Destiny Disrupted (There's Always Tomorrow Book 1) (2 page)

He turns on the shower as hot as he can stand it. After stepping in, he braces his hands on the wall with the showerhead on it, drops his chin to his chest, and lets the water beat down his head and back. Trying so hard to forget, his whole body shakes, struggling to rid itself of the gruesome memories. How could anyone do that to a child? Vance's heart breaks for those three little girls. His sister has two little girls - his only nieces - that he just adores and spoils rotten.

Shit, Vance starts to imagine something like this happening to his nieces. He lets out a pained groan, his stomach wanting to expel his lunch. Vance has to get away from this case; if he ever catches the guy who did this, he'll be in jail for murder.

“Tomorrow morning,” he says emphatically, even though there is nobody else in the bathroom to hear him. First thing in the morning, Vance resolves to ask the Chief to take him off the case. He's seen some pretty nasty shit, but this tops the cake, and he obviously can't handle it.

Once he cements his plan to withdraw from the case, his body begins to relax. He washes himself quickly then gets out of the shower, drying off with a towel as he walks naked back into his bedroom. He’s not in the mood to see his friends right now, so he just climbs into bed and pulls the covers up over his head, praying for a peaceful sleep.

Chapter 2

**Tripp**

Tripp is startled awake by the sound of Vance screaming in terror. He throws his covers off, pulls on a pair of underwear, and runs out of his room, down the hall to Vance's room. He flies through Vance's door, flips the light switch, and finds him sitting up in his bed looking around frantically, his sheets tangled around his legs and hips, his hair disheveled, breathing heavily.

“You alright, Van?” Tripp asks, his voice a gravelly rasp in his throat.

“Nightmare, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you,” Vance apologizes, dropping his head into his hands.

“Everything alright in here?” Dayne appears in the doorway.

“Nightmare,” Tripp replies, glancing over his shoulder at a naked Dayne. Buck naked, except for the ponytail. He hates his hair getting in his face when he sleeps.

“Shit, ya need to snuggle?” Dayne asks in a dead serious voice making Vance let out a bark of laughter.

Vance gazes at his friend through the dark. “You offering?”

“Fuck, man. You know I'd do anything for you. If you want to snuggle, we'll snuggle,” Dayne responds flatly.

Vance chuckles and shakes his head. “I’m okay.”

Dayne shrugs. “Your loss,” he says before leaving the room.

Tripp walks over and sits next to Vance on the bed.

“Wanna tell me what your nightmare was about?” he asks, leaning back on the headboard and crossing his arms over his chest. He rolls his head against the headboard to look at Vance. “Maybe if you talk about it, you won't have it again.”

Vance shoves his hands through his hair then rests his forearms on his raised knees.

“I don't know man, it’s just craziness. Blood is everywhere, my nieces are dead, my sister is screaming...fuck, just the thought of it makes my heart pound.”

“Yeah, that's scary shit right there,” Tripp mumbles.

“I'm gonna ask the Chief tomorrow to take me off the case, but I'm not getting my hopes up.”

“You're one of the best detectives they have.” Tripp sighs.

“I know; that's why I doubt he'll let me off,” Vance groans.

“Listen, you're gonna be alright. You are fantastic at your job, you put a lot of bad people away, and you can do this, Vance. Maybe it’ll help if you talk to the department therapist.”

Vance nods. “Thanks, Tripp. I’ll think about it.”

Tripp wraps his arm around Vance's neck and pulls him close. After giving Vance a kiss on the temple, he lets him go and starts for the door.

“Get back to sleep,” he says before walking out, shutting off the light, and closing Vance's door behind him.

Tripp starts down the hallway back to his room. He sees that Dayne is leaning against the doorframe of his room waiting for him. Tripp stops in front of him.

“I don't like this,” Tripp whispers, running a hand over his military cut.

Dayne shakes his head. “Me, neither,” he murmurs.

“You should have seen him earlier; he was pale and completely out of it. I don't know how he drove home like that,” Tripp says quietly and crosses his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, well, that scream scared the shit out of me. I thought he was being tortured or something.” Dayne sighs and rubs his face.

