Fate and Destiny (9 page)

“
Hopefully we haven’t
missed the local weather report.” Andrew said. “We still need to
get you to a doctor and the sheriff.”

Destiny mumbled behind him.
Turning, he discovered her inspecting her ankle.

“
What did you
say?”

“
I said I think my ankle
is much better. I should be able to walk on it in the next couple
of days. It’s just bruised. I don’t need a doctor.”

Puzzled by her expression,
Andrew continued to watch her. She wouldn’t look at him,
concentrating on the ankle and frowning.

“
What about the sheriff?
The police can find the men who did this to you.”

Finally lifting her head,
she spoke quietly. “No. Things will be worse if the law becomes
involved. I will just leave and start over where they won’t find
me.”

Before he could reply to
her absurd suggestions, his attention was drawn to the radio
newscast.

“
In other national news,
police are still searching for the murderer in the case of Marcus
DeMont, multimillionaire and owner of the Diamond Casino in Las
Vegas. Mr. DeMont’s personal assistant, Destiny Fisher, disappeared
the day of the murder and is wanted for questioning in the case.
DeMont’s son has offered a $30,000 reward to anyone who can lead
police to the murderer. Now, for the weather in the valley area . .
.”

Andrew wasn’t listening to
the weather report. Destiny’s head dropped back down, a tear rolled
down her cheek.

“
Destiny
Fisher? I thought you said your name was Destiny Rosen? And I
thought you said it had been ruled a suicide? Now they
want
 
you
 
for
murder? That’s why you don’t want to go to the cops isn’t it? Did
you kill him? What the hell is going on?”

Still staring at her hands,
she replied, “Your eggs are burning.”

9.

Removing the eggs from the
flame, turning off the stove and the radio, Andrew kept his eyes on
Destiny without leaving the kitchen. His mind raced. He was falling
in love with this woman.

He went from saving a life
to harboring a fugitive, not that he had any choice.

She couldn’t be a
killer.

Except she was.

She did kill her uncle,
even though it was in self-defense. 

So, maybe the news report
was wrong and this was all a terrible mistake. Or had he made the
mistake in bringing her to his cabin? Shaking his head, closing his
eyes, he concentrated on the facts.

A wounded woman is dropped
on the side of the road. The kidnappers surely thought she was dead
or dying. Could she have planned the whole thing? How did she get
to the boulder then? There hadn’t been a car on the road that he
could see. What could she gain by defrauding him? He was
comfortable but certainly not wealthy. Okay, that ruled out the
conspiracy theory. No one would collect life insurance if he died.
Someone left her for dead. She said she was kidnapped.
Feasible.

Kidnappers think she knows
too much, take her, rough her up and drop her on a mountain. Sounds
like a movie, but still possible. But those eyes, and that smile.
She didn’t seem to have a vicious bone in her body. She probably
didn’t even step on spiders, just scooped them up in a paper cup
and freed them back to nature.

Regaining the ability to
put one foot in front of the other, he moved to her side and took
her in his arms. Stiffly, she did not return the
embrace.

He
carefully softened his tone, “Destiny, honey, I don’t believe you
killed anyone, please, just tell me what’s going
on?” 
 
Destiny quickly turned her head towards him, shoving his hands
away from her. Her eyes were piercing daggers. Andrew let his arms
fall but did not back away.

“
You do think I killed
him.” Her voice was as steely as her eyes. “If you didn’t believe
that, you wouldn’t have jumped all over me with those
questions.”

Keeping his voice soft, he
tried to defend his actions and calm her at the same
time.

“
I was just shocked
Destiny.” He paused, hoping she would listen. “Why do they think
you killed him?”

Her green eyes held a wild
sheen as she stared at Andrew for a moment. Then her face twitched,
her eyes moistening as though something inside her snapped. She
looked away from him, wrapping herself in the security of the
blanket.

“
What if I did kill
him?”

Andrew could barely hear
her. Even as the words registered in his brain, he couldn’t believe
what he was hearing. Ideas about Destiny’s role in the death of
Marcus DeMont surged back. Maybe she really did kill the old man.
His mind swam with thoughts and questions.

Destiny wrestled with
similar thoughts and questions. She already bared her soul to this
man. He needed to know all of it, especially since she needed his
help, but she wasn’t sure if anyone could help her. Andrew may be
the only person in the whole world who cared about her. The only
one who could save them both.

“
After I heard the news
report about Marcus’ death being labeled an accident from a fall
down the stairs, I had no clue what to do. I called the police and
told them what I saw and they still labeled it an accident. I knew
that meant Charles was still out there somewhere getting away with
murder.

“
I was still lying in bed
the next morning, trying to figure out what to do when that news
report came on. I hadn’t slept at all that night thinking about
what I could do. I figured it was just a matter of time until
Charles got smart and associated me with the details of the
finances.”

She refused to look at him,
drowning in her own guilt.

“
I should have gone
straight to the police. I should have shown Marcus the proof at the
casino so he would have had security to protect him. If I hadn’t
been secretive, he would still be alive. Instead, I decided to run
and hide somewhere until I could figure out what to do.

“
I dressed and got ready
to leave the house when I heard a knock at the door. Before I
opened it, I looked out the peephole, and Charles was standing on
my front porch. I panicked and ran out the back door, right into
the big guy who carried Marcus from the house. He grabbed me, put
his hand over my mouth, and dragged me to a car parked next to my
house.”

Destiny gave Andrew a
guilty look before focusing on the wall in front of her.

“
I know I told you they
took me out of my bed, but I wasn’t sure how to tell you the
truth.”

