Fate and Destiny Page 8

  “Baby, I am so sorry. So, so sorry. Please don’t die. I’m so sorry.”

  Shadow didn’t move his head, but his eyes rolled around to focus on her. He gently licked the moisture from her cheek.

  Andrew’s heart skipped watching them. He couldn’t imagine not having one of them.

  “I can feel the end of the bullet. It’s not in very deep. We have to get it out.”

  Remaining calm, Andrew kept an eye on Destiny. Her emotional balance teetered on the edge. He needed her to help him and Shadow.

  “Destiny. First, I need something to compress this so it will stop bleeding.”

  Nodding, meeting his eyes, Destiny collected herself. Shifting her brain from grieving to saving, she limped to the bathroom, returning with a clean white towel.

  Pressing it against the dog, Andrew wished Shadow had passed out when the bullet struck. This would be a lot easier if the dog was unconscious.

  “Okay Destiny, you’re doing good. In the kitchen, in the cabinet where the first aid kit is, there’s a toolbox. I need you to get a pair of needle nose pliers out of there. Wash them with dish soap really good, and then boil them so they are clean. We can use them to take out the bullet.”

  After washing the pliers with hot soapy water, Destiny dropped them into the pot of water. Leaning against the counter, watching the water, time slowed.

  “Andrew? How long do I let them boil?”

  “I’m not sure. They need to be sterile and kill anything on them so he doesn’t get an infection. Maybe 10 minutes or so. They’re probably clean just from washing, but I don’t want to take any chances. As long as he is awake and not complaining, we will take the time to do things right.”

  Shadow lay still on the floor. Andrew controlled the bleeding, still concerned Shadow may try to bite or move when the time came to remove the bullet. Keeping the towel in place, Andrew noticed the fur around the injury matted and caked with blood. Destiny didn’t move a muscle from where she stood over the boiling pliers. It was time to distract her.

  “Destiny, how’s your leg doing?”

  Her gaze didn’t waver from the water. She didn’t even blink.

  “Its fine. It just aches a little as long as I don’t try to stand or walk on it.”

  “That’s good. You’re getting better. We will all be just fine.”

  She still didn’t move, hypnotized by the bubbling water.

  “Okay Destiny, while the pliers are boiling, I think I should clean him up. I may need to shave the fur around the wound. Can you bring me a bowl with warm water and soap? I will also need a razor and some scissors.”

  Broken from the trance created by the rolling water, Destiny moved as quickly as she could on her hurt leg. By the time she delivered the requested items to Andrew, ten minutes had elapsed. Removing the pliers from the water, she took them to Andrew along with the first aid kit.

  “What’s he going to do when you pull the bullet out?”

  She stroked the dog’s face again.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think he’ll bite, but he’s never had an injury this bad before. He will probably try to get up, and with both of us only having one good leg, it's going to be difficult keeping him down.”

  Andrew avoided thinking of the pains currently coursing from his own bullet wound. His thoughts centered on getting the lead from Shadow’s neck.

  Lifting the compress, he was relieved the bleeding slowed down considerably. Washing the fur, cutting away clumps of it to make the area accessible, Andrew examined the wound. The bullet hadn’t mushroomed too badly after striking the floor and his leg. The hole it created not overly large, only about the size of a dime. Good. That meant it didn’t do a lot of damage to the muscles and should be easy to pull straight out. Somehow, the bullet also missed all of the arteries, or Shadow would have bled to death by now.

  Not necessarily talking to the dog or the woman, Andrew needed to hear sound in the quiet cabin.

  “So far so good. I’m going to reach in with the pliers and pull it out. Destiny, right now, I wish you weighed about 300 pounds so you could hold him down.”

  Destiny glanced over at him, eyes locking on his, worried but willing to stop a bull.

  “I’m ready. Just try to make it fast, okay?”

  “Well, I wasn’t planning to take any longer digging around in there than I have to.”

  Moving around so she was behind the dog, Destiny prepared to hold him down and stay out of Andrew's way. Offering the best help she could, she bent over and gently soothed the animal.