“Yeah, me, too. How did Ryder sleep through it?”

“Dude, you know he’s dead to the world when he sleeps. Someone could be setting off a bomb next to him and he'd sleep through it.” Dayne smirks.

Tripp chuckles. “True.”

“Did he tell you what his dream was about?” Dayne asks.

“Yeah, something to do with his nieces and blood and his sister screaming. He said that he's never having kids. This case must involve murdered kids,” Tripp answers.

“If there is one thing that will fuck Vance up, it's a kid being killed. With that nightmare, it must have been a gruesome murder.”

Tripp hummed in agreement. “But Vance has seen kids killed in car accidents and he never had nightmares about it,” he utters.

Dayne nods. “True, but there is a difference between an accident and murder. I think Vance can't handle kids being murdered. He might think he can, but he can't; he cares too much. Kids are his weakness.”

“He said he's gonna talk to the Chief tomorrow to try and get off the case, but he doesn't think that'll fly.” Tripp shrugs.

“Doubt it. We just have to make sure we're there for him when he needs us,” Dayne mutters.

“Yeah, alright, go back to sleep.”

“Gladly.”

Tripp claps Dayne on the shoulder then heads back to his room. He gets back into bed, lies on his back, and stares up at his ceiling fan. Dayne is right, Vance is a strong man, but when it comes to kids, especially little girls, he takes it personally. And he might not think so, but he lets it get to him and affect him, and it will eventually break him down. He would hate to see that happen to his best friend.

Even though they are all great friends and are very tight, it seems that Tripp, Mike, and Vance have a special bond, while Dayne and Ryder have their own special bond. Tripp, Mike, and Vance are more alike, plus they work in some sort of law enforcement capacity. They like many of the same things, and even have a similar taste in women. So out of all of his friends, seeing Vance hurting really cuts him deep. Tripp sighs heavily and rolls onto his stomach, hugging his pillow and slowly drifting back to sleep.

Chapter 3

Melina Higgins is driving her usual way to work and the highway has a decent amount of traffic for 8:30 am. She owns her own little studio where she is a dance teacher/choreographer.  She bobs her head to Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars’
Uptown Funk,
as she slowly moves with traffic. Glancing in her rear view mirror, she sees the same midnight blue Charger a couple of cars back that she sees almost every morning. The Charger’s windows are tinted so dark that she never actually sees the driver, but she likes to pretend that he’s the most gorgeous man in the world. At least she knows that he’s a man because of the one hand that always grips the top of the wheel; it’s definitely not a woman's hand.

Up ahead of Melina is a flatbed big rig carrying all sorts of metal piping. She notices that one of the straps holding the piping down is starting to come loose, and her heart starts to pound, not liking the look of it. Just as she decides to change lanes, something shifts within the piping, and one by one, they begin to tumble off. Melina screams – like anyone could really hear her - and slams on her brakes, skidding toward the truck. Before her car is able to stop, the car behind her slams into her and turns her car sideways so that her driver’s side is now facing the oncoming pipes. Melina squeezes her eyes shut, clings to the wheel, and sends up a prayer that the pipes would miraculously disappear. Too late. She hears the crunching of metal as the pipes crash into and pierce through her car, glass breaking, and brakes squealing.

Still skidding out of control, her car finally crashes into the barrier wall, and her airbags deploy seconds before she smashes her head on the steering wheel. Still conscious, Melina feels an odd sensation in her left thigh; it is painful, but numb at the same time, and it feels hot and wet. She opens her eyes and hesitantly looks down at her leg. When she sees that one of the inch-wide pipes that came through her car door impaled her thigh and went clean through the other side, she almost faints.

What feels like hours later – really probably only a minute later - her passenger side door is yanked open and the most gorgeous man she has ever seen crawls onto the seat next to her. His eyes are wide with worry as they do a quick calculated sweep of her, starting at her head. When he lands on her leg, he squeezes his eyes shut for a moment and lets out a soft curse. He pulls out his cell phone, hits a couple of buttons, and then puts it on the dashboard. Melina hears the phone ringing, he must have put it on speaker. She lets her eyes drift over to him; he is pulling his tie off while the phone continues to ring.

