by Anna Blakely
“Okay, listen, honey. I’m having a hard time understanding you, so I need you to try to calm down a bit. Take a deep breath in and out slowly. Can you do that for me?”
No. “Y-yes.”
As instructed, Charlie forced herself to inhale through her nose before letting it out slowly.
“Good girl. Now, tell me again what’s going on.”
As quickly as she could, Charlie went through what she’d found when she woke up.
“Jesus. Are you okay? Where’s Derek?”
“I’m fine. Derek’s not picking up. H-he’s working.”
“And you’re sure it was Caleb?”
Was he serious? “It’s been less than three weeks since the Hellcat was trashed. Then, yesterday, Derek’s house burns down, and now this? You’re the detective. You tell me.”
Charlie would’ve felt bad for being so snippy if she weren’t terrified out of her damned mind.
“Good point.” There was a slight pause before Eric said, “I want you to get to your car and drive to the station. I’ll be at the doors waiting when you pull up.”
Renewed fear had Charlie shaking her head before he’d even finished. “I can’t leave, Eric. What if that’s what he wants? What if he’s out there, right now, just waiting for me to come outside?”
Just imagining seeing Caleb again made her want to throw up.
Muttering a low curse, Eric said, “All right. I’ll send a car to you. Hold on while I get with dispatch to see who’s closest to your building. I’ll be right back, okay? Don’t hang up.”
“Okay,” she agreed.
Sitting on the couch, Charlie curled her legs to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut. She hated that Caleb still had the power to frighten her this way.
“Charlie? You still there?”
Hearing Eric’s voice again made her jump and she silently cursed her ex-husband again.
“Yeah. I’m here.”
“Okay. Here’s what’s going to happen. Officer Morse is on his way to you. He’s been given instructions to go to your door rather than you coming down to him. Does your door have a peephole?”
“Yes.”
“Good. When you hear him knock, I want you to look through the peephole to make sure you see a police officer there. Do you have something to write with? I want to give you his badge number.”
Charlie shot up from the couch and went to a small drawer at the edge of her kitchen counter. Hands still shaking, she pulled out a small notepad and pen she kept there.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
“Officer Morse’s badge number is eight five four.”
“Eight, five, four,” she repeated the numbers back to him as she wrote them down.
“I know this guy. His first name is Will. He has short, dark blond hair and blue eyes. He’s young, but he’s a good cop. You can trust him.”
“Okay.”
“When he gets there, ask to see his badge number and ID before you open the door. All right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll stay on the line with you until he gets there. He was already patrolling a neighborhood close by, so it should only be about another minute or so.”
As promised, Eric stayed on the phone with her until the officer showed up and while she followed his instructions and verified the officer’s credentials.
Before he hung up, Eric asked to speak to Morse. There were a few yes sir’s before the young man handed Charlie back her phone.
The ride to the station seemed to take forever, and it wasn’t until she was walking up the police station’s steps and saw Eric standing in the doorway that she felt she could breathe again.
“Hey, honey.” He drew her in for a hug. “You doin’ okay?”
She nodded. “Better, now that I’m here.”
“Come on. Let’s go someplace private so we can talk.”
The ‘private room’ Eric took her to looked exactly like the interrogation rooms she’d seen on her favorite cop show.
The walls were a drab gray and there was a black, rectangular table in the center with two chairs on one side and one on the other.
“Have a seat. Would you like some coffee or soda or something?”
“Coffee, please.”
Eric gave her a kind smile. “One coffee, comin’ up.”
A few minutes later, the door opened, but the hand holding the steaming paper cup didn’t belong to Eric.
Charlie looked up at the woman who’d just entered the room. She was tall and thin, her long, brown hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. Her features were striking and the olive skin tone added to her natural beauty.
She was dressed in a white button-up shirt, a gray suit jacket, and black pants. As she walked toward the table, the bottom of her jacket shifted, and Charlie could see the detective’s badge clipped to her belt.
“Hi, Charlie.” She smiled. “I’m Detective York.” She handed Charlie the coffee.
“Where’s Eric?”
“He had to make a couple of phone calls, so he asked me to bring you that. Figured I would sit with you so you wouldn’t be stuck in here alone.”
The woman smiled, but her eyes told Charlie she was guarded. There was a wall there much like the one Charlie used to see every time she looked in the mirror.
“Thank you.”
“So, I hear you’re having trouble with your ex?”
Surprised Eric had divulged that to this woman, she hesitated to answer.
“It’s okay.” Detective York smiled back at her again. “I understand if you don’t want to talk about it.”
She couldn’t quite put her finger on why, but Charlie was having a hard time gauging this woman’s angle.
Maybe there is no angle. Maybe she’s just trying to be nice.
Annoyed with her paranoia, she cleared her throat and told her the truth. “My ex isn’t a good person.”
Sympathy flashed in the woman’s eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Charlie shrugged. “We’re divorced now, so he’s no longer a part of my life. Or, at least he wasn’t until tonight.”
“Detective West didn’t have time to give me any specifics. You mind if I ask what’s been going on?”
