Derek

I agreed to meet Cole's mystery girl at 10AM and it was now 10:07. Perhaps she had gotten cold feet.

I wasn't ready to give up just yet though, so I ordered another cup of coffee. I had to say I was shocked to hear from her at all when her text came through last night. Cole called me right after she left the hospital and let me know he'd given her my contact, but neither of us expected to hear from her. Especially not so soon.

The timing and urgency in her messages were a little unnerving. According to Cole, she'd been vehemently against any kind of help just hours before texting me. What happened in that amount of time to make her change her mind so suddenly? It had to have been drastic. Otherwise, she wouldn't have reached out.

I'd seen some pretty gruesome and hideous things over the years, but nothing made my skin crawl quite like violence against women and children. A man who beat up on his wife or child was the lowest scum of the earth in my book, and it was a personal crusade of mine to make bastards like that pay with every last beat of their heart. My high school girlfriend's father beat the shit out of her and her mother regularly, and seeing domestic violence had struck a chord with me ever since.

Cole knew exactly what he was doing by involving me. He knew I'd never be able to walk away if this girl really was in trouble. I had my doubts, though. Cole had a bleeding heart and was always looking for someone to help. Sometimes he read things wrong and while he meant well, he created trouble where there was none. In the back of my mind, I considered that that's what this was, but the second I heard from her, I knew he had been spot on. Even just from her texts, her desperation and terror were apparent. You don't call a stranger for help unless you're in really serious trouble.

I glanced at my phone again just to be sure I hadn't missed her when the chimes on the door of the coffee shop rang. A dark-haired woman with big sunglasses scan the room, and when our eyes met, she made her way to my table with determination. She was a few steps away when I recognized her. Cole had conveniently left out the fact that this wasn't just any woman he wanted me to help. This was Camryn Hastings. Her father-in-law was a prominent New York State senator. I knew his son was a douche bag, but didn't realize he was a woman beater, too. Figures... Fuck. This was all making sense. No wonder she didn't want to meet in the city.

"Mr. Bennett?" She stood at the side of the table, sizing me up. Cole's appraisal of her was spot on. Camryn was a beautiful woman. Tall and slender and confident and the very picture of composure. No one ever would guess the war she was fighting. Even behind those big dark glasses, she was striking. It always shocked me when women like her became victims of abuse. But more often than not, it was them — the ones who seemed like they had it all together.

"Yes." I stood up, reaching my hand out to greet her. "You're Camryn I assume?"

She nodded, glancing back one more time to make sure she hadn't been recognized, and then sat down across from me, showing the first sign of nerves. She lifted her sunglasses up gingerly and tucked her hair back with them, a mess of dark curls spilling over her shoulders. Her cherry red lips almost formed a heart on her face, and despite the makeup, I could see a slight cut above them. She had tried to mask her injuries, and to the normal person, she might have, but I could see right through it. The deep purple underneath her eye, the cut above it that Cole had stitched up. The way she shifted her weight every so often because of the injuries to her ribs. She was certainly good at putting on a friendly face, and now that I knew who she really was, I knew why.

"Nice to meet you." She pursed her lips, glancing down at her manicured nails.

Except this wasn't the first time we'd met. A small smile tugged at my lips. "You don't remember me, do you?"

One Year Ago

"I'll take a honey whiskey, make it a double, please." I nodded at the cocktail waitress. I was going to need all the liquor I could get to get through this thing. I had only agreed to come at the insistence of Senator Hastings. My company had donated an extensive amount to his campaign and so my presence at his fundraiser was necessary.

So far, the night hadn't been a complete wash. The dinner was good, and they hired a comedian who was actually pretty funny. I was ready to duck out, but I hadn't talked to the senator yet, and making an appearance was the entire reason I'd come.

The server brought my drink, and I tipped her before stepping out into the hallway. There was only so much schmoozing I could do before I lost my mind. I wasn't like the other donors at this thing. Well-kept and polished and wanting to stay as far away from my world as possible. Unless they needed us to whitewash their money or muscle someone into something. They always wanted my money and protection, but the second we had to talk about more than business dealings, they acted like I was carrying a disease. I suffered through all the small talk I could take for the night and needed to find the Senator so I could get the hell out of here and meet up with Will and the boys at the bar.

The hallway was much quieter and a welcome change of pace from the stuffy ballroom the event had taken place in. I pulled out my phone to send a text when I heard yelling come from down the corridor.

"What the fuck, Cam? What did I say about this?" Robby Hastings, the senator's son, was at the end of the hallway, standing opposite a beautiful brunette woman. He had a vice grip on her arm, jerking her around like a fucking rag doll.

"I'm sorry, Robby." She said frantically. "I didn't think..."

"Of course you didn't fucking think. You never do!" He hissed.

"Is everything okay?" I interrupted.

Both Robby and the woman twisted their necks at me in shock. Apparently, they thought they were alone in the hallway for their little spat.

