Camryn

"I hate Canada." Riley groaned, resting her head on her fist and staring out the window as the rain poured down outside. The storm had knocked the power out and we'd been sitting here for the last thirty minutes.

I smiled, glancing up from the book I was reading. "Yesterday you said it was the greatest place on earth."

"Yeah mommy." She rolled her eyes. "Before the rain."

"It won't last all day." I said. "Do you want to play a game?"

"No, I'm just going to sit here and watch it until it goes away." Her little voice sounded so defeated and I had to fight back my laughter. She was being so dramatic and I knew she wouldn't appreciate me not taking her seriously.

Wind ripped through the air outside, and I heard a bang from down in the basement.

"What was that?" Riley's eyes got big.

"I think it was just the wind, sweetheart." I said, not wanting to alarm her. "I'll go check it out."

A small wave of fear pulsed through my body. It was ridiculous. I watched the gust of wind out the window; I knew that's what it was. I knew Robby was in jail and we were safe. Even with the power out, there would be an alarm if someone broke in.

I knew all of that, but still I felt uneasy.

Without letting Riley notice, I grabbed a knife off the kitchen counter, just in case I had to protect myself. I didn't really know what else to do. We were alone. Neither Derek nor Mrs. Leonard were supposed to be back for a while. Derek hadn't really elaborated on what we were supposed to do if there was an emergency and we were on our own. I glanced back at Riley one more time, who was staring out the window still.

I tip-toed down the stairs as quietly as I could. I could hear something banging from the back of the basement and headed that way. At the end of the long hallway, the door to the backyard was slightly open and blew open and shut with the wind. I let out a small sigh of relief, realizing that was all it was, and reached to shut it. My heart froze though when I looked down and realized there were two sets of wet foot prints right inside the door. I whirled around, ready to race upstairs and grab Riley and hide, when Derek came around the corner, drying his hair off with a towel.

He was startled when he saw me, glancing at the knife. "Jesus, Camryn. What are you doing?"

I blinked at him several times, my heart racing. "What am I doing? What are you doing? You're supposed to be gone. I thought someone had broken in. Why the hell are you sneaking into the basement?"

Derek was caught off guard. "I... uhh..." He stuttered. Something felt off. He wasn't just sneaking in, he was showering. I thought he was wet from the rain at first, but he only had a towel around his waist and no other clothes. And was that...

"Why is there blood on that towel?" I asked, staring at the one in his hands.

"You're out of shower gel in the guest..." Will stopped abruptly when he saw me standing in the hallway. That's where the other set of footprints came from.

He glanced back and forth between Derek and me for a second.

"What is going on?"

"Okay, we need to talk." Derek let out a heavy sigh. "But you need to put down the knife."

I hadn't even realized I was still holding it. Derek reached out slowly and took it from me, setting it on the table.

"Where is Riley?" He asked.

"She's upstairs."

"Why don't I go hang out with her and the two of you can talk?" Will offered.

"That would be good." Derek agreed, and led me over to the couch.

"You're making me nervous, Derek." I said, staring at him curiously.

"I'm sorry. You don't need to be nervous." We sat down, and Derek took my hand. "I have a lot to say, though, and you're probably not going to like most of it."

"Now you're really making me nervous."

"Will and I came in through the basement because I wanted to shower before I saw you or Riley. We were... one of the things we had to take care of this morning got kind of messy."

"The blood?" I arched an eyebrow at him.

I nodded. "Remember when I told you I had issues in New York? Well, what really happened was that I had two accounts full of money stolen from me. A few days ago, Will found the guy responsible, and he brought him up here and we've been trying to find out who he's working for."

My eyes widened. I was under no misconception that what Derek did was even remotely legal. He's smuggled my daughter and me out of the country and staged a crime scene so meticulously that the FBI fell for it. That was a whole different ball game than running a financial firm. It was strange to hear him talking about it, though. To actually put words to it and hear some of the things he did on a daily basis.

"And you were beating him up for that information." I said cautiously.

"More or less, yes." He nodded.

"And you do this kind of thing often?"

"I'm not proud of it. There are a lot of things I've been a part of that I'm not proud of, but sometimes that's part of the business. I try to do the right thing. Most of our profit is given back to youth programs that help kids get off the streets, or help struggling moms provide food for their families, or even send kids to college. But the means for getting the money isn't always so cut and dry. I'm a contractor for some really bad people... because I get things done. No matter the means."

Derek paused as if he wanted me to respond, but I wasn't really sure what to say. I knew Derek was complicated and involved in some shady shit when I agreed to let him take my daughter and I out of the country. This didn't really change all that much for me.

"Most of the time, I really do just run the financial company, but sometimes other things come up that need to be dealt with. I don't like that side of it, but what Jason was doing was threatening your and Riley's safety and that's something I won't let happen."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused how Riley and I could be connected to a guy who was stealing Derek's money.

"Jason wasn't stealing the money for himself. He was working with someone." He paused. "He was working with Robby."

"What? That doesn't make any sense." I frowned.

"Well, Robby and his father. Sid's campaign is being run on his toughness against gang violence in the city. Basically, he stole the money to plant it so he could look like he made a huge drug bust and his methods were actually working. He had Robby run the bust so that he got recognition for it, too. I have a few clients who are out millions of dollars because of it."

I was speechless. Their corruption was so deep it was disgusting. Their deceit knew no limits. "Thats awful. Can you tell someone? Can we turn them in?"

"Honestly, the money is the least of my concerns, Cam." His face fell. "While I was talking to Jason today, he said something else. He said that the second time they hacked the account, he realized it was tied to me. He said he went to Robby, and he told him, and Robby said he wasn't concerned because I was out of town with my wife and kid."

I frowned, unsure of where this was going.

"He knows I'm not married, Cam. Which means he was talking about his own wife and kid. He was talking about you and Riley."

All the air left my lungs. No. There was no way. He couldn't have known. We'd been so thorough and careful.

"He knows I have you, and he knows you're alive."

I felt like throwing up. Derek kept talking, but I wasn't hearing any of it. He's never stop coming after us or looking for us. It had been him all along. The whole time we were here, he was watching us.

"Cam, are you listening?" Derek shook me gently, pulling me back to reality. "You don't need to be worried, though. He's in jail and he's not going to hurt you."

"Until they release him again." I gulped, staring straight through Derek.

"That won't happen this time." He reached for my hand.

"You don't know that." My voice broke with emotion. "He's been watching us the whole time."

"Cam, we're safe." He assured me. "We're completely safe here. We're not going to go anywhere for a while. We'll just lie low and see what transpires over the next few weeks. Okay? Robby's in jail. He can't do anything right now. All you're going to do is drive yourself crazy worrying about it. Please. Let me handle this."

I bit my lip, feeing like I'd been hit by a brick wall. "Can you send someone to protect my dad?"

"I already have. And as soon as it's safe, I'll bring him here so that he's with us."

"Really?"

Derek nodded. "I'm not going to let anything happen, Cam. I am telling you all of this because I want you to be honest, but I almost didn't because I don't want you to be concerned about it. Will and I already have things in motion."

I took a deep breath, trying to relax. He was right. I knew he wouldn't let anything happen and, at least for now, Robby was locked away in jail.

"It's all going to be okay. I promise." He gently kissed my forehead, holding me tight in his arms. It was amazing how safe I felt in them, even with the world crashing down around us.

___________________________

***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**