Her face pleaded for
forgiveness and Andrew gave it willingly. Hugging her to him, he
stroked her hair.

“
It’s okay, I
understand.”

Searching his face for
confirmation, Destiny let out a sigh of relief.

“
When the big guy got me
in the car, there was another man already there. He drove the car.
Charles got in the back on one side of me. The big guy, I think his
name was Doug, sat on the other side of me. We drove off. The first
thing Charles did was slap me across my face. He acted like a big
man whenever other men were around.”

Her voice filled with
rage.

“
That little wimp never
would have tried that without the others to help him. I didn’t even
think. My first reaction was to hit him back, and I did. Big
mistake. The big guy, Doug, pulled my arms behind me and Charles
hit me again. Then he started laughing.”

She paused, remembering the
details of that night. “He didn’t look normal. He was sweating
really badly and he was shaky. I think things were out of his
control and he didn’t know what to do about it.”

Resting her head on
Andrew’s shoulder, her body relaxed a little, while he kept his arm
around her to comfort her and waited for her to
continue.

“
They drove out of Vegas,
and into the middle of nowhere. That car ride lasted forever. We
stopped and got gas once, but they wouldn’t let me out of the car,
not even to go to the bathroom. Somewhere along the way, I fell
asleep. I was completely exhausted since I hadn't slept the night
before.

“
When I woke up, the car
was parked in an airplane hangar. There were two small planes in
it, and a big truck they used to clean the runway was parked in
there too.

“
We must have just pulled
in, because they were getting out and yanked me out of the car.
There was no one else there, and one of them tied my hands and feet
to a chair sitting in the office. Charles put a dirty rag in my
mouth gagging me, and then he called his lawyer. I was sitting
there and heard the whole conversation.”

The realizations of what
happened during her abduction were coming back clearly.

“
He wanted me to hear it.
He told the lawyer that he was away on business and that someone
had called and notified him of his father’s death. Then, Charles
convinced the lawyer that it may not be a suicide and to check into
my background and the financial statements of the Casino. He told
the lawyer that I was Marcus’ personal assistant and that he
thought I had been skimming off the company.

“
Charles went on to say he
had proof that I used my position to cheat his father and that he
told his father I was stealing from him. He arranged to have the
lawyer check into my background, call the police and implicate me
as the murderer. Charles told him this huge story about how upset
his father had been when he told him I was a thief, and that his
father said he would confront me with the evidence.

“
He even pretended he was
all choked up over his father’s death when he told the lawyer he
thought his dad had confronted me. I had murdered him to get away
with embezzlement. Then, he offered the reward for my arrest and
conviction. He made himself look innocent and made me look guilty,
and my background didn’t help any.”

Looking to Andrew for
reassurance, she smiled sadly as he gave her a gentle smile and
held her a little tighter.

“
As soon as we can get in
touch with the sheriff, we’ll get it all straightened out,” he told
her with confidence.

Shaking her head, Destiny
sat back from Andrew’s arms.

“
No! They will arrest me.
I don’t know how I can prove my innocence. After all the things
that Charles told that lawyer, they will never believe that I
didn’t kill Marcus. And I know my fingerprints are all over that
house. I was there that night. Charles took my papers. Those were
my only proof. I can’t prove that I wasn’t there to kill
Marcus!”

Destiny was panicking, near
hysteria.

 “
Honey, calm down.
Everything will be okay. Somehow, we will prove that you are
innocent. I’ll get you the best attorney I can find. I’ll protect
you. I won’t let any of them hurt you anymore.”

Although he heard himself
saying the words, he wasn’t so sure they could prove her innocence.
The mere fact that she was dumped unconscious on the side of a
remote mountain should be enough to make them go after Charles
instead of her.

His words seemed to calm
her down somewhat, but the fear was still in her eyes when she
looked at him. Besides fear, there was also trust in her eyes.
Silently vowing to himself and her, he would keep her safe from
harm and protect her with his very life if he had to.

Unwrapping himself from
her, rising to his feet, he left Destiny on the floor shaking from
fear. She was in her own little world and would not miss him too
much for a few minutes.

In the kitchen, he prepared
a cup of hot tea with a shot of Jim Beam to help her relax. As soon
as he stood up, Shadow snuck over and stole his place next to
Destiny. He put his head in her lap, but instead of just doing the
required scratching of the ears, Destiny hugged the big dog
tightly, burying her face in the fur around his thick
neck.

The dog looked sideways at
Andrew as if to say, ‘See? You just aren’t built right to make her
happy, you aren’t furry enough.’ Andrew smiled at Shadow, whose
tongue lolled out the side of his mouth in pure
happiness.

Destiny stopped shaking
while she held onto the dog. Maybe he made her feel a little safer
than Andrew did. Sitting back down on the floor on the opposite
side of the dog, Andrew handed Destiny the steaming cup of tea and
whiskey. Relaxing her grip on the dog so she could hold the cup,
the dog laid his head in her lap. After a couple of sips, and a few
deep breaths, Destiny was ready to continue her tale.

 “
After Charles got
off the phone, he was leering at me. He was so proud of his little
scheme. He just had one problem left in the way.”

She put her hand on her
chest.

“
Me. As long as I was
alive, he knew there was a way to punish him for what he did. I was
the only witness. So, of course, he decided to get rid of me where
no one would find me. At that point, he wasn’t sure how he would
kill me, so he kept me sitting there for a while, tied to the chair
and gagged. Doug convinced him to let me use the bathroom, but of
course, Charles had to watch me to make sure I couldn’t run away. I
wasn’t allowed to close the bathroom door.”