With Mallory finally focused entirely on us, her back to the door, I saw the first person enter.

Mallory was inches from Len and held the gun straight to her head. I could see the way her finger twitched on the trigger and held my breath as Len closed her eyes.

Before she could pull the trigger, a shot rang out, and Mallory collapsed.

I forced myself toward her, the pain in my leg agonizing, but I was able to still limp.

Len rushed away from her, but I hurried toward her and knelt beside her to check her pulse. By the time my fingers met her neck she was completely gone .

I moved over to Len, who stood shaking and staring at her friend‘s lifeless body. I held her up.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” I asked.

“No, I’m all right,” she said. Each word sounded unsure. Her friend kidnapped her and held her at knife point. That wasn’t something you got over in a day.

I heard the sirens in the background, and Grey gave me a curt nod to head outside to meet them.

“Let me get you out of here,” I said as I wrapped an arm around her, afraid her legs may give out any moment.

I walked outside, and immediately, an EMT met us with a blanket, wrapping it around Len as I slowly let go near the back of an ambulance. I let her go, knowing it was for the best.

Agent Grey was the first to exit the building behind me, meeting my gaze.

Deputies passed by me, heading inside with their guns raised; unbeknownst to them, they didn’t need them anymore. I limped over to the rest of my team, near another ambulance. Some of the agents clapped me on the back while others gave me sad nods.

“You didn’t wait for back up,” Grey noted.

I pulled out my wallet and handed over my badge.

“What is this?” he asked.

“My badge. I didn’t follow orders again. I know my time in the field is done,” I admitted.

Grey stared at the badge, his hands turning it over. “You see that woman over there?” Grey motioned to Len. “If you had waited for us, I doubt she’d be alive. The moment the lab got those results back, you pieced it together, faster than anyone else could have. You built a profile all within moments and knew Len wasn’t safe. You did what anyone else with the same profile would’ve done,” he said.

“Len was a fixation for Mallory. With that attention taken away, she felt betrayed. When Len didn’t appreciate the gifts she offered, she escalated to taking her. If she would’ve denied her what she wanted, Len would’ve been dead.”

“I didn’t wait for back up, the same as I didn’t with Blythe,” I answered.