Destiny Revealed (There's Always Tomorrow Book 2) (13 page)

“And I said no, end of story, not gonna happen, get it out of your head,” Dayne bites out.

Harper stares at him, her expression defiant. Shit, he really likes her. He likes that she challenges him, that she talks back to him, and that she doesn't just wilt under his stare.

“Fine,” she says, but he knows that he’s going to hear about it again eventually. She doesn't give up that easily. Harper is a fighter, especially when it’s something that she wants. She might not even realize it, but she’s fighting for him right now.

Dayne steps in closer to her, his hands finding her tiny hips. He wants her so badly. Wants to be with her, needs to be with her. He leans in and captures her sexy mouth. Sliding his arms around her waist, he pulls her snug against his body as he kisses her. Harper's hands fist the front of his t-shirt.

“Can I take you on date number three tonight?” Dayne murmurs against her lips.

Using her grip on his t-shirt, Harper pushes him away. “No,” she breathes.

Dayne frowns. “Why not? I thought that’s what you wanted?”

Harper shakes her head. “You're only going to hurt me again,” she says softly, her eyes welling up again.

“Don't,” Dayne pleads, “Please don't cry anymore.”

Harper brushes the tears away angrily. “I won't let you hurt me again.”

Dayne opens his mouth to say that he won't hurt her again, but he doesn’t want to lie. He doesn't know if he will or not. He still has his issues and fears, and he can't just jump into a relationship with her. Their little talk hasn't changed anything; it just opened his eyes to his problems.

Dayne rakes his hand through his hair. “Fuck,” he groans and meets her tortured gaze. “I want to see you, though.”

“You can see me when I come to hang out with Melina,” Harper states, steeling herself against him.

Dayne flounders for a moment, trying to come up with something to change her mind. But what can he say? He can't promise her anything because he isn't sure of anything. Can he be her boyfriend? Even thinking the word makes his stomach hurt. He isn't ready for that; that much is clear.   

“Harper, please, work with me here. It’s been hell not seeing you and talking to you,” Dayne pleads, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. Is he groveling? Holy shit, he has it bad.

“You should have thought about that when you dumped me, Dayne,” Harper says quietly, taking her hand back and heading for the door.

Ouch, the truth fuckin’ hurts.

Dayne follows her. “Harper, wait! What can I do to change your mind?” he asks desperately.

Harper shrugs and shakes her head. “Whatever it takes for you to heal your heart so it can open for me,” she says softly then leaves him standing there, stupefied.

Chapter 10

“Melina, sweetie, would you like more chicken?” Maggie, Vance's mother asks, offering the plate of chicken to her.

Vance watches Melina politely decline. It’s Sunday and they are at his parents’ house for dinner. Melina fits in well with his family. His mother loves her and makes it obvious. His father, Val, takes his cues from his wife, always saying, “My Maggie has great instincts about people; if she likes someone then so do I.” And his younger brother, Xander, seems really taken by her as well.

Melina has only met them briefly about two months ago when she showed up on their doorstep, and that was before they were officially dating. Vance's mother was ecstatic when he told her that they were finally together. He never mentioned that they broke up for a couple days; no need, since they got back together so quickly.

“How's your wrist, Melina?” his dad, Val, asks.

Melina looks down at her previously broken wrist, finally healed. “It's good. It wasn't a bad break so it healed pretty quickly.”

Val nods then turns his gaze on Vance. “And your shoulder, son?”

Vance is out of his harness and able to start lifting light weights again. He rolls his shoulder at the question. “Tight, but it's getting better.”

“Good,” Val murmurs solemnly.

“Have they caught that fucker yet?” Xander snarls and stabs a piece of broccoli with his fork.

Their mother frowns. “Language, Xander.”

Xander brings his blue eyes up to hers. “Sorry, mom,” he says quietly.

“No, they haven't. He’s seemed to have disappeared,” Vance grunts, pissed that no one can find Damien.

Xander tosses his fork onto the table in exasperation. “How can he just fall off the grid?” he asks, throwing his arms up.

“No idea. Not like he's trained military or anything,” Vance answers sarcastically then shakes his head in disgust. His whole family has known Damien since they were boys, and none of them thought that he would be capable of such vicious behavior.

Xander crosses his arms over his chest, his knee bouncing. Vance loves his brother. He is only 21, but he comes across so much older than that, more mature. Xander is normally a soft-spoken kind of guy, but when he gets pumped up about something, he lets loose.

They both look a lot alike, and like their father. Xander's hair is a shade darker than Vance’s. He is also a couple of inches shorter than Vance. Xander has a thinner, more toned, athletic build, while Vance is bulkier with more muscle mass. And, Xander is gay. That is one huge difference between them. But honestly, no one ever knows when they first meet him. Girls always think that he is straight with an awesome taste for style, so they hit on him left and right. Unfortunately, they are completely disappointed when he tells them that he’s gay.

