Derek

It was nearly 9AM when I woke up the next morning. I should have been up hours ago checking on how things with Jason were going, and figuring out how I was going to deal with Cam's phone call, but she was sound asleep on my chest and I couldn't bear to move her. After last night, she was completely exhausted, and I knew how much her body and mind needed this rest.

She opened up to me about some of the more heinous things Robby had done to her over the years and every time I thought about it, my head nearly exploded. If this ended my way, I would tear the mother fucker to shreds with my bare hands and strangle him with his own spleen.

He wasn't even human, and the pain that Cam had to endure for years shattered me in ways I couldn't ever describe. So did the thought of Riley seeing any of that. As if a woman beater wasn't bad enough, to subject his little girl to that was more than I could comprehend.

There was a knock at the door, followed by a sweet little voice and both Cam I shot up.

"Derek?" Riley called. "Are you in there?"

"Uh..." I scrambled for my shorts as Cam snuck into the bathroom attached to my bedroom. "Yeah, just one second Riley."

"Do you know where my mom is?" She asked from the other side. "I can't find her."

I let out a small laugh. This was what we got for trying to hide this from her. Cam peaked out of the bathroom, completely mortified. "Give me one minute and I'll come help you look for her."

"Okay." Riley agreed, and a few seconds later, I heard her shuffle back down the hallway.

"Jesus." Cam covered her face in her hands. "That was close."

"You know, at some point, we should probably tell her." I chuckled, kissing the top of Cam's head.

"I know, I just.."

"You're still worried I'm going to leave?" I arched an eyebrow at her. We'd been over this, but sometimes her insecurity got the best of her, and I didn't mind reminding her. There was nothing she could do that would make me walk away from the two of them.

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. It's just... I mean, I never really even explained that I was leaving Robby. I just told her we were going to be on our own for a while."

"She's your daughter and we can approach this however you want. I just think it's better to tell her sooner or later. Before she walks in on the two of us naked ..."

Cam couldn't help but smile. "I'll talk to her. But maybe you should invest in locks. Even if she knows I'd rather her not walk in on anything."

"Noted." I chuckled. "I'll work on that today."

"You think we'll be here for a while still?" She asked, slipping on some shorts and a tank top.

"For a while." I nodded. "It's set up for the tightest security, and I don't want to make a move until I know a little more about what's going on."

"What about the people who breached the property yesterday? You really don't think that was my fault?" Her face fell a little.

"I'm positive it's not." I took her hand. "There wouldn't have been enough time. Whoever it was knew we were here. It could be tied to Robby, or to my work—I just don't know yet."

"Why would your work be interested in Riley and I?"

I hesitated, wondering just how much to get into with her. "I've made a lot of enemies, Cam. You know what I do isn't exactly...traditional. Some people I work with are pretty bad, and they may try to use you and Riley to scare me. I've had a few of our accounts hacked the last few weeks and there is a lot of missing money. That's why I had to go back to New York. Someone is trying to intimate me, and it's possible they've figured out you and Riley might be my weak point."

Cam tensed, sorting through my words. "We're your weak point?"

I smiled and nodded. "Until now, I've never really had anything I care about enough for my enemies to exploit. Obviously, things have changed, which they may have picked up on."

"Can I do anything to help?" She asked, with a seriousness in her voice that was almost comical.

"Well, for starters, you can stay off the phone. For real this time." I rolled my eyes. "We're just going to stick around here for a few days. I don't want you guys off the property at all, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded. "That's fine. We can do whatever we need to."

All of a sudden, the door burst open.

"Derek, I thought..." Riley came in and frowned, glancing back and forth between me and her mom.

"Oh, I was looking for you." She said matter-of-factly.

"Sorry sweetie." Cam smiled. "How about some breakfast?"

Riley eyed her carefully. "Didn't you wear that shirt yesterday?"

I stifled my laughter. Damn, was she observant or what?

"Did I?" Cam laughed. "Well, it must be because I really like it. Come on." She took her hand. "Let's go get something to eat."

She glanced over her shoulder and mouthed the word "locks" to me. I chuckled and gave her a thumbs up.

My phone started ringing, with a number I didn't recognize, so I answered cautiously.

"This is Derek."

"Mr. Bennett, this is detective Bryant with the New York DA's office. Sorry to bother you. I know you're out of town right now. I'm calling in regard to Robby Hastings. Is he a friend of yours?"

I clenched my jaw. "I wouldn't call him a friend."

"But you know him?"

"Sure."

"Were you with him on the night of May 28th?" He asked.

"Briefly. I saw him at a bar and helped him change his tire."

"Approximately how long?"

"An hour, tops." I said, slipping out onto the back deck attached to my room.

"Did you notice anything unusual while you were with him?"

"Not in particular." I said, not wanting to involve myself too much here. "He was pretty drunk. And I'm pretty sure I saw blood on his hands."

I didn't even need to embellish that. The bastard was walking around with Cam's blood on his hands in plain sight.

"Okay." I could hear him scribbling something on paper. "I appreciate you speaking with me. Mr. Hastings is using you as part of his alibi for that evening. I'm assuming you can't corroborate his story for more than that hour you were at the bar?"

"Definitely not. Is this about his wife and daughter?"

"It is." The detective said. "It's an ongoing investigation and I can't say much more than we're trying to decide if we can bring charges against him, but you've been a big help. Thank you."

"No problem." I said.

We ended the conversation, and I went out into the kitchen to find Camryn, Riley, and Will. Cam was watching as Riley tried to toss a blueberry into Will's mouth.

"Ahhhhh!" Riley cried as it fell to the floor. "Your turn Derek!" She grinned as I came in.

"I don't think I'm very good at it either." I chuckled, but she wasn't having any of that.

"You have to try!"

"Fine, fine." I held my hands up in surrender.

Riley threw the blueberry at me, and I had to move around a little bit, but caught it right in my mouth.

"Yeah!" she cheered, pumping her arms up in the air.

"Alright, no more throwing food!" Cam chided. "Who wants breakfast?"

"Not us." Will said, waving me forward. "We have to get going."

"Going?" Cam glanced at me. "I thought we were all staying here for a few days."

I wasn't exactly sure what Will was talking about, but it must have had to do with Jason. I hadn't even heard him come home last night after going to help Mark.

"We won't be long. Just have to grab a few things to hold us over."

Cam wasn't really buying that excuse. We'd been having groceries and supplies delivered, so it didn't make much sense we'd have to run out. She understood we couldn't get into specifics, though, and didn't press me on it.

I felt an immense relief having told her a little more about my life this morning. She didn't need the gruesome details, but it was important she understood what she was getting in to.

We said our goodbyes and, once we were outside, I asked Will what was going on.

"Did you make progress with Jason?"

"Slightly." He said. "But I have something even more interesting. We found the first batch of money that was stolen. Well, some of it."

"Where?"

"At the police station, in evidence." Will smirked. "Apparently, they were seized in a big raid of a few different gangs in the Bronx."

"That's strange." I frowned, climbing into Will's car.

"It's about to get even stranger." Will smirked. "The officer who found them? Robby Hastings."

"You've got to be fucking kidding. That can't be a coincidence."

"Want to know what's even better? Sidney Hastings is being hailed as a hero for his 'war on gangs'. His son happens to be the officer who finds all that money, even though we know he's about as dumb as a box of rocks."

Holy shit. The pieces were starting to fall into place. "The whole thing is a fucking set up. Sidney Hastings stole the money to make himself and his son look good."

"That's what I'm thinking." Will said. "He just had no idea it was all tied to you."

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