Page 74 of Tell Me Your Desires
“Well, if you change your mind about having a cot brought in so you can get some sleep, just let Jaya know. She’ll be assigned to Detective Baros during the next shift.”
“Thank you again.” Anya squeezed the hand still holding hers. “And, please, call me Anya.”
“Goodnight, Anya.”
Max placeda cup of coffee on the tray next to Anya. “I, uh…” He cleared his throat. “Thought you could use a pick-me-up.”
Anya ignored him and the cup of coffee despite the enticing aroma of caffeine. Although she wasn’t typically a coffee drinker and preferred tea, being awake for over twenty-four hours was a valid reason to make an exception. Unfortunately, she was too angry and petty to accept Max’s peace offering. Perhaps if he’d brought a bagel as well…
“You can’t hate me any more than I hate myself,” Max responded to Anya’s silence. He walked to Jaime’s bedside and touched her hand gently as though she would shatter with one wrong move. “Any change?”
“You’d know if you’d bothered to visit before now,” Anya answered coldly.
Jaime had been in the hospital for twelve hours, and this was the first time Max had set foot inside the room.
“You think I didn’t want to be here?” Max lowered his head. He muttered something Anya couldn’t quite make out, and then he turned to her. “Believe me, I came here the second I was ableto.” He looked down, evidently noticing the scrubs for the first time. “You’ve been here all night.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
The emotion behind Max’s words was so sincere that Anya felt her anger begin to fade. “I don’t hate you, Max. I’m angry. With you, with myself…with Jaime. None of this should have happened. I could haveinsistedon waiting until I had more time to familiarize myself with the cases. But once again, I allowed my emotions to override my judgment.”
“We all did,” Max conceded. “Jaime was afraid you were the next target. And I was scared that if something happened to you, there would be no coming back from that for Jaime. It was the perfect storm, Anya, and we stepped right into the middle of it.” He gestured to the chair next to Anya, and she nodded. “Why did he shoot her?” He asked as he settled in beside her. “None of those damn files mentioned a gun. We didn’tpreparefor a gun.”
That wasn’t Max asking Anya as a friend. He was asking Dr. Grant to profile the person who had tried to kill his partner. “You’re asking me to guess, Max.”
“Yeah, I am. Because I havenothingelse to go on!”
“Bring me the files!” Anya countered with exasperation. “I have nothing but time now, Max. If you want a thorough profile, bring meeverythingyou have, and I’ll give you one.”
“I-I can’t.”
“Why?”
Max sighed as he slumped down in his chair and rubbed his stubbled face. “I’ve been put on administrative leave pending investigation into my part in how Jaime got shot. The fucking feds took all the files. The case is theirs now. I’m out.”
Shit.Problem number one was that Anya and the FBI obviously had a troubled past, so getting information from them wouldn’t be easy. Problem number two was that Anya had spentyears hiding from her past, only to have it thrust back in her face in the worst way. Especially if the FBI gained access to the videos her stalker supposedly had of her.Unless I solve it first.She nearly scoffed at her lofty goals due to the lack of evidence, and now she had no one with authority to work the case alongside her.
“You were waiting for me to leave the club, right?” Anya asked Max suddenly.
Max frowned. “Yeah.”
“Did you see anyone come out behind me?”
Max sat up, his elbows on his knees, and gave Anya his full attention. He knew exactly what she was doing, and she knew his mind was going right back to every detail of last night.
“No,” he said. “And I waited and watched because I knew Baros was up ahead waiting to tail you.”
“Okay, so if they didn’t follow me out of the parking lot, do you think they put a tracker on my car? Or Jaime’s?”
Max shook his head. “They checked for trackers.” He managed a small smile when Anya gave him a questioning look. “I may be on leave, but I still have friends inside. So does Jaime. No trackers on the cars. But you’ve been at the club for a few years. It could be that they figured out your routes.”
“Maybe,” Anya said, unconvinced. “If that were the case, Jaime would’ve been attacked much sooner than last night.”
Max’s eyebrows rose. “You’re saying this thing between you and Jaime has been going on for some time?”
“We’re both adults, Max. Let’s not play that game.”
