Savior

Chapter 29

-xx-

"Is that any way to greet the man who almost became your father in law?"

Cate clenched a fist away from the man to her left. She narrowed her eyes at the martini glass that sat in front of the once empty seat. She slowly pushed it back towards the bartender's side and folded her hands in her lap. "You and I both know I was never going to marry Cole."

Frederick Hanson shrugged. "That's not what you used to say, Catherine."

She blinked and turned towards the television situated in the corner of the bar area. "I shouldn't be here," she started as she turned her attention back to the man with a glass of Scotch. "I want nothing to do with you, Cole, or your family."

The older man bowed his head. "I wish it didn't have to be like this."

Cate feigned a smile and shook her head. "Like what, Fred?" She cast an annoyed look in his direction and scoffed. "Like you're constantly looking over your shoulder to see if you're being followed?"

Freddy held up a hand. "Please, Catherine."

She shook her head again. "No." The emphasis behind the one word was enough to stop him in his tracks. "You will hear me out." She turned in her seat to face him; her face was a combination of anger and pain. "I refuse to look back anymore. Cole is in my past. He will stay in the past. Do you understand me?"

"Listen here, young lady," he began, and turned towards her. "My son may not make the smartest decisions sometimes, but he loves you. And once upon a time, you loved him too."

Cate pursed her lips, pondering over her next statement. "You're right, I did. I was a stupid child, and once upon a time, I did love your son." She swallowed the growing lump in her throat. "But that is not today."

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Derek stood from the couch and walked towards the knocking on the apartment door. As he opened it, he was surprised to see Jackie standing on the other side of it.

-xx-

"He is ill, Freddy, and he needs your help."

Fred shook his head adamantly. "My boy is fine."

Cate licked her lips and let her shoulders sag. "It's fine to stalk an ex-girlfriend? It's fine to trespass. It's fine to take photos of someone while they're sleeping?"

"You have no proof of that."

-xx-

"Jackie," Derek began, and stepped out of the doorway to let her inside.

"Hey Derek," she offered as she stepped into the apartment. "I hope I'm not intruding on anything. My mom was at the salon today and mentioned she had some of Cate's stuff to drop off. I offered to bring it by on my way home."

Derek crossed his arms as she placed the bag on the table in the kitchen. "Do you know where Cate is?"

-xx-

Cate shook her head. "Of course you don't see it. Cole can never do anything wrong in your eyes." Cate rolled her eyes as the realization crossed her mind. "He has seen you get so many people out of jail, so of course he never expected anything like that could ever happen to him. He learned every trick he knows, how to cover his tracks, from you."

"What are you trying to get at?"

Cate slapped the bar top in anger. "Your son has mental problems, Freddy. He has been stalking me for three years. Why is that okay with you?"

Her eyes flashed in the older man's direction. "Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart."

She laughed. "Flatter myself?" Cate closed her eyes for a second, trying to calm herself down. "Flatter myself. That's cute, Freddy. It's never going to be your son's fault, is it?"

"Why did you leave him, Catherine? He was the best thing that could have ever happened to a girl like you."

-xx-

"I haven't talked to her since this morning, but she said she was going to be here all night."

Derek paced the length of the kitchen. "She said she was meeting you for drinks tonight after you closed the salon."

Jackie could only shrug.

-xx-

Cate bit her lip as her cell phone lit up on the bar in front of her.

"Let me guess," Freddy began, "Lover boy does not know who you are out with."

She fought to keep her composure and not let him see that she was correct. As soon as that phone call went to voicemail, her sister's photo popped up on her screen with another incoming call. "Why do you teach your children such hate?"

The older man seemed taken back by her statement. "I do not appreciate what you're insinuating."

Cate held her hand up to cut him off. "Do you want to know what bothered me the most about what Cole has said in the past few months?" She cocked her head to the side and lifted an eyebrow. "He has a problem because Derek is black." Cate scoffed. "Is that the worst thing about a person? Their skin color? Is that a reason to hate someone?" As Freddy was about to answer her, Cate cut him off. "Or does Cole hate Derek because he will never be half the man that Derek Morgan is?"

-xx-

"Where would she go, Jackie?"

The older Johnson sister shrugged as the call went to voicemail once more. "Where is her laptop?"

