Derek

Camryn was irritating me.

Actually, that was an understatement. She was driving me insane, and the reason was two-fold. First of all, she was lying to me. It was clear something bigger was on her mind than just being on her own for a few days, but she was trying to act like it wasn't. She was distant and reserved, and almost standoffish, like she was when we first met.

From the very beginning of this, all I asked of her was to be one hundred percent honest with me, one hundred percent of the time. Nothing about this would work if she was keeping secrets, and while I knew it was a lot for her to process emotionally, I could only help if I knew what was going on.

My biggest fear was that she was doubting her decision to leave Robby. I helped a woman escape before and once the adrenaline wore off, doubts started creeping into her mind, too. She ended up going back to him and, three days later, she was dead. I hoped Camryn wasn't having second thoughts about her decision to leave.

The other reason she was irritating me was much more personal. I couldn't get her out of my head. The purpose of me coming to New York was to clear my mind and help me focus on the work in front of me. Instead, the brown-eyed beauty in my apartment in Vancouver was consuming my every thought. All the time away did was make me more certain of my attraction to her. I was getting myself in deep here and pretty soon, there wouldn't be an easy way out. Hell, there already wasn't an easy way out. But for the first time in my life, I was okay with that.

Usually I looked for the first exit I could when I was in a relationship, but with Camryn, it felt different. I was content with her, and I'd never felt that before. It was even more surprising since we were moving at a snail's pace. I'd only kissed the woman twice and here she was, already ingrained in my head.

And now she wasn't answering my calls. I tried a few times before coming into the meeting, but nothing. I tried to focus on the task at hand as best I could, but it was getting harder and harder to do.

"So no tampering?" I asked Tom, glancing at the wall of computer screens in front of him.

Greg shook his head. "Nothing on our end. Neither the system nor the comms were hacked, so we're looking at someone who knows our clients, and our systems. They came at us from the client portal."

"Hmm." I frowned, shutting the door loudly. "Well, if they have that kind of information, we might be looking at a rat. Do you have any loose ends?"

Greg shook his head. "I'll sniff around, but nothing like this has ever happened before. And we have no beef with anyone right now. This group seems like they're higher level than what we usually deal with, so it doesn't feel like it's coming from any of our known enemies."

That's what I had thought too. Could it be another mafia?

"Well, let's focus on finding where they're getting their information and then we can move on to who." I said. "Meanwhile, let's monitor all the accounts of our employees. Existing and new. I want to know where that money turns up. You don't take that kind of cash without a clear plan."

"Got it." Greg said. "I'll get to work on it right away."

My phone pinged, and I pulled it out, glancing at the screen. It was a text from Tyler.

Call ASAP.

The blood in my veins ran cold. Had something happened?

"I've got to go. We'll talk soon."

I hustled out of the warehouse and immediately called Tyler.

"Everybody is fine." He said the second he answered, knowing I'd be worried.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Camryn and I went to the farmer's market while Riley was with Mrs. Leonard. While we were there, an anonymous number sent Camryn a text with a picture of us at one of the stands. I don't know where it came from, but she thinks it's the husband."

My stomach dropped. Someone was watching her. They'd found her in Vancouver. I felt like an absolute asshole, promising her up and down she'd be safe, and then the minute I left, something like this happened. It was unnerving to say the least.

It wasn't Robby himself, because he was right here in the city. I'd been keeping a close eye on the investigation and the police had him down at the station answering questions for the entire day. Once we leaked the information about them hiding reports, it seemed to kick them into gear. They had no choice now that the public knew.

That meant he had someone up there watching her. Or was it something else? Was someone watching me and Camryn was just caught in the crossfire? That option scared me much worse than Robby, actually. It was a little suspicious, especially with the hacking.

"Where are they now?" I asked, jumping into my car and heading back to the office building. I needed to get there immediately, no matter what else was happening here.

"Locked safe and secure in the apartment, and I warned the building security to be on high alert."

"Good." I said. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

I let my pilot know, and we were in the air within thirty minutes of me getting that phone call. This would be the longest ride of my life, but I had to get to them as fast as possible. Camryn would be a wreck, and for some reason, I had to see them with my own eyes to know they were safe.

By the time I was finally pulling into the apartment complex, it was late and I was completely wired. This didn't feel like Robby to me. If it was him, they'd have just taken her right then. Someone was trying to send a warning, and I had a feeling I was the recipient.

I rushed inside and let out a sigh of relief to see Camryn and Riley sitting in the living room playing Go Fish. Riley looked happy as a little clam, but Camryn was distraught. I could see it in her eyes and the way she held herself so tensely, but she was trying to put on a brave face. A flash of relief washed over her when I walked in.

"Derek!" Riley shrieked, launching herself off of the floor and wrapping her arms around my legs. She didn't know anything was askew. "Mommy said you weren't coming home until tomorrow."

"Well, I couldn't stand to be away any longer." I smiled. "I wanted to surprise you."

"Come play cards with us!" She grabbed my hand and led me over to the coffee table.

I locked eyes with Cam.

"Welcome back." She mustered up a smile.

"You okay?" I kept my voice low.

She nodded quickly, nearly bursting into tears right there. I could tell she was trying to resist a breakdown in front of Riley, but she was on edge like I'd never seen her before. Even worse than the night she came to my apartment after he attacked her.

We played a few rounds of Go Fish, and Camryn hardly said a word. Riley talked enough for everyone, filling me in on how her day was and how much she enjoyed spending time with Mrs. Leonard.

