Page 73 of Sachie's Hero

“Man, believe me when I say…” Bennet shook his head, “when you know, you know.”

Teller smiled down at Sachie. “Do you know?”

She stared up into his eyes for a long moment and finally nodded.

Teller let out the breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding, gathered her into his arms and held her tightly.

“Yeah, Teller knows,” Bennet said. “Come on. Let’s leave these two alone. I have my person waiting for me at home, and I can’t get there soon enough.”

“Same,” Ingram said as he walked away with the others.

“Our backup is bailing on us,” Teller leaned back and stared down into Sachie’s eyes, his heart full to bursting.

“There’s a penthouse suite with our names on it,” Sachie said. “And I won’t hold you to any commitment if you don’t know what you know.”

He bent to press his lips to hers. “You had me at the point of a butcher knife, all hellfire and grit. Andif that wasn’t enough, the lamp attack sealed it. You’re my person. You’re one hundred percent badass, and you’ll always have my back.”

“And I know you’ll never hurt me, and you’ll protect me when I can’t do it alone.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close. “I never thought I would want to be as close as I want to be with you. You showed me it’s possible in the gentlest way.” She looked up at him. “I’m excited to see where life takes us.”

Teller turned with her in the crook of his arm and firmly fixed in his heart. “First stop is a penthouse.”

EPILOGUE

Two months later...

Sachie stepped out onto the porch of the Parkman ranch house, followed closely by Teller. She grinned at her friend, Kalea. “He did it. Teller managed to change Kai’s diaper all by himself,” she said, turning toward the man she loved with all her heart and holding out her hands. “Want me to take her?”

Teller frowned, his arms tightening gently around the infant. “No way. I earned some snuggle time with the nugget.” He eased into a rocking chair close to the porch swing where Kalea and Hawk had settled.

“Thank you for pulling diaper duty,” Kalea said. “We’re so exhausted from lack of sleep, I don’t know whether I’m coming or going.”

Hawk laughed. “And I thought forty-eight hourson a mission was bad. I’ll be glad when Kai is sleeping through the night.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Sachie assured the new parents. “Teller and I will take the graveyard shift for a couple of nights so you two can catch up on sleep.”

Kalea tipped her head back against Hawk’s shoulder and sighed. “You have no idea what that means to us. I still have to nurse her, but it’ll be nice to have someone bring her to me, then burp and rock her back to sleep when her tummy’s full.” She frowned across at Sachie. “Are you sure you have time to do this?”

Sachie leaned against the porch rail, her gaze on Teller and the baby. “I don’t usually work with patients on the weekend, so I’m all yours.” Her lips twisted. “I do have one online session this evening with one of my patients back on Oahu.”

“I’ll cover with the baby,” Teller quickly volunteered. “She likes her Uncle Teller. See? She’s smiling.”

“Dude.” Hawk chuckled. “At a month old, it’s probably gas.”

Teller cocked an eyebrow at Kai, lying across his knees. “Are you going to let your daddy talk about you like that?”

The baby cooed.

“Exactly.” Teller glanced across at his boss, Hawk. “She says little ladies don’t have gas.”

Kalea glanced across at Sachie. “I thought you passed your patients back to Dr. Janek when you left Oahu.”

“I did. But after all that happened, I gained two online patients.” She smiled. “Luke had talked to Mark about his sessions with me. Despite the fact his twin had committed suicide in front of me, Mark wanted me to help him through the aftermath of losing the twin he never knew he had until it was too late. Plus, he wanted guidance on moving forward after finally being free of the pressure Roland put on him to deal drugs.”

Kalea shook her head. “How could someone who was sworn to protect, honor and serve on the police force hold so many people in fear?”

“Roland was in the perfect position, unfortunately,” Sachie said. “A trusted community servant and a volunteer at the Boys’ Club. As an outsider looking in, I never suspected him—and neither did anyone else.”

“Well, he’ll be behind bars along with Travis Finkel,” Hawk said. “Who’s the other patient you’re seeing as a result of all that happened, if you don’t mind sharing?”

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