Savior

Chapter 32

-xx-

Cate watched the time change on her cell phone before looking back at the rearview mirror. It was obvious that she had yet to get out of her vehicle, but she tried her best to take her time as she knew her sister would call her father as soon as they walked into the mall.

Dad's on his way.

Her eyes softened at the text message from her sister as she re-read the words. She had received the message almost five minutes ago.

Cate took a deep breath before opening the driver's side door.

She stepped out of the vehicle, but kept her door open purposefully. The brunette turned to face the silver Bentley parked the row behind her.

She pursed her lips as she watched the door open. She tried to swallow the growing lump in her throat, to no avail.

Her blue eyes locked on the vehicle as the seconds passed quickly. Two minutes later, she could see a foot step out of the car.

It seemed like a blur, but within seconds, Cole was standing next to his open car door. "Cat," he purred softly as he stepped towards her.

She kept a keen eye on him, searching him all over. In her mind, it was too hot for the leather jacket he was wearing, but it wasn't the first time she had seen him wear it on a hot day.

"Cole," she replied softly. She could feel her heart beating a million beats per second, but she did her best to keep her expression soft and not intimidating. "Cole, why are you following me?"

"I wanted to see you, baby."

She licked her lips, trying her best to force a simple smile to her lips. He took another step in her direction.

In the years she had spent with him, he had never called her by a pet name, besides Cat, and that was because he knew she hated it. Terms of endearment just weren't Cole Hanson's thing, he would always say. They were petty.

When she noticed he was not looking at her, but rather looking towards the ground, her eyes darted to the highway off-ramp; it was a hill above the parking lot.

Quick breaths helped keep her steady on her feet, though her brain was screaming for her to run away. She knew her father would be here soon, though, and she was hell bent to have him caught.

"You don't need to scare me in order to see me, Cole."

He shook his head, blonde hair spraying over his eyes. She took another glance at the hill hoping to see a few cop cars, but so far – nothing. "You don't answer my calls anymore, Cat. You don't accept my gifts anymore. You moved," he spat. His eyes flashed in her direction. "You're living with that monster."

Cate filled her lungs with a deep breath. "I don't mean to upset you, Cole." She pursed her lips as she found herself glued to her current position.

From the corner of her eye, she could see her phone light up on the driver's seat. A goofy smile filled her screen. "Come back to me, Catherine."

It came out harsher than he seemed to have meant. Cole paced in front of his car, both hands on his head. "Cole, please." He slowly looked up at her and his face fell. He came to a quick stop, and the motion caused his jacket to open up.

Cate took a step back towards her car when she saw the gun on his waistband. "Where are you going, baby?" he asked menacingly and took a step towards her. His hand was on the weapon as she stopped in her tracks. "Like it?" Cole asked as he took it out of the holster. He moved the gun around in his hands as a sick smile crossed his face. "I bought this for you."

The brunette did her best to keep her eyes on the weapon as he played around with it. "Why would you buy something like that for me?" She tried so hard to get his mind off of the gun, and to keep him in the moment with her. She only hoped her conversations with Derek about how to deal with him were going to pay off.

"Well," he began, licking his lips. "I saw what a knife did to that disgusting body of yours." She pursed her lips and did her best to not falter under his gaze. "I wondered what bullets could do."

She felt as though her heart was beating out of her chest at his words. She fought every ounce of herself to not break down.

A squeak passed through her lips as he clicked off the safety lock.

He lifted it and faced Cate directly.

Soft blue eyes gazed at the blonde man in front of her. "Cole, you don't want to do this." The emotion in her voice almost caught him off guard.

"I think I do," he replied. "If you're not coming back to me, I think I do." He cocked the gun to the side tauntingly. "If you're going to stay with that fucking Fed, I think I do want to do this." He laughed. "It's me or him, Cate. It's a very easy decision."

Her head told her to tell Cole the words she knew he wanted, but she knew that wouldn't be enough to get him to put the gun away.

