Protect Her

Chapter Thirty Three

Derek

After the shower, Cam and I moved to the bed. We had sex a few more times, and then just laid next to each other, our bodies intertwined together. Cam laid on my chest as it rose and fell with each breath I took. We were both exhausted, but the good kind of exhaustion. I'd never seen her so peaceful, and I was on top of the world. Everything about this felt so right. It was effortless and natural, and I dreaded having to tell Cam what I had to.

No matter what came, I knew I wanted Cam for the rest of my life.

I wanted her, and I wanted Riley and I wanted to build a family and a life together. I wanted every single big or small moment in their lives. Helping Riley with her math homework, coaching her soccer team, playing pranks on her mother. Picking out her Halloween costumes and watching her open presents on Christmas morning.

I wanted to wake up to Cam's beautiful face every morning, go grocery shopping with her, argue with her about how to fold the sheets. I wanted to hear her laugh forever and snuggle up on the couch at night watching movies. Hopefully, someday see her pregnant with my child. There was no maybe for me anymore. I knew exactly what I wanted and Camryn and Riley were it. Nothing would change that, although I knew the next few weeks would test our relationship to the fullest.

I had to tell her that Robby was calling me as a witness, and I knew that might shake her faith in me a bit. On the outside, it looked like Robby and I were friends. He was using me as an alibi, after all. I had a good reason for being with him that night, but Cam's mind was twisted from trauma, and I was a little uneasy about how she would take it.

"I'm going to go get some water." Cam said, pulling away from my grasp and standing up. "Do you want anything?"

"No, I'm good." I smiled. "Hurry back."

Cam disappeared out into the kitchen, and I took the opportunity to psych myself up for the conversation that was coming. I couldn't put it off, and Cam deserved to know the truth. The sooner it was out in the open, the sooner we could deal with it.

A few minutes later, she came back with a cup of ice water and set it on the nightstand before crawling back into bed with me. She yawned, nestling herself back up against my chest. I hated what I had to do next.

"Cam, you trust me, right?"

She immediately tensed, sitting up and looking at me with a frown on her face. "What's going on?"

"I need to tell you something. And I know how it's going to sound, but I need you to let me explain before you judge the situation."

"Okay." She nodded apprehensively.

"I got a call from a detective that is working on Robby's case this morning. He told me I'm being subpoenaed to testify in Robby's trial. Apparently, he's using me as an alibi."

Her face twisted in confusion. "You're his alibi? How is that even possible? You were with him?"

"I've told you about all the evidence that we planted against him, but haven't told you exactly how it all got there."

Cam didn't say a word, but I could see the wheels turning in her mind.

"That night, the night that he..." I couldn't even bring myself to finish that sentence. That night, minutes before I was sitting in a bar with him, he had attacked Camryn in the most vicious of ways. "You came to my penthouse, and you told me what had happened. After you went to bed, I went to find Robby. I wanted to kill him after seeing what he did to you, and hearing you tell the story. I found him in a bar, and somehow I kept myself together. I bought him a few drinks and got him drunk enough so he didn't pick up on what I was doing. I slashed his tire so that I could pretend to help him and plant all the shit I needed to in his car. That's all it was. I was only with him to set up our story. And now that I know he knows I've got you, I think he's playing games."

Cam covered her face in her hands. "What if he tells them that he knows we're alive? What if he tells them you helped us escape? He's going to beat this, isn't he?"

"Camryn, if for some reason he does get off, I'll kill him. I'm not messing around with it. I love you, and I will do anything I have to in order to keep you and Riley safe."

"You can't do that, Derek." She shook her head. "You could be the one in jail, and I won't let you do that for me. Maybe I should just go back and..."

"You're never going back, Camryn." I said definitively.

"But maybe it would be better for me to file for divorce. I could get a restraining order and tell the truth about the things he's done to me. I could say I had to run to protect Riley."

"No." I shook my head. "You're not going near Robby ever again. That's what he wants to happen. That's what this is about for him. The games. We're not going to play into it. We're getting way ahead of ourselves here. We're going to go back to New York. I'm going to testify, and Robby is going to be convicted. I just want you to know what's happening."

"We're going with you?"

I nodded. "I don't want to leave you here. We'll fly straight to my building, and you and Riley won't leave the apartment until we can leave the country again."

Cam looked so deflated. I knew she was probably terrified about going back to New York and even being in the same vicinity as Robby. And the fact that he was messing with us with this whole alibi thing scared her to death.

"You're sure that's the best thing? Maybe we should just stay here. Or maybe we should all go somewhere else. Somewhere where they can't make you testify."

"If I run, it's only going to make things worse. I'm going to testify like nothing is wrong and help them put Robby away. I want you and Riley to be safe, and the only way I can guarantee that is if he's in prison or dead."

"When do we have to go?"

"They're sending me the official paperwork, but probably sometime next week."

"I hate him so much, Derek. All I want is to move on with our lives."

I wrapped my arms around Cam and held her tightly as tears started to stream down her cheeks. "Me too, babe. And the sooner we get through this, the sooner we can. If you want me to kill him, just say the word."

She shook her head. "No. I don't want you to do that. I don't want to sink down to his level."

I was so proud of Cam for how strong she was being about all of this. If it was me, I'd want the guy buried as far down in the dirt as I could get him for the things he'd done to me. Hell, I wanted to do it for the things he'd done to her. If it came down to it, Robby would die and no one would ever guess it was me. She didn't need to know that, though.

"I'll always protect you Cam."

"I know." She mustered up a smile. "It's all going to be okay."

She was trying to convince herself of that more than me.

We laid in silence for a while and I thought she had fallen asleep, but then I heard her sleepy voice.

"Derek?"

"What baby?"

"I love you. I trust you and I love you."

"I love you, too, Cam." I whispered, kissing the top of her head. I lied to myself for weeks that I was okay not hearing her say that, and now that she did, my heart nearly burst. I had no idea how much I needed that. I knew how she felt, but hearing it out loud lit me on fire like never before.

Neither one of us felt confident about what was to come in the next few weeks, but none of that mattered. All I care about was keeping my girls safe, whatever that took.

___________________________

***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**