Destiny Calls by Samantha Wayland (best books to read for knowledge .txt) 📕

There were no good choices left, it seemed, but he was going to make some of the hard ones. Maybe he could salvage his career. Maybe he couldn"t. But he sure as hell wasn"t going to take Patrick down with him. And Destiny…

Well, at least he"d had one night.

He stood and forced a smile. “I"m going to run down to my desk for some things,” he offered, needing an excuse to get the hell out of there, pleased and astounded that his voice didn"t shake. His legs sure as hell were.

Destiny looked as though she wanted to protest, but then Patrick stood too. “Okay.

I"ll check in with Sully. With Carter back, hopefully that means the house is clear of lab rats and we can go home.”

Home. Fuck, it hurt to hear Patrick call Aunt Ethel"s house that, because that was exactly what it was.

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Destiny Calls

Destiny sighed. “Okay, can one of you point me to the ladies" room? I need to powder my nose.”

He tried to smile at the euphemism, which they"d long teased her about, but his heart was dead in his chest.

Patrick ushered Destiny out of the office and Brandon followed, closing Farley in alone once more. As soon as Patrick moved toward Captain Sullivan, Brandon turned and jogged down the stairs.

He was in a taxi on his way to his house thirty seconds later.

He wouldn"t be going home again for a long time.

111

Samantha Wayland

Chapter Ten

Destiny stared at her reflection in the dim light of the ladies" room and marveled that she looked so…normal. Should she look different? She"d just shot a man, for crying out loud, so maybe she ought to look a little paler. A little more freaked out. But she didn"t. And she wasn"t.

He"d been trying to kill Brandon. She"d done what she needed to do.

It was strange to think she may have saved Brandon"s life. Too bad she couldn"t do as good a job protecting his heart. Of all that had happened that day, the single most upsetting moment had been ten minutes ago in Captain Sullivan"s office. Christ, it made her sick that they"d had to deny him the comfort he"d needed. That she couldn"t take the comfort she desperately wanted from both men.

They had so few choices. She wanted to howl over the unfairness.

The worst part was Brandon sacrificing himself for Patrick, never thinking of himself and what he needed or wanted. He"d been forced to reveal his private life, to out himself and be subjected to the scrutiny and judgment that others had no right to impose. And still he stood alone, stalwartly protecting her and Patrick.

So who the hell was protecting Brandon?

No one. And it just plain sucked.

She left the relative quiet of the bathroom and went in search of Brandon, hoping she"d be able to find somewhere private to hold him if only for a moment. With no luck, she slipped back down the hallway to check the bullpen.

Patrick stood with Captain Sullivan outside the door to his office, Farley on the leash at Patrick"s side. His boss said something, pointing at the main stairs and Patrick"s head shot up and he look around the bullpen quickly, his alarm evident.

Destiny bolted through the desks as quickly as she could. She was halfway to Patrick when his face transformed into a smile and he shrugged. Slowing, her shoulders drooped, relieved that she"d misread his signals, his body language. It was no surprise.

She was getting paranoid about everything these days.

Patrick shook his captain"s hand and the older gentleman returned to his office.

When Patrick looked across the room at Destiny, her heart skipped a beat. Damn. She should have gone with her first instincts.

Something was very wrong.

To Destiny, the smile Patrick plastered on his face was just creepy, but she supposed the other officers wouldn"t know if it was genuine or not. Coming to meet her, he took her arm and pulled her toward the stairs. She was about to ask about Brandon but he silenced her with a quick shake of his head and a look.

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Oh damn. What had Brandon done?

Scanning the room as subtly as possible, Destiny couldn"t find him. He"d said he was going to get something from his desk, but that had been a while ago. Her alarm and suspicion mounted as Patrick led them down to the main exit and out to his truck.

The moment they were sealed in the quiet cab, she turned to Patrick. “Where"s Brandon?”

“He left,” Patrick said, his voice flat.

“What?” she asked. “Where"d he go?”

“I don"t know. He didn"t tell me he was leaving either. Sully saw him get in a cab out front.”

Destiny"s heart ached at the hurt in Patrick"s voice. Christ, she"d cooked up this idea because she"d thought it would be fun and sexy. Now, after only one night, it was complex and messy. And over.

“He shouldn"t be alone,” Patrick said, starting his truck and throwing it into gear.

She watched him and waited. He took a left out of the lot, toward Brandon"s house and not his. She smiled. “Is that because he"s in danger, because he"s hurting or because you want to be with him tonight regardless?”

“A, B and C,” Patrick answered honestly.

“For what it"s worth, I think you should tell him that,” she offered, gently.

“What?”

“That you want to be with him. Maybe that will make it…I don"t know…better.” Oh hell, that sounded lame. How could any of them make this better for Brandon?

Patrick seemed to be considering that for a minute. She let the silence stretch, surprised when Patrick pulled over to the side of the road and stopped.

“Maybe I should leave him alone,” he said quietly.

Even as the wave of sadness broke over her, Destiny knew Patrick might be right.

She wondered, though, what his reasons were. “Why?” she asked.

“I can see it, Des. I"m not blind to how much it hurts him that neither of us could acknowledge him. We can"t treat him like we do each other, even tonight when he