Protect Her

Chapter Twenty Six

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."