“Can we talk about something else?” Melina asks quietly beside him, her eyes pleading.

Vance slips his arm around her shoulders. “Sorry babe,” Vance murmurs, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Melina hates talking about anything that has to do with Damien. It just spikes her anxiety and fear. She’s been having nightmares for the past few weeks, jolting her awake in the middle of the night, covered in sweat.

“So, Melina, tell me about your family. Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Maggie asks, changing the subject.

Melina smiles slightly. “I have a younger sister and two older brothers,” she says.

Vance groans. “Shit, you didn't tell me you have older brothers.”

Melina chuckles. “We really haven't talked much about family and stuff; too many other things going on.”

Vance nods his agreement. “True...so you have brothers? How old are they?”

Melina tilts her head, thinking, “Bryan is 27, and Cameron is 30.”

Vance turns his face toward her. “Have you told them about me yet?” His eyebrow raises in question.

“Not yet, they are a bit overprotective.” Melina winces.

“Have you told your sister?” Vance asks.

“Scarlett? Yeah, I've told her. She can't wait to meet you,” Melina says, giving him a soft smile, her hand finding his thigh.

“How old is your sister?” Xander asks.

“She's 19. Definitely an unexpected surprise.” She smiles.

Vance's parents share a private look as they chuckle. After they finish dinner, they head into the living room to relax, have some coffee, and talk. Vance and Xander are sitting on the loveseat in front of the bay window. Melina has taken a seat in the armchair to Vance's right. And his parents are sitting on the couch, his dad's arm around his mother's shoulders.

As Vance sits there talking to Xander, he gets an uneasy feeling in his gut. He shifts in his seat so that he can glance out the bay window. Something doesn't feel right and it’s making the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Another glance out the window and Vance sees a car pull up slowly in front of the house, driver’s side facing the house. The car is a silver Chrysler Sebring. The darkly tinted driver’s window rolls down only a few inches. Vance frowns. He doesn't like that at all.

Vance's eyes widen when he sees the barrel of what he thinks is an assault rifle slide out of the open window. Vance screams, “get down!” just as the gun starts firing a shitload of rounds at the house. The bay window shatters, spraying glass mostly over him and Xander.

Vance palms the back of Xander's head and pushes him to the floor. Vance snatches his off duty weapon out of the ankle holster on his right ankle. The gunshots continue for a good thirty seconds before they end. Vance can hear his mother screaming, his father trying his best to calm her, Xander cursing up a storm, and Melina is just silent. Vance glances at her. She is eerily calm as she lays on the floor on her belly.

Vance crawls over to the shattered window once the rain of fire stops and peeks out. Motherfucker is reloading. Vance cannot let him send another magazine of bullets into the house. Vance gets to his feet, and in a crouched run, he heads for the door.

“Vance!” Melina screams, coming out of her calm trance.

Vance ignores her. He can't think about Melina or consequences right now. He has to be pro-active if they want to survive. Vance flings open the door and unloads on the driver's side of the car. The window doesn't shatter because the tint holds it together, but his bullets are definitely piercing it. The barrel of the gun turns slightly to aim at him.

Fuck!

Vance dives back inside and rolls to take cover, bullets hitting the floor where he had just been. Shit, that was close. Vance pants, his adrenaline pumping him up for battle. He’s almost positive it’s Damien, and he’s not going to let that motherfucker attack his family and get away with it.

Vance can hear the sirens in the background and knows that Damien is going to take off. The bullets stop and the click of the car being put into gear is Vance's cue to get this dirt bag once and for all. Vance quickly reloads his handgun with the spare clip that he always carries and races out the door with Melina and Xander screaming his name.

The Sebring is pulling away when Vance reaches the sidewalk. He shoots at the tires, hitting both rear tires, causing them to pop and deflate immediately. The Sebring jerks to a stop and the driver’s side door flings open. Damien emerges, his rifle in his right hand. His left shoulder is covered in blood, proof that Vance did hit him when he shot at the car before.

Damien's face is a mask of barely controlled rage. “You are a dead man, Summers!” he bellows.

Vance has his weapon aimed right between Damien's eyes. “Not if I kill you first,” Vance says, voice calm and controlled, unlike how he feels, which is anything but.

“No!” screams Melina as she appears in the front doorway, fighting to free herself from Xander's arms.

Shit!

Vance knows what Damien is going to do before he even starts moving. A little nuance in the way he shifts the rifle is his tell. Damien swings the rifle in Melina's direction, but since Vance had predicted it, he’s already in motion. Vance rushes at him, afraid shooting him will cause his finger to twitch on the trigger. Vance tackles him around the waist, causing Damien to lose his grip on the gun, which goes skittering across the asphalt.