Derek pointed to her bag next to the table in the entry way. Jackie fired it up and logged in to her email account. "What is so important about Magnolia that she wouldn't tell me?" he asked as he read over Jackie's shoulder.

Jackie slowly pointed to the e-mail address that the invitation came from.

-xx-

"He is twice the man that this Derek fella will ever be."

Cate licked her lips and shook her head. "Your son is the type of man who will leave the woman he supposedly loves while she is fighting for her life in an operating room."

Her words caused a silence to come over the twosome at the bar. Freddy took a sip of his drink as he had no reply.

"I don't hate him, Fred." Cate blinked away the tears brimmed her eyes. "I could never hate him, but I don't love him." She swallowed the ever growing lump in her throat. "He needs help, and you're the only one he'll listen to."

Fred pursed his lips and turned back to the brunette. "I do apologize that he was not there for you as he should have been."

Cate bowed her head and looked to her folded hands in her lap. "I can blame you until I'm blue in the face, but it won't change him." Cate tightened her grip on her handbag and pushed back from the bar. "I will not hesitate to press charges if he comes near me ever again."

The older Hanson nodded his head. "I will speak with my son."

"Please," she begged. "Get him the help he needs."

He nodded once more as Cate stood from her seat.

She could not get out of the restaurant fast enough. For such a trying day, she thought she held her composure as best as she could, but for right now, she wanted to go home and curl up with the man she loved and let it all out.

Cate grabbed her truck key out of her bag and turned the corner to head into the parking lot. As she lifted her head to unlock her truck, she saw Derek leaning against her SUV with his arms crossed.

She fought to not drop her head or look away from him. She could tell from his expression that he was upset, but she wouldn't go as far to say angry.

"Hi," she squeaked out as she reached the truck.

"Cate," he answered. He didn't budge from the truck at all.

She licked her lips as she stood in front of him. She felt like a school girl standing in front of the principal. "How'd you know where to find me?"

"Your sister found an e-mail on your laptop."

Cate bit her lower lip. "When did you see my sister?"

"She stopped by the apartment to drop some things off that you left at your mothers."

The brunette bowed her head and shifted back and forth. She opened her mouth, but quickly closed it again and nibbled on the inside of her mouth.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She shrugged. "Because I know you'd tell me not to come here."

Derek scoffed and shook his head. "Wouldn't that be the logical thing to do?"

She nodded. "I'm sure most people would agree that it would have been."

Cate looked up at him, her blue eyes showing mixed emotions. "Did it help?"

She nodded again. "I think so." She did feel a weight lift off of her chest, but she had a feeling that Freddy would not be helping his son get the help that he needed. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

She pursed her lips as he pulled her close to him. "I should have run it by you before I decided to go."

"Promise me one thing?" Cate lifted an eyebrow. "Don't lie to me."

She nodded with a smile. "I promise."

Derek placed a kiss to her forehead. "Let's get home."

Cate lifted her head and pushed on to her toes to place a kiss to Derek's lips. "Yes, please."

The taller man wrapped his arms around her waist; it was just enough to hold her close to him. He would never tell her that his gun was hidden away in his truck.

"I love you," she muttered against his chest as she let her shoulders fall. They seemed extremely heavy after the day she had.

"I love you more." The brunette slowly backed away from him. He gave her hand a soft squeeze before reaching for her driver's side door. "C'mon," he said as he opened the door. "There's a bottle of Menage a Trois with your name on it at home."

Cate grinned at the name of her favorite wine. "You know me so well."

He placed his lips to her once more as she situated herself in her seat. Cate started up the truck as Derek closed her door.

She let out a deep breath; she knew deep down that she should have told Derek where she was going, but he seemed to understand why she did what she did. It did not make her feel less guilty, though.

Cate flipped through the radio stations in her truck as she waited for the air conditioning to kick on. She could see that Derek had started his own truck and was starting towards the exit of the parking lot.

The brunette pulled out of her spot and began to drive towards the exit when she stopped the truck in its tracks.

She knew that Bentley any where and the figure standing in the shadow next to it caused the breath to catch in her throat.

She shook the thoughts from her head and turned back towards Derek's truck in front of her. Cate glanced back towards the Bentley to see a smirk in the dim light of the parking lot.

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