Fate and Destiny (29 page)

A second later, the front
corner and driver’s side of the plow slammed into the four by four
blockade. The force of the impact sliding Shadow and Destiny across
the seat and onto the floor. Andrew braced against the steering
wheel, his body rigid except for the arm he thrust out to keep his
unstable passengers from slamming into the windshield.

None of them moved for the
moment it took them to realize what just happened. There hadn’t
even been time to scream out a warning. Breaking the spell, Shadow
whimpered from the floor, unable to gather the strength to get back
up in the seat. Destiny painfully extracted herself from the dash
and floorboards, wishing she had thought to put her seatbelt on
before they left. Blood trickling down her face from the opened
gash across her forehead, her body ached from a series of bruises
both old and new.

Andrew reached out his hand
to help her back into the seat. She shook under his
grip.

“
You okay?”

She nodded, control
vanishing, her eyes wildly searching around them, ready for Charles
to pop out of the woods and start shooting. She retrieved the gun
from the floor, straightening up and donning her mask of
determination. She nodded again, stronger this time.

“
I’m okay, but we have to
get out of here.”

The hairs on the back of
her neck stood on end, her skin prickling. He was out there.
Watching.

The key still in the on
position, but the engine no longer purred with life. Silence flowed
over them. Andrew flipped it off and switched it back on. Nothing
happened. No lights, no heat, no power. The front quarter of the
truck smashed into the side of the four by four, both trucks
melding into one hideous beast of steel. Andrew reached down under
the pedals to locate the pistol that flew from his lap. The silence
and darkness closed in around them as they glanced at each other
before averting their gazes to the dense woods.

Destiny jumped at the sound
of Andrew’s voice.

“
We have to get out of the
truck. We’re sitting ducks in here.”

“
We can’t leave Shadow. He
can’t fend for himself like this.”

Hearing his name, the dog
whined urgently. Charles was closing in.

“
We have to Destiny. He
can stay on the floor where he is. He doesn’t have the strength to
bark. Hopefully Charles will think we left him at the cabin. Shadow
didn’t sense him there when we left. If Charles doesn’t know the
dog is in here, he won’t bother with the truck if we aren’t in
it.”

“
You stay here with him.
I’m the one he wants. I’ll go out and draw him away.”

In the dark, her voice was
steel, determined.

“
You’re crazier than he
is. First of all, I’m not letting you go out there alone. We have
better odds if we stay together. Two against one is better than one
against one.”

Destiny started to speak,
protesting Andrew’s logic. Before she could utter a complete word,
Andrew cut her off.

“
Besides that, I love you
and I can’t live without you. Letting you leave this truck to
handle this madman on your own will kill me. When we get out of
here, I’m going to marry you and protect and cherish you for the
rest of my life, and I can’t do that if you go out there
alone.”

Absorbing the words,
Destiny wanted to argue, protest, yell, and scream. Cry. There was
no time for hope right now. No time to stop and think about
tomorrow. All she could do at the moment was agree to stay
together. Safety in numbers. Once the adrenaline and fear was over,
she would give him time to rethink his plan. Nodding, Destiny bent
down to ruffle the dog’s fur gently. Turning his head to her palm,
he nuzzled her, licking softly.

“
Okay, Shadow. Baby, you
lie real still and be quiet and we will come back for you with
help.”

Andrew could not make out
her features in the dark, but her voice shook with unshed tears as
she bid a farewell to her savior. Andrew placed his hands upon the
dog as well, whispering words of encouragement as well as a prayer
for the dog’s safety.

One last glance at each
other before staring into the trees. Destiny unlocked and opened
the door, slipping to the ground out of the line of fire from
behind, searching around in front of her for any sign of
Charles.

Keeping his back to the
passenger door and his eyes to the driver’s side, Andrew crawled
backwards across the seat, sliding to the ground next to Destiny
before turning around and leaving their backs protected by the
truck. The cabin Doug and Destiny invaded sat directly ahead of
them through the trees. Cross the short opening, slide across the
ditch, and use the trees as a barrier unless Charles was there
waiting for them. Together, crouched over to use the trucks to
block anything behind them, they scampered over the road and to the
ditch. Hearts pounding, breath shallow, they both tensed at the
last few steps across the ice, sliding, each of them landing on the
ground more than once, they were almost in the safety of the trees.
Landing again on her knees, Destiny was rising back to a crouch
when she spotted the figure walking down the road, one arm
outstretched towards them. She could only utter a warning noise to
Andrew before shots echoed around them.

Dropping to the ground,
crawling on their bellies the last few feet, bullets whizzed too
close. Andrew reached the trees first, standing to his full height
and stretching his hand out to grab Destiny and pull her to safety
with him. He held her close, breathing hard into her hair, heart
skipping and thudding to have her in one piece. Hurrying now, he
held her hand, pulling her behind him through the trees, running as
fast as they could to the safety of the cabin.

By Andrew’s estimations,
Charles parked his truck across the road deliberately, hiked up to
the cabin, and was just now coming down. The man was running on an
unnatural fuel, oblivious to the strength sapping cold. Another
clearing to get to the cabin, but even if Charles cut into the
trees from where he was on the road, he still wouldn’t be able to
arrive there before them. Also, it should be safe to assume Charles
didn’t know the cabin was there while Destiny and Andrew knew
exactly where it was. Arriving, they entered the cabin through the
broken window.

Dropping onto the floor,
they each crouched there, the rifle and pistol pointed to the
clearing surrounding the window. At least now they didn’t have to
worry about watching their backs. There were no windows along the
back or sides of the cabin. Neither of them spoke, both of them on
edge, watching and waiting.

