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“Shh. It’s gonna be okay, Tess. Promise.”
She nodded. She'd have to trust the word of an almost stranger. There was no other choice.
Mason straightened up, his hands running down the crease of his slacks as he knocked his jacket away from his hip. A stray beam from the street lamp glanced off of something metallic at his side. It caught her eye, and then she stared. She only just noticed that he had a gun strapped into a holder on his belt.
And she had to wonder if that was always there.
“I’m going in now. You can stay here in the cruiser and wait,” he offered. “I’ll come get you after I make sure the house is clear.”
“No.” She had to go back in there with him. She had to make sure Maria was safe inside otherwise she would never forgive herself. Besides, she hated the idea of being left alone outside. “I’ll come with you.”
He chucked her chin, a devastating smile at ease on his boyish face. He didn't look the least bit worried.
Tess had to wonder about that.
“That’s my girl,” he said. There was an excited gleam in his eye that matched his grin. “Come on. Let’s go.”
14
The front door was open.
Mason gestured for Tess to stay on the porch as he pushed the door in and peered into the house. Her hands over her mouth, she leaned on her tiptoes, looking around his body, searching for a threat she couldn’t see.
It was impossible. Ophelia was pitch dark. This close, she confirmed that all of the lights were off. It was eerily quiet in there.
“Maria?”
No answer.
Mason glanced behind him at Tess, saw the stark terror on her face, and held up his hand. She nodded, her golden eyes too wide in her lovely face. It took everything he had to turn back and take the step over the threshold.
“Maria? It’s Deputy Walsh. Are you home?”
Nothing.
He slipped his gun out of its holster. The cocking of the trigger as he readied the gun echoed in the foyer.
“Maria?” he called one last time. “I’m coming in.”
He took three steps into the dark room when, suddenly, a light flicked on, momentarily blinding him. Blinking rapidly to get his sight back, he braced himself to shoot, freezing in place as Maria appeared in the doorway.
She had a dishtowel in her wet hands, wiping the soap suds off as she dried them.
“Mase? I thought I heard you—” She caught sight of Mason across the foyer, pointing his gun right at her. The towel slipped from her hand. “Dio mio! What do you think you are doing with that gun?”
The gun clicked as he re-engaged the safety before tucking his firearm back into its holster. “I’m doing a routine wellness check,” he explained. “When you didn’t respond, I got worried.”
Maria’s whole expression darkened. Narrowing her gaze at Mason, she swooped down and picked up the fallen dishtowel. “Lucas,” she snapped before launching into a heated stream of Italian under her breath.
Mason didn’t correct her. Instead, he went out the open door. When he came back a moment later, he had Tess Sullivan with him.
“Tessa?” Maria didn’t think she’d be more surprised if Lucas came by and told her he was remarrying Caitlin. When she left Ophelia, Tess was in the kitchen. The room was empty when she got back, so she assumed her guest was already tucked in for the night. “What in the world—”
“Maria, I’d like to escort Mrs. Sullivan back to her room. Do you think you can shut down the locks for me?”
Maria looked from Mason to Tessa and back. She didn’t know what to say, or what she should do. On the one hand, Lucas warned her not to let anyone else into the house. He’d been very clear on that point, worried that something might happen to her or Tess.
But this wasn’t anyone. This was Mason Walsh. He was one of Caity’s deputies. He didn’t count… did he?
