Destiny Revealed (There's Always Tomorrow Book 2) (21 page)

“Hey, Melina,” she says.

“Hey, Scarlett,” Melina murmurs softly, “I have something to tell you.”

Scarlett's heart starts pounding. What can Melina possibly have to tell her? Did something happen to her parents or one of their brothers? “Okay, what is it?”

“Don't freak out, okay? Everything is fine now...” Melina starts, sending Scarlett's heart into frantic flutters. “Mike got shot while on duty today, in the neck, but he's okay. He’s recovering in the hospital.”

Scarlett can't stop herself from hyperventilating. She can hear Melina telling her to relax, that he is fine, but it just isn't registering. Scarlett drops the phone and pushes away from her desk. Bending over, she tucks her head between her knees and tries to get her breathing under control before she passes out.

“Scarlett? Are you okay?” her boss, Becky Hartnell asks, her voice concerned.

Scarlett shakes her head. “Oh my god, oh my god,” she repeats over and over. Scarlett then hears Becky pick up her dropped phone and talk to Melina. By the time Becky hangs up the phone, Scarlett is starting to get herself under control. Becky puts her hand on Scarlett's back and rubs circles.

“Hey, it's okay. Melina said that your boyfriend is fine,” she says softly, trying to soothe Scarlett.

Scarlett nods, not going to correct her about Mike not really being her boyfriend per se.

“I didn't even know that you had a boyfriend. And he's a cop? How old is this guy?” Becky asks, a bit dumbfounded.

“Twenty-eight,” Scarlett manages to choke out.

Becky gasps. “Oh my god, isn't he a little old for you?” she asks, her voice wary.

Scarlett pushes herself back up and shakes her head, meeting Becky's eyes. “No,” she snaps, tired of everyone saying that.

Becky's eyebrows shoot up. “Oh, alright then,” she says a bit stunned.

“I have to go see him,” Scarlett says, standing and looking around for her stuff.

Becky nods. “Of course, I'll finish the album, not a problem.”

“Thanks,” Scarlett says and quickly gathers up her purse and phone before racing for the door.

It takes her twenty minutes to get to the hospital. When she gets there, she heads straight to the receptionist desk to find out where Mike's room is, and then heads up. She’s only been seeing Mike for a couple of weeks and she doesn't think that he considers her his girlfriend. They went out to dinner a few times, had lunch a few times, and he'd blown her mind a few times. They’ve done everything at this point except have sex. Mike is an excellent teacher.

Scarlett knows that she cares about him, but she hadn't realized how much until she got that phone call. She can't imagine a life without Mike in it. She can tell that he’s fighting his feelings for her, but by the way he touches her, she knows that he’s losing the battle. Scarlett may be young and a littl
e
naïve in some ways, but she isn't blind or dumb, especially when a man makes it so obvious. Even Melina agrees with her.

Scarlett stops outside of Mike's door, her nerves threatening to overwhelm her again. She fights them down and knocks softly on the door before opening it quietly. Melina told her that Mike fell asleep when she was leaving the hospital, and that was about half an hour ago. She’s expecting him to still be sleeping. Scarlett walks in, shuts the door behind her, walks over to the bed, and puts her purse down onto the chair next to it.

Scarlett can't stop the tears from falling when she sees the big patch of gauze taped to the side of his neck. God, how close did she get from losing him? She hasn't had enough time with him yet. Scarlett leans over and smooths his hair back from his forehead before placing a kiss there.

Mike sucks in a sharp breath as his eyes blink open. Scarlett watches his eyes and the recognition hits him. “Scarlett,” he whispers. “What are you doing here?” he asks, genuinely shocked.

Scarlett frowns. “Why wouldn't I be here? You got shot.”

Mike gives her a confused look before looking around. His mouth sets in a grim line before his eyes come back to meet hers. “Sorry, I forgot. Probably the pain medicine,” he grunts.

Scarlett nods in understanding then sits down on the bed next to him. “How do you feel?” she asks softly, taking his hand in hers.

Mike sighs. “Like roadkill.”

Scarlett gapes at him. “Mike!” She giggles then play smacks him on his hand that she’s holding.

Mike smiles slightly. “I don't like being hurt, and I don't like hospitals.”

