Jaime peered down at Anya through narrowed eyes. “Has Max been telling you stories?”
Anya smiled and patted Jaime’s tummy lightly. “Youtold me she hated your work. Now, please get back into bed before you fall over. My arms are getting tired.”
“One second.” Jaime dipped her head and kissed Anya with all the pent-up passion and frustration she had been holding onto since Anya had walked out of her room earlier.
“Wow,” Anya managed once she could find her breath again. “Someone found toothpaste.”
Jaime laughed. “Stop making me laugh, it hurts. And Nurse Ratched finally decided my breath was offensive enough to bring me toothpasteandmouthwash.”
Anya shook her head, trying to hide her grin. “Zoe is far from Nurse Ratched.” She slowly guided Jaime back to the bed, taking note of the pain in her eyes and the slowness of her movements. Anya contemplated waiting to tell Jaime about Taylor, but quickly dismissed that idea. Jaime deserved closure and peace regarding Taylor, and Anya wanted to give it to her.
“Yeah, you didn’t hear her threaten me with bodily harm when my body is already harmed.”
“Actually, I did. I was standing at the door listening to you being stubborn. Zoe was well within her rights to subdue you any way she saw fit.” Anya fluffed Jaime’s pillow, frowning when she felt a piece of paper beneath it. “What is this?”
Jaime quickly snatched the paper from Anya’s fingers. “N-nothing.” She sighed when Anya raised a brow. “I wrote some stuff down that I was feeling. It’s a letter to you. But now that you’re here asking about it, I’m a little embarrassed.” She tucked the letter back under her pillow. “Maybe we could circle back to that, yeah?”
The last thing Anya wanted to do was make Jaime feel uncomfortable. Was she curious about what the letter said? Of course. But hounding Jaime about it wouldn’t do her any good. “Okay.”
“Thanks. Now, how long am I supposed to pretend that I haven’t noticed the blood on your shirt?”
Anya looked down and saw the red splatter across the front of her blouse. She hadn’t known it was there, or she would have made a point to change before coming to see Jaime. “It’s not mine.”
“Is Max okay?” The tremor in Jaime’s voice filled the air with trepidation.
“Yes, he’s fine. He stayed behind to help Kate tie up some loose ends.” Anya pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down. She took Jaime’s hand in hers, aching to feel that connection.
Jaime’s eyebrows shot up. “Max isvoluntarilyhelping the fucking feds? Specificallythatone? Are you sure he’s okay? Did he get bopped on the noggin?”
Anya rolled her eyes and let out a laugh. “First, Kate has apologized, and I’ve forgiven her. You should, too. Second, I have absolutely no residual feelings for her, so if that’s what’scausing your animosity, you can let it go. And lastly, Max and Kate seemed to have hit it off quite well. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a job offer waiting for him at the end of all this.”
“Max will never be a fucking fed!” Jaime grinned. “As for the two other points, I’ll work on it.” Jaime took as deep a breath as her wounds and pain would allow. “Loose ends mean it’s over, yeah? Can you tell me about it now? Who was the killer?”
“Your hunch that it was someone at the club was correct, obviously.”
“It wasn’t Frank. He doesn’t have the brain cells to evade the police for as long as this killer did.”
“That was some restraint, Detective. I expected a few derogatory names for him.”
“Yeah, well, I’m working on my insensitivity. I’ll only end up on fucking sensitivity training again.”
“I’m proud of you, baby.” Anya bit her bottom lip but couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling up. She blamed her inability to stay focused and serious on the intense day she’d had. If she didn’t allow herself to appreciate life’s levity, she would revert to the loneliness she only recognized after meeting Jaime. “You’re right, it wasn’t Frank. It was?—”
“Wait! Let me guess. It was bouncer boy, wasn’t it? What’s his name? Sammy? No, uh, Sonny! Sonny, the son of a bitch who shot me!”
Anya rubbed Jaime’s knuckles with the pad of her thumb, coaxing Jaime to relax her tightly clenched fist. “He killed those women, yes. But he didn’t shoot you.”
Jaime frowned. “I-I don’t understand. Did he have an accomplice?”
“I’d say it’s more accurate that Sonny was the accomplice.” Anya sighed. It had been a long day, and with everything she had to tell Jaime, it was going to be an even longer night.
“I’m thoroughly confused.”
“Buckle up, baby, it’s a hell of a story.”
Jaime stared back at Anya,trying to get her head around the events of the day and how the cases were connected. It wasn’t that Anya hadn’t explained properly, but it was a lot to take in. “Brother and sister? Seriously?” As Anya nodded, Jaime lay her head back on the pillow, struggling to comprehend everything she had just been told. “Teddy and Ruby,” she muttered. “And Ruby is the one who shot me?”
“Yes,” Anya answered, though she didn’t think Jaime was truly listening. It was understandable, of course. Anya had just dumped a lot of information on Jaime, and unfortunately, she wasn’t done yet.
