“Are you kidding? Sheriff Pella is handling that himself.”
Sasha didn’t like that. “That’s not fair. You did the work.”
“That’s okay.” Julia shrugged. “The underlings put in the hours, and the bosses get all the credit. I’m used to it.”
Sasha walked over to her, gave a careful hug. “Thank you, Julia. And thanks for saving Darius’ life.”
“Just doing my job.”
Julia followed them out to Darius’ vehicle and held out her hand, a smile on her face. “I learned a lot from you, Silva. You’re right. I let my prejudice and my emotions cloud my judgment. If it had been up to me, we would have arrested Riggs and Watts for the crime and been done with it.”
Darius shook her hand. “Thanks, Marcs. I learned a lot from you, too.”
She stepped back, looking confused. “Like what?”
He chuckled, opened the door for Sasha. “Like when it’s good to break the rules.”
Julia laughed. “Glad I could help. Now, get out of my town.”
“See you around, Deputy Marcs.” Darius climbed into the driver’s seat, Julia watching as they drove away.
Darius waitedoutside the women’s restroom for Sasha, who’d gone in to check her hair and makeup. It was the first time he’d seen her try to accentuate her appearance, and he understood why. She’d been badly hurt, both physically and emotionally, and she didn’t want it to show.
“Hey, man.” Darcangelo came up behind him. “Congrats on closing this case so quickly.”
“Thanks.” Then Darius got an idea. “Hey, there are a lot of reporters and random bystanders out there. Would you mind playing security for Sasha? She’s been through a rough time. I’d feel better if I knew someone had eyes on the crowd.”
“No problem. Let me see if I can get Hunter to join us.” He pulled out his phone, sent a text message.
“Julian!” Sasha stepped out of the bathroom, smiling when she saw them.
“Hey, there, Sasha.” Darcangelo started to give her a hug, but Darius stopped him.
“Broken ribs.”
“Oh, right.” Darcangelo bumped fists with Sasha instead. “I’m really sorry about what happened. How do you feel?”
“I’m healing, but my ribs still hurt a lot.”
Irving and Pella appeared, heading toward the door, Pella in uniform, Irving in a sports jacket and tie.
Irving saw them, introduced himself to Sasha. “You two ready?”
Darius nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Hunter came around the corner. “I’m here. Hey, Sasha.”
Another bright smile. “Marc!”
“Don’t hug her, Hunter,” Darcangelo warned. “Broken ribs.”
“Right.” Another fist bump. “Glad to see you doing so well.”
They followed Irving and Pella toward the front doors, where they found Kelso waiting for them in a tailored suit and mirrored Ray-Bans.
Kelso introduced himself to Sasha first. “I’m happy we were able to help on this one, Ms. Dillon. We will do our best to see that you get justice.”
Darius could see on Sasha’s face that this touched her.
