He pulled her close. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Me neither.” Their eyes locked, and even in this darkest of moments, the promise of the future hung between them.

A knock on Izzy’s door late Sunday night made Aiden jump up from the couch.

“We are both on edge right now,” she said.

“This case is making us crazy,” he responded.

“Let me see who it is.” She walked over to the door and groaned when she saw Detective Stewart on the other side, but there was no use in hiding.

She opened the door. “Detective Stewart, what can I do for you?”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.” It wasn’t like Izzy was going to slam the door in the detective’s face. She led her into the kitchen, where Aiden was now standing. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

Detective Stewart shook her head. “No, thanks. I don’t think this will take very long.”

“More questions?” Izzy tried to keep her frustration in check. “We’ll need to have Piper present.”

Detective Stewart lifted her hand. “That won’t be necessary. I’m not here to question you.”

“Then what?”

“There’s been a major development in the case.”

Izzy’s heartbeat thumped. “What happened?”

“Ann Marie Martinez confessed to killing Sergeant Tybee.”

“What?” Ann Marie had been hiding something, but this was much worse than Izzy had expected.

“We questioned her pretty aggressively—the same way we questioned you. At first she stuck to her story, but after a while, she asked for a lawyer, and then we got a confession. Given the violent circumstances and the self-defense claim, the DA has worked out a plea deal.”

“What were the circumstances?”

“It turns out that Ann Marie was viciously beaten and sexually assaulted by Sergeant Tybee a number of times. She was suffering from PTSD and experiencing severe psychological trauma. Even with all of that, she realized that she couldn’t live with herself if she allowed you to take the fall. Given what had happened to her and Sergeant Tybee’s pattern of abuse with other women, yourself included, the DA was willing to cut a generous deal. I wanted to let you know right away.”

Aiden put his arm around Izzy’s shoulders. “You owe Izzy an apology, Detective.”

“No, that’s not necessary,” Izzy responded.

“Actually, it is. We pushed you hard, but we didn’t want to be seen as showing favoritism to a former member of Arlington PD. But I am so sorry about what you had to go through. At least Tybee can’t hurt anyone else.”

“He’ll never see his day in court,” Izzy said. And that part bothered her.

Detective Stewart nodded. “That’s true, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. Can I have a moment alone with you before I go?”

“It’s okay. You can say anything in front of Aiden. He knows everything about this ordeal.”