  “It’s going to be okay baby. We aren’t going to hurt you on purpose.”

  His tail thumped against the floor but that was the only body part that moved. Using two fingers to separate the bullet hole farther, Andrew quickly and precisely positioned the tips of the pliers around the end of the bullet. Shadow yelped and whined, his back legs kicking and twitching, but he didn’t attempt to get up. Through the yelps, Destiny maintained a litany of comforting words. Her voice soothed Andrew even if it didn’t help Shadow.

  Grasping the bullet tightly with the pliers, Andrew swiftly twisted the bullet free from the muscle. As soon as it was out, he clamped the towel back over the hole, pressing with his weight to stop any blood flow. The yelping and whining became softer and softer, finally ceasing altogether. The only sign of the dog’s distress were his wildly rolling eyes.

  Waiting a few moments, Andrew finally removed the towel from Shadow’s neck, promptly replacing it with a sterile bandage from the medicine kit. He taped it securely in place to the skin around the wound where he shaved away the fur.

  “Okay, buddy. I’m all done.”

  The tail thumped against the floor once in response to his masters calming voice. Destiny continued rubbing her hands over the dog’s fur. She captivated his gaze with hers, unblinking, hands continuing to stroke. He seemed to accept what happened.

  “He knew we were helping him. He didn’t even try to move. I’ve never seen anything like it. And you were amazing. How did you know what to do?”

  Grinning, beginning to relax for the moment, Andrew tended to the wound in his leg.

  “My mother is a nurse.” He dabbed antiseptic over the deep abrasion. “And she was a single parent to my brother and me.”

  With the slice clean, he applied butterfly strips, then placed a gauze pad over the length, fastening it in place with tape.

  “We were pretty rough kids. On different occasions, I broke my arm, my wrist, four fingers, both of my legs, my collarbone, and two ribs. I had stitches at least half a dozen times and probably should have had them half a dozen more. My brother didn’t fare much better. We both played any sport or game we could find and neither of us ever walked away from a dare. I’m lucky I survived childhood. Although I do think my brother permanently rattled a few screws loose in his head. We got to the point where we would patch up ourselves and each other so our mom wouldn’t know. Didn’t you get hurt as a kid?”

  Too late, he realized his mistake. Destiny smiled sadly at him.

  “I guess I had normal bumps and scrapes although I was pretty tame. I played with dolls and read a lot before my parents died. Then I kind of grew up overnight and spent my time cleaning for my aunt and uncle. I didn’t play much after the fire.”

  Shadow softly snored. He was out of danger for the moment and should be okay as long as he didn’t get an infection. Turning off the light in the kitchen that he had turned on when gunfire erupted from under the bed, Andrew grabbed the bottle of Jim Beam from the cabinet. After what they had just been through, neither of them needed to dilute the drink with tea. Soon after, they fell into an exhausted sleep although they both snapped awake anytime Shadow made the slightest noise.

  Waking to a soft whine from Shadow, Andrew glanced over at the dogs shape outlined by firelight. The dog still slept so Andrew settled back down. Ready to drift back into the embrace of sleep, he realized in all of the commotion, he forgot to tell Destiny about the tracks near the
woods. Someone wearing boots had walked down the driveway and into the trees.

  12.

  Destiny woke to sunlight streaming through the window and something wet against her hand. Blinking against the bright morning, she lifted her head.

  Shadow sat at the side of the bed, licking the fingers dangling over the edge of the mattress. Tears sprung and her heart caught in her chest. He was so beautiful sitting in front of her, lopsided grin, tongue hanging out and big brown eyes. He bumped his head against her hand. Instead of simply giving him the obligatory petting he sought, Destiny detangled herself from Andrew's arms and slid to the floor. Hugging and rubbing the dog, she was careful to avoid the white patch of bandage over his shoulder and around the side of his neck.

  “Shadow, you are the best thing I’ve seen in a long time. I am so sorry. I promise I will never shoot you again.”