"Ry, I think it's time for bed. Derek has had a long day of traveling and he probably wants to get t bed too." Cam gave her a soft smile.

"I'm not tired though." Riley said, mid-yawn.

"Oh, really?" I chuckled.

"It's already past your bedtime, Ry. You're going to be tired tomorrow when Mrs. Leonard comes."

"Remember, you said I could sleep with you, mommy?"

Cam smiled. "Yes, I remember."

"Why don't you go get your pajamas on and then I'll come say goodnight?"

Camryn and Riley disappeared into the bedroom, and I got caught up with Tyler.

There hadn't been any other incidents, and nothing seemed off at the apartment. He was certain no one had followed them, and he did everything I asked him to do exactly by the book, and I was thankful for the way he'd handled it. When he showed me her phone, I knew why she wasn't answering me all afternoon. She'd broken it in her moment of panic, and I could just barely see the picture. We'd been able to forward it to a computer, and I had a tech trying to comb it for details right now.

The worst part was how peaceful she looked in the picture. Like she was finally relaxing and enjoying herself. It was a stark contrast to what I had walked in to tonight.

I sent Tyler back down to his usual post and headed back towards Camryn's room. I could hear Riley giggling and peaked my head in the door. "All set?"

"Yep!" Riley smiled, snuggling down into the covers, clearly thrilled she got to sleep with her mom tonight.

"Sleep good, munchkin." I grinned, pulling the covers up over her some more. "I'll see you in morning and I'm counting on brownies for breakfast. You two don't get to have all the fun while I'm gone."

"Okay." Riley smiled. "Goodnight, Derek. Goodnight momma!"

"Goodnight, baby." Camryn bent down and kissed her forehead. "I'll be there in a little while."

She closed her sweet little eyes and fell asleep almost in seconds.

We headed out of the room, and Camryn quietly shut the door behind us. The second that we were alone, she collapsed into my arms, her tough facade crumbling away.

"He found us, didn't he?" she sobbed against my chest. Her cries killed me. She was so terrified, and I hadn't been here to stop it.

"It's okay." I held her tightly, trying to assure her. "Let's go talk."

I led her into the living room, and we sat down on the couch. "Tell me what happened." I knew already, but I thought talking through it might help her.

Cam bit her lip, wiping at a few tears on her cheek as she caught her breath. "We were just walking around and I got that text. He was watching us and he sent me the picture and who knows what would have happened if Tyler hadn't taken me back so quickly. I can't believe he's here. After all of this."

"Just take a deep breath, okay?" I tucked her hair behind her ears. "You're safe."

"But we're not safe." She shook her head. "We'll never be safe. I shouldn't have done this. I shouldn't have involved you in it. Now he's going to be after you, too, and you could go to jail and..."

There was only way I knew how to silence her and it didn't matter to me that it wasn't the best time. I leaned forward and kissed her, effectively shutting her up. She looked completely blindsided and, as unromantic as it might have been, it was a shock to her system and it accomplished my goal. "Camryn, you need to stop. Robby is not here. It's physically not possible he was the one at the market. He's in New York and was with the police all afternoon."

She frowned, still surprised by my kiss. "You're sure?"

"I'm positive. After the reports got leaked, they took him down to the station for more questioning and he's still not even released. Will thinks they'll rearrest him tonight."

"Then how..." she trailed off, trying to piece it together herself.

"I'm working on it. I have someone looking at your phone right now, and by morning I'll know where the picture came from. And once I know that, I'll kill him."

Cam winced at my words. "If it wasn't Robby, it has to be someone connected to him, right?"

"To be honest with you, I don't know. That's definitely a possibility. He may have sent someone after you to scare you. But it could also have more to do with me. Ive had some issues at work and it could be connected to that. They may have followed me here and are trying to scare me."

Camryn absorbed all of this, trying to make sense of it.

"Whatever the reason, I'm going to take care of it. I've already for a few things in the works. Tomorrow we're going to move to another house and I'm not going to going back to New York anymore. I'll be with you all the time... if that's what you want."

"What about your work, though? You said you're having issues?"

"Its nothing I can't handle, Cam. You and Riley are my priority." I reached for her hand. "Now, can you please just relax? You need some rest. You're going to run yourself ragged."

"I'm so wired, I don't think I can sleep." She sighed. "I was so worried this afternoon I don't want to let Riley out of my sight."

"Is that why she's sleeping in your bed?" I asked.

She nodded. "She doesn't know anything is wrong. I just feel better with her with me."

"Why don't you just go lay down and see if you can rest?"

"Okay." She finally agreed.

I followed her down the hallway and she laid down next to Riley on the bed.

"Goodnight, I'll see you in the morning." I bent down and kissed her forehead gently before heading towards the door.

"Wait, Derek—" She shot up, panic blanketing her face. "Do you think... I mean, would you stay for a little while? Just until I fall asleep?"

Her request filled me with assurance. After the last few days, it was nice to hear her say she wanted me here, even if it was because she was so anxious.

"Of course I will." I laid down on the bed next to her, propping myself up so I could see the two of them. I draped my arm over Camryn and I could immediately feel her relax. We settled in and after a few minutes, her breathing evened out and I felt her drift off to sleep.

It warmed my heart in a way that I'd never felt before. I felt possessive of both Riley and Cam. They were mine to protect now, and I would do whatever it took to keep them safe.

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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**