The grappling starts. Damien immediately reaches for Vance's gun. No way in hell is Vance going to let him get ahold of his weapon. Even with a bullet wound, Damien is fighting hard and dirty. Damien smashes a fist into Vance's groin. Vance crumples to the asphalt, one hand clutching himself, the other still firmly fixed around his pistol. The sirens are getting louder and instead of continuing the fight, Damien takes off on foot.

Vance gags a few times, as he lays curled in a fetal position in the middle of the street. He hears footsteps racing toward him right before Xander drops down next to him, hands searching for injuries.

“Jesus Christ, Vance. Are you okay? Did he shoot you?” Xander asks frantically.

“No, he punched me in the nuts,” Vance groans and winces.

“Fuck man, that's dirty. Who punches another guy in the balls during a fight?” Xander snorts.

Vance starts to chuckle but stops because it hurts. “Where's Melina?”

“In the house,” Xander snarls, obviously pissed at that little stunt she pulled.

Police cars screech to a halt around them. Xander helps Vance to his feet. Vance tucks his gun into his pants at the small of his back then limps over to talk to Lt. Jones . Lt. Jones has been working this case, so he knows the backstory.

“Summers, are you alright?” Lt. Jones asks, sincerely concerned.

Vance stops in front of him, bends over, and puts his hands on his knees. Damn his balls hurt. “I'll be okay; might not be able to produce any kids, but I'll live.”

Lt. Jones smirks and gives him a clap on the shoulder. “Alright, wanna tell me what happened?”

Vance explains what happened as detailed as possible. Once he’s finished telling his story, Lt. Jones takes Xander’s statement. While they’re talking, Vance heads toward the house. He is furious at Melina for what she did. She almost got herself killed, along with him. God, how could she have been so stupid? Thank God, Xander had the sense to grab her and pull her back into the house.

Vance walks in the house, broken glass crunching under his shoes. Shit, what a mess. He walks into the kitchen where the police gathered Melina, his mom, and his dad. His mother is the first to notice him walk in. She stops her pacing to launch herself into his arms. She sobs on his shoulder, crying something about her baby.

When she finally lets him go, she only backs up enough to smack him hard across his face with her open palm. She hits him so hard that his face snaps to the side and he sees stars. “Don’t you ever chase after a maniac like that again. You could’ve been killed!” she screams at him, tears streaming down her face.

Vance cannot think of another time in his whole life that his mom has ever hit him like that; it completely caught him off guard. He is just standing there, frozen, with his face turned away from her. The whole kitchen is ungodly silent, having seen the whole exchange.

Val rushes over and ushers his wife away, arms wrapped around her. She’s still sobbing, but lets his dad lead her into another room. Vance feels the burn of tears in his own eyes, but refuses to be caught crying in front of his fellow officers. He'd never hear the end of it. But his heart aches from seeing his mother so upset and angry with him. Vance turns and walks out of the kitchen. Melina calls after him, but Vance ignores her and heads upstairs to the office, which used to be his old room.

Vance shuts himself in and skulks over to the worn brown leather couch that sits against the wall, and then plops down onto it. He drops his face into his hands. Vance tries to remember the last time he cried. It must’ve been when he finally came to terms with the fact that his relationship with Melina was completely fictitious.  To be honest, he’s not really a crier, but seeing his mother like that, and having her lash out at him, is really bothering him. He was just doing what came natural, going after bad guys. That's why he became a cop; he wants to save people and protect them from psychos like Damien. He was just doing his job, which just so happened to follow him to his parents’ house.

Vance pulls in a ragged breath and shoves his hands into his hair, then exhales shakily. His adrenaline is wearing off, too, causing him to feel more emotional than usual. The image of Melina screaming at the front door pops into his head, then Damien swinging the rifle toward her. Oh God, he can't even think about what could have happened.

The tears Vance have been fighting off start flowing. Fuck it. If he’s going to cry, he'll at least cry like a man. No sobbing or sniffling. Just tears. He lets the tears roll, swiping at them with his shirtsleeve every so often. After about a minute, Vance shuts off the waterworks, using the hem of his t-shirt to dry his face.

A soft knock on the door sounds. “Vance, son…can I come in?” his dad's voice asks from the other side of the door.

Vance clears his throat. “Yeah,” he calls, scrubbing his hands over his face and mentally preparing himself for a lecture on upsetting his mother.

His dad walks in and shuts the door behind him. His father is pretty much an older version of Vance when it comes to looks. If Vance ever wonders how he’s going to age, he just has to look at his father. His hair, now white, used to be blond like his. He has some wrinkles on his face, mostly at the corner of his eyes and around his mouth. His father does a lot of laughing. For being 60 years old, he’s still in decent shape. He’s a little thicker than he used to be, but he couldn't be called fat. Like Vance, he’s also 6’4”, obviously where Vance got his height.