Operation Date With Destiny (35 page)

He
’
d killed her mother and step
-
father and for that she would never be able to forgive, but she took comfort in the swift vengeance she knew would be coming his way
very soon
.

“
My greatest disappointment,
”
he said in way of greeting.

A faint smile touched her lips at his words. The first words they
’
d spoken in over ten years. Some things, it seemed would never change.
“
You look tired. Not sleeping too well?
”

“
So you
’
ve come to gloat have you? All this time I
’
ve been in here and this is the first visit you
’
ve ever graced me with.
”

Destiny tilted her head slightly as she observed this man seated behind the screen
.
He
’
d aged since she
’
d last seen him. He looked smaller than she remembered too—although she wasn
’
t sure how, maybe it was just the memories of a small child looking up at something that just seemed so much bigger at the time.

Her mind drifted to the image of Alan Dawson and although it was painful to think of him
now
, she
knew she
hadn
’
t imagined that man
’
s stature. He was a big man in every sense of the word. He
’
d had
a big heart, a big smile. Big hands that held her when he greeted her or hugged her goodbye that one last time before she
’
d left home. He was the kind of man who
deserved
to be called father and in her heart he always would be.

“
I
’
ve come to make peace with
myself
. I wanted to say goodbye and give myself closure.
”

“
How nice for you,
”
he drawled coldly.

“
You know I feel sorry for you
.
I know
why
you did it…why you killed them. I think if I was a cold hearted bastard who hated everyone and who
everyone hated
, I
’
d probably get some kind of
sick
satisfaction out of destroying someone else
’
s happiness too,
”
she said in a low, clear voice.
“
But you know what the irony was in all of that?
Everyone still hated you.
And while you may have taken away something precious to me just to prove some point…they were and always will be a thousand times better in every way than you could ever hope to be.
”

“
I
’
m hoping there
’
s actually a point to this little visit. Like perhaps you
’
re here to tell me you
’
ve finally come to your senses.
”
And signed over my fortune she added silently,
filling in his unspoken sentence.

“
I guess you
’
ve been wondering about why you haven
’
t heard from
Vincent Lemont
lately?
”
she said dropping her gaze to her folded hands on the bench before her
.
She sensed the stillness that fell upon him, even though he tried to hide it. Oh yeah—
Tre
’
ago
was a very worried man.

She
’
d made sure no one broke the new to him about
Lemont
and Rothman
’
s arrest. This was the only vengeance she had and she was going to make sure she was the one to deliver the news to him
personally
. His days in solitary confinement had ensured he was kept
,
quite literally
,
in the dark about the recent developments but he must be frantic wondering what the hell was going on.

She saw him begin to fidget slightly under her watchful gaze—saw his mind turning possible
scenarios
over and coming up with a plan to cover his ass as he always did.
But not this time.
“
If I were you—I
’
d be sleeping with one eye open from now on.
”

“
What the hell are you talking about?
”
he snapped, clearly unsettled by her refusal to divulge any useful information.

“
It
’
s over. It
’
s all gone,
”
she said holding his gaze calmly.
“
I just wanted to come and let you know that all the money—all the businesses…all the drugs…
are gone
,
”
she said carefully and slowly so he didn
’
t misunderstand a word she was saying.
“
The Feds found it all.
”

He
stared at her, stunned but giving her
that hard, impenetrable stare that hid his inner turmoil.

“
Everyone you ever paid to do your bidding…everyone you ever threatened, blackmailed or tortured into submission are now free of you. That
’
s an
awful
lot of angry people who will probably be a little anxious to see you pay for what you
’
ve put them through, I
’
d imagine.
”

“
No,
”
he said quietly, shaking his head in denial
.

