Page 7 of Tell Me Your Desires
Taylor turned. “Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“Yeah. I know.”
The shrill of Jaime’s phone jolted her from her depressing thoughts, and as she reached for it, her partner’s name was flashing on the screen. “Baros!”
“We’ve got another one.”
Jaime duckedunder the crime scene tape, flashing her badge at the uniform on crowd control. She glanced up at the building the parking lot was attached to, her eyes narrowed when she immediately got a sense of the kind of place this was.Another brothel,Jaime thought as a heavy dread sat deep in her stomach. She hated these places… and the stuff that went on in them.
“I thought this shit was illegal,” she grumbled as she stopped behind her partner. Max was currently kneeling next to a body covered with a white sheet.They must have processed the scene.
“We’re not in Reno, Baros,” Max said gruffly. “Brothels are legal here.”
Jaime frowned. Had she been so out of it driving here that she didn’t notice leaving city limits? “Then what the hell are we doing here? Let the local yahoos take care of it.”
“Jaime.”
“No! They don’t deserve to die, but this ain’t our problem.”
Max stood abruptly. “Jesus Christ, Jaime! Show some fucking respect.”
“What? I said they didn’t deserve it. But this is out of our jurisdiction. The body has already been processed. Why are we here?”
“Thevictim,” Max ground out, “hasn’t been processed. They covered it out of decency.”
“So, they fucked up the crime scene?”
Jaime hadn’t expected Max to whirl on her, his hand bunched up in the front of her shirt. Her breath left her in a whoosh when her back smacked the coroner’s van.
“I know what fucking day it is, Jaime, so I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you’re not just being an insensitiveasshole. But just this once. You got your digs in. Now fucking get your mind in the game. We’re here because she’s one of ours.”
Jaime knew she fucked up the moment Max stopped being the mild-mannered partner she was used to being around. She couldn’t blame him. Her lousy attitude, along with this location, caused her to feel and say things that weren’t becoming of a homicide detective. Jaime’s job—no matter where she was—was to stand for the poor souls who couldn’t stand for themselves. It didn’t matter who the victim was. She cleared her throat and wrapped her hand around Max’s wrist.
“Back off, Fraser.” Jaime knew Max was right, but she sure as hell wouldn’t let him get away with treating her like this in front of the uniforms without some pushback.
“You gonna give a shit and do your job?” Max countered, his eyes not so soft and understanding today.
“Yeah. I’m good.” Jaime brushed the wrinkles out of her shirt as soon as Max let go. She lowered her head, giving a fleeting look to those surrounding them. They were all staring, but they returned to their jobs as soon as she lifted her head to look them square in the eye. “What do you mean, she’s one of ours? She’s not in Reno.”
Max jerked his head at the body. “Take a look.”
Jaime hiked her pants and kneeled next to the body, careful not to touch any of the blood surrounding it. That wasn’t an easy feat, considering it looked like most of the victim’s blood wasoutsideof where it should be. With a gloved hand, she gingerly lifted the sheet.
“Fuck.” As with the others, the eyes were missing, and the mouth taped shut.Whorehad been written across the duct tape in blood. If this really was like the others—five in total now—that blood was the victim’s. “Hands?”
“Gone. And she’s naked like the others.”
“Mutilated like the others as well?” Jaime asked as she replaced the sheet and silently apologized for her earlier judgment. Max was right. Sheneededto get her head in the game.
“Yep.”
“She’s young,” Jaime murmured. It was an unnecessary statement to anyone around them, but the reality of it hit Jaime hard. This woman was about the age Taylor was when…
“Twenty-five,” Max provided. “Today is her birthday.”
Jaime’s head snapped up. “What? How did you know that? Do you know her?”