Might as well tell her. If she worked closely with Eric, she was bound to find out, anyway.
Charlie began talking, sharing almost everything that had happened since she and Derek had reconnected. She was careful not to divulge anything about Caleb’s blackmail scheme, only that Derek had finally convinced him to sign the papers.
“So, your boyfriend, Derek. He’s Detective West’s brother, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And Derek has been protecting you since you and your husband split?”
Charlie found the question odd. “Not really. I mean, since coming back to Dallas, there hasn’t been any reason for him to.”
“What about what happened to your boyfriend’s car?”
“A detective with the NYPD went by Caleb’s place that night and he was home. The police here found no evidence linking him to that crime.”
“I see.” The other woman seemed to ponder this for a moment before speaking again. “Charlie, forgive me for asking, but how has Derek been acting since you two came back to the city?”
“What do you mean?”
An uneasy feeling began to seep in, and Charlie found herself hoping Eric would come back in the room soon.
Leaning her elbows on the table’s smooth surface, Detective York linked her hands together in front of her.
“From what I’ve heard, Detective West’s brother used to be a SEAL, and now he’s an operative with R.I.S.C. They do a lot of covert ops for Homeland, but they also provide bodyguard services. Correct?”
Alarm bells started to go off inside Charlie’s head. “So?”
Charlie knew her tone was defensive, but she was starting to question the detective’s true motives for being in here with her.
She shrugged. “I just know the type.”
“The type?”
“You know.” Detective York leaned in a little closer, acting as though they were just a couple of girlfriends chatting over a bottle of wine. “Alpha males with a hero complex.”
Charlie felt her spine straighten. “Derek isn’t like that.”
Sure, he had an Alpha side, but only when it was needed. And he’d spent years fighting for his country, so of course, he was a hero. But he didn’t have a hero complex.
“Oh, I’m sure he’s not.” She put her hands up defensively and sat back in her chair. “I’m just saying, guys like Derek have an innate need to protect. To save those they perceive as being weak.” Detective York paused again before adding, “The thing is, sometimes those same guys get bored or become insecure. When that happens, they’ll actually create situations just so they can come in and save the day.”
Turning her eyes into narrow slits, Charlie let her anger show. “You think Derek’s the one who’s been doing these things? That’s crazy. He would never hurt me like this. Besides, I was with him when his car got trashed. Plus, who the hell burns down their own house?” She didn’t give the other woman a chance to answer. “No.” She shook her head. “No way.”
“Think about it, Charlie. You’re in Dallas for two weeks with no ex-husband drama. You’re on your own two feet again with your own place. You’re getting ready to open what’s almost certain to be a successful business.”
This woman knew a lot more about her than she’d originally let on.
She played me.
“So?”
“So,” York emphasized the word. “Maybe Derek got scared.”
Charlie scoffed. “Of what?”
“Of your new-found independence. He saves you from your abusive husband and brings you back here to be with him. But instead of you relying on him for everything, you take off on your own. I’m curious, where is he staying, now that he doesn’t have a home of his own anymore?”
Refusing to sit and listen to this crap a second longer, Charlie stood and started walking for the door.
“This is ridiculous. I’m going to find Eric.”
The intimidating woman quickly blocked her path. “I’ve seen it happen, Charlie. More than once. Men in a position of leadership or power use that power to manipulate women into thinking they need them. That they can’t have a life without them.”
“You’re wrong about this. Derek would never do that to me. He loves me.”
“Love causes some people to do crazy, unthinkable things, Charlie. Things like burning down their own house to get what they want. I think you need to watch yourself where your boyfriend’s concerned.”
“And I think you need to go to hell.”
Charlie had barely gotten the words out when the door opened and Eric walked in. From the look on his face, he knew something was up.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, York?”
“Ms. Porter and I were just having a conversation.”
Eric took a few seconds to study Charlie’s demeanor before looking back at York.
“Conversation, my ass. She came here to report a crime, not to be interrogated by you.”
“She thinks Derek is behind everything that’s been happening,” Charlie gladly threw the other woman under the bus.
To say Eric was mad would be a major understatement. His handsome face grew red, and there was a vein in his forehead that looked like it was about to pop out.
He got right into the woman’s face. “You come in here and accuse my brother of terrorizing the woman he loves? Who the hell do you think you are?”
To her credit, York didn’t look the least bit intimidated. “I’m the detective who was assigned to this case.”
Charlie would have been impressed if the bitch hadn’t just accused Derek the way she had.
Eric laughed humorlessly. “The woman just got here.”
York sounded unapologetic when she told him, “Captain called me into his office when I got back from checking out a lead on another case. That was”—she looked down at her watch—“two hours ago. Told me DFD was officially declaring the fire that destroyed your brother’s house an open arson investigation, and he assigned the case to me. I’ve found a lot of interesting information in those two hours.” She nodded toward Charlie, adding, “When she came in just now, I recognized her.”
“So, you decided to pounce on her the second I bring her in here?”
