“Where were you before that?”
“I was near the roundabout at Frank’s filling station. I stopped, filled the tank, took a leak, got some coffee. When I got back into the truck, I put myself back into service, called in my destination, and then headed up the highway.”
Struck by a sudden thought, Darius had to ask. “Do you have to turn off the camera manually, or does it shut off automatically?”
“It’s manual.” Taylor swore, clearly understanding. “It’s my day off. I’ll head into the office and ask them to scroll back.”
Darius closed his laptop. “Text me the address. I’ll meet you there.”
Sasha sat on the sofa,feeling awkward at the sight of Nicole, Megs, and Lexi cleaning her house, Mocha curled up, asleep beside her.
They’d started her laundry, Nicole cleaning the bathrooms, while Megs handled the kitchen and Lexi dusted and vacuumed floors.
“I can probably manage that.”
Lexi lugged the vacuum out of the broom closet. “Like hell you can.”
“I’m guessing you don’t know what ‘rest’ and ‘take it easy’ mean,” Megs said from the kitchen. “Remember when you and I went to clean Hawke’s cabin because he didn’t want Vicki to see what a pig he truly was?”
Sasha couldn’t help but smile. “How could I forget?”
“You stepped up to help rescue a fellow Team member from the embarrassment of his own filth, enabling him to win a wife and reproduce.” Megs wiped down a granite countertop. “This is karma paying you back. No feeling guilty.”
Nicole appeared at the bottom of the stairs. “She’s just cranky. Rose told her that Darius checked out and left Scarlet this morning. She’s been down ever since.”
Megs looked at Sasha with deepened interest. “So, that long face is about our handsome detective?”
“What long face?” Sasha glared at Nicole. “I’m not cranky.”
Nicole laughed. “See what I mean?”
“I believe I do.”
Lexi plugged in the vacuum. “Detective Silva isn’t gone. I got a text from Austin just before I came here, saying that they were at the ranger station going over his dashcam footage together.”
Sasha hated the way those words gave her mood a lift. “That doesn’t mean he’s still staying in town. They probably have a lot more technology in Denver. That’s where their cyber forensics lab is—or whatever they call it.”
The conversation lapsed as Lexi started the vacuum, the sound scaring Mocha.
“It’s okay, sweetie.” Sasha stroked the puppy’s silky head.
It took less than an hour for the three women to get Sasha’s house clean from top to bottom. Then Megs put the leftover lasagna in the oven to reheat and threw together a salad. The four of them sat down for lunch, with Sasha deliberately steering the conversation away from Darius.
“I would be flying out for Bratislava tomorrow.”
Megs reached across the table, squeezed her good hand. “I’m sorry. This sucks.”
“What do you want to do about the championships?” Nicole shook the bottle of Italian dressing, sprinkled it over her salad. “We can’t just be sad about it. Maybe we should have a party. You can cheer on Maritza and your other friends.”
“I had planned to watch, but a party would be nice.” Sasha didn’t want to spend the day feeling sorry for herself.
Megs poked at her salad. “I’m sure we can persuade Joe to move one of those big TVs close to the Team table. We can make sure you’re comfortable and turn it into a celebration.”
“I’d like that.”
“Then I’ll give Joe a call, and we’ll make it happen.”
“Thanks.” Sasha couldn’t feel sad about missing the championships, not when so many people cared. “And thanks for cleaning my house.”
