He glanced at the photo, saw the excitement in Sasha’s eyes and the happy flush in her cheeks, and felt an answering hitch in his chest.
Her smile lights up the room.
What the fuck was wrong with him?
More than a little disgusted with himself, Darius made his way to the treadmill, programmed it for interval training, and ran.
“Areyou sure you don’t need my help?”
Sasha smiled to reassure Tommy. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for the ride, Tommy, and thanks for keeping me safe.”
Tommy stood just a little taller, straightened his police baseball-style cap, his dark blond hair ruffled by the wind. “I’m happy to help.”
Sasha had spent the past hour with Esri, going over EMDR, learning some relaxation techniques, and giving the eye movement a try to make sure she felt comfortable with it. She’d felt silly watching the lights move back and forth, but it was the first time she’d talked about the hit-and-run without crying. Esri had told her that was likely more a result of distraction than EMDR.
“It takes time. Just trust the process.”
“Thanks, Esri.”
Sasha slipped out of her coat, let it fall over a chair, then went to get a drink of water and an oxy. She hadn’t taken anything this morning because she’d wanted to be clear-headed for her appointment with Esri. But her ribs and wrist ached unceasingly. She’d just opened the bottle of oxycodone when a knock at the door made her jump out of her skin and sent pills flying everywhere. “Damn it!”
She glanced toward the door, saw Darius waiting there, then looked down at the tablets scattered at her feet. “Come in. It’s unlocked—I think.”
Darius entered wearing a dark navy business suit and blue striped tie. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She held up her left hand to stop him. “Watch where you step. I spilled my oxycodone everywhere.”
She started to kneel to pick them up but made the mistake of bending a little too much. She jerked upright, sucked in a breath at the stabbing pain in her side.
“Are you okay?” Darius helped her stand, his hand holding hers a bit longer than necessary, the warmth of his touch sending sparks of awareness through her.
She nodded, looked into his eyes, and her breath caught in her throat.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
He cleared his throat, let go of her hand. “Go sit down. I’ll take care of this.”
While Sasha walked to the sofa and sat, Darius knelt and picked up the tablets and dropped them back in the bottle. When he’d finished, he brought the bottle to her, together with her glass of water.
Hoping to wean herself off painkillers sooner rather than later, she took only one oxy this time. “Thank you.”
“Sorry again to have startled you.”
Sasha couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. “Please don’t apologize. It’s my fault. I totally overreacted. I—”
“No, you didn’t.” He sat beside her, his gaze soft. “I’ve seen trained federal agents come apart when startled after a major incident. Your nervous system is on high alert—and with good reason. Don’t be hard on yourself, Sasha.”
“Have you ever been through something that shook you up like this—a major incident?” The moment the words were out, she realized she’d been insensitive. She looked away. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I just wondered…”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind you asking.” His gray eyes filled with shadows. “Yes, I have—more than once. It isn’t easy, but you’ll get through it. I know you will.”
For a split second, she thought he was going to take her hand again—or maybe she just hoped he would. But his hand came to rest in his lap, his fingers curled into a fist.
“H-how is the investigation going?”
His expression had become unreadable once again. “I have a couple of questions.”
“Okay.”
