Chapter 32
Conner
Conner had been able to distract himself on the ice, but when he saw her sitting out in the stands by herself it all hit him like a ton of bricks. He had told Coach earlier that he might need to duck out. He wasn”t happy, especially since he couldn”t tell him why. But he”d been skating here and for the coach for six years and had been captain for three. Coach trusted him.
He got his pads off as fast as he could and got in the shower. He needed to be with Sasha. She was someone who was put together and he knew being this vulnerable in front of people wasn”t easy for her, he would be there for her.
Once he was cleaned up, he made it into the gathering room, and found her sitting at one of the stools at the counter looking out the window. He snuck in behind her and slid her arms around her waist. She jumped almost completely off the stool and turned. Instant regret flooded him. ”Sorry, I didn”t mean to scare you,” he said as he nuzzled her.
“It”s fine. I”m just a little jumpy.”
“Are you sure you”re not hungry?” he asked.
She just shook her head.
“Okay, I”m gonna grab some lunch.” In this room was a buffet they had for the players, it was full of all kinds of whole grains, proteins, and veggies. Conner made himself a bowl and sat next to Sasha.
“How did talking to Hillary go?”
Sasha sighed. “It was fine, she was understanding. I hate that we’re doing this.”
Conner looked at her, “Is there something you”re not telling me?” he asked.
“I’m nervous. She asked if I had the information from my old accounts because they might want it for a cyber forensic team.”
Conner just nodded and waited for her to continue.
“I’m worried they will say I brought it on myself. That”s why I ran last time. I just don”t want to deal with that.”
“Why would they ever say that?” Conner growled.
“Some of the posts were kind of suggestive. I mean I modeled clothes companies would send me, that included bikinis and lingerie from time to time.”
He looked over at her now with a different look on his face. “Well, I think you should show me first. Just so I can get a better idea about what you”re talking about,” he said with a raised eyebrow. “For strictly protective purposes.”
“You really want to see some of my old accounts. I still have them. They’re just set to private. Soon there will be people pouring over them and all the team”s socials too. I hate it. It feels so invasive.”
He set his fork down and fully turned to Sasha and pulled her into a big hug. He hated that she was going through this. He imagined for someone like Sasha whose job had been about cultivating an image, this would be hard for her. She melted into his embrace, and he would be lying to say it didn”t make his chest swell just a bit. The trust she had in him bolstered him.
“And if you want to show me, of course, I would never say no to looking at pictures of you, but that’s up to you,”
She picked up her phone and pulled up her old account and handed it to him. He felt like this was an important step for them. He wasn”t sure why, but the fact that Sasha was putting her trust in him in so many ways felt nice. But once her phone was in his hand that pride gave way to lust because, damn. He knew Sasha was beautiful. He appreciated all different sides of her, the glamorous side, the cozy at home side, the sexy side they were starting to explore, but he was not prepared for this.
As he scrolled, he stopped on some pictures of her in a bed with some incredible lace number on, he wished he was a better man and he didn”t have an erection, but his dick didn”t care whether now was the time or place. He kept scrolling and there were some of her in dresses, everyday clothes, out in a boat in a red bikini, and some of her out to lunch with friends.
“Sasha, I know it goes without saying, but you’re fucking gorgeous.”
She smiled bashfully and looked away with a sigh.
“What is it, baby?” he asked, placing his hand on her knee.
“I know you think I”m gorgeous, I think so too. I just hate the thought of people digging through all of this, all the DMs, all that stuff. And also, my apartment. I”m sure they will have to go through all my things. It all feels so invasive.”
“I’m sorry, Sasha. How can I best be here for you?”
“Just keep doing what you”re doing? Who would have thought you would be such a comfort after how crazy you drove me just a few weeks ago.”
“I mean I still drive you a little crazy,” he said, bending his head for a kiss. “But just in a much better way.”
The sound of the players coming in off the ice filled the hallway. Sasha sat a little straighter but stayed next to him. Cash came into the room still covered in sweat.
“Everything good? I saw you two take off and I just wanted to check in.”
Sasha smiled at him. For the tough guy exterior the team”s enforcer had on the ice, Cash was one of the best guys she knew.
“Yeah,” she answered. “I told Hillary this morning. There is a big meeting with the security team and some other people in a little bit. Conner is going with me.”
Conner and Cash shared a nod.
“Okay, let me know if you guys need anything,” Cash said.
“Will do,” Conner answered. Cash turned to head into the locker room.
“It”s about to get crowded,” Conner said as he took his dishes to the tubs in the corner. “Let”s get out of here.”
Sasha quietly walked down the hallway next to Conner. He wanted to sweep her up into his arms and take all the worry that was clearly written all over her face away. It was killing him that he couldn’t. He was quickly learning he would do just about anything to make Sasha Maloof smile. But sadly, he couldn”t make this better.
It was just about time to start the meeting. Hillary was already in the conference room along with a couple men Conner had seen around but didn”t actually know.
“Conner, what are you doing here?” asked Hillary.
“I’m just here for moral support,” he said with a hand on Sasha”s shoulder as he sat down next to her.