“No,” she let the word trail on. “I had planned on waiting until you were finished talking with her to ask my questions. But then you asked me to bring her coffee while you made a couple of phone calls.” The detective shrugged. “Figured I may as well kill two birds with one stone.”
Looking like he was ready to strangle the attractive woman, Eric took a deep breath and ran a hand over his scruff of a beard.
“So when, exactly, did you decide my brother had become a nut job?”
“I haven’t decided anything yet, Detective. And if you’d take a step back and pretend it isn’t your brother who’s involved, I bet you’d have done the exact same thing in my shoes.”
“Wrong. I would’ve given you the professional courtesy you clearly didn’t think I deserved, and I would’ve talked to you first. Then, I would have asked to speak to the victim, rather than jumping on her the first chance I got. And I sure as hell wouldn’t have put the one person who helped her get away from that abusive, narcissistic asshole of a husband at the top of my suspect list without some sort of evidence to back it up.”
York opened her mouth to respond, but Eric’s phone began to ring, cutting her off.
He yanked it from his pocket and answered with a clipped, “What?” There was a pause and an under-his-breath curse before Eric said, “Hand him the phone.” He waited two more seconds and then, “Let him back.” Whoever was on the other end said something that clearly added to Eric’s frustration because his next words came out through a set of clenched teeth. “He’s my brother, asshole. Now, let. Him. Back.”
Derek’s here.
Eric shoved his phone back into his pocket and refocused his gaze on the real cause of his anger.
“You’re done in here. And before you even think about talking to Charlie or my brother about this shit again...or me, for that matter...you’d better have some goddamn evidence in your hands. Otherwise, don’t bother.”
Detective York looked ready to spit nails but was smart enough to know when she’d been beaten.
“Fine.” She turned to Charlie. “I apologize for upsetting you. I’m just trying to find out who was behind that fire.”
Too angry to respond, Charlie remained silent as the other woman started for the door. York stopped suddenly and turned back around.
Surprisingly, her eyes seemed less guarded, and her hard voice softened slightly. “For the record, I hope you’re right about your boyfriend.”
She slid a sideways glance toward Eric as she passed him, but he kept looking straight ahead. A few seconds later, Derek barged into the room.
Guilt filled his eyes as they found hers. He closed the distance separating them and pulled her into a rough hug. “Are you okay?”
She nodded against his chest. “Yeah. I was just scared, and I didn’t know what else to do.”
He backed away enough to see her. “I’m so fuckin’ sorry. I finally figured out the issue with the system I was workin’ on. I was so focused on trying to get everything up and runnin’ again I didn’t realize my phone was dead until the police showed up.”
“I figured it was something like that,” Eric told his brother. “Charlie said you were working a job, so I called Jake and got the address from him.”
“Thanks, man.” Derek then looked back down at her. “I should’ve kept a better eye on my phone.”
“It’s okay,” Charlie tried to reassure Derek. Naturally, he refused to listen.
“No.” He cupped her face, his regret obvious. “It sure as hell is not okay. It won’t happen again, I promise.”<
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“Derek, it’s fine. I wasn’t hurt or anything. I just...freaked out for a minute.”
“Yeah, for good reason.” Keeping his arms around her, he turned to his brother. “Any word on Porter?”
“Not yet, but we’re working on it.”
“Work harder.”
“Derek, don’t.” She tried to make him see reason. “This isn’t Eric’s fault.”
He closed his eyes and sighed. Opening them again, he looked back at Eric. “She’s right. Sorry.”
Eric nodded. “You’re pissed. I get it. I would be, too.”
“Mainly at myself,” he growled, running a hand through his hair. He turned to Charlie, his eyes pleading with her to believe him. “I knew you were home, locked inside the apartment. I thought...” His voice broke. He blinked quickly and cleared his throat. “I thought you’d be okay there. I never would have left you alone if I thought for one second you were in danger.”
“I know.” She prayed he could see she truly did.
After taking a deep, calming breath, Derek asked, “So, what exactly happened? The officer who came to get me said Caleb was in your apartment, but he didn’t know anything else.”
For the third time in less than two hours, Charlie went back over what brought her here.
“That motherfucker.” His hands became fisted at his sides. “I’ll kill him.”
“Easy, man. Now is not the time to throw around empty threats.”
“Oh, trust me, Eric. It’s far from empty.” Derek shook his head, the muscles in his jaw twitching. “Apartment security was supposed to contact me if they saw any sign of Porter. Of course, my phone’s dead, so they probably did but couldn’t reach me.” Derek locked his fingers behind his head and paced a few steps away and then back. “Fuck!”
“We don’t even know for sure it was Porter, Derek.” His brother tried to calm him down.
Derek’s face contorted with disbelief. “Seriously?”
Charlie kept silent as she watched the tense interaction between the two brothers. She hated that she was at the root of it all.
“I’m still waiting to hear if he’s at his place in New York.”
“It was him,” Derek stated with confidence. “I’ve been inside this guy’s apartment. The shit in his cabinets was arranged the exact same way Charlie just described.”