Camryn

When I woke up the next morning, I was in an unfamiliar bed and I felt like a train had hit me. I blinked several times, taking in my surroundings, as the events of the night before replayed in my mind. The fight with Robby, coming to Derek's pent house, Derek making Riley popcorn, me completely breaking down like a fool in his arms.

Oh god, what had I done? Riley and I were here now and there was nothing I could do to change it. At some point today, he'd realize we were gone. He'd call the police, they'd find my car, and Riley and I would be at the center of a nationwide manhunt. It all seemed so simple until I'd actually gone through with it. He'd kill us if he ever found us, but he came close to killing me last night. He left me with no choice. All I could do now was trust Derek and hope he knew what he was doing.

The blackout curtains made it so dark in here that I had no idea what time it actually was, but the smell of coffee and bacon was filling the air. I frowned, wondering when my five-year-old figured out how to make bacon. Throwing the covers off of my body and jumping out of bed, I headed out toward the kitchen. I could hear the sound of her laughter accompanied by a deep, familiar voice I wasn't expecting.

Derek was here.

Riley sat on the counter next to Derek, who was hard at work at the stove. "Okay, here it goes!" He chuckled, flicking a piece of uncooked bacon into the greasy pan. It started sizzling and popping like crazy, and both of them dissolved into giggles.

"Do it again!" Riley encouraged.

I stood there watching them for a second, wondering how different my life would have turned out if I had married a guy who could have been an actual father to Riley. Someone who showed her how women should be treated, who always made time for her. Someone she could turn to when she needed help or was in trouble. Someone like Derek.

"Oh good! You're up!" Derek grinned, handing me a cup of coffee. "I hope you're hungry."

"Hi mama! Derek is teaching me how to make bacon." Riley bounded off of the counter and threw her arms around my legs in a tight hug.

"I saw that! Did you tell him that's your favorite?"

She nodded wildly. "He said we get to go on a trip! You and me and him! I'm so excited mommy!"

My eyes widened as I looked up at Derek. That was news to me. Didn't we talk about us staying here and lying low for a while? And didn't he say one of his men would be with us?

Derek picked up on my confusion right away. "Riley, why don't you go watch TV for a few minutes while your mommy and I talk?" He suggested.

Riley took her plate of bacon from him and agreed, heading off into the other room. I sat down at the bar stool, noticing there was a giant bouquet of flowers that hadn't been there last night.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, handing me a bottle of Advil.

"I feel okay. I'm just sore and I have a bad migraine."

"Do you want me to have Cole come over and take a look?"

I shook my head. "No, you don't need to do that. I've had much worse."

Derek clenched his jaw. He did every time I mentioned something awful about Robby, as if he was trying to keep his anger in check.

"What are the flowers for?"

"They're for you. To celebrate. Today is the first day of the rest of your life." Derek grinned softly, handing me my own plate of bacon. My stomach was in too many knots to think about eating right now, but the coffee hit the spot.

I stared at the beautiful, colorful bouquet and felt overcome with emotion. Tears welled up in my eyes and I tried my best to hide them, but he could see right through me.

"Is something wrong?" His brow furrowed.

I shook my head. "No. I just... it's been a long time since I got flowers that weren't an apology for something Robby did." I bit my lip. "They're beautiful, thank you."

"Flowers were his go-to?"

I shrugged. "Sometimes it was flowers, sometimes it was jewelry. At some point, the apology gifts stopped all together, though."

"I'm sorry that has been the case, Camryn. You deserve beautiful flowers every single day, not just when your husband is an asshole."

"So why does Riley think we're going on a trip?" I asked, changing the subject. "I thought we were going to stay here for a while."

"There has been a change in plans." He said, sitting down next to me. "I talked to Will for a while after I left last night. We think it would be best to get you and Riley out of the country as soon as possible, before this case blows up and they plaster your faces on every news station in the country."

That made sense. It would be harder for us to blend in when word got out.

"So we're leaving soon?"

Derek nodded. "We're leaving today. We'll go up to Vancouver. I have a penthouse where we can stay in for a while until we make our next move."

