,
muscles began to protest at the lack of movement. Rolling over,
placing her arm over the dog, Destiny opened her eyes. Andrew sat
on the floor, his back against the opposite wall, his legs
stretched in front of him.

A paperback book of
crosswords folded front cover to back cover was open with the pen
poised over the page. Without glancing from the puzzle, brows
together in concentration, Andrew somehow knew she was
awake.

“
I need
an eleven letter word for
 
beyond
adoring
 
ending
in
 
i-o-n
.”

Destiny pondered for a
moment.

“
Infatuation.”

Amusement lit Andrew’s face
as he lifted his eyes to her. Sitting on the floor, comfortable and
at ease, Andrew was wondrous to behold. His face practically glowed
with excitement, lips curving into a smile that came from his
heart. His eyes shone with life and vitality. She fought the urging
in her soul to join him, wrapping herself into his embrace,
forgetting the real world. Sadly, her mind won the battle against
her heart. She could not link him to her any tighter. It would only
torment her more if she did.

After filling in the
spaces, Andrew folded the book back around the right way and laid
it on the floor beside him.

“
We have some options now
that the road is clear. We can go get supplies, although we don’t
need any yet. Unless you need anything?”

“
Can you drive to Vegas
and grab my wallet? In all the commotion of being kidnapped, it
somehow slipped my mind.”