In the silence, Destiny’s
heavy breathing from the race to the cabin was a welcome sound to
Andrew’s ears. He furtively glanced to her before seeking movement
among the trees, memorizing her features in case either of them
didn’t make it through the night. He didn’t need the quick look.
The honey brown hair, the green eyes, the brilliant smile were
already emblazoned in his mind.

“
Andrew, you’re bleeding.
Oh my God. You’re shot.”

Distracted from her post,
Destiny reached up to wipe away the blood from the flesh wound at
Andrew’s neck. He felt the heat of the bullet when it happened, but
it hadn’t been deep enough to keep him from getting them to safety.
He gently brushed her cheek with his hand.

He whispered under his
breath so only she could hear him.

“
It’s only a scrape. It
will be fine. I meant it, you know. I love you. If anything happens
to me, just remember that okay?”

He prepared to die,
offering her the protection she had not experienced
before.

“
You say that like I’m the
last person in the whole world.”

Her soft breathy words
matched the tone of his, not carrying any further than the
windowsill.

“
As far as I’m concerned,
you are.”

“
That’s the fear talking.
Say whatever you want to. I won’t hold you to it when this is
over.”

Wanting to shake sense into
her, and prove to her he meant every word. All Andrew could do was
grip the gun tighter, scan the woods harder. Charles DeMont would
die for taking away Destiny’s hopes and dreams of a normal life
with people who loved her.

Nothing moved, the woods
keeping their secrets, hiding the killer.

“
Andrew?”

Hoping Destiny finally came
to her senses, Andrew could not stop the soft lilt in his
voice.

“
Yes Destiny?”

“
I smell
smoke.”

29.

Snapping back to defensive
mode, Andrew lifted his nose, the freezing air bringing with it the
unmistakable smell of wood burning.

“
Shit. Guard the
window.”

Crawling away from the
window until he was out of the line of any eyes, Andrew stood,
feeling for heat along the walls. The usually comforting smell of
burning wood now caused his blood to stir in panic. Quickly taking
his place at the window, he gave Destiny the news.

“
The back corner is hot.
He snuck around the back and set a fire. We need to get out of
here.”

Before they could move out
the window commando style, protecting the back of each other, a
voice echoed from the trees.

“
Remind you of anything
Destiny? So, were you playing with matches when you set your
parents on fire?”

Shaking next to him,
startled by the loud, cheery yet ominous voice, Destiny didn’t
move, frozen in place, her eyes reflecting wide-eyed fear and
disconnect. She didn’t respond.

“
How horrible that must
have been. There you are, safely watching from outside as your
parents died. What a naughty child you were, sneaking out of the
house after you set it on fire. The child welfare reports said it
was smoke inhalation, but I’m sure with a fire that intense, there
must have been some burning. Do you know what burned bodies smell
like Destiny? Flesh on fire, skin melting. There your parents were,
looking for you, and you let them die.”

Destiny closed within the
safety of her mind as Andrew watched, mortified. Bringing his lips
to her ear, he whispered softly so no noise would carry to the edge
of the trees.

“
Listen to me, honey. You
know he’s wrong. Focus on him without him knowing he’s getting to
you. Don’t respond. Don’t listen, just focus. If he moves, shoot.
Keep him there.”

Robotically, Destiny
nodded, her swinging hair brushing softly against his lips. From
the corner of his eye, flames licked up the corner of the cabin.
Thick smoke rolled across the ceiling. Placing the pistol in his
pocket, he pressed his lips to the pulse throbbing in Destiny’s
neck, whispering his love in her ear before retreating across the
room to the burning corner. The outside wood was wet, the smell of
the gasoline used to ignite the fire mixing with the smoke. If the
wood was wet enough, the melting snow may put the fire out. It was
burning too hot from the fuel, quickly drying the wood around it.
The snow may douse it, but only after the roof fell in. At the rate
the flames were going, Andrew decided he may only have a few
minutes to get them out.

He soundlessly moved across
the room to the kitchen area where his cabin contained a door to
the cellar. Thankfully, this cabin didn’t have one. It was only
used in the summer months, unmodified from the original plans. He
quickly rummaged through the drawers and tiny utility closet. While
he searched for a hammer or crowbar, Charles began his verbal
assault again.

“
Destiny. I know you’re in
there. It’s the closest shelter to where you and your man
disappeared into the trees. You’re such a whore. What did you do
with your uncle to lead the poor man on before you filled his head
with lead? Did you seduce him? Strip in front of him? Were you
screwing him while your aunt was alive or only after she died? How
did that feel on your young body? You liked it didn’t you? Did you
kill him for the money too?”

Reaching into the back of
the last drawer, Andrew’s hand closed around the wood handle of a
hammer. Destiny had not pulled the trigger and the voice came from
the same area as before. He remained out in the woods, waiting for
Destiny and Andrew to die. Kneeling to the floorboards in the
kitchen, Andrew used the hammer to pry the corner of one board up.
The long straight nails came out easily, the wood popping up under
the pressure of Andrew’s determined assault. Freeing two boards
rapidly, he paused to study the flames spreading across the back
wall. He could not see the wall in the bathroom, but the fire would
be spreading there as well, weakening the supports under the weight
of the snow laden roof. Destiny sat in place at the edge of the
window, staring unblinking at a spot in the woods. Her face a mask,
completely withdrawn into her own thoughts, concentrating
completely on the trees. The voice came again as Andrew pulled more
boards free.

“
What about my father,
Destiny? Did you tease the old man too? Figure you could use that
body to get what you wanted from him? Did he pay you for it? You
were his whore, good for nothing but being used. No one will miss
you when you’re gone. One less little slut running around fucking
for money. Was he better than your uncle? Oh maybe that’s why you
killed your daddy too. Did mommy find out or did she
watch?”