Brian leaned toward the phone. "I'll be at the shop with Hank and Colby. We can see the cottage from the second floor."
"Good. Tomorrow night. That gives me time to get everything in place and brief my officers." Diaz paused. "Dr. Callahan, if you change your mind?—"
"I won't."
"Alright. I'll call you this afternoon with details. Meeting at the station at four to go over positions."
The line went dead. Tessa looked around the room.
"So we're doing this," Colby said.
"We're doing this."
Brian stood abruptly and walked out the back door. Tessa watched him go, then followed.
She found him on the deck, hands braced on the railing, staring out at the bay. His shoulders were tight, his breathing controlled.
"I know you're scared," she said.
"Scared doesn't cover it."
She moved to stand beside him. "Tell me."
He was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was rough. "Lily was six years old. I held her hand in the ambulance and promised her she'd be okay. And then she wasn't." He turned to look at Tessa. "I can't do that again. I can't be somewhere else while someone I love is in danger."
"I'm not Lily."
"I know."
"I'm a grown woman who's survived seven years of trauma surgery and a stalker and starting over in a town where I didn't know anyone. I can handle this."
"I know that too." He turned to face her fully. "But knowing it doesn't make it easier. The idea of being three blocks away while Carla?—"
"You'll be three blocks away with Hank and Colby and a direct line to Diaz. The second anything goes wrong, you'll be there."
"And if I'm too late?"
"You won't be." She took his face in her hands. "Brian. I need you to trust me."
"I do trust you."
"Then let me do this. Let me take back control of my life."
He closed his eyes. She watched him struggle with it, watched him fight every protective instinct screaming at him to lock her away somewhere safe. When he opened his eyes again, she saw the resignation there. The trust.
"Okay," he said quietly. "But I'm going to be at that shop with my phone in my hand the entire time. Anything feels wrong, you call me."
"I will."
"Promise me."
"I promise."
He pulled her into his arms and held on tight. She pressed her face against his chest, breathing him in.
"I love you," he said into her hair.
"I love you too."
