by Anna Blakely
A genuine smile lit up his eyes. “You remembered.”
Charlotte balked. “How could I forget? You used to walk around with a jug of the stuff in your hand.” She laughed, the unfamiliar sound nearly catching her off guard. “Do you remember that one summer when Eric kept hiding it from you?”
“Hell, yeah, I do.” Derek’s smile grew. “He'd wait until I went to sleep, then steal it. I'd wake up the next mornin' and my jug would be gone. Didn't seem to matter where I hid it, the fu”—he cut himself off—“the jerk would always find my hidin' spots.”
His self-censorship made her grin. “Eric always was good at solving mysteries.” Charlotte took a sip of her cooling coffee. “Speaking of your brother, what's he up to now?”
One corner of Derek’s lips curled up. “He's a detective with the DPD.”
“Really?” Putting a hand to her chest, she laughed again. The feeling still so foreign, but wonderful.
“Yes, ma'am. He's even got the badge to prove it.”
As they continued to talk and reminisce, Charlie found herself feeling more relaxed than she had in years.
“I should call Eric.” Derek started to pull his phone from his pocket. “See if he can meet us here. The three of us could go grab a bite to eat before you have to leave.”
Charlotte looked down at her watch. “I'd love to, but I don't know if I have time.”
His gorgeous eyes practically pleaded with hers. “Sure you do. Caleb said he’d be in meetings all day, right?” He reached for her hands again. “Come on, Charlie. It’s been forever. Who knows when we’ll get to see each other again?”
God, it would be so easy to say yes. The three of them used to be so close, and Charlotte had no idea when or if she’d ever see Derek again.
She opened her mouth to say yes when her phone dinged with Caleb’s personalized messaging tone.
Hiding a cringe, she said, “Excuse me a minute. I need to check that.”
Derek nodded, waiting quietly as Charlotte grabbed her phone from her purse and opened the message. Panic shot through her veins when she read it.
Afternoon meetings got canceled. Headed back to the hotel. Hamlin told me his wife was sick and had to cancel. Hope things are packed as they should be by the time I get there.
An instant, intense fear left Charlotte breathless. A million tiny pins began pricking her body from the inside out, and nausea hit her gut as she broke out into a cold sweat.
“Hey.” Derek reached for her, the concern in his voice clear. “Are you okay?”
No. Not even close. “Y-yeah. I'm sorry, but I...I have to go.”
She grabbed her purse and shot up from her seat. Her hip bumped the edge of the table making it wobble. Her half-drank coffee toppled over and warm liquid spilled onto her skirt.
“Damn it.” She quickly sat the cup upright and grabbed for the napkin holder like a madwoman. “Shit.”
“Still got a potty-mouth, I see,” Derek teased, though his expression held no humor.
Only when I know it's going to be bad. And this was going to be worse than bad if she didn't make it back to the hotel before Caleb.
Unwilling to waste any more time on a lost cause, Charlotte threw the damp napkins down onto the table.
In a rush, she said, “It really was good to see you again.”
She turned to leave, but his hand snaked out and grabbed her forearm. The same one Caleb's fingers had marked the night before.
Hiding a wince, she jerked free from his grasp.
“Charlie.” He looked back at her, his eyes filled with confusion. “Darlin’, talk to me. Please.”
She wanted to. God, did she want to. Charlotte wanted to open her mouth and tell him everything.
Instead, she whispered, “I have to go. I’m sorry.”
A muscle in his strong jaw bulged. “Then, at least let me drive you.”
Her eyes widened. “No!” she blurted much too loudly. Two women at a nearby table stopped their conversation and looked her way. “Goodbye, Derek.”
Charlotte spun on her heels and hurried to the door. Spotting a parked cab on the next block with its engine running, she walked as fast as her heels would allow.
She was half-way there when Derek shouted her name from behind.
“Charlie!”
She ignored him and kept going.
“Damn it, Charlie. Hold on a minute.”
