“I understand. I’m still fully on board.”

“I figured you would be. Do you have any questions for me?”

She drew a breath, then let it out, all while wondering how trustworthy this man was.

“Maybe I should rephrase,” Raeburn said wryly. “Do you want me to transfer you to Special Agent in Charge Molina so you can ask her questions?”

She smiled at that. “No. I think Molina likes me too much for this. I’ll ask you.”

“I don’t know if that’s flattering or not.”

“Not meant to be flattering, sir. Just honest. If something happens to me, well, I haven’t updated my will since I was discharged. My beneficiary was my husband, but he’s deceased. I signed a letter changing that and mailed it to myself. Please make sure someone checks for it.”

Tom didn’t need the money, so she’d left everything to Dana’s halfway house for survivors of sexual assault. Dana would know how to make best use of whatever Liza left behind.

Raeburn cleared his throat. “You have my word.”

“Thank you. That’s all, sir.”

“Until tomorrow, then.”

He ended the call and Liza went to find her new glasses.

GRANITE BAY, CALIFORNIA

MONDAY, MAY 29, 7:45 P.M.

As soon as the Sokolovs’ garage door lowered, Tom turned off the engine of his SUV and leaned his head on the steering wheel. He hadn’t been so exhausted in a very long time.

He sat in the quiet, Pebbles’s happy panting from the back seat the only sound. He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew, the interior lights of his vehicle were on and Liza was sitting in the passenger seat, lightly squeezing his upper arm.

“Tom?”

He slowly lifted his head to blink at her blearily. “Sorry.”

“Come on. You can have some supper and then a nap.”

“With you?”

“Absolutely.” She turned to the back seat with a sweet smile. “Hello, Pebbles. I missed you.”

Pebbles was wriggling in her harness, trying to get to her favorite person.

“You had to come back to me,” Tom said. “Pebbles would have been inconsolable.”

Liza leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Come on. The kitchen is quiet. Everyone is watching a movie in the living room. You can eat in peace.”

That sounded like heaven.

She released Pebbles from her harness, laughing when the dog licked her face. It was such a joyful sound, he couldn’t find it in him to rebuke her tonight. He grabbed his briefcase and a bag of kibble and followed Liza into the kitchen. She took everything from his hands and set it aside before drawing him into a hug that he hadn’t known he’d needed.

But he had needed it. So damn much.

“Baby, you’re swaying on your feet.” She led him to the table and pushed him into a chair. “What do you want to do first? Food or sleep?”

He patted his knee and she sat on his lap and kissed him. “That’s all I could think about, all the way here,” he murmured.