“Meow.”
Anya flipped Derek off and hobbled to the bathroom to wash off the humiliation.
Parkedat the side of the road, Jaime pressed her forehead to the steering wheel and clenched her jaw. How could she have been so stupid lately? While her days generally didn’t make her happy, she didn’t need to contribute to that by causing more problems for herself. And as she sat here, aware that she should be out there looking for a killer, Jaime’s heart tightened. Anya wasn’t the problem, but Jaime sleeping with her was. One, because she wanted more of it, and two, because it was going to fuck things up with the case.
She’s a person of interest, you fucking idiot.
Jaime knew in her heart that Anya had nothing to do with the murders. She knew that no matter how much she lied to herself, that wouldn’t change. Still, she had to figure out whowasinvolved before she could even consider something more with Anastasia Grant.
“Yeah, that’s never going to happen.” Jaime scoffed as she lifted her head, fisting her hand and slamming it down against the steering wheel. The moment she’d closed Anya’s front door, the dread had truly sunk in. How could she have left cash for her? That only made Jaime look like a person who wanted to fuck. Perhaps at a different time that would have been exactly what she wanted, but the connection she’d felt last night…every last touch…no, that wasn’t meaningless fucking. Jaime could lie to herself all day long, but sheknewlast night had meant far more to them both. “You fucked that up, too!”
Whatever came next, Jaime would have to take it on the chin. Anya was surely going to be angry, but Jaime had left that cash, and she’d walked out. Anya had every right to feel that way.
Jaime’s phone started to ring on the passenger seat. She quickly composed herself and hoped that Max wouldn’t suspect a thing. “Baros.”
“Station. Now.”
She looked down at the screen as the call suddenly ended and shook her head. Max was pissed at her, too. And as with Anya, he had that right to be.
“Game face on. Get your fucking life together!”
Chapter Seventeen
Jaime frownedas she pulled up to the station and saw Max standing outside. She stared at him through the open driver’s side window. “What’s up?”
“The fuck you been?” Max grumbled as he jerked her passenger door open and slid inside. “I’ve been calling you all night and morning.”
“Yeah, sorry.” Jaime scrubbed a hand down her face. “I… just needed some time to get my head straight. I’m good now. Ready.”
“Oh, well, perfect. Detective Baros is fucking ready. That makes me so happy. We could have used you yesterday while we went through a ton of shit, but whatever.”
Jaime frowned. Max wasn’t usually this harsh with her. Of course, she’d never been this flaky before, either. Even after Taylor died, Jaimestilldid her job.
“Look, I said I’m sorry, Max. You wanna dock me, go ahead. I know I’ve fucked up. This case has been nothing but dead ends. And then the fuckin’ brothel…” Jaime shook her head. “It all hit me pretty hard, and I got distracted. That ends now, okay? I’m focused.”
Max’s scowl softened. “Sorry. I’m tired and cranky. The coffee in-house sucks, and you were right. That alone pisses me off.”
“I’ll get you a damn coffee.” Jaime put the car in drive. “Wait, I was right about what?” She pulled away from the curb. Since she had no clue where Max wanted to go, she decided Starbucks was the most logical place to get Max’s attitude in check.
“Lady A. She’s definitely involved somehow.”
Jaime nearly swerved off the road as her heart plummeted to her stomach.T-that can’t be right. “What, uh, what did you find that led you to that conclusion?”
“Well, if you’d been at work where you were supposed to be, you’d know.”
“Max.” Jaime was done taking Max’s bullshit attitude. She’d already apologized. She wasn’t going to do it again. And now she had to think about the woman she’d just been with as a cold-blooded killer. It didn’t add up in her head. The woman Jaime had spent time with last night was gentle and caring. She had a cat, for fuck’s sake. How could she be a killer?
“Each murder gives us another clue, right? With this one being in a different location, we decided to go through the other victims’ belongings again to see if anything popped. That’s when we found them.”
“Found what?” Jaime’s stomach roiled. She swallowed as she rooted around the console for some gum. She needed something to help keep the bile down.
“Lady A’s business cards. Every victim had one.”
Fuck.
Max took his notebook from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. He flipped it open, turning to the page he wanted. “We gave Frank a little wake-up call. Told him cops and feds—including the IRS—would be swarming the place if he didn’t giveup Lady A’s real name. That lit a fire under his ass. Got a name and an address.”
Max reached over and plugged an address into Jaime’s GPS. An address Jaime knew all too well wasn’t where they needed to be going.