“I can't,” she hollered over her shoulder. “I don't have time.”
She reached for the cab’s back door.
“Charlie, please.” Derek shot out his hand, pressing it against the door.
Charlotte flinched, the unexpected move startling her.
A low growl came from behind her. “You don't have to go back to him. You can stay with me. Or, I can take you someplace else. Anywhere else but back there, with him.”
She closed her eyes, a single tear escaping. Charlotte wished she could open them and find herself in another world. One where she'd never met Caleb Porter.
Lifting her damp lids, Charlotte shook off the futile dream. After discretely erasing the tear, she turned to face him.
“It's fine, Derek.” She lifted her chin and put on a brave smile. “Really. I'll be fine.”
Yeah, even she didn't believe that.
His blue eyes were troubled as he stared down at her. “I have contacts all over the country. I can make it where he won't be able to find you.”
Taking seconds she didn't have to spare, Charlotte reached up and placed the palm of her hand against his cheek. The tiny hairs of his five-o-clock shadow tickled the pads of her fingers.
“You always did try to look out for me.” Her bottom lip quivered as more moisture pooled in her eyes. “Thank you, Derek. For being such a good friend to me all those years. I've never forgotten that. Or you.”
Blinking away more tears, she ignored Derek's words of protest as she turned back around, got into the taxi, and rode away.
Once back at her hotel, she anxiously slid the key card into the thin slot and pulled it out. The second the light turned green, Charlotte shoved the door open and stepped inside.
Knowing she needed to hurry, she rushed over to where their suitcases were stacked. Dropping the top one on the bed, she tossed open the flap and went to the dresser.
Charlotte yanked open the top drawer and began grabbing the things inside. She’d just started to place it as neatly as she could in the suitcase when Caleb stepped out of the bathroom. The look on his face telling.
He knows.
With her heart in her throat, she swallowed her fear and smiled. “Goodness, Caleb,” she put a hand to her chest. “You scared me. I didn't know you were already here.”
“My driver knew a shortcut and was able to bypass most of the afternoon traffic.” He took a few steps closer to her. “Where have you been?”
“Oh, well, Mrs. Hamlin canceled our brunch. She woke up with a horrible migraine. So, I decided to go out for a quick bite and some coffee.”
He looked down at her skirt with a disapproving eye. “You get any in your mouth?”
Charlotte forced a chuckle. “I accidentally bumped into the table as I was leaving. My cup tipped over and spilled onto my skirt.”
“Yes, I see that.” Caleb then gave her a mocking smirk. “I'm surprised your boyfriend didn't offer to have it cleaned.”
Her heart pounded so hard inside her chest, she felt as though it would burst open at any second. Knowing lying would only make things worse, she said, “Derek's not my boyfriend, Caleb. He never was. I told you, we grew up together.”
He scowled. “I don't give a fuck who he was or what you were. What I do care about is the fact that my wife was seen having coffee with another man.”
“Seen? By who?”
“It doesn't matter!” he yelled loudly, making her jump. “I specifically said you were not to meet with him today. Yet, you went ahead and did it anyway.”
“Caleb, please,” her hands shook as she placed a fo
lded shirt neatly inside the suitcase. “Don't do this.”
He stormed over to her. “I'm not doing anything. You're the one running around the streets of Dallas with another man.”
“For God's sake, Caleb.” She tried to make him understand. “We weren't running around together. I went for coffee. We ran into each other and visited for a few minutes. End of story.”
“It is not the end of the goddamn story,” he hissed. “Do you honestly expect me to believe you just happened to run into each other again today after your chance meeting last night?” Caleb reached up and grabbed the hair on the back of her head. “Do I look that fucking stupid to you?”
Her scalp burned as he yanked even harder. Charlotte dropped the pair of pants she'd been holding and reached back, trying desperately to pry his fingers loose.
“Caleb, stop. Please. You're hurting me.”
