“It’s hearsay,” Kate corrected. “But if it’s enough for you, it’s enough for me. We can get her out of there.”
The van’s passenger door opened, and an agent entered, looking quite pleased with himself as he plopped into the seat Max had just punched. Three agents and Max stared at him for half a second before Kate finally spoke up.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Agent Moran? You’re supposed to be keeping Ruby occupied!”
He blinked at Kate. “The fat guy ended the session early. What was I supposed to do?”
“How about stay in the fucking club where we have a vulnerable asset alone with serial killers!” Max yelled, already grabbing for the gun Kate offered him and halfway out of the van, before he felt a hand on his arm. “Let go of me!” There was surely a penalty for assaulting the SAC, but Max would gladly pay that penalty tenfold if it meant keeping Anya safe.
“You have no authority, Max.”
Max appreciated the concern Kate expressed, but authority meant fuck all in this situation. “You think I give a fuck? If something happens to Anya, I ain’t lookin’ to apprehend these assholes,Agent.I’ll be their executioner.” Max jerked his arm back, a look of determination and anxiety etched across his face. “Either arrest me or get the fuck out of my way, Agent.”
“Get in the van, Detective Fraser. I’m going with you. It’ll be much faster to drive.”
“Well,well. What do we have here?” Teddy sprang up at the sound of Ruby’s voice. Ruby stared him down before turning her icy gaze onto Anya. “Frank told me you were quitting.”
“Yes, I am.” To her credit, even with fear coursing through her veins, turning her blood cold, Anya was able to maintain her composure.
“Yet, here you are, closed up in yourchamberswith… Sonny.” Ruby was wearing a long, plush robe with deep pockets. Anya knew how deep those pockets were because she had one herself. The club had given one to all their ‘talent’ once they became high earners. It certainly didn’t help Anya’s anxiety that Ruby had her hands stuffed deep into those pockets.
“Is there a problem, Sapphyre?”
Ruby smirked. “I guess I’m just wondering why you’re here,flirtingwhen your lover was shot.” She cocked her head to the side. “Is she alive? Or are you free and this is your farewell fuck before you head off into the sunset? I thought you didn’tdoguys.”
Anya’s nostrils flared with anger. Ruby was baiting her, and she was falling for it, hook, line, and sinker. Fine. If this is how Ruby wanted to play it, Anya would oblige. She just hoped backup was on the way. “Why, Ruby? Why did you shoot her?”
Ruby’s eyes widened and darted to her brother. “What did you tell her?!”
“He didn’t tell me anything,” Anya answered before Teddy could. “You shot a cop. Did youreallythink you’d get away with that? You got sloppy, Ruby. Leaving evidence at the scene and DNA on the tracker you put in my pocket?” Anya tsked. “What happened? All those women…”
“I didn’t kill those women.Hedid!” Ruby took one hand out of her pocket to point at Teddy. Oddly enough, Teddy said nothing in retaliation. He just stood there stoically, his eyes never leaving his sister. Anya imagined this was the final straw between the two. Was she the catalyst? Or had this been in the works for a while now?
“At your request,” Anya pointed out, pretending to be on Teddy’s side. If Anya could keep his loyalty shifted towards her, Ruby had no chance at controlling him and turning him against her. “Don’t pretend you don’t have blood on your hands, too, Ruby. And not just Jaime’s. You’ve killed before, haven’t you?”
“You think you know me, bitch?” Ruby sneered. “You don’t know the half of it. Yeah, I got away with killing some nobody bitch in an alley, and I’ll get away with shooting your fucking cop. I’ve gotten away with worse for years. Do you think some washed-up slut is going to be the one to bring me down?” Ruby pulled out her gun, pointing it at Anya. “They haven’t found the others. They won’t find you, either!”
“No!” Teddy stood in front of Anya. “You won’t hurt her!”
“Jesus, Teddy! Are you stupid? She’ll never love you. She loves someone else! Awoman! Just like all the others.” Ruby shook her head, plastering on a fake look of empathy. “You’ll never learn. I’m the only one who will love you. You need me. Don’t worry, we’ll find a new place and start over with new girls.”
“I don’t want to start over!”
“Teddy, stop! She has to die like the others who tried to get in our way.That’sthe rule. I knew Anya wasn’t good enough for you. For us. I should have done this a long time ago.” Ruby raised the gun again, but Teddy didn’t move. “Teddy, move!”
The murderous siblings were so distracted that they failed to notice Anya reaching for her own gun. Unfortunately, Teddy was her only protection from a bullet at the moment. If Ruby somehow got through to him, she was shit out of luck. Sheglanced around discreetly, looking for places to take cover, but the room was too large and the bullets too fast for running to be effective. No, if Anya was going to escape this situation, she needed to fight fire with fire.
“I won’t let you hurt her, Ruby!”
“Do you hear this, Anya? You’ve turned my brother against me.No onegets in my way. That’s the rule.”
“Ruby, no!” Anya cried as she tried to push Teddy out of the way while defending herself at the same time. Three shots rang out in the room; then there was a deafening silence before all hell broke loose.
The door burst open, and Max and Kate rushed in, guns drawn.
“Anya!”
“Call an ambulance,” Anya ordered as she kneeled next to Teddy and applied pressure on the wound on the left side of his chest. The way his blood was already filling up in his mouth, Anya doubted he would survive his injuries, but she had to try. “Teddy? Where are the missing girls? I know you enjoy recording things. Did you document that? You said you never wanted this, so prove it to me. Where are they?”
