Protect Her

Chapter Thirty Four

Camryn

"And I want to go to the zoo... And the park with the gigantic trees... and mama, can we take Derek to the ice cream shop by my dance teacher?" Riley rattled off about a hundred things she wanted to do while we were in New York. She had no clue we weren't going to be leaving the house the entire time we were here, and we would be gone as soon as we possibly could.

I didn't want to come to begin with, but the alternative was Riley and I staying behind while Derek came, and I didn't feel any better about that. All I had to do was get through the next few days and everything would be fine. At least that was what I kept telling myself. Derek's testimony would help put Robby away and we'd never have to worry about it again.

Being in the same state as Robby, even though he was behind bars, was suffocating. I used to love New York. It was one of my favorite places in the entire world, and now I hated it. All it did was hold bad memories for me and I would be happy if we never had to return.

"I'm not sure we'll have time for all of that, Ry." Derek said, setting his hand on my knee and giving it a tight squeeze. He knew how anxious I was feeling and was doing his best to help me combat it. "It's going to be a quick trip."

"Well, what are mommy and I going to do while you're working?" She frowned, grabbing on to his hand as we walked inside of the building. We'd flown right here in the helicopter and landed on the roof. The plan was for Riley and me to stay inside, and no one would have a chance to see us or know we were here. Derek would testify as quick as he could and then we'd be gone.

"Play games and bake things and watch all the movies you want!" I smiled, trying to make it sound more exciting than it was. The poor kid had been cooped up so much recently and I hated not being able to take her to all the places she wanted to see. This had been her home, too.

"That's so boring."

"When we leave, I promise mommy and I will make it up to you." Derek smiled. "We'll go on a really fun trip. Maybe go to the beach somewhere. How does that sound?"

"Fine." A smile tugged at her lips even though she was trying to still pout.

Derek led us through the building and into his penthouse instead of the one Riley and I had stayed in before. If I thought that one was nice, this one was incredible. It was sleek and dark and the ultimate bachelor pad. Everything was put in its place and there were hardly any personal effects here. He had said it was his part-time place, but I couldn't imagine anyone staying here at all. It was going to be hard to do with a five-year-old for the next few days.

As if reading my thoughts, Derek led us down the hallway to where Riley's room would be. He opened the door and it chock full of all kinds of toys and books and decorations. Right in the center of the bed was a bright pink MacBook. "I enlisted Cole for some help here." He smiled. "He's the only one besides Will who knows you're here."

"A laptop!" Riley cheered, racing to the bed.

"That should buy us at least an hour." Derek kissed my cheek, wrapping his arms around my waist. "How many times do you think I can make you orgasm in that amount of time?"

A fiery blush blanketed my cheeks. "Derek..."

"I know." He whispered. "But the second she goes to bed..."

I smiled, nodding.

"Riley, can you look up on that thing how to make spaghetti?" Derek asked.

"I know how to make spaghetti." I laughed.

"I know you do." He rolled his eyes. "But you're going to go relax in the bathtub while Riley and I make it."

I sat with Riley for a few minutes and Derek got a bath ready for me and handed me a glass of wine. He really was doing everything he could to help me relax, even though he was the one testifying in the morning.