“LAPD dispatch, Mendez,” says a male voice from the phone.

“Mendez, Detective Vance Summers, Badge #1228. Got a Code 3 (emergency, handle immediately). Rolled up on an 11-80 (motor vehicle accident with serious injuries). My 10-20 (location) is SierraBravo (southbound) on the 405. Need an 11-41 (ambulance is required) asap,” the Sex God barks in his deep manly voice.

“I'm on it, Detective,” Mendez replies with an urgency in his voice then hangs up.

The stud muffin turns his attention to her, in complete control as he meets her eyes. Damn, his eyes are gorgeous; a bright blue, nothing like she's ever seen before.

“What’s your name, honey?” he asks gently, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Me...Melina,” she squeaks.

“Melina, I'm Vance. Help is on the way. You’re gonna be fine,” Vance reassures her as he tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Listen, I'm gonna make a tourniquet on your leg above the pipe, okay? You're bleeding pretty badly and this will help stem it.”

Melina swallows hard and nods. She can't watch as Vance slips the tie under her leg, so she just closes her eyes and tries to focus on breathing.

“Alright, sweetheart. This is going to hurt because I have to make it as tight as possible, so brace yourself,” Vance utters gently, the strain in his voice obvious that he doesn’t want to cause her any more pain.

“Okay,” Melina whispers.

Vance counts to three then makes his move. Melina screams, one hand grabbing onto his dress shirt while the other grabs the headrest of her seat. She starts crying, unable to stop as her adrenaline wears off and the pain borders on unbearable.

“I'm sorry, Melina. Shit, I know it hurts, but you're doing great,” Vance murmurs.

Melina involuntarily lets go of his shirt as he starts to back up. She opens her eyes to make sure that he isn't leaving her and sees that he is taking his shirt off.

“What are you doing?” she chokes out.

“I gotta slow this bleeding. I'm afraid the pipe might have nicked your femoral artery.”

“You'll ruin your shirt.”

Vance's brows furrow and he frowns hard. “You think I give a fuck about my shirt?” he says almost angrily.

Melina smiles slightly. He is so cute when he’s mad. “It's a nice shirt.”

Vance rolls his eyes. “I think you're delirious from the blood loss,” he teases, a smirk crossing his sexy mouth.

He situates the shirt so that he’s able to put some more pressure on both sides of her thigh.

Melina chuckles softly. “Maybe,” she says, watching his face as he looks over her leg.

Melina didn't know that Greek gods actually existed. Vance is the epitome of everything sexy in a man. His hair is blond and long enough on top that he can style it. His eyes are a brilliant blue surrounded by long, light brown lashes. And he has a strong jaw line that is covered in light stubble. His mouth is just perfect, wide and full.

She must be going into shock; why else would she be thinking these things at a time like this?

“You're doing great, sweetheart,” Vance murmurs.

“I don't feel great,” Melina breathes, feeling light headed. She drops her head back to the headrest and lets her eyes drift shut.

“Melina, stay with me,” Vance commands sharply, making her eyes fly back open.

Melina's breathing is becoming shallow and her eyes lids are too heavy to keep open. “I feel...I feel like...might...pass…out...”

She then feels Vance's warm hand smooth her hair back from her forehead.

“Relax, try to breathe a little deeper. You’re starting to hyperventilate, come on, breathe with me...in through your nose...out through your mouth...good, again...gooood...you're okay...deep breath...relax...” he coaches her in a soothing voice.

She tries to focus on his voice and the way he is tenderly running his hand through her hair.

The rescue team is there within minutes and they work quickly to get Melina out of the car. She passes out while they are cutting the pipe to free her from her car door, so she has no idea what happens after that. It takes twenty minutes to get her out, into the ambulance, and on her way to the hospital.

