“Stop.” Derek’s hands tightened over hers as he gave the stern order. Charlie’s eyes flew up to his, and damn if there wasn’t fear in those beauties. He loosened his hold. “I told you last night this isn’t on you, and I meant it.”
More tears began to well in her eyes, but Charlie blinked them back quickly. “Sorry.”
“And that’s another thing. Quit apologizing. You’ve done nothin’ wrong.”
Looking unconvinced, she nodded. “Sor...” Catching herself, she gave him a ghost of a smile. “Okay.”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath and sat in the empty seat. “What would you like to do today? I figured we could grab a bite to eat and then maybe steal a plane and fly off to Paris for dinner.”
It was a game they used to play when they were younger. Derek, Eric, and Charlie would all sit around and plan an entire day filled with elaborate, impossible tasks. They’d compete with one another, trying to come up with the wildest, craziest one they could think of.
She barked out a watery laugh and then began to think. “After dinner, we could fly to our super-secret scientific lab and build that time machine we talked about.”
“Where would we go?”
“Back home,” she said wistfully. “We could drive to the beach we used to go to. I could watch you surf, and then we could sit together and enjoy the sunset.” Then, surprising him, she smirked and added, “Or, we could find the younger version of Caleb and beat his ass senseless. Either one works for me.”
Derek chuckled. It was the first glimpse he’d seen of the old Charlie since bringing her here, and it gave him hope. She was still in there, somewhere. He just had to figure out a way to set her free.
“Thank you,” she whispered, interrupting his thoughts.
“Nothin’ to thank me for, darlin’.”
She grabbed her mug and took another sip before staring down at the dark liquid. “I hate that you had to see me like that. At the hotel, I mean.”
“Just glad I showed up when I did.”
“Why were you there?” Her questioning gaze found him again.
“I was worried about you.” Derek shook his head. “I could tell you were scared when you got that text. I never should have let you go back to that hotel alone. If I hadn’t—”
“No,” Charlie lowered her legs and sat up straighter. “This is my fault, not yours.”
“The fuck it’s your fault. That sonofabitch had no right to do what he did. He’s a fuckin’ coward, and I swear to Christ, he shows up here again—”
“Derek, don’t,” she warned. “You don’t know what kind of man Caleb is. He has a lot of friends. Powerful ones.” She sighed with frustration. “They’re everywhere.”
“Don’t give a damn about that, sweetheart.”
“Well, you should.” Sitting her cup down, Charlie stood and went to the edge of the pool. With her hands wrapped around herself, she turned back to face him. “Caleb’s a damn good lawyer, Derek. He knows the law forward and backward, and he always seems to find a way around it.”
“He won’t this time. I promise.”
Charlie brushed some strands from her face. “You don’t get it. He’s done a lot of favors for a lot of people. Bad people. Now, they owe him, and I know Caleb. I know how he thinks and the way he works. You go to war with him, he’ll come at you with everything he has.”
Derek pushed himself to his feet. “Let him.”
“Derek, please.”
“I understand your concern.” He walked over to her. “But Porter isn’t the only one with connections. And I’m willin’ to bet mine are even more powerful than his.”
He saw the wheels turning. “Your security company?”
Derek raised his hand to rest it on her shoulder, but Charlie flinched away. The regret in her eyes told him it had nothing to do with him, but rather a learned reaction. Still.
Don’t be afraid of me, baby.
“I didn’t mean to do that.”