Scarlett bites her lip and shakes her head. “It can't be helped, sorry.”

Mike shrugs then winces. “You didn't put me here.”

Scarlett watches him, caressing his hand where it rests in her lap. “I came right over when Melina called me,” she says quietly.

Mike gives her a lopsided grin. “I'm glad you’re here,” squeezing her hand.

Scarlett's eyebrows shoot up. “You are?”

Mike's smile fades. “Of course, I am. You’re my girl. I would’ve been very disappointed if you didn't show up.”

Scarlett flushes at his words. He called her “his girl.” It isn't the same as girlfriend but she’ll take it. It’s good enough…for now.

Chapter 17

After they leave the hospital, Vance, Melina, Dayne, Ryder, Xander, Tripp, and Anna decide to all go back to the house to decompress together. Big Mike chooses to go to his own house, needing some alone time, and Scarlett is staying by Mike’s side. She won’t let him out of her sight.

Harper comes over to check on Melina and ends up spending the day as well, much to Dayne’s chagrin. But he’s not as angsty as he usually is toward her, which is something that Melina takes note of. They all spend the day lazing around, telling funny stories, and sharing memories from their childhood together.  Melina notices Dayne glance at Harper several times throughout the day, confirming her earlier thought that there is more going on than either of them has admitted to her or Vance. By the early evening, Harper and Dayne are sharing the loveseat, their heads close together, talking quietly to each other. Nothing like the last time Melina saw them together. Yeah, there is something definitely going on between those two. She’ll have to investigate later when she can get Harper alone.

At around 8:00 pm, Vance gets a call from the Chief ordering him to come in to the station to give another statement. Vance doesn’t think twice about it, as he wants to be involved in sending these assholes to prison for a long time. Soon after the call ends, he tells everyone what’s up.

He leans down to kiss Melina good-bye, whispering in her ear, “Be here when I get back?”

Melina grabs the back of Vance’s head and pulls him in close. She wants another kiss and has no problem showing him.  “You can count on it, handsome. Please be careful.”

“Always.”

The rest of the gang chuckles then say their farewells. Vance heads out and the group starts to disperse.

As Melina heads to the kitchen for a bottle of wine and two glasses, she shouts over her shoulder, “Harper. You and me. Vance’s room.”

Dayne freezes in place. He leans into Harper and whispers something into her ear, but she shakes her head at whatever he told her. Harper looks back toward Melina and lowers her eyes but still nods in acquiescence.  She’s got to know what’s coming.

**Harper**

Harper follows Melina up the stairs to Vance’s room. She cops a squat on the floor, opens the bottle of wine that she grabbed and starts pouring. Melina doesn’t wait two minutes before she starts in on her.

“Spill it, sista,” Melina then takes a sip of her wine.

“I don’t know what you're talking about,” Harper answers coyly.

“Harper...I’m not blind,” she huffs.

Shit, she must know. Harper takes a long drink of her wine, trying to buy herself some time before she spits it out.

“Okay, okay. So I’ve kinda been sleeping with Dayne,” Harper blurts.

“Shut the hell up,” Melina deadpans.

Harper takes another sip of her wine and just nods manically at Melina.

“Don’t bobble-head me. Since when?” 

Harper shrugs. “I don't know.”

“Harper spit it out.” She’s not going to let this go.

“When your family came here for the BBQ...” Harper begins but is quickly interrupted.

“That was forever ago! And you haven't told me a thing?”  Melina yells, but Harper can tell that she’s really reacting out of hurt, not anger.

Harper winces.  “It really hasn’t been that long…and I was gonna tell you…”  Harper starts but she knows that it doesn’t matter what she says because Melina already feels betrayed. So she shuts up and says the only thing she thinks Melina needs to hear. “Sorry,” she says sincerely.

Melina nods. She refills their glasses of wine and offers Harper a small smile.

“So, now that we’re past that…How’d this happen? Last I knew, you guys were not talking.  In fact, you were fighting, if I remember correctly.”

She’s right. That actually is the last conversation Harper had with her regarding Dayne.

“I actually stopped by to see your family. You guys were all outside and Dayne answered. He asked if we could talk in private, and I agreed, so we went up to his room. Then one thing led to another...” Harper smiles fondly at the memory of their first time together.

