I stood at the back of the police station, secretly having a conversation with Derek, who was locked inside a jail cell, framed for murder.

"What do you have?" I asked.

"They're moving all the Katashi evidence into Federal Lockup," Derek answered. "By armored car tonight."

"I'll tell the others," I told him. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. Keep yourself out of trouble."

"As long as you stop thinking you have control over me while rotting in a cell next to Argent for a crime you didn't do." I scoffed, shaking my head. "But we both know neither of those are gonna happen."

"Yeah," Derek said with a sigh. "What about you? You have anything to tell me?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, hesitating a second before I went on. "I need to tell you what happened the other night, and what I'm gonna do after what happened."

Then I told him what I was planning on doing.

*

But I had to go to the Argents' apartment now.

I stood walked inside with Scott and the twins as I told them, "Derek said that all the Katashi evidence is being moved to Federal Lockup by armored car tonight. Probably within the next few hours."

"We're gonna rob an armored car?" Ethan asked.

"Well, we're gonna try," Lydia said at the end of the hall.

*

"This is a really bad plan," Scott said.

"It's not that bad," Lydia said.

"It's not that good," I said.

"None of us knows the route they're going to take," Lydia started to explain. "If Allison can get one of her dad's GPS trackers on the armored car, then we can follow it."

Pointing at a mark on the map on the desk, Allison said, "So when it gets here--"

"We attack them," Aiden said.

Lydia faced him as I leaned forward against the desk. "No. Your bikes will be in the middle of the road looking like you guys got into an accident. And when the driver gets out to help--"

"We attack them," Aiden repeated.

"No," Lydia and Allison said at the same time I said in annoyance, "No, you idiot."

I said alone, "You'll distract him. And Scott will break open the back door."

"I hope," Scott said.

Lydia looked at Ethan. "And you'll get his finger."

"It's not his actual finger, is it?" Ethan asked.

"You are so out of our league."

"Why aren't we just going to Stilinski for help?"

"Because if he gets caught, then it's the sheriff tampering with federal evidence," Scott answered.

"Guys, this is going to work," Allison said. "We can do this. We're losing Stiles. My dad is in jail for murder." I looked to the side, and she revised, "My dad and your brother. We need to do this."

Yeah, we needed to do this, but could we actually do it?

*

I exhaled, in Scott's house and walking toward the door as he followed me.

I was about to open the door when Scott asked, "Is it true?"

I stopped, looking down at my hand on the door handle, knowing exactly what he was asking, but I pretended I didn't. "Is what true?"

"About you leaving."

Exhaling, I let go of the door handle, turning toward Scott. "Derek told you."

"Yeah," Scott answered. "So is it true?"

I didn't answer, walking slowly past him, and he turned after me, but I didn't turn to face him yet.

"Is this about what happened the other night during or after the fight?" Scott asked.

I nodded, turning to face him finally. "The oni, trying to save Stiles, Stiles nearly killing us . . . It's because you got distracted with my safety, my life, and I got distracted with yours." I slowly shook my head. "That can't happen again."

"So . . . what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that this could have gotten one of us killed. Or both."

"This?" Scott repeated. "You mean . . .us? Whatever we are?"

I nodded slowly. "We can't be distracted with each other's safety and expect no one to get hurt or killed."

"Tara, what are you saying?" Scott asked as he put his helmet on the table, taking a few steps forward. "You can't leave."

"Yes, I can. I'm leaving, Scott. After Derek's out, and Stiles is safe . . . After all of this is settled and over . . . I'm leaving town."

"No, you can't," Scott repeated in a slightly pleading voice, taking another step forward. "You just got back."

"If I don't, then who do you think will be the first to die?"

Silence followed. Scott knew I was right.

Then finally, he asked, "Where are you even going to go?"

"Back with Cora, maybe. I've been to South America once, and that was to take her back."

"Yeah, and Derek said when you went down there, you all were caught and tortured," Scott said. "I guess being electrified wasn't the worst birthday present if you want to go back." I looked away. Why did Derek tell him that? Why did Derek tell him anything? "You can't go back."

I looked back at him. "What else am I supposed to do?"

"Stay. Fight."

"We almost got killed the other night, Scott. What part of that don't you understand?"

"So is that the real reason you're leaving? To protect me? Or to run away again?"

I looked away, exhaling, not answering.

The real reason, the part that got to me the most was that when I saw Scott hurt, it brought back everything I had seen--all the people that had been hurt, and all of my family I had to see killed or find their body. And it was a sign to not get close to Scott, and the only way to do that was to leave.

He knew the answer behind the silence. "I thought so." He reached down to take my hands in his. I looked down, and he let go. "Just say, please. We need help. We can't do this without you."

