Page 52 of Taken from Her
Diana's jaw tightened. "They know that targeting you gets to me." She reached for her phone. "Morgan, I need you in my office. Priority evidence analysis."
While they waited, Diana moved to the window overlooking downtown Phoenix Ridge. Lavender watched her, seeing the tension in her shoulders.
"You're scared," Lavender said.
Diana turned, something vulnerable flickering across her features before her professional composure reasserted itself."I'm angry. Someone threatening you is threatening everything that matters to me."
A few minutes later, Detective Morgan Rivers knocked and entered the room, laptop bag slung over her shoulder. She nodded to Lavender with professional courtesy before focusing on Diana.
"What do we have, Chief?"
Diana handed over the evidence. "A threatening message was sent to Lavender's houseboat this morning. Professional quality suggests an organized retaliation for stumbling into yesterday's operation."
Morgan examined the message, her technical mind already working. "I can run analysis on the paper stock, printing methods, and maybe get DNA from the envelope. The timeline suggests this was prepared quickly after what happened yesterday."
"Or it was prepared in advance," Diana said. "Someone who anticipated that we'd get close and wanted to be ready."
Lavender watched the exchange, seeing Diana command respect and loyalty from her team. But she also saw something else—the weight Diana carried, the burden of keeping everyone safe while knowing that threats could come from anywhere.
"I want a full threat assessment," Diana continued. "Background checks on anyone with connections to yesterday's operation and an analysis of who might have had advance knowledge of our investigation timeline."
"Yes, ma'am. I'll coordinate with the federal task force and see if this fits patterns from their broader investigation."
After Morgan left, Diana sat heavily in her desk chair. The confident chief who'd just issued orders looked suddenly exhausted.
"This is what I was afraid of," Diana said quietly.
"What?"
"That caring about you would compromise my judgment. That I'd make decisions based on protecting you instead of protecting everyone."
Diana’s hands clenched and unclenched, and Lavender moved closer. "Is that what you're doing?"
"I don't know." Diana's honesty was raw, unfiltered. "When I saw that message, my first thought wasn't procedure or protocol. It was getting to you, making sure you were safe, and eliminating whoever dared to threaten you."
"That sounds human, not a compromised response."
Diana’s laugh was bitter. "Being human isn't what this job requires. The community needs me to think clearly and strategically. They need me to protect everyone equally."
Lavender understood then. Diana's walls weren't just about emotional control; they were about the terror of caring so much that you'd sacrifice everything else to protect one person. The isolation of command meant carrying responsibility for everyone while trusting no one enough to share that weight.
"Diana, look at me."
Diana's dark eyes met hers, and Lavender saw fear there. Not of physical danger, but of emotional failure.
"You think caring about me makes you weak," Lavender said. "But yesterday in the forest, when you protected me, were you thinking clearly?"
"Perfectly."
"Were you strategic?"
"Yes."
"Did you get us both out alive while gathering evidence?"
Diana paused. "Yes."
"Then maybe caring doesn't compromise your judgment. Maybe it clarifies it."