“I can’t believe you never told me.”

“I can’t believe you never caught us.”

They both laugh, the wine helping to make it funnier than it normally would’ve been.

“Tell me the good stuff. I need details,” Melina pries.

“Oh my god, he is a fucking freak. After we went at it the first time, he went into his dresser and pulled out...”

“Whoa whoa.” Melina put her hands up in surrender.

“No, really.  Then he wanted to tie me up and…”

Melina covers her ears and starts singing like a toddler who doesn’t want to know it’s bed time. “La la la la,” she chants.

Harper bursts out laughing hysterically and falls over, nearly spilling the wine.

“Okay, never mind. I lied, I don’t want details.  So are you guys dating?”

Harper rights herself then takes a sip. “We haven’t really made it official, but we’ve actually gone on a few dates, and he’s starting to open up to me. Meanwhile, we’ve agreed to be exclusive until we know what this is.”

Melina smiles. “Are you happy?”

“Did I mention how good the sex is?”

“Yes, twice now.”

They both giggle then clink their wine glasses in solidarity.

“I’m happy if you’re happy. Just please be careful. He’s a good guy, but remember that he’s been burned. I love you both and I don’t want to see you lose yourself in him. But I can see that you two are clearly made for each other.”

Harper leans in and gives Melina great big hug.

“Love you, bitch.”

“Back atcha, my friend.”

Chapter 18

Melina is woken up by the sound of movement in the room. She lifts her head and peers through the darkness to see a figure moving toward the bed, and it definitely isn't Harper, Vance, or any of the other guys. Melina's heart freezes along with her breath.

“That's right, Melina, you should be scared,” the man says then lunges at her.

Melina's scream is muffled by the man's hand as he pounces on her. She fights with all that she has, but the guy is simply too strong. He pins her arms above her head with one hand and straddles her waist, his other hand still over her mouth. He leans down so that his face hovers right above hers. That's when Melina realizes that they are all in deep shit. The intruder has changed his looks, but she knows that voice from anywhere. There is no fooling her.

“Mmm, figure out who I am, did you? Right, so if I were you, I'd remain quiet; otherwise, as soon as your pretty boyfriend walks in the door, he's dead,” Damien sneers.

Damien removes his hand from her mouth and smooths it down her neck and chest to cover her breast, which is only covered by a tank top. He squeezes and a surge of anger consumes Melina. He bends his face down and nuzzles her neck as his hand moves lower, skimming over her belly to slip into her underwear, but she’s not having any of that. He has made it known that he intends to kill her, so she has nothing to lose.  And she will do anything she can to save everyone in this house, everyone she loves. She isn’t going down without a fight.

“Oh, baby. I cannot wait to tell Vance how I fucked his girlfriend,” Damien moans against her neck.

“Not happening, asshole,” Melina grits out while struggling to wrench herself free from under him.

“Be quiet and stay the fuck still,” Damien snaps, his tone clear that he has definitely lost his ever-fucking mind.

Melina clamps her mouth shut and squeezes her eyes closed, but there is no way in hell she is going to stay still and let this monster rape her. Damien grabs her by her waist and yanks her closer. Melina starts to formulate a plan, praying for a miracle. Damien then nudges her knees wide.

“Oh, fuck yeah,” Damien groans from above her.

As Damien begins to unbuckle his belt, Melina takes the opportunity to do whatever she can to escape. By the grace of god, and only the strength she could obtain with pure adrenaline coursing through her veins, Melina is able to catch Damien by surprise. She pretends to be putting both of her feet onto his chest as if she’s giving him easier access to her, acting as though she is submitting.  When his body relaxes minutely, she takes the opening to lift her hips and push, hard, with all of her might, throwing him off balance, off the bed, onto the floor, and into the dresser. Pleased with herself after hearing the dull thud, Melina jumps out of bed and makes a run for it.

Melina gets out of the bedroom door, but just barely, before Damien is hot on her heels.  She starts to scream at the top of her lungs. “I love bacon! I love bacon!”  But she only gets it out twice before Damien catches up with her, wrapping one hand over her mouth and gagging her, and his other holding both of her hands roughly behind her back.