  Shadow shifted his weight around without using his front leg. Rolling over to his back, he presented his belly to her in a sign of submission.

  “Does that mean you aren’t worried about me shooting you again? Or that you will forgive me if I do?”

  Shadow lay on his back, leaning to the uninjured side, gazing at her with adoring eyes. Hearing movement from the bed, the dog and woman both looked at Andrew who sat up in the bed, watching them.

  “Glad to see you both up and doing well.”

  He smiled at Destiny, wiping sleep from his eyes and yawning. The rings under his eyes suggesting he had a long night.

  “Better than you from the looks of it. Go back to sleep Andrew. I can open the door and let him out. I’ll even see what I can do to make an edible breakfast.”

  Remembering the tracks in the snow, Andrew was hesitant to let her anywhere near the front door, and he didn’t want Shadow out without supervision.

  “I’ll make a deal with both of you. If Shadow can wait just a few minutes, I want to jump in the shower and wash away the sleepiness. Then I will take him outside so I can keep an eye on him. While I’m doing that, you can start cooking.”

  Thinking on her history, he added, “You can cook can’t you?”

  “Who do you think cooked for my aunt and uncle? I got tired of eating sandwiches.”

  Leaving the bed, Andrew kissed the top of Destiny’s head as he limped to the bathroom. Watching him move past her, Destiny laughed.

  “Aren’t the three of us quite a sight? All of us limping around on bum legs!”

  Andrew didn’t reply. He couldn’t see the amusement in the situation, however he was the only one who knew about the boot prints in the snow. Someone was looking for Destiny. When they failed to find a body, they would certainly begin looking through the cabins on the mountain. Hopefully, they would start with the empty ones before knocking on the doors of the occupied ones. That would buy him some time to get everything together and leave the mountain.

  There must be some clearing in the storms for the kidnappers to get up the mountain. If they could get up here, then he could get down there, and soon be on the highway taking Destiny back to California with him since she wouldn’t go to the police. That idea brought up another issue. What if she didn’t want to go with him?

  Destiny worked in the kitchen making cheese omelets while coffee brewed. The area was so small she only needed to look through a few cabinets to find everything the room held. Her leg mildly ached this morning, and she could almost walk normally. She wouldn’t be running marathons anytime soon, but at least she didn’t limp or need to be carried now.

  Flipping the second omelet, adding cheese to the top, she glanced over her shoulder at the dog lying behind her on his side. A spot of red pooled through the center of the white bandage, but not enough to alarm her. As the bathroom door opened, she expertly slid the omelet onto a plate before turning to Andrew.

  “I think he’s snoring again.”

  Laughing, she gestured towards the dog with the skillet in her hand before placing it in the sink.

  “Destiny, it’s a truck.” At the serious tone of Andrew’s voice, Destiny gave him her full attention. “It’s the same truck I heard the day I found you.”

  Destiny was confused for a moment by the controlled panic in Andrew’s eyes as he swiftly limped towards her, grabbing the rifle from the fireplace mantel along the way. As his words registered in her head, she trembled, dropping the plate of eggs and cheese.

  “No. They can’t be coming back. No. No.”

  Near whispering, she shook her head in denial.

  Awakened by the shattering dish, Shadow sat up, ears pricked, listening intently to the foreign sounds coming up the distant road.

  Finally reaching her, Andrew bent down, threw back the rug and lifted the handle to the cellar.

  “Honey, don’t panic, but I need you to get down in the cellar and stay there until I let you out.”

  Dazed, Destiny maneuvered around Andrew and onto the first stair of the cellar. She looked back up at him.

  “It’s so dark down there.”

  “I know, honey, but you have to stay down there.” He handed her the flashlight from the drawer. ”Keep the light down and stay in the far corner.” He placed the rifle in her hands. “Just don’t shoot me okay? Make sure it isn’t me before you shoot. Your aim might get a lot better in there.”

  Taking the rifle, she stepped down another step, glancing back to Andrew.

