by Anna Blakely
She smiled up at him. “The homicide detective working the case contacted our office, and my Captain agreed to have us hold you until they get into Dallas. After that, you’ll be extradited back to New York where you’ll be formally charged with murder in the first degree.”
This can’t be happening.
“Based on what evidence?”
The woman’s gaze slid to Charlie’s then back to Derek’s. “We’ll go over all that when we get to the station.”
With a pair of shiny, silver handcuffs the one officer said, “Sir, please turn around nice and slowly and put your hands on the back of your head.”
Adding to her shock, Derek didn’t argue. He simply did what he was told.
Charlie practically shouted at York. “Derek wasn’t in New York last night. He was working. Tell them,” she pleaded with Derek. “Tell them where you were last night, and they’ll have to let you go.”
When he looked back down at her, Charlie finally recognized the expression she’d caught a glimpse of earlier... guilt.
Derek wasn’t fighting the arrest because he had gone to New York last night.
Oh, God.
Charlie thought she was going to be sick. “Y-you lied to me,” she whispered. The feeling of betrayal was overwhelming.
“I did, but only because I didn’t want you to worry. Call Mac. She and Coop can explain everything.”
“They knew?”
He shook his head vehemently. “I swear to God I never laid a hand on Caleb. I didn’t even see the guy. I’m being set up.”
She wanted to believe him. More than anything in the world, she wanted to believe he hadn’t done this awful thing on her behalf.
“Let’s go,” Detective York spoke to the two officers.
“Charlie, please,” Derek begged. “Look at me.”
She did.
With his eyes staring deep into her soul, he said, “I. Did. Not. Kill. Caleb.”
She looked for any signs he was lying, but couldn’t find any. Of course, he’d lied to her last night, and she’d had no clue, either.
“Please, darlin’,” he begged as they walked him out into the hall. “Tell me you believe me.”
As she followed them, she thought about the man she knew and loved. He was a warrior. A fighter. A protector and a lover.
Yes, he’d lied to her about where he’d gone, and she had full intentions of finding out exactly why later. For now, Charlie chose to focus on what she did know, and that was that Derek West was not a cold-blooded murderer.
“I believe you.”
The relief in his eyes was palpable, solidifying her gut feeling. Detective York, however, looked at her with pity and shook her head.
Ignoring her, Charlie listened as Derek shouted out instructions.
“Get your keys and drive to the station. Call Mac and have her get ahold of Jake. He’ll know what to do. And call Eric.”
“Your brother already knows.” York gave him an arrogant smile. “The Captain has him in his office right now, watching him to make sure he didn’t give you a heads up so you could split town.”
“My brother wouldn’t do that,” Derek growled. “And I wouldn’t split town because I didn’t kill Porter.”
“Uh, huh.” Detective York rolled her eyes as they entered the elevator. “Never heard a guilty man say that before.”
“Derek!” Charlie yelled, but it was too late. The doors had already closed.
“Shit.”
Running back into her apartment, Charlie threw on some shoes and grabbed her phone, purse, and keys. Knowing she’d have no signal in the elevator, she waited until she got into the lobby to do as Derek instructed.
After frantically explaining to Mac what had happened and that Derek wanted her to call Jake, she tried calling Eric. Just in case York had been bluffing. Her heart sank when it went to voicemail.
Still reeling from what had just happened, her trembling legs finally managed to get her to her car. She’d just unlocked the door and tossed her purse into the passenger seat when something cold and hard jabbed her in the ribs.
“Hello, Charlotte. Did you miss me?”
Her breath seized in her chest. Frozen with fear, Charlie couldn’t move, let alone speak.
“I’ve missed you,” Caleb whispered near her ear.
Oh, God.
“C-Caleb?” she choked out the monster’s name. “H-how? They said you were d-dead.”
His deep laugh vibrated against her back. “That’s because I wanted them to think I was dead.”
Ice shot through her veins. “W-why?”
“Why?” He grabbed a fist full of hair and yanked her head backward. “So, I could punish your boyfriend for taking you from me.”
Her scalp burned, and uncontrollable tears fell from the corners of her eyes. “H-he didn’t take me. It was m-my decision to leave.”
“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll pay dearly for that decision.”
“Caleb, p-please. Don’t do this.”
“It’s already done.”
Before she could say another word, Caleb slammed her forehead against the door frame. Charlie felt a sharp pain and then...nothing.
What could have been hours later, she woke with a splitting headache. Groaning, she tried to remember what had happened. When she did, her eyes flew open, and she gasped.
She tried to sit up, to move away from him as far as she possibly could, but the seatbelt prevented it. The bastard had kidnapped her, slammed her head against the car, but made sure to put her seatbelt on?
“Relax, sweetheart. You’re fine.”
Blinking against the dizziness and pain, she looked over at Caleb, who sat calmly behind the wheel. Glancing out the window, her stomach dropped. They were no longer in Dallas.
There was nothing but grassy fields and trees on either side of the two-lane highway they were traveling on. Intense nausea filled Charlie’s gut.
