Page 19 of Emily's Escape

“Stop.” I give him a light shove. “Don’t even think that. I did something that should have been totally safe. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine for not calling for backup before I confronted Harry.”

“You had no idea,” Derek retorts. “How could you? And you saw a child in trouble.Wasin trouble. Of course, your instinct was to help her.” He pauses. “That being said, I think I’ll go with you to the restroom next time.”

“Deal,” I reply with a smile.

At the thought of Kylie, I reach for my phone to re-read the messages from her mom. I know what they say, of course, but it’s comforting to see them again. We exchanged numbers in the hospital, and she promised to keep in touch to let me know how Kylie’s doing.

As I start skimming the messages, Derek asks, “Have you heard anything else from Kylie’s mother?”

“No,” I reply. “Just the messages she already sent. Which is fine. I’m just glad to know Kylie’s okay.”

Well, as okay as she can be after her father tried to kidnap her. That’s something no ten-year-old should ever have to deal with. But from talking to her mom, it sounds like Kylie has lots of support. And hopefully, given time, the emotional scars will fade.

“I’m glad she’s okay, too,” Derek agrees. “Physically, at least. But what her dad did…” He scowls. “I wish I could have had a fewwordswith him.”

“Her mom said she’s getting Kylie into counseling. And the grandparents are coming to stay for a while, just to help out. Make sure Kylie feels safe and all that.”

Thankfully, shewillbe safe, thanks to the efforts of Derek and the police.

The car did end up falling only minutes after Derek rescued me and Kylie, taking Harry down along with it. But the rescue team showed up just in time and pulled Harry to safety. He has a concussion and a broken collarbone, but according to Kylie’s mom, her ex-husband should recover completely.

Then he’ll go to prison, where he’ll hopefully receive the help he needs. Though I wouldn’t say I feel all warm and fuzzy towards the guy—the whole kidnapping me at gunpoint and trying to transport me across the state took care of that—he did seem remorseful as they pulled him from the water.

“He’s been struggling,” Kylie’s mom explained at the hospital. “He lost his job recently, and I think he’s started drinking again. But I never imagined he’d do something likethis. I thought Kylie would be safe, doing a 5K with her running club. If I’d had any idea, I’d never have let her go.”

But just like my decision to go to the restrooms alone, how could her mom have ever thought that such an innocent thing could turn dangerous?

“I’m going to ask Indy if he can have one of the guys at his New York branch keep an eye on the dad,” Derek says. “Just in case he tries anything.”

“That’s a good idea,” I agree. “And that reminds me. I need to send Indy and his team a gift for helping. Cookies or beer or something.”

Derek smiles. “I’m sure they’d love that.” His expression turns contemplative. “Maybe we could head out to Oregon sometime to visit. What do you think?”

As the topic shifts to more pleasant things, I feel my body relaxing. I lean against Derek and rest my head on his shoulder. “I’d really like that. When would you want to go?”

Derek presses a kiss to the top of my head. “I’ll call Indy, see what their schedule looks like. Maybe we can plan something before winter.”

His hand moves up and down my my back in a soothing motion. “Before winter sounds nice,” I tell him. “I’ve still got ten days of PTO for the year‌. So I could definitely take some for a trip to the West Coast.”

“Speaking of PTO,” he replies, “I was thinking you should take Monday off. Maybe Tuesday, too.”

I turn to look at him. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” His features soften. “You’ve had a rough day. And then flying tomorrow… I think you need some time to decompress. I already talked to my boss, and he said he’d cover my class on Monday. So we could both take the day off, have a lazy day…”

The idea of a day at home with Derek sounds appealing. “What would we do?” I ask.

“Get up late, to start.” His hand moves to my hair, gently stroking. “Have a big, greasy breakfast with lots of bacon. Then we can cuddle on the couch, watch some of your favorite movies…”

“Bridesmaids? AndThirteen Going on Thirty?”

His nose wrinkles in distaste. But I know he secretly likes both movies. He just doesn’t want to admit it. “Yes. If that’s what you want to watch.”

“What else?” I prod.

After a few seconds of thought, he replies, “Lots of snacks. And we can work on your costume for next weekend.” His hand goes up. “I’ll sew, though. You’ll just relax and tell me what to do.”

The mental image of Derek hunched over my pink sewing machine, his brow furrowed with concentration, makes my heart feel all mushy. “That sounds really nice.”