Damien drags her down the stairs and into the living room. “I told you to be quiet, bitch. What the fuck you yelling about bacon for? Just for that, your cocksucking boyfriend’s gonna eat a bullet when he gets home from work, ya dumb cunt.”

Melina can only pray that at least one of the guys heard their secret code to call the police.  She is so thankful that Vance had the aforethought to call a family/house meeting after Damien’s last attempt. They all came up with the plan to yell the phrase “I love bacon,” which would alert anyone in ear shot that they need to call the police.  Melina pleads with god to help her and make sure at least one person has heard her.

“The second Vance walks through that door, we’ll be waiting for him with a big surprise,” Damien says, amusement in his tone. This guy is completely sick and twisted.

Melina can only “meep” in fear and frustration.

Damien strides to the windows facing out to the front of the house, his hand firmly latched onto Melina's hands, and a knife now adorned across her neck. She struggles to keep up, afraid of tripping and the knife severing an artery. Damien pulls her closer, and then keeps glancing out the windows, seemingly watching for Vance to pull up.

Damien’s eyes go wild as he hears the footsteps upstairs. He probably didn’t really expect Melina to start screaming when they were upstairs. She worries what he will do when the guys get there. The first to make it down the stairs is Tripp, with his gun raised and his finger already on the trigger, but he stops just short of the bottom step.

“Motherfucker,” Tripp bites out when he gets visuals on Melina and Damien.

“Tripp?” Dayne questions from behind him. “Focus,” he hisses.

“Three o’clock. Knife,” he explains where Damien and Melina are and what weapon he is brandishing.

Before Melina has the chance to start panicking, all of the guys file down the stairs and form a semi-circle around them. Tripp, Dayne, Ryder, and Xander. All of them equipped with guns.  All of them ready to kill for her. Anna and Harper must be hiding upstairs. Good, she doesn’t want Damien to know that they are there. Damien’s back is against the windows and he is using Melina’s body to block their shots.

Tripp is the first to speak, “Come on, brother. You don’t want to do this.”

“Just put the gun down, man. Nobody has to get hurt,” pleads Ryder.

“You can still get out of this, D. You can still walk away,” begs Xander.

“We’re family, bud. Forgive and forget,” Dayne tries.

But Damien doesn’t answer…verbally. He just stands there stoically with a menacing smile on his creepy face.

Vance’s day sucked and his night isn’t looking any better.  He hasn’t been able to break the assholes in interrogation and is just about to give up for the night when his phone vibrates with a text.  Normally, he would just ignore it, but with the shit mood he’s in, he’s hoping for a sweet message from Melina wishing him a good night.  Instead, his worst fears are brought to the surface when he receives a text from Xander with one word: Bacon.

“Motherfucking shit!” he screams to nobody in particular, then storms out of the room.

Chief Shawn Peterson hears Vance’s outburst from all the way down the hall and comes running out to see what is going on.

“Gotta head home, Chief, there’s been an emergency, send back up!” Vance hollers as he runs past Shawn and speeds home like a bat out of hell.

Vance’s tires screech up the driveway less than seven minutes later. Before he bursts through the garage door, which he would rather do, he takes a brief moment to assess the situation. He can hear voices talking very loudly.  That’s good, very good. Much differently than how he arrived home while in his alternate reality. This time, Damien didn’t go on a killing spree. Vance unholsters his gun, checks the chamber, and then cocks it. He walks through the door slowly with his weapon raised, ready for anything.

What he wasn’t expecting to see, was all of his friends circling Damien, with the love of his life held captive in the middle.  A sense of pride fills his heart knowing the lengths they have gone to keep her alive. That’s a fleeting thought, though, as his head begins to fill with fear, but mostly anger.

“So nice of you to join us,” Damien teases.

Vance’s eyes flicker to Damien, then Melina, then the knife at her throat. He sees a little blood trickle, and white-hot anger clouds his vision.

“Let her go, asshole,” Vance bites out.

Damien just chuckles then leans down and talks into Melina’s ear. “Got yourself a brave one. Huh, bitchface?”

