Fate (31 page)

“It’d been months since I started talking to him again
,
and Sal and Grace had met him long ago because he and I went to high school together. But I’ve only been seeing him for a few weeks.” She lifted an eyebrow as she turned to walk away but stopped and added. “And it’s not even that serious.”

Angry that she’d given into her heart and added that last part
in
hop
es that
he’d make sure he told Vincent that, she started to walk away.

“Serious enough that you’d have him meet the whole family?”

Rose slowed but didn’t respond to that. She didn’t even turn around.

“He still loves you, Rose.”

Squeezing her eyes shut, she struggled to keep her composure but couldn’t even speak
;
she was so overwhelmed with emotion. She panicked when she opened her eyes and saw Grace walking toward her.

“There you are. It’s time for the cake,” Grace said as she got closer.

Blinking her eyes a few times hop
ing
that they’d swallow up the tears that had begun to well in them, she smiled. “That ridiculous three
-
layer, double
-
A
-
shaped cake?”

“Three
-
layer
,
chocolate
cake,” Grace reminded her with an even bigger smile
,
“
y
our favorite.”

Alex’s twin girls ran after little Chava just behind Grace
,
laughing loudly—a reminder that there was more to it than simply giving into her more
-
than
-
willing
-
to
-
forgive heart. How could she be sure Vincent wouldn’t go back to dealing again? He’d risked it all more than once already. Rose had given
a lot of thought to
what Grace had said the day she last spoke to him. He was dangerous—not just to her
but
to her family.

Rose walked back to the kitchen with Grace, never addressing Lorenzo’s comment. He didn’t stick around to watch the rest of her and Ben’s performance
,
and she couldn’t have been more relieved. She appreciated Ben’s efforts and his going along with this. He was a good friend
,
but this was the last time she was doing this. She hated that now not only would Vincent know she’d broken a promise she couldn’t even imagine breaking but he’d be under the impression she’d done so with Ben.

After walking Ben out and giving him nothing more than a kiss on the cheek
,
Rose was surprised to see her mother waiting just inside the door. She had a mischievous smile on her face. “I didn’t know he was studying to be a doctor. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Rose rolled her eyes. Of course this would be the only thing that interested her mother. It wasn’t enough that already one daughter was practically supporting her. Two daughters who married well were better than one. She just may get her dream of retiring early and never having to work another day in her life if she had the both of them paying her bills.

“I didn’t think you’d care
,
” Rose said flatly continuing to walk through the front room.

“Rose,” her mother said in a tone so unlike her
,
Rose had to turn and look back at her. “I know I haven’t been the greatest mother to you or Grace
,
but I
do
care. I’ve never been able to express myself like most mothers
,
and you may never forgive me for that
,
but I want you to know that I
do
care. I’ve always cared.”

Rose stared at her wanting to ask her so many things like
,
first and foremost
,
why the hell hadn’t she ever said it before
,
but this wasn’t the time
or
place. Already people were headed toward them on their way out.

Before
Rose
could say a thing
,
her mother turned to Alison and her boyfriend Ezekiel. “It was very nice to see you again Mrs. Zendejas
,
” Alison said.

As Rose said her goodbyes to her friend and her boyfriend
,
her mother disappeared back into the party. By the time Rose got back
,
her mother was gone. Grace said she’d gone to bed. It was for the best. Rose wasn’t up for that conversation just yet. She had enough going on in her head. She’d take the fact that her mother claimed to care about her as a win and leave it at that before pushing and getting the real truth
:
a
truth she wasn’t sure she was ready to hear.

Vince

Running as fast as his tired legs would move
,
Vince could see the helicopter up ahead.
Just a couple of hundred feet more to go.
“You
can
do this
,
damn it,” he muttered
to himself.

Every step he took felt heavier and more painful than the last. His lungs fought for
the
little air that trickled in
,
and he coughed most of it back up
;
the air was so thick with smoke and dust.

“Hurry up!” One of the soldiers in the helicopter yelled out. “We gotta get out of here!”

Vince lifted his hand in an effort to show that he’d heard the guy and he was trying his damn
e
dest to hurry. He’d never been so terrified but at the same time so determined in his life.

