Page 75 of Tell Me Your Desires
“Jaime told me.” Max smiled. “Okay, let’s assumefor nowthat they didn’t know. Logically, that means someonehadto follow us, right? Who did you speak to at the club?”
“Besides Jaime?” Anya thought back to the night before. She’d had one client. Jaime. The rest of the night, she’d avoided being around anyone else as much as possible. But there hadbeen some people she couldn’t avoid. Or people who didn’t avoid her. “Frank, Sapphyre, and Sonny. None of the other girls spoke to me last night. Though that seems to be par for the course since Maisie was killed. I think they’re afraid of me.”
“I wouldn’t take it personally, Anya. Cases like this are hard for everyone.” Max took out his notepad and wrote down the names. “Do you recall seeing any of them before you left?”
Again, Anya took the time to retrace her steps from the night before. “Yes. Frank was talking to a group of young men. The way they were buying drinks, I think he was occupied for a while.” Her brow furrowed as she tried to remember if she had seen Sapphyre before she left. “I believe I saw the light above Sapphyre’s room, which meant she was in session. And Sonny walked me out as usual.”
“Doesn’t help much, does it?” Max scribbled his notes down, then slammed his pen down. “Goddammit! Jaime is going to blow a gasket when she finds out we’ve been kicked from the case.”
“How much trouble is she in?” Anya asked carefully. Did the entire Reno Police Department know that Jaime had gone undercover for a case? Literally.
“None if I can help it. I kept the details of what went on at the club to a minimum. What I told them was that I had approved an unauthorized operation that ultimately went wrong, and I took full responsibility for it. Jaime was simply following my orders.”
“She’s not going to let you take the fall, Max.”
“Yeah, she will. That was the deal.” He looked at Jaime, the pain evident in his eyes. “I owe her that much.”
“Max—”
“A fucking gun.” He redirected his focus back to Anya. “Iwillget you those files.”
“The risk is too great, Detective. If you get caught with those files, the FBI can do much more damage than administrative leave.”
“I don’t care.”
“But I do, and so would Jaime.” Anya stood up and stretched her aching body. It had been a long, restless night spent sitting in a chair, hoping that Jaime would wake up. Anya placed a gentle hand on Jaime’s leg just to feel a connection. “She wouldn’t want you to tank your career for her, Max.”
“With all due respect, Dr. Grant, Jaime wouldn’t survive if anything happened to you. So, she would do whatever it took to put that son of a bitch either in the ground or behind bars. Preferably the former.”
That’s why I’m going to do whatever it takes, Anya vowed silently. “Max…”
“Anastasia.”
Anya froze. As soon as Anya had heard that the FBI was taking over the case, she’d anticipated a visit. She was a witness to a shooting, a former person of interest, and the object of the unsub’s obsession. There was no way to avoid an interview with a special agent. However, Anya did not expectthisspecial agent.
Max stood and blocked the path between Anya and their new visitor. “Can I help you?”
Anya could tell from Max’s posture and tone that he was aware this was the FBI, and he wasn’t pleased about their presence in Jaime’s room. Oh, if he only knew how pissed off Jaime would be if she knew exactlywhoit was. She patted Max’s back in a calming gesture.
“Detective Fraser, this is Special Agent Kate Sullivan,” Anya introduced them to one another.
“So, you’re the one who stole my case?” Max snarled. “Did you come to rub it in my face while I’m visiting my partner in the hospital,Special Agent? We don’t need you here.”
“We didn’t steal your case, Detective.” Kate flipped open the folder she had in her hand. “Six deaths and the attempted murder of a detective with no suspects. And that’s just here in Nevada. I’d say you do need us here.”
“Kate,” Anya warned.
“I’m just stating the facts, Anastasia.”
“Yeah?” Max scoffed. “The facts are there arefivevictims, not six,Special Agent.”
“It’s Special Agent in Charge,” Kate corrected. “And according to ballistics, the gun used to shoot your partner was the same gun used in a cold case three years ago. A,” Kate checked her notes. “Taylor Chamberlain. I don’t know what that says to you, Detective, but it tells me these cases are connected.”
Anya’s hand flew to her mouth as Max sank back into the chair he had just left. “Oh, my god.”
“What…?” Kate began, but Anya was quick to cut her off.
“Kate, give us a minute.”