"Do you love me?"

Cole stumbled back at her question. "More than anything, Cat. You know that."

"I don't know that, Cole." She squared her shoulders. "All of this," she waved her hand between the two of them, "this isn't love. This is insanity."

He lowered the gun for a moment. "Love is insanity, Catherine."

Cate shook her head. "Not like this."

She caught red and blue flashing lights from the corner of her eye and sighed. They took the back roads. Assholes. She laughed to herself. "What is this?" Cole yelled as the cars came to a stop on either side of the pair.

"Please, Cole." He looked back in her direction. "Please put the gun down."

He stepped left to right repeatedly; the hand holding the gun was against his head. "No!" he shouted. "Not until you come back to me Cat."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," she pleaded. "I'm sorry."

A lone tear escaped her eye as she watched the man she once loved have a breakdown in the parking lot. "I love you, Cate. How could you do this to me?"

She pursed her lips to keep herself from a breakdown. "I want you to get help, Cole."

It seemed like a blur as two officers tackled Cole to the ground and wrestled the gun away from him. In that moment, Cate's shoulders sagged and her wall crumbled.

Her knees hit the ground as the sobs escaped her mouth. She could not look away from Cole as hard as she tried.

The two locked eyes once more as handcuffs were placed to his wrists. "I'm so sorry, Cole."

It was as if he snapped into a different person. His entire demeanor changed as the officer tightened the cuffs.

The last time she caught his eye, Cole wore a remorseful look on his face. It almost pained her to see it.

Cate felt two strong arms wrap around her shoulders. "I'm here, Catie girl."

She fell into the arms of her father as the sobs kept coming.

It took a few minutes until she was just breathing heavy, her eyes empty of any remaining tears. "It's over, Cate," her father mumbled in her ear. She rested her head against his chest as her breathing slowly returned to normal. "It's all over."

"I'm so sorry," she muttered. Teddy knew it was not directed at him, but at the man in the back of the police car. "I wish I could have just gotten him the help he needed."

"He's going to get it, now," her father reassured her.

Cate rubbed her sweaty palms against her jeans as she counted her breaths. "My phone," she mumbled, "I need my phone."

She could feel her father turn behind her, and before she could realize what he was doing, a female officer handed Cate her cell phone from her truck. She pursed her lips as a thank you.

Cate focused on the photo on her home screen as she calmed herself. She slowly let her mind wander back to their sunset dinner at the beach just days earlier. "He called me, too," her father added.

The brunette could only smirk. "He's the best, Daddy."

Her father grinned before kissing the side of her head. "He is, my girl."

When she finally felt her heart slow down and the beat became more rhythmic than rapid, she pressed on the photo of Derek in her contact list.

"Catie," he crooned on the other end.

"Hi," she muttered. "I love you."

She could hear his sharp intake of breath on the other end. "I love you more than you know." Cate's father stood from his spot behind her. She rested back against the backseat door of her truck and tucked her knees to her chest from her spot on the cement. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there, baby."

Cate smiled softly. "I'm fine."

"I know you're fine," Cate picked up on his upbeat tone, "But, really baby."

The brunette shook her head. "Really, D, I'm good."

"You are the strongest woman I know, Catherine."

She could not contain her laughter at his words. "Yeah, right," she replied. Cate could hear commotion in the background of the phone call, and heard Derek mutter that he'll be with the team in a minute. "Go," she said as she ran her hand up and down her jean covered thigh. "Go fight crime."

"Date night as soon as I get home."

The brunette broke into a bright smile. "I'm holding you to that." His chuckle made her eyes twinkle. "Stay safe, my love."

"Always, angel," he replied as the two hung up.

Teddy Johnson extended a hand to help his daughter off of the ground. He wrapped an arm around her and sighed. "This calls for a celebratory lunch with my girls."

Cate grinned. "Sounds good," she replied as she reached into the truck to grab her purse. "I know one little girl who is going to love that."

-xx-