A/N: I have a longer chapter for you this time, hope you like it. Thanks once again for all the reviews/follows/favorites for this story. :-)

Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.

Teresa lay wide awake in bed that night, sleep did not come to her as she wrestled with her conscience. She had began to doubt the whole plan. When she first found out that her family's life could be in danger all she wanted was for the person responsible to pay but now that she had had time to think about it, the cop in her was telling her that this was all a mistake and that she should just find another way to deal with it. She listened to the movements outside her room as he walked around. Patrick had been kind to her that evening and although she believed he would not hurt her, she knew that he was still an unknown quantity in this endeavor. She knew so little about him but was convinced that he was unstable. He had killed before, of that she was certain; his reputation for violence was well known amongst the members of the gang she had been investigating while undercover. She also knew that when he found whoever was responsible they would suffer the same fate.

By the time four o'clock came round she decided she couldn't go through with it. She silently got out of bed, and quickly got dressed. She noticed that Patrick had stopped moving about the place approximately an hour ago and so she assumed that he had gone to sleep, so now would be the perfect time for her to leave. Just as she was about to open the door a thought occurred to her. She walked back over to the small dresser and began to search for a some paper and a pen but after searching every drawer she found nothing. She realised that he probably wouldn't care whether she explained herself or not but somehow she felt that she owed him an explanation, and to thank him for wanting to help her. She felt that somewhere deep inside him there was still a decent human being. She moved over the nightstand and searched the small drawer there. She found no paper but her eyes caught on something else. She stopped her rummaging and carefully took the object out and held in gently in her hands. She realised then that it was a small heart shaped silver locket, like the kind a child would wear. She stared at it for a moment, wondering why a man like him would have such a thing. Her fingers moved over to the front of the locket, readying themselves to open it but she paused, considering whether she should do it; this man had a right to his privacy after all, but curiosity got the better of her and she opened the little trinket. The picture that was inside left her with even more questions - it was of a woman with red, wavy hair. Teresa quickly closed the locket and put it back exactly where she had found it, not wanting to know anymore about this man. She should not have come back to him in the first place, he was trouble, she kept reminding herself as she closed the nightstand drawer, switched off the lamp and quietly opened the bedroom door.

She poked her head out a little, checking if the coast was clear, and then slowly made her way down the small corridor and into the living room, making sure not to make any kind of noise as she passed the door to his bedroom. Once in living room she stopped, listening for any movement. She didn't want to risk turning the light on so she carefully navigated her way passed the fireplace and the couch but once she had reached the reached the point where the open-plan kitchen began something stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Can't sleep Teresa?" came Patrick's seemingly disembodied voice.

Teresa scanned the room in an attempt to locate him but it was so dark. "Patrick?" she asked, her voice quiet, uncertain. She heard movement from the couch and she focused her eyes in that direction and thought she could vaguely make out the shape of his head as he sat up to face her.

"You going somewhere?" he asked, his voice low, husky from sleep.

Teresa swallowed, partly due to being taken off guard but also because he sounded so sexy in that moment. Her heart began to race for multiple reasons and she found herself taking a deep breath before replying. "I..err..I was just going to get some water," she began. "Fried food always makes me thirsty." As her eyes began to adjust to the darkness she could see the outline of his face and the way the faint glow of the moonlight outside made his eyes appear to shine in the darkness. At that moment Patrick got off the couch and turned the lights on, causing Teresa to blink. He then walked into the kitchen and opened the faucet, filling two glasses of water. He brought one over to her and gestured for her to sit back down on the couch with him. She reluctantly obliged. "I thought you were asleep, I didn't mean to wake you."

He took a sip of the water and then put the glass down onto the coffee table in front of him. "Well at least that part's true," He said, his eyes searching her face.

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

He paused a beat before saying, "You wouldn't have been trying to bail on me, now would you?"

"No," she said but the smile on his face told her that he didn't believe her.

"Don't lie to me Teresa." He told her.

"I'm not lying."

"You're fully dressed, down to your jacket, you have your shoes on and you say you were only going to get some water…" He put his arm around the back of the sofa while turning round to face her.

"It's cold in here."

"You're having second thoughts?" he asked and her silence confirmed his suspicions. "Teresa, look at me."