"'We'?" I repeated, looking up. "Or you?"

"Both," Scott answered without hesitation.

I slowly started to shake my head, not looking at him. "Scott . . ."

"Just stay. Please "

"Why?" I asked, looking back at him. "The next time this happens, it could get you killed. We're not together, so I don't know why you feel like you have to protect me."

Scott looked . . . numb. "You're right. We're not. You push people away too much for that to happen."

Ouch, I thought, looking away.

Scott closed his eyes in guilt, like he had just realized what he had just said. "Oh, God. I'm so stupid. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," I said. "You're right. I do push people away too much, because that's what kept me alive this long."

"That's also what nearly got you killed several times," Scott pointed out. "But I still shouldn't have said it."

"I'm not hurt. I don't get hurt."

"No, you just pretend you don't get hurt. Just like you pretend you're never afraid." I looked up at him, my eyebrows slightly furrowed. "That's what's the real problem of this is, isn't it? You're afraid that if you let someone in, everything you've done, everything you did to build this wall around you to keep them out just . . . crumbles."

I didn't answer, looking down from his face as I realized he was right.

He took my hands again, and this time I didn't stop him. "And I feel like I have to protect you because you've been hurt way too many times."

I looked up again. "I can take care of myself."

"I know that," Scott said softly, even closer than I had realized he had been, closer than he had been a second ago. "But sometimes you need help and you don't even know it."

Both of us fell in silence as Scott's gaze slipped down to my lips, and I didn't even try to stop him as he came closer, almost like I couldn't move.

My eyes drifted closed by their own choice as his lips barely brushed against mine.

And before it could go further, there was a knock on the door.

We both pulled back, startled back to reality as we looked at Kira through the screen, and Scott exhaled as he looked back at me, his hands letting go of mine as he went to open the door.

When he let her in and asked, "What are you doing here?" they both looked toward me, but I was already gone.

What the hell just happened?

*

I watched from a far, no one knowing I was there at the station by the armored car as Scott told the man, "We need that finger."

The man looked from him to Allison with her crossbow. Wasn't his name Kincaid? "Why should I give it to you?"

"There's a briefcase in there with $150,000 in it," Allison answered.

"The scroll inside this prosthetic finger is worth 3,000,000."

"Give me the finger," Scott told Kincaid. Well . . . he'd better clarify that. "You know what I mean."

I watched as Kira jumped off of the armored car, onto Kincaid's back until he flipped her off and into a wall as he shifted.

His eyes were blue.

"I guess negotiations are over."

He growled before the fight started.

*

Kincaid took out an arrow that Allison had shot him with, Kira swinging an arm toward him before he gripped her throat, growling as he pushed her to a wall.

He back-handed Allison into another wall.

Scott stood, shifted, punching Kincaid's head to the side, barely even able to do so, and then he did again with the opposite side. Then he punched his gut, trying to punch with his left arm. Kincaid caught his left arm. Scott tried to punch him with his right arm, Kincaid caught his right arm. Kincaid head-butted him back, punching his gut, then elbowing his back to force him to the ground.

Maybe I should stay, I thought. To teach Scott how to control and tap into his Alpha strength.

But would that get someone killed?

Or was my mind just subconsciously trying to find an excuse to stay?

Kincaid knelt next to Scott. "You have the eyes of an Alpha. But where's the strength?"

"Behind you," I said from on top of the armored car behind them, and Scott looked up toward me as Kincaid turned toward me as I growled at him, my own eyes glowing blue.

I jumped toward him, grabbing his head, pulling him toward the ground.

Kincaid looked behind me and above my head as I heard Aiden say, "And up here."

Both he and Ethan growled as they jumped over the balcony railing, Aiden slashing him away.

Kincaid stood, pushing Ethan into a wall as I kicked up with both legs to get him away from me, kicking him into the wall, and as he turned to slash toward me, I rolled underneath and away as the twins pushed him into the wall, and didn't stop in harming him as I slowly stood, looking down at Scott next to me because I had felt his gaze on me.

*

Scott looked away from me and toward the twins. "Stop. Ethan, Aiden."

Lydia ran forward. "Stop!"

"You want him to come after us?" Aiden demanded as they finally stopped, Kincaid on his knees in front of us.

"Scott, we've seen guys like this," Ethan said. "Trust us, he's dangerous."

"So are we," Scott said as he stood. "He looks smart enough to remember that." He reached into Kincaid's jacket pocket and pulled out the silver prosthetic finger, pouring the miniature scroll onto his palm. "We're here to save a life. Not end one."

He dropped the finger as he went to Deaton to figure out how to save Stiles and the rest of us tried to figure out everything else.