Where There's Smoke (19 page)

Speaking of which, where was the guy? Surely he didn’t leave her again.

Just as suddenly as the thought entered her head, cold dread filled her. Had he started to think about what she told him and realized she had way too much baggage? Had he lied to her and left? Just like all the others in her life?

Destiny stood, then hurried to the bathroom. He wasn’t there, either. She rushed to the other room. Empty. Her frown deepened as she made a quick inspection of the rest of the apartment.

Tears filled her eyes. She swiped them away with the back of her hand as she made her way to the kitchen.

“It doesn’t matter that you left me, Chance. This isn’t my first rodeo, cowboy! And I didn’t care that much about you anyway. Nope, I only wanted your soul. You were only a quota to me!”

Nothing mattered. She’d been on her own long enough not to let anything get to her.

Then why did she hurt so much?

Destiny sucked back a sob as she stumbled into the kitchen. It wasn’t fucking fair! Dammit! She swiped her hand over her eyes, but the blasted tears wouldn’t stop.

She refused to care about Chance. She refused—

She spotted a note on top of a familiar white box sitting on the counter.

Well, hell.

She sniffed as she marched over and snatched it up at the same time she grabbed a napkin and blew her nose.

Morning
Sweetheart.

A smile curved her lips. Chance didn’t desert her.

Did he think of her as his sweetheart?

Just as quickly, the butterflies in her tummy transformed into dead moths and her smile turned downward. She never was anyone’s sweetheart, only their doormat. Too many times someone used her to wipe their muddy boots.

But she skimmed over the rest of his note. He had somewhere he needed to be.

“That’s a surprise,” she mumbled.

She continued to read. Chance said he would see her later today.

She set the note down and opened the lid on the box. Chocolate doughnuts.

Humph!

As if she would wait around all day for him because he brought her doughnuts. Destiny had news for him—she waited for no man!

But oh, what a man! Her anger immediately vanished as her body began to awaken. She pulled out a doughnut, licking her tongue across the chocolate glaze. Yum. She’d like to glaze Chance with chocolate and lick him.

Oh hell, she was in so much trouble. Her body slumped against the counter. What if she couldn’t convince him to give up his soul? Hell wouldn’t be the same without him.

No, no, no! She refused to get emotionally tangled up with another man. They always screwed up her life. But Chance was different. She couldn’t imagine him hurting her or lying to her like all the others. No, he was different.

But it had to be his choice. He had to willingly return with her. She didn’t want it any other way.

The chiming doorbell brought Destiny out of her thoughts, which was good because she didn’t want to dwell on the future. Maybe Chance was on the other side of the door. She shook her head. Probably not, though.

As she strolled through to the other room, she ran her hands down her body and immediately went from naked to clothed. She liked the feel of her tight-fitting jeans and the red halter top. She missed her jeans.

She opened the door. Destiny was right, not Chance. LeAnn was on the other side beaming. “I’ve got a gig,” she squealed.

Destiny stepped back. “Is it contagious?”

LeAnn chuckled. “No, silly,” she said as she strolled through the living room to the kitchen. “A singing gig.” She grabbed the carafe from the coffee pot and took it to the sink where she filled it with water.

It amazed Destiny that the girl assumed they were best friends.

LeAnn dumped coffee into the paper filter she’d put in the holder, then poured the water into the bin. She flipped on the switch before turning around to face Destiny. Destiny assumed LeAnn would tell her about the gig.

She was wrong.

“Oh, you have doughnuts!” LeAnn hurried to the box and opened it, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. “And they’re chocolate. I really need chocolate.” She brought the box to the table and sat in one of the chairs.

Help yourself,
Destiny thought, but she really didn’t mind. She liked LeAnn, even knowing a friendship between them wouldn’t end well.

The doorbell rang. Destiny jumped. Chance? “I’ll be right back.” She hurried to the other room, then opened the door.

“Morning.” Charles’s voice boomed across the apartment.

“It’s too early for company,” she grumbled.

“What’s that, you say? You gotta speak up.”

She shook her head. “Nothing. Did you need something?” Or was he another person who wanted to ruin her morning?

“I’m all out of coffee. I thought maybe—” He stopped mid-sentence and sniffed. “I knew I’d pegged you for a coffee drinker. Black, right?” He didn’t wait for her answer, but headed toward the kitchen.

“Just come on in. In fact, the whole apartment complex can join us for morning coffee.” Destiny didn’t care that sarcasm dripped from her words. But as she started to close the door, Beulah pushed her way inside.

“Was that Charles I saw? What’s he doing in your apartment?” She eyed Destiny as though she thought Charles might be her next love victim.

“Yes, that was Charles, and before him, LeAnn. Would you like coffee and a doughnut, too?”

“Might as well since you kept me up most of the night yelling like a banshee in heat.” She marched toward the kitchen.

“Great, just great.” She started to close the door, but stopped at the last second and peered into the hallway, saw it was empty, then shut the door.

When she joined the others, Charles was pouring Beulah a cup of coffee and she was getting a doughnut out of the box.

“Sit and I’ll tell you all about it.” LeAnn practically squirmed in her seat.

Nervous energy?

“Tell her about what?” Charles asked.

Oh hell, why not. It certainly didn’t look as though they would leave any time soon. Destiny took a seat across from her. LeAnn grabbed a doughnut and shoved half into her mouth.

“Dis iz good,” she mumbled around the doughnut. “Imgonnasingatabar,” she said.

Destiny raised her eyebrows, unable to decipher LeAnn’s new language.