She’d seen enough movies with this same theme, and they never ended well for the girl.
Looking around for anything she could use as a weapon, she spotted the gun still in Caleb’s right hand. He had it resting on his thigh as he drove with his left.
She had no idea whose car this was, but she prayed it had been reported stolen. At least then maybe there was a chance he’d get pulled over, and she’d be found.
No one is going to find you. Everyone thinks Caleb is dead.
The tiny voice was right. Derek was probably still with the police, and Jake and the others were most likely working to find a way to get him out of this mess. They wouldn’t be looking for Caleb or her.
Oh, Derek. I’m so sorry.
He’d done nothing but try to help her, and this was the thanks he got. Arrested for murdering a man who was still very much alive.
“The police said they’d found your body. How is that possible if you’re not really dead?”
“They found a body. In my car, wearing my watch and clothes with my wallet in the back pocket.”
He’d killed someone? She never really knew this man at all.
“W-who was he?”
“Some homeless guy always hanging outside the firm, begging me for money.” Caleb laughed. “Well, he wanted me to think he was homeless, anyway. Dumb bastard never even saw the bullet coming. Of course, then I had to burn him so they wouldn’t notice it was him and not me.”
He let go of the gun just long enough to sniff his fingers and grimaced. “Washed my hands three times, and I can still smell the gasoline.”
Charlie put her hand to her mouth. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
His smile straightened and genuine concern filled his eyes. Not for her, but for himself.
“Swallow that shit back down. You know I don’t do well around vomit.”
Doing her best to breathe through it, she asked, “Why are you doing this, Caleb?”
“Because I love you.”
She shook her head. “You don’t love me. You never did.”
�
��You’re wrong, Charlotte.” He glanced over at her. “I love you more than life itself. Don’t you see? That’s why I had to die. So we could be together, again.”
Jesus. He truly was demented. “You’re crazy.”
In a flash, Caleb’s arm flew out, and he smacked her with the back of his hand. Charlie cried out, the blow pushing her bottom lip against her teeth. She immediately tasted blood.
“Don’t call me that. Don’t you ever call me that.”
Charlie raised her hand to her lip to wipe away the trail of blood. “What else do you call this, Caleb? You’ve faked your death, killed someone, set Derek up for your murder, and kidnapped me! Not exactly the actions of someone who’s sane.”
“No, it’s the actions of someone who lost the love of his life.”
Charlie couldn’t help it. She laughed. “You have no idea what love is. But I’ll tell you what it isn’t.” She looked over at him, surprising even herself with her boldness. “It isn’t hitting someone because they simply talked to another man. It isn’t punching someone in the stomach because they didn’t fold the towels exactly the way you wanted them. And it sure as hell isn’t beating the crap out of your wife because she didn’t pack the suitcases to your specifications.”
Caleb’s fists tightened around the steering wheel. “I did those things to help you. To teach you how things needed to be. Order is important. Without it, we’re nothing but a bunch of animals.”
“Who taught you that? Your father?”
“My father is the smartest man I know.”
Charlie knew taunting him was a bad idea, but so was sitting back and letting him take her to God knows where to do God knows what to her.
She might not be as far along as she wanted, but with Derek’s help, she’d grown stronger. She refused to cower down to this man ever again.
“Your father is a misogynistic asshole who never gave a shit about you.”
Caleb swung the gun in her direction. “Don’t talk about him that way. He may have been tough on me, but that’s only because he wanted me to grow up strong, like him. He made me who I am today.”
I have no doubt.
Charlie tried to reason with him. “Okay.” She put her hands up. “I’m sorry. Just put the gun down. Please.”
He smiled, lowering the weapon back to his leg. “That’s better.”
“Look, Caleb. I understand why you’re upset with me, but Derek has nothing to do with this. If he goes away for your murder—”
Once again, he raised his arm toward her face. This time, instead of hitting her, he grabbed the back of her hair and jerked her head in his direction.
Pain shot through her neck and the pounding in her head went full-bore. Charlie squeezed her eyes shut and clawed at his hand, but his grip was too tight.
“I don’t ever want to hear you say his name again, do you understand? He’s dead to you. Just like I’m dead to the world.”
Through the pain, her brain somehow managed to recall a news story she’d seen last year involving a charred body the police had discovered. A rush of hope filled her chest.
“They’ll find his DNA.”
“I hope so. That would be even more convincing to a jury.”
“No.” She tried to shake her head. “Not Derek’s. The man you killed. They’ll figure out it isn’t you.”
Caleb’s mouth curled up into that same, arrogant smirk she’d always hated. “That’s not possible. I told you I burned him.”
“Doesn’t matter.” She winced, feeling as though he was ripping her hair out from its roots. “They can still use dental records.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I do. I saw it on the news last year. A burned body was found in Liberty Park. It only took hours to identify the victim.”
A flicker a fear flashed behind his eyes. He sneered, pushing against her head as he released her.
“I don’t care. They still won’t find us.”
“Derek will.”