“Oh, you haven't seen hurt yet, you stupid bitch. You think you can make a fool out of me and nothing's going to happen to you? Do you?”
He jerked her head back.
“No.” Charlotte shook her head as best she could. Tears fell down her cheeks as she tried reasoning with the unreasonable. “Caleb, I swear to you. Nothing happened. It was just coffee.”
“Don't fucking lie to me!”
Spittle hit her face as he yelled. Caleb then spun her around and grabbed her shoulders tightly. One of the sleeves on her blouse ripped at the seam as she struggled to get free from his grasp.
“I'm not lying,” she cried. “I promise. We just talked. That was all.”
Charlotte flew backward as he pushed her down. She cried out as her tailbone, back, and head slammed against the floor.
Caleb kicked the toe of his expensive dress shoe hard against her thigh. “I have proof.”
Pain shot up her leg as she sobbed, begging her husband to believe her. “I don't know what you think you saw, but there’s nothing going on between me and Derek.”
“This.” He used her hair to yank her head back up again. Holding his phone in front of her face, he said, “This is what I saw, you fucking whore.”
Through her tears, Charlotte looked at the picture of her and Derek. They were standing next to her cab and her hand was on his face as she told him goodbye.
Oh, God. She wanted to throw up. Horrified, she looked back at Caleb. “You had me followed?”
“Of course, I had you followed. You think I'm going to let someone like West put his hands on my wife and get away with it?”
“He didn't—”
“Shut up!”
He reared his hand back, slamming the phone against her temple. Stars flickered before her eyes as warm blood dripped from a gash at the edge of her brow.
Please, God. Make it stop.
Her prayers were answered with the very next blow.
Later—she wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed—Charlotte came to with a groan. A familiar pounding thundered through her head, and her entire body ached. She was still struggling to open her eyes when she heard a knock on the door.
“Charlie?”
Though the voice coming from the other side of the door was muffled, she recognized it instantly.
Derek's here.
Charlotte tried to call out for him, but the only thing she managed to do was moan.
He pounded on the door again. “Charlie, talk to me. I saw Caleb leaving. Are you okay?”
Caleb left? Relief blanketed her as she peeled her eyes open. She was attempting to push herself up when Derek’s blurred figure rushed into the room.
“Ah, Christ.”
He ran toward her, dropping to his knees by her side and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. His touch was so light, as if he were afraid to touch her.
“That motherfuckinsonofabitch.”
The colorful word combination would've made her smile if she weren't so mortified by the situation.
Charlotte licked her bottom lip, the metallic taste of blood brushing the tip of her tongue.
“I-I'm okay.”
“The hell you are,” he bit the words out angrily, his gentleness gone.
Unable to face him, she closed her eyes and whispered, “You should go.”
“And leave you here so he can come back and finish the job? Fuck that. Just stay still while I call an ambulance. After that, I'm callin' the fuckin’ cops.”
“No!” She shook her head, wincing as the throbbing worsened. “No ambulance. No cops.”
Caleb was friends with too many important people, even in Dallas. Charlotte already knew how it would play out.
Though he continued to argue, Derek gave in and helped her stand. “What the hell do you mean, ‘no cops’? That bastard's either getting' locked up, or I'm puttin' his ass in the ground.”
Charlotte steadied herself on trembling legs. “He's untouchable, Derek.” Using the back of her hand, she brushed some blood from her lip. “Believe me, I've tried.”
“Ah, Charlie.” Understanding filtered into the blues of his eyes.
The sympathy in his voice undid her. Though she tried to fight it, Charlotte’s bottom lip quivered. Tears began a free-fall down her face.
The last of her pride gone, she looked up at him and begged, “P-please, Derek. Can you just do like you said earlier and take me someplace else...before he comes back?”
****
Chapter 5
Derek tore his eyes from the road to steal another quick glance. Charlie was still sitting in the passenger seat, staring out the window as if the answer to life’s mysteries were there.
