The door closed, and suddenly the silence inside the car took over. It was like all the stress they had carried for hours had stayed stuck outside.
Dahlia was the first to let go.
She let out a long, shaky sigh, like a balloon deflating all at once. She collapsed into her seat, arms hanging loose over her knees, completely drained.
"I think," she said, her voice trembling a little, "I just aged ten years in one night."
Victoria, on the other hand, was in another world.
She couldn't sit still. She was almost bouncing on her seat, hands clenched against her chest. Her smile was so huge it had to hurt her cheeks. She looked like a kid who had just hit the jackpot and didn't know what to do with all that excitement.
"Did you see his face?" she asked, talking a little into the air, hands moving. "Did you REALLY see his face when Hector landed on the table?"
"I think we all saw it, ma'am," Dahlia said, a little stunned by the sudden enthusiasm.
Victoria turned to Nash.