"Derek, hi." Robby seemed to morph into a new person, plastering a big fake grin on his face. "It's great to see you. This is my wife, Camryn." He kept a hold of her, but softened slightly. "Camryn, this is Derek Bennett, he is the CEO of Bennett Financial."

Camryn gave me a gentle smiled soft blush in her cheeks as if she was embarrassed at what I'd just seen. "Mr. Bennett, so nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, as well." I said stiffly, trying to gauge the situation.

Before I could completely comprehend what had happened, Senator Hastings appeared. "Derek! I was hoping you were still here. I can't thank you enough for your contribution. Have you enjoyed the evening so far?"

"Uh, yeah." I nodded. "It's been great. I was actually trying to find you. I have some matters to attend to, but wanted to thank you for having me."

"Of course!" He slapped me on the back. "Let's touch base next week."

"Nice to see you, Robby." I glanced back over my shoulder. "And nice to meet you, Camryn."

She smiled as Robby wrapped his arm around her possessively. "Bye Derek, good to see you."

I walked away, unsure of how exactly to respond, but knowing I couldn't just stay in business with men like this. Robby was a real asshole, and I wanted nothing to do with that.

Camryn's eyes got wide. "I need to go."

"Camryn, wait." I reached for her hand to keep her here. "I'm here to help."

"You're not here to help. You were at that dinner." She hissed. "That means you donated to Sid's campaign. You saw what was going on and..."

"Please sit down and let me explain. And then if you want to leave after that, you can. But at least hear me out." I prodded.

She narrowed her eyes at me skeptically, trying to decide what to do. Finally, she sat back down. "How do I know you haven't already texted your buddies and let them know I am here? That I came to you to help me disappear?"

"Because that night, after I saw how rough he was with you and the way he spoke to you, I pulled all my money out of the Hastings campaign." I said. "People like Robby make me absolutely sick and while I didn't know it was this extreme, I don't do business with men like that."

"And what exactly is your business, Mr. Bennett?" She quipped, still testing the waters. "Why did your brother think you could help me?"

"I am the CEO of Bennett Financial. It's an investment company. And please call me Derek." I said, giving her a very minimal answer.

"And you're just a vigilante by night then, Derek? Taking care of deadbeat husbands?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Look, this is not the time or place to get into the specifics, Camryn." I shoved my fingers through my hair. "I saw the way Robby was with you that night and it killed me I couldn't do more to help you. But I did what I could at the time, and now I'd like to finish the job."

"So you can feel better about yourself?" She arched her eyebrow. I couldn't blame her. If I was in her position, I would have a hard time trusting people, too. Everyone had let her down the last few years and she felt like she was in this alone.

"No, so I can get you and your daughter to safety and away from the bastard who did this to you." I reached across the table slowly and grazing my thumb over her lip. "No man should ever put his hands on you this way, and I want to put a stop to it."

Camryn flinched at my touch. "And how are you going to do that?"

"There are several processes in place. This won't be the first time I've helped someone escape, and if you're sure this is what you want to do, I can do the same for you." I said.

"It is." She pressed her lips into a thin line.

"Are you sure? Because nothing about this is going to be easy. You'll be on the run for months, living out of hotels and whatever place we can find to keep you safe that night. You won't be able to talk to friends or family and you'll never be able to come back here. With the reach the Hastings have, you could feel the ramifications of this for years to come." I explained, trying to determine how serious she was about this.

Her eyes got dark. "With all due respect, Derek, nothing about my entire life has been easy. I locked myself in a bathroom last night while my husband tried to beat down the door with a lamp to get to me. And it was all because he thought I was with another guy while I had taken myself to the ER after he stomped on me before kicking me down the stairs. The entire time he was screaming at me that he would kill both Riley and I before he let me leave. So yes, I understand it's going to be difficult, but I will do whatever I have to do to keep my daughter safe."

Her words knocked the wind right out of me. Robby was disgusting and if even half of what she was saying was true, that prick deserved to die. I wasn't going to let him off that easily, though. Men like him and to suffer and I had just the way to do it.

"Okay." I said, taking a heavy breath. "Then we need to get to work. I'll need you and your daughter to come to my office as soon as possible to get pictures taken for passports and IDs."

"We can come this afternoon, if that works." She said.

"That's perfect. We'll also need to take blood from you over the next few days so I can stage the crime scene, and you'll need to gather some things that you guys might need. Just the very basics. Nothing that can be traced to either of you or tracked. Wherever your safe house will, we'll have some other essentials waiting, so don't worry about grabbing too much."

Camryn nodded.

"And Camryn, I'm sorry if I was harsh." I sighed. "I've done this before for women who weren't ready and they end up going back. Most of the time, it's way worse when they do. I just want you to be prepared. I don't want you to end up like them."

"Thank you." Her eyes filled with tears. "Thank you for all of this."

I squeezed her hand gently. "Everything is going to be okay."

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***If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence of any kind, please reach out to someone in your community. In the US, that number is 1-800-799-7233**