Her eyes met his but she instantly looked away again and toward the floor. He moved closer to her, his hand went to her face, cupping her cheek as he turned her toward him once more. "You're scared."

"Well off course I'm scared!" she did her best to sound annoyed but the slight quiver in her voice gave her away. "I know how you operate, how you deal with these things."

"Isn't that why you came to me in the first place?" he asked, his thumb now caressing the side of her face.

"I thought it was what I wanted, but…"

"But now you're changing your mind?" She nodded. "You do know it's too late. You shook on it."

"But we haven't done anything yet." She argued, "What's to stop me from walking out of here right now?"

Patrick moved his had from her face and lower, toward her neck, resting it on her pulse point. She was acting calm and in control but he felt her racing pulse and smiled inwardly.

"I think we both know you won't do that." He told her, his voice had taken on an eerie calm tone as he looked at her.

Teresa could feel his hand tighten a little around her neck. To anyone else this would have been a very threatening gesture but in the time she had gotten to know this man she knew he was only trying to frighten her and so she held his gaze. "You sound pretty confident about that." She told him as she slowly moved her hand toward her gun but he spotted it and tightened his grip a little more, she could feel the pressure on her throat now.

"Oh I am. You and I both know that this is what you want. You can try and deny it all you want Teresa but eventually you'll come back to me again and next time I'll double the price."

"Why?" she whispered.

"Because I don't like being messed around with my dear." He saw her draw her gun but he wasn't worried, he watched in silent amusement as she pointed it in his face.

"Let go of me!" she demanded.

Patrick laughed, "What's wrong Teresa?" He asked, still keeping his voice low. "I thought you wanted me to touch you."

Teresa didn't waver, still pointing the gun at him she said, "This is not my idea of foreplay."

"You weren't complaining that day in the barn; gave me the impression you liked it rough. Couldn't keep the smile off your face."

"Off course I was smiling; I kicked your ass. You may be a professional liar Patrick but you fight like a girl. Now let me go!"

"Are you going to shoot me Teresa?" He mocked, "You know I'm the only person who can help you. What if this person tries to kill your brother again? Will you go to the cops? You know they'll find out about how you screwed up and then what will happen to you?" he let go of her throat and sat back into the cushions, putting his finger on his lower lip, feigning thought. "Probably get demoted, your reputation will be damaged, for a very long time, severely hurt your career prospects. Not to mention the damage it will cause to you personally. A person like you, the job is everything." He laughed.

"At least my conscience will be clear, and we'll find whoever's doing this and put them away."

He shook his head, "But that's not good enough, is it? I know how you're feeling right now." He said, his voice had taken on a soothing quality and Teresa found herself getting distracted by it but before she realised her mistake, Patrick had grabbed the gun from her hand and had pulled her into his grip, his left arm holding her close to his body, her back pressed tightly against his chest. He moved his face toward her ear, his warm breath washing over the left side of her face as he softly spoke, "your head is telling you to run, but you heart…" he moved his hand towards her left breast, resting it over her heart. "Your heart is out for blood. You want whoever is doing this to be found and punished. They need to be stopped, permanently. Vengeance must be served." He could feel her breathing speed up and her body grow warmer. "You can feel it, can't you Teresa, it's there deep inside you, primal, pure and true. It's like a hunger; it must be satisfied."

"I'm not a killer." She protested, trying to break free of his grip.

"You're a cop, you've killed before?" He questioned.

"That's different." She protested.

"No," he whispered, "it's just the same. You stop the bad guys, and that's what we're going to do Teresa, take one more bad guy off the streets."

Teresa finally broke free of his grip and stood up, facing him, her face bright red. "You're a crazy son of a bitch!"

He smiled, "Perhaps, but you know I'm right." He too stood up. "Drink your water and then meet me in the car, we'll set off for Hernandez's place."

She looked at him, startled. "Now?"

"She leaves the house every morning at six. We need to be there before that."

"And what are we going to do when we get there?" she asked, her turn to be amused. "Are we just going to go into her house and question her?"

He looked at her, expression serious. "You're going to talk to her." He said.

"Me?"

"Pretend you want to catch up on old times, I don't care as long as it gets us through the door."

"And then what?" she asked, not liking the plan at all.

"You'll tell her that you've got the feeling like someone is watching you, see how she reacts. If she is the one, I'll know." He assured her. "And if she isn't we'll say our goodbyes and be on our way."