Rose’s voice still fresh in his mind reminded him of Will’s last words.
Don’t give up
. How could he have ever considered it? The only thing that stopped Will from going back and fighting for his Missy Anne was death. He loved her that much. The blinding jealousy of knowing Rose was with someone else had made Vince lose sight of just what Rose really meant to him. She was
everything
to him. She’d changed his life in such a way
that
he’d never be the same person he was before he met her. He’d even told her that
:
t
old her everything he did, he did for her now
.
R
unning for his life now was all for her. He needed to get out of here alive
,
n
eeded to make it back to her and beg on his hands and knees because he knew now his life would never be complete without her. He had to at the very least fight to get her back. He’d stop at nothing now.

Stumbling as he reached the helicopter
,
he was pulled in by two different pairs of arms. Once inside he lay on his back gasping for air. He’d made it.

“We got one more
,
and then we’re out.” The guy at the door yelled back at the pilot. “Hurry your ass up,
P
rivate! You’re gonna get us all killed!”

As
Vince lay there
,
he could hear the huffing and groaning getting closer as the last guy they were waiting on finally made into the helicopter with a grunt.

“He’s in. Let’s go!”

Not a second later
,
the helicopter shifted violently
,
and Vince reached for the closest thing that was nailed down—the legging of the co-pilot
’s
seat. Tightening his grip around it, he held on as it got harder and harder to grip with the sharp turns the helicopter made.

“Hold on and take cover
,
guys. If we can get past this
,
we’re home free!” The soldier at the door of the helicopter started shooting
,
and Vince covered his face with his forearm.

Another sharp turn had the soldier down on Vince’s legs.

“Fuck!”

Stumbling to get back up
,
Vince tried to help the guy
.
T
hen there were two shots out of nowhere. One hit the guy
,
throwing him back down onto Vince
,
and the next one must’ve hit the propeller
’
s engine because the whole thing started shaking.

“Mayday! Mayday! This is Warrant Officer Heely in blade two, two, one, seven
.
We’ve been hit and we’re
at
tempting to land!”
t
he pilot yelled into his radio.

Vince sat up immediately as the pilot frantically yelled out their location and their approximate landing area.
Who was he kidding
?
T
hey wouldn’t be
landing
. That’s when he realized the guy
lying
on him was dead. They’d hit him directly in the neck. Sharp shooters—being one himself
,
he knew only a sharp shooter could make such a direct hit.

“We’re gonna crash!”
s
omeone else yelled.

This was really happening
,
and it was happening fast. One look out the open door of the helicopter and Vince could see his life flashing before him. This was it. Everything he’d lived through, all the good and bad he’d experienced in life came down to this one moment. The helicopter would crash and explode with all of them in it.

“We all need to jump
,
a
nd we have to do this now!”
The direct order from the pilot to everyone didn’t register immediately.

Vince was still staring out the open door
,
holding on to the one of the seats
,
barely able to breathe.

Jump!

The voice in his head was adamant. He’d have to do this
:
j
ump and take the only possibility of living left or die.
H
e stood there on his knees frozen. Every second that passed was another heartbeat
,
another breath that
shortened
his life
.
The chaos of men yelling—screaming their last breaths, the helicopter spinning out of control, buzzed in his ear so loudly then
,
suddenly
,
it all went silent. He could hear or see nothing but the only thing that mattered now
,
Rose. He had to get back to Rose.

In an instant the noise was back
,
screeching from every direction. He turned to see one of the soldiers crouched in the corner doing the sign of the cross and praying as if it
were
the only thing left to do.

“No.” Struggling he stood up onto his feet and looked out the door as the helicopter continue
d
to plummet fast. “No!”

He saw
what waited on the ground
:
sand
,
carnage, and the
rubble
of a once active city. If he jumped
,
he risked being captured—becoming a
POW
—tortured. The word stuck to his tongue. This entire last year had been the worst kind of torture he could think of.

Knowing he only had seconds to decide
,
he turned to the others in the doomed helicopter. “You heard the orders! Jump!”

They all stared at him as frozen as he’d been just moments ago. “Let’s go! Jump or die!”

Nobody moved
,
and Vince took one last look out the door of the helicopter. I
t was now or never. “Rose!”

Rose

Days after the party Rose waited tables at the restaurant
,
her mind still on what Lorenzo had said. Even through all the anger and pain
,
she’d never once doubted Vincent’s love for her. She felt his love right down
to the very core of her being.

As the time passed and especially now after
hearing
Lorenzo
’s declaration at the party, Rose
came to the realization that she could easily forgive Vincent for his weak moment. She was miserable without him
,
but there was one thing she couldn’t justify not even as much as she loved Vincent
:
t
hat being with him might ultimately put her or her family in danger.