“Thank you.”
Kelso turned to the rest of them. “This is the order. Sheriff Pella, Chief Irving, Silva, then I’ll speak, and then Ms. Dillon can make her statement.”
“Sounds good.” Darius didn’t miss Darcangelo’s eye roll or the look he exchanged with Hunter. He knew what they were thinking, and it was true. The feds had a way of taking over investigations if there was any chance for publicity. It was inevitable, like gravity. But Kelso deserved props this time.
They walked outside together, Sasha flanked by Darcangelo and Hunter.
Sheriff Pella told reporters about receiving the initial call that Sasha had been hurt and talked a little about her rescue, his deputy’s suspicion that this wasn’t an average hit-and-run, and Marcs’ request for aid from DPD.
Irving kept his remarks brief, talking about Darius’ experience in LA and how important interagency cooperation was before turning the mic over to Darius.
Leaving out Riggs, Darius told reporters how investigators had focused on Kyle Watts until dashcam footage had revealed another unknown suspect. When he reached the point where they had identified Reiter, Kelso took over.
Kelso thanked all of the agencies involved, including the State Department, the Slovak Police Force, and the German Federal Police. Then he talked a bit about the proprietary technology they’d used to find the location of the phone.
Behind him, Darius overheard Darcangelo whisper to Sasha.
“Try not to fall asleep.”
He glanced back, saw Sasha fighting not to laugh.
“Yesterday, the Slovak Police Force took one suspect, an Austrian national, Hans Jakob Reiter, into custody. He was cooperative under questioning by US and Slovak officials. As a result, we were able to issue a second warrant, which led to the arrest in Munich early this morning of Maritza Helena Christine Braun, who was the mastermind of the assault on Ms. Dillon.”
A handful of gasps told Darius that some of the reporters followed sports climbing and knew who Braun was.
Kelso went on. “According to Reiter, the motivation behind the attack was to permanently disable or kill Ms. Dillon so she couldn’t compete in the world championships. In Ms. Dillon’s absence, Braun won the competition.”
Kelso explained a bit about the effort to extradite Reiter and the likelihood that Braun would be tried for her crimes in Germany. “Before I take questions, Ms. Dillon would like to make a statement.”
Sasha’s gaze met Darius’ as she came forward, and he could see she was nervous. But he could also see her strength.
“I’m Sasha Dillon. I’m a competitive sports climber.”
“We love you, Sasha!” someone shouted.
“You’re the greatest!”
Then Sasha started at the beginning, telling the crowd what had happened, sharing the terror of it along with her suffering. “I never could have imagined that the violence of that afternoon was the work of a friend. Maritza and I have climbed together all over the world. We’ve competed against one another, and sometimes she’s performed better than I have. Learning that she conspired to have me disabled or killed…”
Her voice quavered, and her words trailed off. “Learning that my friend conspired to have me disabled or killed hurt far more than any injury. Trophies and gold medals were never my motivation for climbing. But these past two weeks have reminded me that what matters most in life isn’t winning. It’s the friends who are there for you when your world comes crashing down.”
Tears on her cheeks, she thanked Megs, Mitch, Nicole, and the Team. She thanked the doctors and nurses who’d cared for her. She thanked Joe and Rain and the staff at Knockers. Then she thanked the State Department, the FBI, the governments of Slovakia, Austria, and Germany, the Forest County Sheriff’s Department, Deputy Marcs, and, last of all, Darius.
But what she read next wasn’t in the statement Darius had read earlier. “Detective Darius Silva was almost killed trying to bring my attackers to justice. There is no greater sense of duty and no greater love than that. He was prepared to give his life for a stranger, for me. I will always be grateful.”
The crowd exploded with questions as Sasha left the microphone, but Darius barely heard them over the buzzing in his own brain.
No greater love.
Itwaslove.
He was in love with Sasha.
Sasha satin an empty conference room waiting for Darius, who was in a meeting with Kelso. Ignoring the nonstop buzzing of her phone, she uploaded a copy of her statement to her social media. Then she gave in and checked messages.
She had expected this. The moment she’d stepped away from the microphone, people had started blowing up her phone. Akari and Daryna texted her to tell her how sorry they were and ask if she needed help. Elias, too, had sent a message offering his support. Megs and Nic texted her to tell her how well she’d done. Then Scott, her manager, called, outraged not just by the news, but also by the fact that Sasha hadn’t told him the truth about her accident.
“How am I supposed to represent you when you keep me in the dark?”