Sasha still hadn”t said anything, she just got out her laptop and phone. He put his hand on her knee that bounced under the table. He was pleasantly surprised when her knee stilled, and she took that hand.
“Sasha, I’m Brady.” He stuck out his hand to shake her. “Hillary has told me some of what had been happening,” said the man sitting next to Hillary. “We have an officer and cyber forensic specialist coming to help. I won”t ask any questions before they arrive, so you don”t have to tell people more than once.”
Sasha nodded silently beside him. She seemed so small, and it filled Conner with rage. She was a queen and to see her looking like this was hard.
A few minutes later an officer in uniform and two men in suits joined them.
“I’m Detective Owen,” said the man in a suit as he reached out to shake Sasha”s hand and then the other men in the room. “This is officer Malone and this is Detective Gomez. He is the cyber specialist we brought in.” He reached out and shook her hand too.
“I’m Jason Brady,” One of the guys from the Magic said. “I’m in charge of security here at the center for the organization. We do have some protocol to deal with these situations which is why we brought you in.”
“You did the right thing,” he said to Jason. “Now, Sasha. I know this is hard and I”m sorry you”re going through this, but if you could please tell us what is happening and when it all started.”
Conner sat next to her as she recounted everything that happened, her hand holding his tightly the whole time.
“Do you have the note?” he asked when she mentioned it.
“I have the note,” Conner said. “I can bring it wherever we need to bring it. I also took a picture of the car with the rose and the letter.”
“Can you send that to me?”
“Yeah, sure thing.”
“And you say he sent you pictures of the inside of your apartment?”
“Yes,” Sasha said quietly.
“Okay, can we head over and take a look?”
She nodded.
“We’re also going to need to take your laptop and phone to run an analysis on. We can get them back to you tomorrow. You can come down to the station and get them back and we can get the note. Can we go to your apartment now?”
“You need to take my laptop and phone?” Sasha said, her eyes filling with tears.
“Yes, ma”am. I”m sorry, but we’ll be able to run a fill analysis on them there,” said detective Gomez. “I am also going to ask you to write your usernames and passwords here for all the socials he has contacted you on.”
“Is all that necessary?” Conner asked.
“Yes, it is standard and necessary. If you would like to come to the station I can try and run the analysis quickly and you can have them back tonight,” he said.
“If you’d like we can go to your apartment now and then you could bring the note in. Hopefully we can get your devices back by then.”
Sasha just nodded and took the notebook, writing her information. Seeing her wipe a tear from her eye had Conner ready to lose it.
“Does that sound okay to you?” Conner asked, trying to get her to look at him. She met his gaze, eyes brimming with tears. Her lip caught between her teeth as she nodded.
“Okay,” Conner said to the detective. “We’ll go get the note and I’ll bring it to you over at the apartment.”
“Sir, we don”t need you at the crime scene. Ms. Maloof is the only one who needs to be there to let us know if anything is off.”
“I will be accompanying her,” Conner said with a sense of finality as he glared at the man.
“Okay, but you’ll have to stay outside.”
“Fine.”
“We need your address, Ms. Maloof.”
“I wrote it down. It”s in there,” she said gesturing to the notebook she had just written all her personal information in.
“Thank you. I think we have what we need. We’ll meet you at your apartment in thirty minutes.”
“We”ll be there,” Conner said.
The detectives loaded up Sasha”s devices and left. She gave a shuddering breath. Conner fought all his instincts screaming at him to sweep this beautiful woman into his arms and fix all her problems.
Once everyone cleared out they were alone with Hillary and Brady.
“I’m sorry, Sasha. I know that was hard,” Hillary said, offering her a kind smile.
“We need to talk about how to deal with it on our end,” Brady said.
“We’re willing to give you a small leave of absence until this is dealt with,” Hilary said.
“No. I don”t want that. I can keep working.”
“Okay, how do you feel about traveling?” asked Brady.
“I still want to travel.”
“She can stay with me,” Conner cut in. “When I”m on the ice she”s safe with the organization.”
“Is that what you want?” Brady asked Sasha.
She nodded.
“Do you have a safe place to stay now?” he asked.
“She”s staying with me. I have a gate and a good alarm system,” said Conner.
“Okay, all of the works. Our only stipulation is when we travel you stay with the team. No sight-seeing or bars,” said Brady carefully.
“Of course,” Sasha said quickly.
“Is there anything else you need from us?”
She shook her head.
“Okay. There’ll be a lawyer waiting for you at the station,” said Brady as he closed his laptop.
“Sasha,” Hilary said as she reached across the table for her hand. “None of this is your fault. You know that right?”
And once again, Sasha just nodded.
“I think we need to get back to my place to get that note and meet the detective at your apartment,” Conner said standing with her hand still in his.
And once again Sasha didn”t say anything. The broken look on her face gutted him. He kept hold of her hand and guided her out of the conference room.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded again.
He stopped. “Sasha, look at me. Are you okay?”
She finally looked up at him. “Please, just get me out of here.”
“Let”s go.” And at that he led them to his car and started to his house to get the note.