Protect Her

Chapter Twenty Nine

Camryn

When I woke up the next morning, my back was killing me. I opened my eyes, realizing that Derek and I hadn't made it to the bedroom at all. We were still curled up on the couch and he was sound asleep with his arms and a leg draped over me. I had no hope of wiggling out from under him without waking him up.

"Derek..." I whispered, prodding at him a little. Riley knew what was going on, but that didn't mean I wanted her to walk out into the living room to see us tangled up together in the same clothes we'd been in yesterday. She'd already proven how observant she was.

Derek groaned, shifting his weight even more on top of me.

"Derek." I said a little louder, shaking him.

His eyes shot open, and it took him a minute to figure out where we were. "Oh, fuck." He rubbed his head. "We never made it to bed."

I shook my head. "Why don't you try to go get some more rest? You couldn't have slept good on the couch?"

"Are you coming with me?" His sleepy grin was too damn cute. It was almost enough to convince me to go back to the bedroom with him. Neither one of us would get any rest if I did that, though.

"I think I'm going to make some coffee and sit on the deck." I said, finally able to get up.

"Then I'll join you." He smirked, standing up and stretching. His t-shirt rode up on his body and the very tip of his abs peaked out from underneath it, his shorts dangerously low. He really wasn't making it easy on me this morning.

I was attracted to Derek in every way, and after our talk last night, it only amplified things. He was so damn understanding and patient about everything, it almost didn't seem real. I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. For him to decide this was all too much. That he wanted someone else, and this was just some silly fling because we were all each other had for weeks at a time. Sometimes, it felt like that was all it was. All it would ever be.

But then there were times I let myself fall into a dream of what life together would be like. What it would be like to be loved by him forever. So purposefully and so intentionally and so completely. Nothing exhilarated or scared me more.

I went into the kitchen, but Derek swept his arm around my waist and turned me towards him, pinning me against the counter with his hips. He kissed my neck roughly and then his lips met mine in a hungry and passionate kiss. "Why don't you go sit outside and I'll make the coffee?"

"Okay." I agreed, stealing one last kiss. I turned towards the door, but something on the TV caught my eye.

"ROBBY HASTINGS: ARRESTED FOR MURDER," it said on the banner across the screen.

My eyes widened as I saw a video of him being led out of our house early this morning and thrown into the back of an FBI car. Derek saw it the same time I did, and he grabbed the remote and turned it up.

"Early this morning, Robby Hastings was arrested for the murder of his wife, Camryn, and their five-year-old daughter, Riley. A knife containing the blood of both was found inside his locker at the NYPD police station. Because of the nature of the crime, the FBI was brought in for an independent investigation and Hastings was almost immediately arrested. He'll have a bail hearing in the next few days, but the charges against him are very significant and his bail is expected to be set high. Our team caught up with Senator Sid Hastings, who is maintaining his son's innocence."

"Am I hearing that right?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"We got him." A smile spread across Derek's lips.

"Do I even want to know how you got a bloody knife into his locker?" I turned to him with a smirk.

"Nope." He chuckled. "Not unless you want to go down as an accomplice. Several laws were broken."