“Watch yourself, Damien.  I’ve got a gun pointed at your head, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

Vance starts to move closer to the rest of the guys, but Damien stops him dead in his tracks. He pulls a gun from who the fuck knows where and points it at Vance. “Not another step,” he demands.

“Damien, come on man, what the fuck are you doing? This is ridiculous,” Dayne says calmly.

“I'm going to make Vance feel the pain that I've felt my whole life. He took my brother from me, then he took Melina, and now he's going to pay for it.”

“Tripp doesn't want anything to do with you, and neither does Melina,” Vance grunts.

Damien’s eyes flip to Tripp and an ounce of pain shoots through them. But he shakes it off quicker than it had appeared. “Then there’s no reason for any of them to live.”  He shifts his gun back and forth between Vance and Tripp.

Vance turns to Tripp to speak. “Tripp, man, please don’t hate me,” he begs.

Tripp looks at him in utter confusion. “What the fuck you talkin’ ‘bout, man?”

“I’m about to kill your brother,” is the last thing Vance gets to say before all hell breaks loose.

Before Vance gets the opportunity to take out his nemesis, Damien takes a shot, hitting Vance squarely in the chest. Melina struggles against her bindings as she cries and screams Vance's name. The force of the bullet hitting his vest causes to Vance slam back into the door to the garage. He slides down to the floor, landing on his ass. He lets out a pain-filled yell through clenched teeth and puts his hand over his chest. Damien just chuckles evilly behind Melina.

Xander is screaming and fighting to get past Ryder and Dayne so that he can get to his brother. But the guys wouldn’t put it past Damien to shoot Xander, too, so they hold him back. Vance's face twists in pain and he seems to be having trouble breathing. It only takes a millisecond, before he passes out.

Within seconds, the wall of windows behind Damien explodes, and Damien hits the floor with a gunshot wound to the head, blood gushing all over the place. Melina yelps then scrambles away as fast as she can, running into the arms of Xander.  Dayne and Ryder run over to check on Vance as Tripp goes to make sure that Damien is definitely dead.

The blackness that Vance is experiencing is freaking him the fuck out. It’s the exact same way he felt when he was shot during the bank robbery. Instead of feeling at peace, he is completely afraid of the blackness. It’s not calming, and he feels a heaviness on his chest, like the world is crashing around him. He has been so stressed and worried about finding and capturing Damien. So vigilant about protecting Melina. Even though that’s finally over, he can’t just relax or let go. Because the last time he did, it ended in a devastation close to death.

All of a sudden, Vance feels like his whole chest is stabbed. He tries to fight it, but the second stab is harder and more forceful. The third stab yanks him out of the blackness. He gasps for breath, an elephant seemingly sitting on his chest. Vance moans in agony.

“He’s okay!” someone shouts over the other voices that are yelling around him.

“Summers!  Can you hear me? I need you to breathe,” another voice asks very close to his face.

It takes Vance a couple of tries before he can drag his eyes open. Then it takes him a minute before he can focus on the faces hovering over his.

“You’re gonna be alright, Vance. Hang in there for me. Hear me?” an EMT asks.

Vance gives him a small nod. “Melina?” Vance croaks, his voice barely audible, but the EMT seems to have understood him.

“I’m right here, baby,” Melina answers, with a bit of a shaky voice, as she kneels down beside him.

“Dead?”  He is barely able to breathe, let alone speak, but he needs to know that Melina is safe.

“Yeah, baby. Your boss took him out,” she whispers, a knowing smile on her face.

Vance just stares at her, looking totally confused.

“The Chief, my love. Shawn Peterson took the shot that killed Damien.”

Vance's eyes well up so fast. He nods and blinks away the tears. The EMT pats his cheek, nods at someone, then gets up and moves out of the way so Melina can scooch in closer. He knows the moment Melina sees his face because of the strangled cry that escapes her.

The EMTs load Vance into the ambulance and Melina goes along for the ride to the hospital. When he’s being wheeled through the emergency room, they are greeted by Dr. Stein. Vance laughs to himself but just accepts it for what it is.  His life isn’t necessarily exactly like
Groundhog Day,
but it’s pretty damn close. Dr. Stein was the doctor who fixed him up last time he was shot.  In his dream, he was also the doctor who saved Melina after her car accident. At this point, laughter is the only solution.