Destiny Revealed (There's Always Tomorrow Book 2) (15 page)

He was able to evade the police, and went back to the hotel that he's been staying at. As soon as he’s done patching himself up, he’s going to check out of this one and find another hotel. He has to keep moving if he wants to continue to stay one-step ahead of the cops. He also wants to change his appearance. He’s going to dye his hair blond, grow a goatee, and buy a pair of fake glasses. He’s going to have to lay low for a while. He wants them to think that he's given up. Give them a couple of months. Just when they start to believe that they are safe - then BAM! - he’ll hit them hard! He is hoping to get his second chance with Melina. He wants her so badly. After seeing her come running out the door to save her boy toy, he’s determined to feel that soft sexy body under his again. And he couldn’t care less right now if she is willing or not. He will have her, that’s a fact.

Damien finishes sewing his shoulder back together then wraps it up. He packs up his things, slings the duffle bag over his good shoulder, and then heads for the door. Shit, he’s going to have to get another gun since he left the other one at the scene. He'll worry about that a little later. Right now, he needs to worry about staying under the radar.

Chapter 12

**Ryder**

Ryder watches the woman in front of him bend over and grab her clothes off the floor. She roughly pulls everything on before going over to the full-length mirror hanging on the wall to make sure that she looks presentable. She rakes her hands through her red hair and runs a finger under each eye. She glares at him through the mirror.

“Nothing to say?” she snaps.

“I swear, Morgan it's not you.” Ryder sighs.

Morgan lets out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, okay, whatever.”

Ryder shakes his head; he doesn't even know how to explain it. He doesn't exactly know what the problem is himself. He has a feeling he knows, but he isn't willing to venture there yet. He just barely got it up with the woman before Morgan. At least he was able to have sex with her. But this time, Morgan’s doing nothing for him. She’s really pretty and definitely would have caught his attention a few months ago. Even though he still finds her attractive, she doesn't turn him on at all.

“Do you have some kind of erectile dysfunction?” Morgan asks, her voice annoyed. “Because you should have told me that before I even came over.”

Ryder shrugs. “Maybe, I don't know,” he mutters, raking a hand through his hair.

“Alright, whatever, I'm outta here,” Morgan says, waving her hand dismissively as she heads for his bedroom door.

Ryder winces when she slams it behind her. Dammit, what the fuck is going on with him? Ryder tries to think about what turns him on. It definitely isn't women anymore. The thought makes Ryder's heart pound. Can he really be gay?

Ryder thinks back, looking for any clues that could help with his confusion. He sucks in a sharp breath as he remembers a few instances when women asked him if he was gay.

He remembers one girl that told him it was, “just the way he carried himself.” Another caught him checking out a guy. Ryder defended himself by saying he was only admiring the guy's outfit, which made the girl laugh and give him a knowing look. He didn’t understand that look until this very moment.

Ryder sighs heavily and climbs off his bed, grabbing his swim trunks off the floor and pulling them on. He shakes his head.  He didn't even want to kiss Morgan, let alone sleep with her. So why did he bring her home? To try to prove to himself that he still wants women? Well that was an epic fail.

Maybe he isn't gay. Maybe he’s just bored with women. Ryder snorts and shakes his head. Even he doesn't believe that for one second. Shit. How did he get here? This is not how he exactly pictured his life at 28. He thought he would have been married by now, but none of the women that he’s dated were one whom he envisioned spending the rest of his life with. And now he understands why. He’s gay.

Ryder heads downstairs to grab a beer. He can really use a drink right now. Besides, Melina's family is coming over for a barbeque and bonfire in half an hour. When Ryder walks into the kitchen, Vance and his brother, Xander, are standing at the island counter talking quietly. They both look up when he walks in. Ryder gives them both a tight smile as he walks to the fridge.

“Yo, dude, what happened up there? That chick was not happy walking out the front door.” Vance chuckles.

“Yeah, man. I'm pretty sure she muttered something about a limp dick.” Xander winces.

Ryder sighs and twists off the bottle cap. “Let it go,” Ryder mumbles and takes a long swig of beer.

