Protect Her

Chapter Five

Derek

I agreed to meet Cole's mystery girl at 10AM and it was now 10:07. Perhaps she had gotten cold feet.

I wasn't ready to give up just yet though, so I ordered another cup of coffee. I had to say I was shocked to hear from her at all when her text came through last night. Cole called me right after she left the hospital and let me know he'd given her my contact, but neither of us expected to hear from her. Especially not so soon.

The timing and urgency in her messages were a little unnerving. According to Cole, she'd been vehemently against any kind of help just hours before texting me. What happened in that amount of time to make her change her mind so suddenly? It had to have been drastic. Otherwise, she wouldn't have reached out.

I'd seen some pretty gruesome and hideous things over the years, but nothing made my skin crawl quite like violence against women and children. A man who beat up on his wife or child was the lowest scum of the earth in my book, and it was a personal crusade of mine to make bastards like that pay with every last beat of their heart. My high school girlfriend's father beat the shit out of her and her mother regularly, and seeing domestic violence had struck a chord with me ever since.

Cole knew exactly what he was doing by involving me. He knew I'd never be able to walk away if this girl really was in trouble. I had my doubts, though. Cole had a bleeding heart and was always looking for someone to help. Sometimes he read things wrong and while he meant well, he created trouble where there was none. In the back of my mind, I considered that that's what this was, but the second I heard from her, I knew he had been spot on. Even just from her texts, her desperation and terror were apparent. You don't call a stranger for help unless you're in really serious trouble.

I glanced at my phone again just to be sure I hadn't missed her when the chimes on the door of the coffee shop rang. A dark-haired woman with big sunglasses scan the room, and when our eyes met, she made her way to my table with determination. She was a few steps away when I recognized her. Cole had conveniently left out the fact that this wasn't just any woman he wanted me to help. This was Camryn Hastings. Her father-in-law was a prominent New York State senator. I knew his son was a douche bag, but didn't realize he was a woman beater, too. Figures... Fuck. This was all making sense. No wonder she didn't want to meet in the city.

"Mr. Bennett?" She stood at the side of the table, sizing me up. Cole's appraisal of her was spot on. Camryn was a beautiful woman. Tall and slender and confident and the very picture of composure. No one ever would guess the war she was fighting. Even behind those big dark glasses, she was striking. It always shocked me when women like her became victims of abuse. But more often than not, it was them — the ones who seemed like they had it all together.

"Yes." I stood up, reaching my hand out to greet her. "You're Camryn I assume?"

She nodded, glancing back one more time to make sure she hadn't been recognized, and then sat down across from me, showing the first sign of nerves. She lifted her sunglasses up gingerly and tucked her hair back with them, a mess of dark curls spilling over her shoulders. Her cherry red lips almost formed a heart on her face, and despite the makeup, I could see a slight cut above them. She had tried to mask her injuries, and to the normal person, she might have, but I could see right through it. The deep purple underneath her eye, the cut above it that Cole had stitched up. The way she shifted her weight every so often because of the injuries to her ribs. She was certainly good at putting on a friendly face, and now that I knew who she really was, I knew why.

"Nice to meet you." She pursed her lips, glancing down at her manicured nails.

Except this wasn't the first time we'd met. A small smile tugged at my lips. "You don't remember me, do you?"