Because they still needed more time, goddamn it!
“Are you fucking with me?A brother and sister serial killer duo?” Max glanced over at Anya, not taking his eyes off the road for too long. Anya had just told him the entirety of her findings after her marathon case analysis. “So are the feds picking the fuckers up?”
“Not exactly,” Anya answered carefully. “Remember when I said we need irrefutable proof about Taylor? We won’t get that if we bring them in.”
Max turned into Anya’s driveway and waited for Anya to open the garage. Anya noticed how he avoided looking in the direction where Jaime had been shot. She understood that all too well. After finally going to bed the previous night, her room felt too quiet, and she swore she could still hear the echoes of gunshots.
“I don’t understand.” Max killed the engine and closed the garage door, knowing Anya was safe within the walls of her home. “How do you plan on getting proof?”
“I’m going to get a confession.” Anya got out of the car before Max could even think about arguing. Kate had argued, too. And Jaime. Did Anya know it was dangerous? Of course. But this was something she needed to do for Jaime. And for herself. If Anya wanted any real future with Jaime, thereneededto be closure with Taylor. No relationship was strong enough to survive the constant presence of the ghost of a past lover. Jaime deserved peace. And Taylor deserved justice. Anya was willing to fight for both.
Max jogged to catch up with Anya, stepping inside her cozy house as she closed the door behind him. “How do you plan on getting a confession without interrogating them?”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to interrogate them.”At least one of them, Anya thought silently. “I said we weren’t bringing them in.”
“You plan on tying them up in your chambers or something?” Max scoffed.
“Or something,” Anya answered vaguely. She pressed the feed button on Derek’s feeder, knowing it would call him into the room. It was a little early for him to eat, but she needed his presence more than anything else. For the past four years, Derek has helped her feel grounded. Was it silly that a cat meant so much in her life? Perhaps. But Anya didn’t care.
“Whoa! Hang the fuck on! What’s this now?”
Anya raised a brow. “Did she get it from you or vice versa? The attitude,” she explained at Max’s ‘huh?’. “You two are so much alike.”
Max blushed slightly and scratched his beard as though he was attempting to hide his embarrassment. “Ahem. What’s the plan, Doc?”
“I’m going to work.”
The words were spoken so calmly that it felt like just another day, despite the fact that mere hours had passed since her loverhad nearly been killed. And Anya was now preparing to confront two serial killers who had claimed the lives of more than a dozen women.
“Are you crazy, woman? And how does Jaime feel about this?”
Anya shook her head. “So much alike,” she muttered. “Jaime has decided to trust in myfifteenyears of experience as an FBI agent, Detective Fraser, as have my former colleagues. I hope to get the same respect from you as I gave you when I looked at the case files you thought were related, even though the new FBI profiler dismissed them.”
Max’s shoulders sagged in defeat as he pulled out one of the stools by the kitchen island and sat down. “You have my utmost respect, Dr. Grant. This isn’t about your ability.”
“Then what is it about?” Anya had told him on the way to her place how the cold cases tied in with everything. She had planned to leave out the little tidbit about the new profiler, but she wasn’t above using every dirty tactic she could if it helped get Max on her side as she had promised Jaime she would. It may have been a premature promise, but Anya knew the way Max felt about Jaime. Dirty tactics aside, just knowing Jaime needed him with Anya would be enough.
“I’m going to say something to you, and I hope you never have a reason to repeat it to Jaime, but you’re good for her.”
“You…don’t want her to know I’m good for her?” Anya asked. She felt flattered by the statement, but she was surprised that Max thought Jaime shouldn’t know this.
Max chuckled. “No. I mean, she already knows you’re good for her. She told me that herself. What I don’t want you to tell her is you’re much better for her than Taylor ever was.” He held up his hands to the sky. “I’m not speaking ill of the dead, please don’t think that. Taylor was a lovely young woman. She justwasn’t the right fit for Jaime. They were opposites in every way. Too opposite for the attraction to last, if you ask me.”
Anya leaned her elbows on the counter and focused her full attention on Max. This was a new development. She’d assumed there would always be a piece of Jaime’s heart she could never touch because of Taylor. And that was okay. She obviously knew Jaime’s life hadn’t begun when they met—nor had Anya’s. The difference was that Anya didn’t have a great love lost.
“I don’t know, Max. Jaime seems to have truly loved Taylor.”
Max sighed and absently scratched Derek’s butt as Derek cleaned himself after his meal. Anya couldn’t help but smile at the scene. She figured Max to be a dog person, but then, everyone loved Derek. Even Kate had warmed up to him the night before.
“I think Jaime loved the idea of Taylor, if I’m being honest, Doc. She was tired of being alone. Said as much to me one of the nights she’d come over for dinner. But I know her. She didn’t want someone who just filled a gap. She wanted someone to fill a void—someone who’d be there with her through thick and thin. Taylor liked to party; that was her scene. It wasn’t Jaime’s, but Jaime would take her out to the clubs when she wasn’t on a case. You know, she wanted to keep Taylor happy. But it wasn’t reciprocal.”
“Meaning?” Anya glanced at the clock on Derek’s feeder. She had a little time to indulge herself with this story, then she had to prepare for tonight. Since Kate hadn’t texted her with any issues—she and her team were already working on their part of the plan, and the rest was up to Anya.
“Taylor didn’t like what Jaime did for a living. And she didn’t like me. She never came to dinner with Jaime, and she never turned up at any of the department functions.” He paused, clearly struggling with how much to reveal to Anya. “Jaime’s going to hate that I told you this, but the Chief of Policeawarded Jaime the Medal of Valor. There was a ceremony and everything.” He smiled. “You should have seen Jaime in her Class A uniform.”
“I would love to.” Anya thought about how beautiful Jaime looked in her regular attire and tried to imagine her in the formal dress uniform.
“This wasn’t long before Taylor was murdered. Jaime acted like it wasn’t a big deal, but it was. Especially when Taylor refused to go with her.”