  Reaching for her, he placed a kiss on her lips.

  “It’s okay Destiny. I’ll take care of everything. But I need you to hurry now.”

  Doing as Andrew instructed, she moved down the stairs. Reaching the last stair of the cellar, she looked up and Andrew’s face was the last thing she saw before the door closed, sealing her in darkness.

  Covering the door with the rug, straightening it so it didn’t appear suspicious, Andrew cleaned the broken pottery from the floor. The rumbling got louder as the truck approached the driveway.

  Shadow hopped to the front door using his three good legs, alternating between growling and whining. He wanted out, but Andrew didn’t know what to expect from the truck heading his way up the mountain road. They might be the type to shoot first and ask questions later. If they decided he was a threat or knew anything about them, they would kill him, and no one would be the wiser for a long time. He could easily disappear for three months before anyone noticed him gone.

  He straightened out the quilts and sheet on the bed, and hid Destiny’s clothes. Taking one last glance around the cabin, satisfied no signs of the woman in the cellar remained, he sat down in the chair with the remaining omelet and half a cup of coffee. His stomach was tied in too many knots to eat, but he mashed it up a little and moved it around so it looked like he was enjoying his breakfast.

  The truck turned into the driveway. A few hundred feet to go before they would be at his cabin.

  “You are such an idiot. DeMont was stupid to think you could handle this. Now I gotta be in the middle of it, trying to clean up the mess you made.”

  Doug didn’t speak. It was no use. Arguing with Lenny only made him madder.

  “Are you sure you dropped her on this road somewhere? If you dropped her off the side of this road, we should have found her body last night, or at least traces of it. If an animal dragged it off, it would have left tracks or something.”

  “It’s been snowing a lot up here. The tracks could be full of snow.”

  Lenny smacked him in the back of the head.

  “Yeah dolt, but you’d still see the impressions under the snow. Besides, you think the animal ate her clothes too? We didn’t find shit. No tracks, Nothing. I think you’re too stupid to know where you left the body. You sure she was dead when you shoved her out of the truck?”

  Lenny drove so Doug could track landmarks back to where he thought he left Destiny’s body. DeMont refused to pay either of them without proof she was dead.

  Doug hated himself. He never killed anyone. He didn’t kill the old man. Charles did. They all thought Doug was dumb because he didn’t get
very far in school and he didn’t know how to handle things like money, or killing people. His cousin Lenny was smarter than him, but Lenny had a big mouth so he always got them both in trouble.

  Doug quit his job in Texas working construction because Lenny convinced him Vegas had money falling in the streets and women for anyone who wanted one. He took a job as a bouncer at a strip club where girls with broken dreams sold themselves to anyone flashing cash. Lenny tended bar in the same club. That was where they first met up with Charles DeMont. He would go to the club and pay the dancers to spend an hour in the back room. Doug overheard some of them talking about the twisted things the man with the money liked them to do. Listening to it always made Doug’s stomach hurt. The girls were usually desperate and did whatever was asked of them for a few measly bucks. By the time men ended up in that particular club, they were near broke. Not only in their pockets but also in their minds.

  Lenny was a smooth talker, always had been, and somehow he became the middleman between DeMont and the girls. He was responsible for setting the right girl up for whatever sick fantasy DeMont wanted to live out that night. Lenny persuaded even the girls who weren’t quite so desperate.

  Once Lenny got in close with DeMont, Doug became included in the mix since he looked like a big scary guy. Lenny and DeMont always made him act like he was tough. Doug really hated to fight.

  Now he was in a big mess.

  He needed money to pay off the loan sharks Lenny hooked him up with and he needed enough money to get out of Vegas and go back to doing regular work. He would never be able to live his own life as long as he was around Lenny.

  Destiny was a pretty young thing. Never hurt nobody. He’d seen her before at the casino with the old man. She even said hello to him on a couple of occasions, and she never looked afraid of him like other women did. At least not until the night he was supposed to get rid of her. She looked plenty scared then.