Page 85 of Tell Me Your Desires
“Yes, positive. Especially after the DNA results.”
“Anya, we have all we need to arrest them. You don’t need…”
“You have enough to arrest Sapphyre for Jaime’s shooting, and that’sallyou have. The rest is speculation, and you know it, Kate. She may be a psychopath, but she won’t give up her brother.” Anya folded her arms on the table as she stared Kate down. She was getting overly tired and cranky, but Anya wouldstay awake for another twenty-four hours if it meant talking Kate into doing what needed to be done. Damn. Now she understood how Jaime felt when she was trying to convince Anya about her plan. “My plan will work, Kate.”
“How do you know they’re not halfway across the country by now?”
“They have too much invested in the club to leave. They’re not going to go back to what it was like twenty years ago, when they kidnapped girls to work on the streets or out of hotel rooms. The girls come to them now. Besides, I think Sapphyre is too narcissistic to run. She probably believes she outsmarted me.”
Kate rubbed her eyes, which were becoming red from tiredness. “I’m going to regret this. Anya, I cannot have more deaths on my conscience. Especially yours.”
“Well, I don’t plan to die anytime soon.”
“She has a gun!”
Anya sighed. “We’re both exhausted. Let’s just take a break, rest, and maybe then you’ll be able to see I’m clearly right, just like I was four years ago.”
Kate snorted. “Fine. Should I, um, go back to my hotel?”
“No, the couch is perfectly fine. Or there’s a floating bed out on the back porch. Your choice.” Anya looked at her watch. Visiting hours at the hospital would start in four hours. “Just stay away from my bedroom and don’t call or text me unless it’s an absolute emergency for the next three and a half hours.”
Kate saluted. “Aye, aye, Captain. Wait. A floating bed?”
“Yep. It’s quite comfy and it’s a nice night. You should try it.” Anya pointed in the opposite direction. “The guest bathroom is right through there. You’ll have to share with Derek, but he’s pretty good at putting the seat down, so you should be okay. If I know you, you’ll have extra clothes in that briefcase of yours for those ‘just in case’ moments such as these.”
Kate laughed, but her expression was odd. “It’s funny. I don’t remember you being this… whimsical when we were together. It makes me wonder if you hadn’t found your true self yet or if I somehow blocked it.”
Anya lifted a shoulder. “Maybe a little of both. We were both flawed in the relationship, Kate. Let it go.”
“Right. Hey, um, could I ask one more thing? Out of curiosity, that dominatrix stuff from earlier. Is that what you, uh, practice?”
Anya lifted a brow, curious as to why Kate would bring this up right now. “No. As I said before, Temptress Lilith and Lady A have different opinions on what being a dominatrix means.”
“Lady A?”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
Anya gestured at Kate. “Don’t think about what it was like between us.”
Kate frowned. “Why? And why wasn’t it ever likethat?”
Anya had gotten to the hallway leading to her bedroom as Kate asked that. But since Kate wanted to go there, Anya would lay it out for her. She leaned her shoulder against the wall and crossed her arms. “In sex, you get what you give, Kate.”
Kate’s nostrils flared as she took a sharp breath. “So,Iwas boring.”
“I didn’t say you were boring. I’m saying maybe I wasn’t the right one for you. You never seemed completely comfortable with me. Even now you’re on edge.”
Kate suddenly had the most pensive look on her face. “I suppose that’s true. I mean, no one would be in competition with someone they truly loved, would they?” She frowned again and shook her head. “I genuinely loved you, Anya.”
Anya’s features softened with a smile. “I know. But genuine love and true love aren’t the same, Kate. Get some rest. We have a big day ahead of us.”
“Do you love her?” Kate called out as Anya turned away.
Anya looked back and smiled. “Goodnight, Kate.”
Chapter Thirty
