Page 66 of Tell Me Your Desires

“I didn’t kill those women. He did!” 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! A woman! 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’s the 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.

She glanced 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 one gets 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?”

Teddy coughed, and blood splattered onto Anya’s blouse. He pawed at her hand, unable to speak, and she finally understood what he wanted. She opened her hand to him, and he placed a key in her palm. Then he was gone.

“Anya?”

Anya jumped at Kate’s touch. “I-I’m okay. I think. Ruby shot her brother. I shot her. You should check on her. Don’t let her out of your sight.”

“Doc?” Max knelt beside Anya. “I think you might be in shock. Why don’t you give me the gun, yeah?”

“Hmm?” Anya stopped staring at Teddy and glanced down at the gun she was still holding. “Oh. Right.” She carefully handed the weapon and the key to Max. “Whatever this goes to, I think it’ll tell us where all the missing girls are.”

“Okay. Let’s get you up.” Max stood and offered his hand for assistance, smiling when Anya took it.

“He…protected me. I don’t know how to feel about that. He murdered young girls and people I care about, then protected me.” She shook her head and turned to Max. “She confessed.”

“Yeah, she did.” Tears formed in Max’s eyes. “You did it. You got Jaime the closure she needed.”

“Maybe she can sit in on the interrogation if she promises not to jump across the table and strangle the life out of her,” Anya grinned.

Max looked away briefly. “Doc, there won’t be any interrogation. Ruby’s dead. You’re one hell of a shot.”

Anya’s smile faded as she tried to comprehend what Max had just said to her. “What?”

Kate shook her head almost imperceptibly. She reached around Anya and unclasped the necklace from around Anya’s neck. Motioning for one of her agents, she handed them the necklace, then dismissed them.

“Where did you get the gun?” She asked quietly.

Anya had seen that look before. Kate wasn’t happy. Yeah, she messed up by hiding the fact she had a gun, but… “From my safe at home. It’s registered.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” Kate held up her hand, cutting off any answer Anya might have given her. “Not here. From here on out, I knew about the gun and authorized it for your protection, understood?” She looked to both Anya and Max for confirmation.

“What happens to me now? Do you have to arrest me?”

Kate shook her head. “The video footage clearly shows Ruby going for her gun first. You had no choice but to use deadly force to defend yourself.” She glanced over at the body.

“I’m going to be buried in paperwork, but it’s worth it to have these fuckers off the planet.

” She looked back at Anya. “Why don’t you go to the hospital and see Jaime?

I’m sure she’ll be happy to know it’s all over.

” Kate paused. “For what it’s worth, you didn’t have to hide anything from me. I would have understood the need.”

Anya watched her past walk away.

“She’s right, you know. Jaime will be happy to know it’s all over.” Max draped his arm over Anya’s shoulders. “Don’t keep her waiting, Doc.”

“Are you coming?”

“Nah, I think I’ll stick around and help Kate.”

Anya leaned into Max’s comforting embrace. “You are willingly helping the fucking feds?” She felt his body shake with laughter.

“Don’t go announcing that to everyone.” He dangled the key in front of her. “There are a lot of young women out there who need peace. If this can get us started on where to find them, I’m all in. Besides, I don’t have much else to do these days.”

Anya snaked an arm around Max’s waist and squeezed. “You’re a good man, Max.” She patted him on the chest with her other hand and pushed away before they both got too emotional. “Are you sure you don’t want to be there when I tell Jaime?”

“I don’t need to be there, Doc. Just knowing it’s over is enough for me.

” Max looked like he wanted to say something else but shook his head and turned away.

After taking two steps, he turned back. “Thank you. I don’t know what else to say to you or how to repay you for giving my partner…

my best friend her life back. Hell, for risking your life to do it. But thank you.”

“Don’t make me cry before I go see her, Detective!” Anya slapped him playfully on the arm. “I’m happy I could help.” She let out a watery laugh. “How lame was that?”

Max pinched his forefinger and thumb close together.

“Yeah. You know I’m in love with her, right? So not doing this wasn’t an option. Jaime needed closure and peace, just like those young women do.” She beckoned him closer. “But if you want to do something as a thank you, find any videos Teddy had of me, especially of me and Jaime, and destroy them.”

“Oh geez.” Max squeezed his eyes shut. “On it! I’ll be doing it like this,” he said with his eyes still shut. “But I’m on it!”