Free Fate and Destiny by Claire Collins Page A

I could figure out what to do.
    “ I dressed and got ready
to leave the house when I heard a knock at the door. Before I
opened it, I looked out the peephole, and Charles was standing on
my front porch. I panicked and ran out the back door, right into
the big guy who carried Marcus from the house. He grabbed me, put
his hand over my mouth, and dragged me to a car parked next to my
house.”
    Destiny gave Andrew a
guilty look before focusing on the wall in front of her.
    “ I know I told you they
took me out of my bed, but I wasn’t sure how to tell you the
truth.”
    Her face pleaded for
forgiveness and Andrew gave it willingly. Hugging her to him, he
stroked her hair.
    “ It’s okay, I
understand.”
    Searching his face for
confirmation, Destiny let out a sigh of relief.
    “ When the big guy got me
in the car, there was another man already there. He drove the car.
Charles got in the back on one side of me. The big guy, I think his
name was Doug, sat on the other side of me. We drove off. The first
thing Charles did was slap me across my face. He acted like a big
man whenever other men were around.”
    Her voice filled with
rage.
    “ That little wimp never
would have tried that without the others to help him. I didn’t even
think. My first reaction was to hit him back, and I did. Big
mistake. The big guy, Doug, pulled my arms behind me and Charles
hit me again. Then he started laughing.”
    She paused, remembering the
details of that night. “He didn’t look normal. He was sweating
really badly and he was shaky. I think things were out of his
control and he didn’t know what to do about it.”
    Resting her head on
Andrew’s shoulder, her body relaxed a little, while he kept his arm
around her to comfort her and waited for her to
continue.
    “ They drove out of Vegas,
and into the middle of nowhere. That car ride lasted forever. We
stopped and got gas once, but they wouldn’t let me out of the car,
not even to go to the bathroom. Somewhere along the way, I fell
asleep. I was completely exhausted since I hadn't slept the night
before.
    “ When I woke up, the car
was parked in an airplane hangar. There were two small planes in
it, and a big truck they used to clean the runway was parked in
there too.
    “ We must have just pulled
in, because they were getting out and yanked me out of the car.
There was no one else there, and one of them tied my hands and feet
to a chair sitting in the office. Charles put a dirty rag in my
mouth gagging me, and then he called his lawyer. I was sitting
there and heard the whole conversation.”
    The realizations of what
happened during her abduction were coming back clearly.
    “ He wanted me to hear it.
He told the lawyer that he was away on business and that someone
had called and notified him of his father’s death. Then, Charles
convinced the lawyer that it may not be a suicide and to check into
my background and the financial statements of the Casino. He told
the lawyer that I was Marcus’ personal assistant and that he
thought I had been skimming off the company.
    “ Charles went on to say he
had proof that I used my position to cheat his father and that he
told his father I was stealing from him. He arranged to have the
lawyer check into my background, call the police and implicate me
as the murderer. Charles told him this huge story about how upset
his father had been when he told him I was a thief, and that his
father said he would confront me with the evidence.
    “ He even pretended he was
all choked up over his father’s death when he told the lawyer he
thought his dad had confronted me. I had murdered him to get away
with embezzlement. Then, he offered the reward for my arrest and
conviction. He made himself look innocent and made me look guilty,
and my background didn’t help any.”
    Looking to Andrew for
reassurance, she smiled sadly as he gave her a gentle smile and
held her a little tighter.
    “ As soon as we can get in
touch with the sheriff, we’ll get it