“Ryder, you know that you can tell me anything, right?” Vance says somberly, looking Ryder over.

Ryder nods. “I know, I just...I’m still trying to sort shit out in my head,” he says quietly.

Both sets of bright blue eyes watch him for a moment. One being from one of his oldest and best friends. The other belonging to the man that he’s known since he was in diapers, but suddenly catches Ryder's attention. It’s funny how much Vance and Xander look alike, with a few subtle differences. The main one being that Xander is gay, of course. He's been out since he was sixteen years old. Xander knew from a young age who he was and to whom he was attracted. Ryder is jealous of that. He hates being so confused.

Ryder must admit that he finds Xander extremely attractive. His dark blond hair and bright blue eyes are mesmerizing. His mouth is full and serious at the moment, but Ryder knows that he has an amazing smile. Just the thought of it makes his mouth water.

“Alright, Vance, I gotta go. I’m going clubbing tonight with some friends,” Xander says, breaking the silence in the kitchen.

“Can't you go another night? I'm going to need all of the help I can get meeting Melina's family,” Vance whines.

Xander smiles warmly at his brother. “Stop it, you're gonna be fine,” he says, patting Vance's shoulder. Xander moves away and starts for the door. “And no, I can't go another night. These guys are friends from college and I haven't seen them in over a year.”

Vance sighs. “Fine, call me later.”

“Yup,” Xander says, giving Ryder a playful punch in the shoulder before walking out of the kitchen toward the front door.

Ryder watches him go, checking out his ass. And damn, does Xander have a nice ass. Vance clears his throat, pulling Ryder's attention back to him. Ryder tips his beer back to hide the flush suddenly creeping up his cheeks.

“Are you sure you don't wanna talk?” Vance asks when Ryder finally meets his gaze.

Ryder shakes his head. “Not yet.”

Vance nods. “Alright,” he says before leaving Ryder alone in the kitchen.

**Mike**

Mike tosses the football back to Vance. They are on the stretch of beach that butts up to the back of their house. It has been a couple of weeks since the shooting at Vance's parents’ house and all has been quiet. The police followed a couple of leads but came up empty-handed. Apparently, Damien has been moving around and is using a different name.

While Mike and Vance are tossing the football, Melina is sunbathing on a lounge chair that she dragged down from the patio. Dayne and Ryder are standing at the water's edge talking, and Tripp is back at the house filling a cooler with beer and ice. They are waiting for everyone else to arrive, having invited their families over for a giant barbeque and beach bonfire.

Mike hears a phone beep and looks over to see Melina jump up excitedly. “My family’s here!” she squeaks and skips back to the house. Vance pales a little as he watches her head up to the house. He hasn't met her family yet, and apparently, her brothers want a word with him in private.

“Don't sweat it, Van. You’ll be fine, they'll love you,” Mike assures him and tosses the football at him, which he doesn't catch; it just bounces off his chest.

Vance looks at him, his face skeptical. “What if her brothers don't like me? It could be a deal breaker.”

Mike snorts. “Man, Melina is head over heels for you, nothing is going to be a deal breaker unless you cheat on her or hurt her. Since you’d never do either, you have nothing to worry about.”

Vance smiles softly. “Head over heels, huh?” he murmurs.

Mike smiles. “No doubt.”

“Maybe I should go up there and greet them?” he asks, unsure.

“It would look good for you,” Mike agrees.

Vance nods then takes off in a light jog toward the house. Mike smiles and shakes his head. He scoops up the football and heads down toward the water where Dayne and Ryder are talking quietly amongst themselves.

“Hey, fellas. Wanna throw the ball around a little?” Mike asks as he walks up. Both Dayne and Ryder look over at him, their expressions serious. “Shit, am I interrupting?” he asks seriously.

“Can you just give us a few more minutes?” Ryder asks quietly.

“Sure, no problem.” Mike nods and heads back up the beach. Whatever they are talking about it must be serious. And apparently they don't want to share or they would have included him in the conversation.

