The mattress dipped as he knelt over her sleeping form. Doing his best not to wake her, he used his fingertips to move some hair from her forehead.
“Shh,” he crooned. “You’re okay, sweetheart. I’m here.”
As if his touch were magic, the lines on Charlie’s forehead smoothed, and her breathing became steady again. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her cheek.
“Rest easy, darlin’. You’re safe, now.”
Waiting until he was certain she was sleeping peacefully, Derek eventually left the room.
Too wired for bed, he went straight for his office and called his brother. Eric picked up on the third ring.
“Hey, bro. What’s up? You need me to get you out of a bad date again? What do you want this time...text, phone call, or sirens?”
“We need to talk.”
Picking up on Derek’s serious tone, Eric shut down the jokes immediately.
“Hang on. Let me get someplace more private.”
Derek waited while his brother found an unoccupied room at the precinct.
“Okay,” Eric shut a door. “I’m alone now, so talk. You in trouble?”
“Not me.”
“Who?”
“Charlie.”
“Charlie...” It was clear his brother had no idea who he was referring to.
“Stone. Well, Porter, now.”
“Wait,ourCharlie? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Eric listened while Derek ran him through the events. He started with Porter’s bizarre behavior at the restaurant and ended with tonight, when Derek had driven a dazed and beaten Charlie to his home.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” his brother seethed. “Where is the bastard? I’ll send someone to pick him up right now.”
“You can’t.”
There was silence and then, “Damn. She’s refusing to press charges?”
“Got it in one.”
“Fuck.”
“Exactly.”
Neither brother thought any less of Charlie for not wanting to go to the police. Both men had seen enough to understand why many victims of domestic violence didn’t report their abuse. They were fucking terrified.
“Where is she, now?” Eric softened his tone.
“Asleep.”
A moment of silence passed before his brother asked, “You want me to come over?”
“Thanks, but I don’t want to wake her. I just figured you’d want to know what was going on.”