He pointed the gun at her again. “I told you not to say his name again!”
Pushing past the fear threatening to take over, she forced her voice to remain calm. “What are you going to do, Caleb? Shoot me, too? Then, what? You’ll be left all alone again.”
Caleb considered this for a moment and lowered the weapon. “You’re right. I’m not going to shoot you. There are plenty of other ways to punish you for what you’ve done.”
Old memories bubbled to the surface. Horrible, terrifying memories. Charlie had survived what she’d thought to be the worst, but now she wasn’t so sure.
Caleb would beat her worse than ever before. She’d fight back as hard as she could, but experience had told her it wouldn’t be enough.
I can’t go through that again.
Feeling helpless and defeated, Charlie glanced out the windshield to the road ahead. About a half a mile away was a very sharp curve.
An idea began to form.
It would hurt. Possibly even kill her. It was a risk she was willing to take.
From the corner of her eye, she watched Caleb closely as she slid her left hand down to where the buckle rested against her hip. If she didn’t move quickly, she’d lose her chance.
Covering her mouth with her right hand, Charlie coughed loudly several times to cover the sound of her releasing the seatbelt. She held on to its metal clasp to keep it from loosening and becoming noticeable.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Caleb looked over at her, concerned.
“I’m fine.” She nodded, coughing a few more times for good measure.
“We can’t stop, but I’ll get you a drink as soon as we get to where we’re going.”
Her eyes bounced back and forth between him and the upcoming curve.
“Where are you taking me?”
Caleb smiled, the crazy in his eyes more prevalent than ever.
“Why, home, of course. I found us the most charming house not far from here. You’re going to love it. It sits on over a hundred acres, so there’ll be no one around to bother us.”
She forced a smile. “That sounds...nice.”
“I’m so glad you think so. Once you’ve recovered from your punishment, I’ll take you shopping and let you pick out whatever furniture and decorations you want. It’ll be like starting a whole new life.” He smiled over at her. “Just you and me. Forever.”
Not a chance, you fucking psycho.
Caleb pressed his foot on the break to begin slowing down for the curve. Charlie checked their distance, her mind racing to determine exactly when she needed to act.
Realizing the curve was sharper than he’d anticipated, Caleb let go of the gun and put the other hand on the wheel for more control. With his entire focus on the road ahead, Charlie used the opportunity to carefully slide the seatbelt across her body and slip her right arm through it.
The closer they got, the slower Caleb drove. Charlie worked hard to control her breathing as she prayed this crazy idea would work.
Caleb turned his head slightly to the left. His gaze followed the direction of the road, she knew it was time.
Though they were moving much more slowly than before, they were still going over forty miles an hour. Please don’t let me die.
With one last thought of Derek and the love they’d shared, Charlie began the silent countdown inside her head.
Three...two...one...
****
Chapter 21
Sitting on the wrong side of the interrogation table with his hands cuffed in front of him, Derek glared up at his brother.
“What, and I mean this with the utmost sincerity, the fuck?”
“I didn’t know.” Eric stood across from him, looking a little sympathetic and a whole lot pissed off.
“About Porter’s death or that they were going to arrest me for it?”
“Either.” Eric ran a hand over the dark scruff covering his jaw. “Cap called me into his office to ask me some bullshit questions about another case
I’ve been working on. I knew something was up, so I called him out on it. He finally told me about Porter and that York was on her way to pick you up.”
Derek bit the inside of his cheek and shook his head. “That’s fucked up. I thought you and Cap got along.”
“We do.” Eric sat in one of the seats across from him. “That’s the problem. He was protecting me. Said he was worried I’d blow my career by tipping you off.”
“Would you have?”
Eric narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck do you think? Of course, I would’ve.”
Derek smiled. He and Eric had always had a special bond that was more important than any job.
“Glad Cap was lookin’ out for you. Wouldn’t want you jeopardizing your career over nothin’.”
A set of dark brows shot up. “Nothing? York is gunning for you. She’s looking at you for the fire and Porter’s murder.”
“She can look all she wants. She won’t find anything because there’s nothing to find. I didn’t do any of that shit.”
Flattening his lips into a thin line, Eric shook his head. “What the fuck were you doing at his apartment last night?”
No point in denying it. “I went there to talk. That’s all. But he wasn’t there.”
“You never talked to him?”
“No.” Derek looked at his brother pointedly. “When I got there, the place was ransacked. There was blood and evidence of a struggle, but Porter wasn’t there.”
“What did you do then?”
“What the hell do you think I did? I got the fuck out of there and flew back home.”
“They’ve got you on camera, D. They—”
“That’s enough, West. You can leave. I’ll take it from here.”
Both men looked up to see Detective York entering the room. Her eyes honed in on Eric’s, and it was clear she was not happy to see him in here.
“Actually...” Eric stared back at her. “If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to stay.”
York smirked. “I do mind.”
Eric gave him a look before standing. With his face close to hers, he told her, “I was just being polite. I’m not asking permission.”
“My case, my suspect.”
“My brother, I’m staying.”