“
Oh,
”
she said about to get up.
“
Good news though,
”
she looked across at the guard who had been standing behind her and waved him over. In his hand he held a small vide
o camera of footage taken
only a few hours before. She held it up and pressed play so
Tre
’
ago
could see the screen. She didn
’
t have to see the video to
detect
the moment he spotted Rothman and
Lemont
in the line of prisoners sporting snazzy
colored
overalls just like the ones he was wearing. His face
blanched
, moments before his eyes widened and a red
flush of
fury
infused his face
.

She handed back the video to the guard and stood up.
“
Good luck.
”

She heard him pounding on the glass partition behind her but didn
’
t look back. She
’
d done what she came here to do.

She
’
d
always wondered about the people who claimed that revenge wasn
’
t always as sweet as they
’
d expected it to be. This was as close
as she would ever come.
He
’
d taken her family from her—all but her brother. He
should
die for what he
’
s done and he would. Maybe not today or tomorrow…but someday she
’
d get a phone call
,
being his legal next of kin
to inform her that
he
’
d been killed in a terrible prison yard brawl or something similar. It was just a matter of time
.

****

Tupper sat with his head back against the wall of the massive AC-130 plane that had just delivered them home after a six week training exercise in Mind
a
nao, back in the Philippines.

He was tired.

All around him he heard the men jostling into position as they waited to disembark, eager to get back home to wives and families.

At least this wasn
’
t as bad as coming home from deployment…those were the worst.
On those occasions i
nside the terminal, there
’
d be wives and kids and parents waiting anxiously to greet their loved ones on their safe return. He always made sure he was last off the plane
because h
e hated walking through the traffic jam of hugs and tears and smiling faces. He
’
d never admit it to anyone, but he secretly pined for someone to be there to greet him.

In the old days Summer
had
always there
with happy tears for all of them
—but since Tate and
then
Del left the Corps, welcome homes had
been a quiet affair. He usually just went home,
change
d clothes and then
hit the bar.

Tonight he didn
’
t even feel like doing that.
A
t least th
is
arrival
, after a training gig was
kept low key and the fanfare non-existent.
It was just another day home from the office.
He slung his duffle bag over his shoulder and headed for his truck in the parking lot.
Then h
e glanced up and felt his heart skid to a shattering halt.

He had to be losin
’
his mind.

He wasn
’
t sure how long he stood there, frozen to the spot. He saw her watching him warily from where she stood by the side of his
vehicle
. She wore her usual jeans
and
t-shirt but the leather boots and jacket were a new addition to the usual apparel he was used to seeing her in. She
’
d left her hair down and it hung in soft curls around her shoulders.

He took a step towards her and then another until he was standing in front of her,
and slowly
lowered his duffle to the
ground
, never taking his eyes from her face in case she
somehow disappeared. If she was some kind of hallucination—he wanted it to last as long as possible.
Christ he
’
d missed her.

“
Hi,
”
she said, quietly, breaking the silence that hung between them.

“
How
’
d you get here?
”
He wasn
’
t even sure how she
’
d gotten clearance to get through the gates in the first place.

“
Tate called to tell me you were arriving back tonight,
”
she shrugged.

Obviously Tate was pulling some strings somewhere and it didn
’
t take a genius to figure out why. Last time he spoke to them on the phone he
’
d just about bitten their head off—he hadn
’
t been in the best of moods for the last few months.

“
I wasn
’
t expecting to see you…
ever
,
”
he added, now that his initial shock was easing, he remembered how pissed he was with her for not saying goodbye.

“
Yeah.
I
’
m sorry about that,
”
she said quietly.

“
Are you?
You leave without a word and then I don
’
t hear a damn thing from you until you turn up out of the blue here
,
like this.
”

“
I had some things to sort out…I needed some time.
”

“
You couldn
’
t pick up the damn phone at any stage and at least let me know what was going on with you?
”
Was it just him, or was he sounding like every woman he
’
d ever pissed off in an argument?
Holy crap
—
this was Karma
.

He heard her sigh and drop her gaze.
“
I know I
’
ve probably gone about it all the wrong way…but I…look, it doesn
’
t matter. I did what I had to do and now I
’
m here.
”