Before leaving the hotel, she’d quickly changed into a thin, burgundy sweater and a pair of jeans. While she did that in the privacy of the bathroom, Derek had thrown a few of her things into one of their suitcases and called Jake to ask him for a favor.
Afterward, Charlie sat silently as he washed the drying blood from her face. Derek then fixed her hair so it would help conceal the cut near her eye.
He knew, from both the way she talked and her actions, this wasn’t the first time Caleb had hurt her. His gut churned just thinking about it.
Charlie had always been strong-willed, but Jesus. To live with a man like that for eleven years and survive? That took a special kind of toughness.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she spoke softly, her focus still locked on the window.
“Yeah?” He looked back at the road in front of them. “And what is that?”
“Same thing I am. You’re wondering how I became so pathetic. Why I’d stay with a man like Caleb for all these years.”
His hands gripped the steering wheel like a vise. With a carefully controlled voice, he said, “Actually, I was just thinkin’ how strong you’ve had to be to put up with a guy like him for so long.”
Charlie snorted, then muttered, “Yeah, right.”
Derek gave his rearview mirror a passing glance before turning the car sharply and sliding to a stop on the gravel shoulder. Shoving the gear into park, he unbuckled his belt and turned in his seat to face her.
The look of fear in her eyes gutted him, but he’d be damned if she spent one more second thinking his opinion of her had changed.
“Let’s get one thing straight. I have never thought of you as pathetic, and I’m not about to let you think that, either.”
“Kind of hard not to.” She looked away from him again. “I mean, I chose to stay with him. What else would you call that?”
“Surviving.”
Confusion clouded Charlie’s eyes when she glanced back at him again. Taking a chance, Derek slowly reached over and covered her balled up hands with his.
“I don’t know everything you’ve been through. That’s a conversation for another day.”
She blinked against the shame he knew she felt, but when Charlie started to break eye contact again, Derek gently lifted her chin back up with his fingers.
“Look at me.” He waited for her eyes to meet his before saying, “It’s been a long damn time since we’ve seen ea
ch other, but I know you, darlin’. You stayed with that bastard because you didn’t think you had any other choice. You did what you felt you had to do, and there’s no shame in that.”
Tears welled in her eyes before spilling over onto her cheeks. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered softly.
“Damn, Charlie.” Derek fought against his own tears as he used his thumb to wipe away the moisture from her skin. “I’ve missed you, too.”
He leaned over and drew her in for a hug. It was a bit awkward, given that she was still wearing her seatbelt, but she clamped on to the back of his shirt and hugged him back as tightly as she could.
After a few more seconds, Derek pulled away and smiled. “Glad we got that settled. Just remember, you’ve been warned. I won’t stand here and let you put yourself down anymore. Got it?”
Giving him a tiny smirk of her own, Charlie sniffed and said, “Well, you’re not really standing, so...”
He huffed out a laugh. “Smartass.” His comment made her smile a little wider.
Knowing she still had a sense of humor, even now, eased the pain in his heart a little. Fucker didn’t completely break her.
No, she wasn’t broken. The old Charlie was still in there, somewhere. He just needed to figure out how to get her to see that.
After buckling himself back in, Derek pulled onto the road and continued the drive to his place. A few minutes later, she spoke again.
“So, these friends of yours...the ones coming over. You’re sure they can be trusted?”
He looked over at her, then back to the road. “I’ve trusted Jake to keep my ass alive more times than I can count.”
“Who’s Jake?”
“My boss. He owns R.I.S.C. and leads the security team I’m on. Olivia, his wife, is the nurse I was tellin’ you about. She’s the best at what she does. She’s also a total sweetheart.” He gave her a wink. “We’re here.”
She looked at the front of his house through the windshield. It was small but had everything he needed. Plus, when he was home, Derek spent most of his time out back anyway.
The privacy fence he’d built kept his neighbors from peering into his in-ground pool. The covered patio that ran the length of the house had access from both his living room and his bedroom.