“She’s lost it. Bound to happen the way she zips around like a bee in a field of blooming flowers,” Beulah said before she opened her mouth wide, then apparently thought better of what she was about to do and took a dainty bite of the doughnut instead.

There was something different about Beulah. Destiny studied her for a moment before she realized what had changed. She didn’t have the lip hairs and she’d plucked the mole hair, too. Her hair was done in a different style. Softer, more feminine. She was still dressed like a bag lady, though.

LeAnn laughed, then swallowed. “Sorry. I guess I’m nervous.”

“Ya think?” Destiny asked, returning her attention to LeAnn.

“Spill the beans ’fore you bust, girl,” Charles urged.

LeAnn grabbed Destiny’s hand and squeezed. Destiny’s first instinct was to pull away but she didn’t, and suddenly she kind of liked LeAnn’s touch. She realized that even though she didn’t want it to happen, it had. LeAnn had become her friend.

Destiny mentally scoffed at the idea. They weren’t friends. LeAnn was—what?

She studied the other woman as she began to talk about singing in some bar. LeAnn’s eyes sparkled, and between sentences she laughed as though it was a dream come true. Her shot at breaking into the big time. At least it was one step in the right direction.

“Someone important could walk into the bar on a night I’m singing.” LeAnn hugged her middle. “This could be it.”

“Or not,” Beulah said.

Destiny glared at her. “I’m happy for you,” she told LeAnn and was surprised that she meant it. It would be great if LeAnn had the opportunity to do something with her life. Destiny regretted never having that chance.

“Wow, we can say we knew you when,” Charles said.

“Or not,” Beulah jabbed again.

Charles frowned. “Stop being so negative. Let the girl have her dreams.”

“I’m just pointing out what could happen. Better to know up front, then disappointment doesn’t hurt so much.”

Charles rose to his feet. “Come on, old woman. Leave these girls to their talkin’. We’ll bring the cups by later.” He looked pointedly at Beulah.

She finally stood, eyeing the doughnut box. “I need the chocolate after last night.” She grabbed another doughnut and hurried out of the room.

Charles was right on her heels. “And what exactly did you do last night that you need energy?”

Destiny didn’t hear what Beulah said as the door shut behind them. Two down, one to go, and then blessed peace.

“If I make it big, I mean with my singing, you’ll come with me. Won’t you?”

Destiny couldn’t stop her snort of laughter even if she tried, which she didn’t. She couldn’t help thinking about all the empty promises she’d heard in her lifetime, but she saw something in LeAnn’s eyes that told Destiny the other woman was serious, and Destiny’s laughter died.

“You barely know me,” she told her.

“We’re a lot alike, you and I.” Her expression grew solemn. “I can’t imagine you not going with me.”

LeAnn said that now, but if she ever made it big she would change her mind. She would forget about Destiny. Not that it mattered; Destiny was dead, her life was over, and she had no place among the living. It was a nice thought, though, and she was sure LeAnn meant it.

“I need a refill.” Destiny grabbed her cup and stood, moving to the counter. It was hard for her to accept that LeAnn would actually care for her.

“You’ll come hear me sing, won’t you?”

Destiny stilled, knowing her time left was getting shorter. “When?”

“Tonight. I know it’s a Monday and there probably won’t be anyone there. It would be nice to have someone I know in the audience. The owner did say he knew someone who knew someone and he would try to get them to come to the performance.”

Destiny poured coffee into her cup and carried it back to the table. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

LeAnn breathed a sigh of relief. “Good! I was hoping you’d be there.” She blew across her coffee, then took a drink. After she set her cup back on the table, she reached into the box of doughnuts and took another one out. “I probably should stop eating these or I’ll be bigger than the stage.”

“Chocolate is good for the soul,” Destiny told her and took one out for herself.

“Now that would make a good country song.”

“Instead of drowning yourself in whiskey, you could write the female version of drowning your sorrows in a box of chocolate.”

LeAnn giggled. “I like that.” Just as quickly, LeAnn sobered. “Are you going to tell me about him?”

Destiny didn’t have to ask what
him
she referred to. “I met him in a bar.” She took a drink of her coffee.

“That’s it?”

What was she supposed to say? That she was only trying to steal his soul? What would LeAnn think about her then? Instead, Destiny shrugged. “It’s a new relationship.”

“New or not, the guy really likes you.”

Destiny was about to take a bite of her doughnut, but paused. “Do you think so?”

“I know so.” LeAnn happened to glance at the clock, then choked down the rest of her doughnut. “Crap, I’ve gotta run. I’m due at work in ten minutes.”

She jumped up, downed a big swallow of coffee, but before LeAnn ran out she gave Destiny a quick hug. In the blink of an eye the other girl was gone. Destiny leaned back in her chair, smiling. Okay, so she liked LeAnn. What was the big deal?

She heard a noise in the other room and shook her head. LeAnn would forget her head if it wasn’t tied on. Destiny came to her feet and strolled to the other room.

“What did you forget?”

Her smile disappeared when she spotted the man lounging on the sofa as he thumbed through one of the magazines she’d purchased.

“Vetis,” she whispered, barely able to say his name.

Vetis looked up. His dark eyes moved slowly over her as he came to his feet. He had the build of a god, the sexy good looks of a man who knew how to please a woman, and the deadly charm of the Devil himself—except he wasn’t a devil.

No, Vetis was a demon.

One of the most powerful.

One she never wanted to cross.

Chance galloped across the land on his horse. The crisp morning air felt good. He could just as easily close his eyes and be at his destination, but sometimes it was the ride that made life more enjoyable.

Besides, he needed to clear his head. And there was something about feeling the wind rushing past that always gave him a thrill. No cares, no worries. It was just him and the horse.