“Pizza it is, then.” He stopped beside her service vehicle. “Goodnight, deputy.”
She climbed out, grabbed her gear from the backseat. “Where should we meet tomorrow morning?”
“I’ll let you know.”
With that, he drove back to the Inn, parked, and went up to his room. After a hot shower, he called Knockers and ordered a small pizza. Then he sat down at the desk and let his mind wander through the case. Sometimes, it helped him see things differently as random facts lined up in no particular order.
The SUV passing her and then pulling over, waiting until she’d gone by them to hit her. An angry voice shouting, “Die, bitch!” The man in the passenger seat flipping her off, telling her to suck his dick. Riggs coked up and pretending not to remember where he’d been yesterday.
It’s hard … to breathe.
Ms. Dillon’s terrified blue eyes.
Darius had felt a strange protectiveness toward her in that moment. She’d seemed so young, so afraid, so vulnerable. But Darius would find the sick fuckers who’d done this to her, and he would put them away.
Chapter6
It felt sogood to be home again.
Sasha walked slowly upstairs to her bedroom, Nicole behind her carrying her bag of belongings from the hospital.
Nicole set the bag on the bench at the foot of Sasha’s bed. “I’ll toss the clothes into the laundry. Can I make you a cup of tea?”
“I want a shower first.”
“I’ll help you get set up.” Nicole put the bottle of prescription pain pills on Sasha’s nightstand and hung a clean towel on the towel warmer in her bathroom. Then she took a box out of the bag she was holding and opened it. “This is a plastic cover for your wrist. I think you just slide it on.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you need me to stay just in case?”
“No, thanks. I can manage.”
“I have to leave for work in half an hour. I’ll go down and make tea. Do you want herbal or green?”
“Green.” Caffeine might help Sasha feel more like herself. “Thanks, Nic.”
Nicole left her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.
Sasha took down her ponytail and undressed, tossing the clothes Nicole had brought her onto her bed. Then she picked up the plastic sleeve, which she carefully slid over her right arm to keep her incision dry.
She walked into her bathroom, flicked on the light, and paused at the sight of her reflection. The swelling on her lip had gone down, the bruises on her face now purple. A dark bruise covered her left side where her ribs had been broken. A dressing covered the place where Eric had put in the chest tube to reinflate her lung. There were nicks and scratches on her left shoulder and thigh.
She removed the dressing, met her gaze in the mirror. “Badass.”
That’s what she said, but the sight of her body only drove home how very lucky she was to be alive. And itwasluck. She hadn’t had time to do anything to save herself beyond turning her handlebars toward the forest.
She started the water, stepped under the hot spray, and washed her hair and body, every step tricky because she had to use her left hand. Still, the hot water was soothing, the clean scents of lavender and vanilla comforting. When she rinsed the soap and conditioner away, she let out a sigh.
She dried herself, combed her wet hair, and did her best to dry it with a towel without bending over. When she stepped out of the bathroom, she heard voices downstairs. She struggled to dress, slipping into a clean pair of panties, shorts, and a T-shirt before making her way carefully downstairs.
She found Detective Silva, Julia, and Nicole sitting at her kitchen table. “Hey.”
Detective Silva stood, his gaze meeting hers from across the room. “Ms. Dillon.”
Nicole poured tea into a cup for her and set the pot on the table. “They showed up, so I made a whole pot. I’ve got to go now, but I’ll be back at about eight tonight. You’re due for your next dose of pain pills in an hour.”
“Thanks, Nic.” Sasha lowered herself carefully into a chair. “Have fun.”
