Page 43 of Conner

She gave a rough chuckle. “I’m trying to be, but I hate this.”

“Understandable. You know we have your back.”

“I do know that, and it's the only thing that is keeping me here and not hightailing it back to hide at my sister's house again.”

“This has happened before?”

“Yeah, I thought he was gone, but it would appear he followed me.”

“At least this time you have a team full of brute force behind you.”

She just nodded and looked out the window. Cash just let her be and she was glad. She was scared, but then she was embarrassed and angry that she was put in this situation. As much as she didn't want to rock the boat at her new job, she couldn't do it on her own.

They pulled into Conner's driveway. Conner pulled in behind them, pulling her car into the garage next to his. Her and Cash got out and Conner joined them to bring in her stuff. They took it all up to Conner's guest room where she would be staying until this was all figured out.

Sasha sat on the bed as Cash left, giving them some space. Conner turned and looked at her. She released a shaky breath.

“How are you?” he asked.

“Honestly, not great.” He walked over and cupped her face. She leaned into his hand as he smiled down at her.

“You're safe here.”

She nodded. She did feel safe here, but this was a lot.

“I’ll let you settle in. I need to go talk to Cash real quick.” She nodded and he leaned in and kissed the top of her head before heading into the hallway. She fell back on the bed. This is not how she imagined the day after the biggest event of the year going, but here she was.

25

Conner

Conner made his way back into the kitchen where Cash leaned up against the counter waiting for him.

“What did the note say?” Cash asked him. Conner handed it to him. It was a simple handwritten note.

Where'd you go?

- P.

“What's the plan?” Cash asked.

“We follow her lead. I want her to go to the organization and let them handle this. They can get the police involved and track this guy down. There is a part of me that wants to go vigilante and find him myself, but I know that's not the right thing to do.”

“It’s tempting though, isn't it?”

Conner nodded. “Thanks for helping with this. I just wanted another set of eyes on her that I trust.”

“You got it, man. What's up with you guys?”

“I’m not sure yet, but she's pretty amazing.”

“That she is. Do you need anything else? I have some stuff to finish up today before we start the playoff push tomorrow.”

“No, I think we’re just going to be here for the rest of the day. I'll see you at practice tomorrow.”

Cash nodded. “Later,” he said as he made his way to the door.

Conner went to the couch and collapsed. This whole situation was fucked. He wanted to go upstairs and find Sasha and hold her and never let her go, but he thought she might need space to digest all of what was happening. As long as he knew she was safe, he would let her have that space. And she probably needed it, because she was about to be sick of him until all this was over. He wasn't kidding before; he was where she was until this was all sorted.

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