She looked at him skeptically but he had run out of patience. "Teresa, just trust me. Go wait in the car, I'll be right out."

She raised her eyebrows, "Give me back my gun and I will."

"No not yet. You'll get it back when this is over. Now go!"

Teresa felt the stress increasingly build all the way to Gabriela Hernandez's house. She was used to being in control but now she found herself in a situation where control was constantly out of her reach. Neither of them had said much to the other and the journey proceeded in silence which Teresa found reassuring. It seemed the more she spoke to him the worse the situation became.

Once they arrived at their destination they both got out of the car. "You first," Patrick instructed as they walked up to the house. Teresa rang the doorbell but there was no answer.

"Maybe she's gone out already?" she suggested but Patrick shook his head.

"It's only five forty-five. She's in, ring it again."

Teresa tried the doorbell once more and sure enough, a moment later Gabriela Hernandez answered the door.

"Gabriela!" Teresa greeted, putting on her best fake cheer.

"Jessica?" she asked, uncertain.

"Yes," Teresa confirmed the name she had used whilst undercover. "It's me."

Hernandez too put on a fake smile, "What are you doing here Jessica?" Her eyes then moved to Patrick who was standing right beside her and her smile transformed into a frown of concern.

"I just thought I'd stop by, catch up, you know. Haven't seen you in a while, just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Hernandez gestured toward Patrick with her head. "What's he doing here?"

Patrick put on his most charming voice, "Her car broke down near Megan's diner, I was driving past when I saw her, offered to give her a ride."

"That's very generous of you," Hernandez said, her tone laced with suspicion.

"Can we come in? It's kinda cold out here?" Teresa asked and Hernandez let them inside.

She led them to a small living room where they all sat down.

"So, how are you doing?" Teresa began. "You look tired."

"Haven't been sleeping so good." She said. Teresa observed the bottle of sleeping pills on the table. "Why have you decided to come here so early Jessica? I mean I'm glad to see you," she lied, "but I have to go to work soon."

"I had to see you Gabriela, I needed to talk and you're one of the few people I trust."

Hernandez nodded for her to continue. "Ever since the cops arrested Vince I've got the feeling I'm being watched, you know? It's scary, I thought someone followed me home the other night."

Patrick watched Hernandez's face as Teresa spoke to her.

"You think whoever took down Vince is after you?" she asked.

"I don't know, I think so." Teresa said.

Something flashed across Hernandez's face then, as if a thought had just occurred to her. "You and Vince were close, he told you things."

"Yes," Teresa admitted hesitantly, not knowing what she was getting at.

"Like maybe he told you about his stash that he kept hidden?" she suggested but Teresa shook her head.

"He didn't tell me anything about a hidden stash."

"You seem a little agitated, what's wrong?" Patrick asked.

She gave him a look of disdain, "Nothing!" she told him.

Patrick nudged Teresa with his arm, "Jess, I think we should be going." He stood up to leave. Teresa looked at him and saw the slight shake of his head, indicating that he thought she was innocent.

"You're going already?" Hernandez asked, confused.

"Yes, you're right Gabriela, it is too early for a visit, I'm sorry I should come back another time. I guess I let this paranoia get the better of me." Teresa explained.

"Wait, you don't have to rush off, stay and have some tea."

"We have to get going." Patrick added as he put his hand on the small of Teresa's back and gently pushed her towards the door. Teresa wondered why he was in such a hurry to leave and as they turned and began to walk towards the door she got her answer.

"Stop!" Hernandez commanded and as they turned around they saw that she was holding a gun.

"Gabriela, what's going on?" Teresa asked.

Hernandez was about to answer but Patrick drew the gun he took from Teresa and fired at her, or at least tried to; but nothing happened. Hernandez reacted quickly and fired at Patrick, the impact of the shot sending him hurtling to the floor. Teresa gasped in shock as she stared down at his unmoving form but was relieved to see that he was still breathing.

"Now you're gonna tell me where Vince keeps his stash." Hernandez told her.

"Gabriela," Teresa began trying to calm her down, "I told you, I don't know. He never told me anything about that."

"Liar," she replied, "I know you and him were real cosy, he trusted you he would have told you, and now you're gonna tell me or he dies!"