So Mike decides to head back to the house to help Tripp with the beer and meet Melina's family. They all just walk out onto the patio when Mike gets there. Holy shit, they are one good-looking family. Melina's parents don't look a day over 50, even though they have to be at least mid to late 50s. Her two brothers are big and buff and handsome as shit. Mike would not want to take them to a bar; these two might overshadow him. Mike knows that he’s a good looking guy, and he works hard to keep his body in tip-top shape, but damn, these guys are intimidating. And Mike can tell by Vance's face that he thinks so, too.

Then there’s Melina's little sister. Mike can only catch glimpses of her where she stands talking to Melina behind her brothers, and from what he can tell, she’s cute as shit. Mike has to remember, though, that she’s only 19, and he’s way too old for her.

“Hey, Mike, come here,” Vance calls to him, almost begging, so he won't be alone with the overly intimidating brothers.

Mike smiles and walks over to Vance and Melina's brothers, who are the same height as Vance and him. Four guys at 6'4”; shit that’s crazy. Vance introduces Melina's brothers, Bryan and Cameron, to Mike. He shakes their hands firmly, making eye contact and smiling. There’s no mistaking that they are brothers, just like Vance and Xander.

Both guys have dark, expertly styled hair. Bryan, the younger of the two has light green eyes like Melina, is a bit thinner. While Cameron has eyes so dark brown that they almost look black. They share the same dimples on both cheeks as Melina. And they both left scruff on their faces. They are good looking dudes. He would bet anything that they could have a different girl in their bed every night if they wanted.

“What's up, guys?  Want a beer or something to drink?” Mike asks.

“Sure, thanks,” Bryan says.

“That'd be great,” Cameron agrees, his voice deep and gravelly.

“Alright, be right back,” Mike says, shoving the football he’s still holding into Vance's chest then heading toward the kitchen.

Before he can make it to the door, Melina grabs his arm. “Mike, wait, let me introduce you to my parents and sister.”

Mike steps over to Melina's side and gets his first unobstructed glimpse of her sister, Scarlett. Holy mother of God! Mike feels as if he's been slapped in the face. Melina is gorgeous, but Jesus, her sister is breathtaking.

“This is my mom, Ginger, and my dad, Hank,” Melina says, introducing her parents first.

Mike has to tear his eyes away from her sister to shake Ginger’s and Hank's hands. He smiles. “Nice to meet you. I'm Mike.”

They smile and say hello. They are both extremely good looking, which explains how they made the most gorgeous group of kids on earth.

“And this is my sister, Scarlett,” Melina says with a soft smile on her face. She obviously loves her sister.

Mike shakes Scarlett's hand, tamping down the urge to kiss her knuckles. He figures that would be highly inappropriate in front of her parents. She is just absolutely stunning with her long dark hair like Melina, brown eyes like Cameron, and a body like her supermodel sister. She looks similar to Melina, but there is definitely something different about her. It could just be that she is younger, but Mike isn’t sure.

“Hey, Scarlett.” Mike smiles.

Scarlett blushes and gives him a shy smile. “Hi,” she replies in a tiny little voice.

Oh fuck him, she’s shy. He has such a thing for shy girls. He has some kind of sick desire to pull them out of their shells and show off their wild sides. And he can see by the bold way her eyes are roaming over him that she has a wild child in there somewhere. He has to remember her age. Nineteen; she is 19 and he is 28. That’s a nine year difference. That’s a big difference at this age. Generations apart. They’d have nothing in common.

“If you'll excuse me, I need to grab Bryan and Cameron some beer,” Mike says, excusing himself. He has to get away from Scarlett for a couple of minutes to clear his head.

Mike walks into the kitchen to see Tripp dumping ice into the cooler over the bottles of beer. Movement in the doorway catches Mike's eye and he looks up to see his sister, Anna, and dad walk into the kitchen. Mike smiles and greets them.

“Hey, guys,” Mike murmurs, giving his sister a hug and kiss, then the same for his dad.

“Hey, Mikey, how you doing, bud?” his dad asks, giving Mike a firm pat on the back.

“Better now that I got that stupid cast off,” Mike mutters, running a hand through his hair.

His dad grunts in agreement then goes to shake Tripp's hand. “Tripp, my man.”