Page 65 of Conner

“Speaking of giving you a call,” detective Gomez appeared from the back and gave her phone and laptop. “We’ll be combing through the accounts for the next couple days, so just be aware of that, but these are good to go.”

“Thank you,” Sasha said, taking them from him.

Conner was already up and at her side. “Are we all set to go?”

She nodded.

“I’ll be in touch,” said detective Owen.

Conner put his hand on Sasha's back and guided her out the door. He was anxious to get her home where she could relax. When they got to the parking lot he opened the car door for her and watched as she silently got in and slipped her laptop and phone into her work bag. The listless expression on her face gutted him. He had never known a woman quite as graceful and confident as she was, and to see her like this was something he needed to change.

“Do we need to go anywhere else?”

“No, I just want to go home.”

He nodded and drove them home; he was ready for that too. Practice was nothing compared to the energy all this had needed, and she was dealing so much more. He wanted her home and feeling safe and maybe she could unwind a little bit.

By the time they got home it was already after seven.

“Are you hungry?”

She just shook her head. “I think I'm just going to go take a shower.”

“Okay, whatever you need to do.”

But before she went up the stairs she turned and slipped her arms around Conner and held him tightly, and he hugged her right back. “Thank you for being there,” she whispered in his ear.

He just held her and stroked her hair. 'I would do anything for you, I love you,' were the words on his tongue. He knew he’d been developing feelings for her since the first time he saw her, but he didn't know just how deep those feelings were until right now. He silently held her. He would do anything for her.

After a while Sasha turned and headed up the stairs. Conner knew she said she wasn't hungry, but he was also fairly certain she hadn't eaten anything since her bagel at breakfast. While he didn't know her well enough to know her comfort food, he did know her pizza order, so he ordered them a pizza and went down to the basement to get some of his frustration out. The frustration he couldn't unleash on the cops he would unleash now.

After a quick workout, he showered before the pizza came. Then he knocked on Sasha's door.

“Come in,” she said quietly. When he opened the door, she was just sitting on her bed. Her hair was still wet and in black curls falling over her shoulders.

“Hey, I know you said you weren't hungry, but I ordered a pizza if you change your mind.”

“Thanks, I think that sounds good,” she paused for a moment and then continued. “I just texted Hillary, I think I'm going to take tomorrow off.”

“I’ll stay home with you,” he answered back quickly.

“No, you have to go to practice. Playoffs start in a week. You guys have your final home game Thursday night.”

“Sasha, I'm not leaving you here by yourself. No.”

“I was wondering if it would be okay with you if I invited a friend over. We could just have a girl's day, watch movies and eat junk food.”

“I can watch movies and eat junk food,” he protested, really not wanting her out of his sight for that long.

“You can't eat junk food right now, and you have to be at practice.”

“Who is coming over?”

“I was going to invite Evie Masterson, if that is okay with you?”

“You can invite anyone over, but her name sounds familiar.”

“She was at the gala. She teaches figure skating at the local rink, and sometimes she teaches grown women how to stay up on the ice,” she said with a smile. It was the first real smile Conner had seen from her since that picture of her bedroom turned up on her phone. His whole body seemed to relax a bit.

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