"We? You're coming with us?"

"For now, I think that's best. At least until you guys get settled. Is that okay?"

"Are you sure you can do that? You have your job and your own life and I don't want to impose any more than we already have."

"Camryn, the most important thing in the world to me right now is the safety of you and of Riley. I can work from anywhere and I won't be able to sleep at night without knowing that you guys are okay."

It was almost overwhelming how much Derek cared about keeping us safe. No one had ever cared about us in that way before. Robby certainly hadn't. His family turned a blind eye to the terrible things he did to me. And my own family had given up on trying to get me to leave and left me to my own devices. Now here this man was, flying us out of the country and putting his own life on hold to make sure we were safe. Was that what it was like to have someone who actually cared about you?

A few hours later, we were sitting on Derek's private plane, a few minutes from takeoff. Riley was asleep on my lap and Derek was across the aisle working on his laptop. It felt surreal that we were finally getting out of here. That I didn't have to worry about Robby hurting me or Riley ever again. Something about the fact that Derek was coming with us made me less nervous about Robby tracking us down and finding us. I'd only known the guy a few days, but somehow I trusted he would keep us safe.

The TV was showing a local channel and suddenly a breaking news story flashed on the screen.

"We've got breaking news out of New York City this evening. The daughter-in-law and granddaughter of Senator Hastings have disappeared. Their car was found parked at a local trail earlier this morning and Senator Hastings' son, Robby Hastings, has reported his wife and daughter missing. Robby is a detective with the NYPD and spoke to the media a few minutes ago."

Robby's face flashed on the screen. He looked tired and unshaven and played the part of a grieving husband well. "Right now, we're just praying that Cam and Riley are safe somewhere and this is all just a big misunderstanding. Wherever they are, I miss them like crazy and I will do whatever I have to do to find them and bring them home."

His words made me sick to my stomach. They appeared nice to anyone who didn't know our situation.

"Police aren't saying just yet if they think there was foul play involved in the disappearance just yet, but we're expecting a full investigation as search parties are already in place and combing the local park."

Derek reached across the aisle and grabbed my hand. "Are you okay?"

"They're going to make him out to be the victim in all of this, aren't they? Like he's some innocent, grieving husband?"

Derek let out a sharp laugh. "He certainly wants it to be that way, but I can promise you he isn't going to get away with what he's done."

"How can you be so sure?"

A smile tugged at his lips. "Because I have several things already in motion. Last night, I had my men go to your house and spread the blood we collected from both of you all over the place. They cleaned most of it up so Robby wouldn't notice, but the second they spray your kitchen with luminal, they will find enough blood to convince them you died right there. They'll find bloody handprints, and a pair of Robby's shoes in the garage, soaked in blood. Duct tape and shovel and a set of dumbbells in his truck with the twenty-pound weights missing. They'll find a recipe for the dock dated last night around 2AM and they'll find a knife in his locker at work with both yours and Riley's blood on it. They'll have Robby in jail before we're even off the plane in Vancouver."

My eyes widened. I knew he had been planning on framing Robby for my murder, but I had no idea the lengths they had gone to in order to make it happen.

"You're serious?"

"Deathly." He nodded. "Nothing can slip through the cracks here, and it's not like Robby doesn't deserve to spend the rest of his miserable life in prison." He was right, but it was still unsettling.

"You've done this before?"

"Once." Derek's face hardened, and he glanced down at his phone.

"And it worked?"

He paused, wondering whether he should continue. "It worked until she got cold feet and went back to the scumbag and he really did murder her."

I sucked in a sharp breath.

"Look, you can do this. You're making a better life for your daughter so that she never has to go through that again. So that she never has to see her mom get treated like a punching bag, or ever question her worth as a woman. She'll grow up knowing that you fought like hell to save her, and you gave up every ounce of yourself to make sure she was safe. I know this seems like a lot, but you can do this. And I'll be right here reminding you of that until you believe it."

It only took one glance down at my sleeping daughter to know he was right. I was doing this for her. And I would do whatever I had to do to make it work.

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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**