Jackson scoffed. “I think we’d have a ton more bodies if that were true. Dudes and chicks.” Max and Jaime both scowled at him. “What? She’s a freakin’ sex worker. It’sliterallyher job. I’m not criticizing that, just stating facts.”
“Fact,” Jaime said through gritted teeth. “She doesn’t sleep with ‘dudes.’Fact: she doesn’t sleep with everyone who comes through her chambers. She’s…selective.”Was Anya selective? Fuck, Jaime didn’t know, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to let Jackson demean an incredible woman.“So if she tells me that’s the thread, we’re fucking pulling on it.”
“Calm down, Baros. Jackson is just?—”
“A fucking moron. Why don’t you go get us some donuts and let the real detectives work.”
“Baros! Enough.” Max jerked his head at Jackson, who stomped off. “What the fuck, Baros?”
“Me? He’s fucking dragging Anya’s name through the mud!” Jaime capped the marker she was still holding and tossed it on the tray attached to the board.
“Jaime, whatever is going on with you, fucking deal with it. Whatever yourmomentwith Dr. Grant was, get over it. Any other time, you would have agreed with Jackson. Now you’re taking it like a personal insult. This woman has gotten under your skin, and you allowed it to happen. But there arefivewomen who deserve our attention.”
“And they’re getting it, Max. But don’t forget that Anya is most likely the fucking target.Shedeserves our attention, too, or she could end up like the others.”
She knew she’d got Max there when he had no comeback. “Fine. I’ll have Jackson work on getting warrants for Frank’s phone records and going through traffic cam footage to see if we can see Frank following any of the victims. That should keep him busy. As for us…”
As for us…Yeah, Jaime had a few ideas about that. Well… one idea. She cleared her throat as she scratched the back of her neck. “I…I’m going to offer myself as bait.”
“The fuck you are.” Max’s head whipped around. “That’s not happening.”
“Why?” Jaime lifted a shoulder. “It makes sense. Someone is doing this because of what Lady A does in her chamber. Rather than wait for this bastard to strike again—becausehe will—I’ll be the one he comes after, and we’ll be… expecting him. There’s no danger for me if we plan this right, Max.”
Max laughed. “Again, it’s not happening. No chance.”
“Max, come on. I?—”
He held up a hand and dismissed Jaime. “The department isn’t going to pay for you to get fucked on the job, Baros.”
“Well, obviously, we wouldn’tactuallyhave sex.” Oh, Jaime wouldalwayswant to be intimate with Anya, but thiswouldbe part of the job.Yeah, right. You’re so full of shit!“I think it’s something to consider.”
“And I think you’ve lost your mind. We do this the old-fashioned way.”
Jaime snorted. “Sorry, but there’s nothing more old-fashioned than doing what I’ve just suggested.”
He turned to Jaime fully, looking over his shoulder to check nobody else was around. “You’re infatuated with her, aren’t you?” Max frowned, and then his brows rose when Jaime didn’t answer. “Fuck, Baros. You’ve gone from one extreme to the other. First, you think she’s the killer, and now you want to get laid by her. What the fuck is going on with you?”
Jaime rolled her eyes, neither confirming nor denying Max’s accusation. “I think it’s a good idea.”
Max took a step closer to Jaime, a look of determination in his eyes. He was never going to go for it. “It won’t work. Whoever this fucker is, he knows what goes on in that chamber, andfakingit ain’t gonna cut it. So, yeah, we’re not paying you to get laid, Baros. Now, how about you do some real detective work? Dig into Frank’s life. See what we can find on him. Turn over every fucking rock he’s probably lived under at some point. I’m going to call the club and get a client list. Lady A’s, to be specific.”
Jaime’s stomach dropped. She would be on that list. “I-I’ll take care of that.”
Max studied her, narrowing his eyes as she stared back at him. Jaime could feel the suspicion oozing from him. He clenched his jaw, likely pissed off that he couldn’t read Jaime’smind. “Fine. Take care of the client listanddig deeper on Frank.”
“’Bout time you got here,”Frank grumbled when Lady A walked through the back entrance.
“You’re lucky I’m here at all, Frank.” Lady A stood her ground when Frank stalked towards her. She could admit to herself that with the recent murders—and Frank being on the short list of suspects—that she was apprehensive about being here. The only thing that made her feel slightly better was knowing Sonny was always present.
“You’re gettin’ a little too comfortable, A. I’m still your boss.” Frank held up a piece of paper, waving it in Lady A’s face. “Speaking of, I have the info on your first client. Wants the works and wants it nasty. The fee with the tip is off the charts, and it’s a chick. So, no excuses.”
Images of the five women brutally murdered because they were with her flashed through Anya’s mind. Despite this client making the appointment well in advance, Anya just couldn’t do it. “Sorry, Frank, you’ll have to get Sapphyre to do it. Sex with me is off the table for a while.”
Frank crumpled up the paper, anger etched across his plump face. “I’m getting really sick of you changing the rules on me,A. I’ve been lenient with you up til now, but your pussy ain’t that special.”
Lady A tilted her head and smirked. “No one else’s pussy gets the money mine gets for this place,Frank. But even my golden pussy needs some ‘me’ time. If you’d like me to list all the bloody reasons I can’t be intimate with someone for the next few days, I will.”
Her excuse was a lie, of course, as Anya had already gone through menopause. But Frank didn’t know that, and Anya had learned throughout the years that the one thing men hated talking or thinking about the most was a woman’s period.