Vance follows the ambulance and sits at Melina’s bedside all morning waiting for her parents to arrive. She went through a tough surgery and he knows that she will need her loved ones nearby. Once he knows that her family is there for her when she wakes, he will feel comfortable to leave. In fact, he is itching to get out of here. Not that he hates hospitals, per se, but he hates watching people suffer, and it’s no different with Melina. As she lies unconscious in that poor excuse for a bed, his heart begins to hurt for her. He was so impressed with her strength and bravery throughout the whole ordeal. That’s another reason he needs to leave the hospital. 

There is no way that he can get attached to Melina. He is just going to check in on her one more time later tonight to make sure that she is all right, and then he will say good-bye.

Melina groans and struggles to open her eyes. Her eyelids feel like a million pounds, but eventually she is able to open them a crack. Unfortunately, she can’t focus on anything. She can hear familiar voices around her, but her brain cannot put the voices with faces or names. What the hell is happening? Where is she? Why is everything so fuzzy?

“Melina?” asks a frantic female voice from her right side.

She turns her head in the direction of the voice and tries desperately to focus her eyes, but it’s no use. She opens her mouth to try to talk but nothing comes out. Her throat is so dry and she feels too weak to try again.

“Melina, shhh, don't talk. It’s Mom, I'm here,” says the voice that Melina now recognizes as her mother's.

She relaxes a bit knowing that her mom is by her side. She isn't alone, wherever she is. It only takes seconds for Melina to fall back to sleep.

When she wakes again, she isn't as drowsy as before. She blinks her eyes open and looks around. She is in a hospital room, which is obvious from the white walls, TV up in the corner near the ceiling, and beeping monitors surrounding her. She looks around some more, searching for her mother. She could swear that she was with her earlier. God, what happened?

Melina racks her brain for any idea as to what could have landed her in the hospital, but it just doesn't come to her. Damn it! Then the face of the most gorgeous man she's ever seen pops into her head. She remembers his big hand smoothing her hair back from her forehead, his face a mask of concern, while his bright blue eyes bore into hers. His voice helped to calm her; she remembers that, too. But she can't think of his name. It is a different name, something she's never heard before.

Just then, the door to her room opens and in walk her parents, followed by her best friend, Harper. When they see that she’s awake, they all rush over, talking all at once, giving Melina a headache.

“Can everyone stop talking?” Melina groans and pushes her fingers into her temples.

Their mouths all snap shut and they look at her, waiting for direction.

“Mom, tell me what happened?” Melina asks wearily.

“You were in a bad car accident. A pipe went through your leg. You almost didn't make it,” her mom says, her voice a bit shaky.

“Really? How could a pipe through my leg almost kill me?” Melina asks, confused.

“It nicked your femoral artery. You almost bled out,” Melina's dad answers.

She looks down at her bandaged leg as tears swell in her eyes. “Will I…will I be able to dance again?” she asks her father, panic setting in.

He takes a few steps to her bedside then wipes the tears streaming down her cheeks. “Of course, sweetheart,” he reassures her. “But let’s focus on getting you out of here.”

“If Detective Summers hadn't put a tourniquet around your leg and pressure on the wound, you would never have made it to the hospital,” her mom adds.

“Detective Summers?” Melina murmurs almost to herself.

“Yeah, he was a few cars behind you and saw the whole thing. He stayed with you until we got here,” her mom replies.

“Vance,” Melina whispers, his name finally coming to her.

“Yeah, that's what he said his name was, Vance Summers. Well, Detective Vance Summers was how he introduced himself,” says her mom.

“Is he still here?” Melina asks, trying not to sound too hopeful.

“No, he left a few hours ago,” her dad says.

Everyone gets comfortable in different spots around the room. Her parents stay for maybe another hour before going home. They are exhausted from being in the hospital all day, and now that they know that she is fine, they can relax and let her enjoy some time with her friend. So it’s just her and her best friend, Harper, left hanging out and talking. She grabs a seat in the chair next to Melina’s bed. They talk for a little while about the accident then move on to their normal subjects: work, bitches, men, etc.