Page 67 of Tell Me Your Desires

Chapter Thirty-Five

“Get back into bed!” Zoe blocked Jaime’s path to the door, countering her with another move when Jaime tried to go around her.

“Fuck that! I’m going to find Anya.” Jaime thought about doing a bob and weave, but she immediately nixed that decision when the slightest bend nearly caused her to pass out.

What was she thinking? She was in no shape to be playing ‘dodge the nurse,’ let alone running out of the hospital on some mission to find the woman she loved before it was too late.

But Jaime couldn’t lie in a hospital bed for a second longer while Anya was out there.

She’d done nothing to help Taylor. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.

“You’re going to pop a stitch if you don’t stop,” Zoe warned.

“Well, if you’d get out of my way, I wouldn’t have to dance around like this!” Jaime glared at Zoe, summoning all the strength she had to show even a hint of intimidation. It usually worked in the interrogation room, but Zoe just looked annoyed at this point.

“I was a three-time national champion in women’s wrestling in college. Don’t think you’re getting past me when I promised Dr. Grant I would watch you.”

Jaime narrowed her eyes. “You got a thing for my girl, Zoe?”

Zoe laughed. “Shockingly, I’m happily married to a man, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a healthy amount of respect for ‘your girl.’ Are you aware of even half of the accomplishments she’s achieved in her career?”

The question admittedly caused Jaime to pause.

Obviously, she’d run a background check on Anya when she’d ridiculously suspected Anya of murder.

But, no, Jaime had never taken the time to actually do a deep dive into Anya’s life before…

Lady A. She could say something stupid about how she wanted to hear it from Anya herself—which was partially true—but the real truth was that Jaime had a hard time reconciling the fact that the woman who rocked her world in that club and Dr. Grant were the same person.

That fact alone made Jaime more determined to get out of this hospital and find Anya. How could she make up for her stupidity if something happened to her?

“You’re just trying to distract me,” Jaime said as she intentionally relaxed her shoulders and feigned defeat. She waited a beat, observing Zoe’s body language. As soon as she saw Zoe’s stance relax, Jaime would make a run for it.

Zoe planted her hands on her hips and smirked at Jaime. “Don’t even think about it, Detective. I’ve been married to a cop for way too long not to recognize the signs of manipulation. You won’t make it to the door.”

“What would you do if it was your husband out there?” As soon as the words left her mouth, Jaime knew how ridiculous they were. Zoe’s snort reiterated that fact.

“I do that every damn day. And, yeah, it sucks big time, but you’re injured. Even if I let you go out of pity and you somehow found them, what good would you be doing? Dr. Grant would lose focus because she’d be more worried about you.”

Jaime hated that Zoe was right. She also hated that she still had a sick feeling in her stomach that was pushing her. Hopefully, Zoe and Anya would forgive her for what she was about to do.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jaime grunted slightly at the sharp pain in her side. No doubt it was punishment for her idiocy. Still, as soon as Zoe turned her back, Jaime made a move for the door.

“I usually am,” Zoe said as she fluffed Jaime’s pillow. “Now, let’s get you back in bed before Dr. Grant gets back and—hey!”

Zoe didn’t have to move too fast or too far to get in front of Jaime.

Damn. All Jaime needed was ten more seconds and maybe about fifty percent less pain, and she would have been out of there before Nurse Zoe had a clue what was happening.

“Where are you going?”

Zoe and Jaime turned towards the door and stared at Anya for a moment before Jaime nearly collapsed with relief. She’d completely forgotten about her pain as she rushed to Anya and wrapped her up in her arms.

“Thank fuck!”

Anya nodded and smiled at Zoe, indicating she had the situation handled from here.

“Watch her,” Zoe warned with a raised brow. “She plays dirty.”

“Me?!” Jaime scoffed as she pointed at the nurse. “She threatened to pin me down like I was one of her wrestling matches!”

Anya chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she behaves. Thank you, Zoe.”

“Oh, sure. Take her side,” Jaime mumbled as Zoe left them alone.

“You were supposed to trust me.” Anya knew the adrenaline was helping Jaime stay standing, but that adrenaline would soon wane, and the pain would hit Jaime like a freight truck. She gently wrapped her arm around Jaime’s waist, hoping to share some of the weight.

“I did! I do!” Jaime winced. She no longer had fear and anxiety to keep her mind occupied.

Now that Anya was back, the pain was becoming more apparent.

But she didn’t care. She’d stand here for the rest of her life holding onto Anya if she could.

“Nothing you ever ask of me in the future will ever be as hard as what I did today. Not the trust stuff, that was easy. But watching you walk out that door, knowing you were walking straight into danger and I couldn’t do anything but lay here and worry my ass off…

” Jaime shook her head. “Now I know how the other half feels. I think I understand some things a little better.”

“You mean how Taylor felt about your job?”

Jaime peered down at Anya through narrowed eyes. “Has Max been telling you stories?”

Anya smiled and patted Jaime’s tummy lightly. “You told me she hated your work. Now, please get back into bed before you fall over. My arms are getting tired.”

“One second.” Jaime dipped her head and kissed Anya with all the pent-up passion and frustration she had been holding onto since Anya had walked out of her room earlier.

“Wow,” Anya managed once she could find her breath again. “Someone found toothpaste.”

Jaime laughed. “Stop making me laugh, it hurts. And Nurse Ratched finally decided my breath was offensive enough to bring me toothpaste and mouthwash.”

Anya shook her head, trying to hide her grin.

“Zoe is far from Nurse Ratched.” She slowly guided Jaime back to the bed, taking note of the pain in her eyes and the slowness of her movements.

Anya contemplated waiting to tell Jaime about Taylor, but quickly dismissed that idea.

Jaime deserved closure and peace regarding Taylor, and Anya wanted to give it to her.

“Yeah, you didn’t hear her threaten me with bodily harm when my body is already harmed.”

“Actually, I did. I was standing at the door listening to you being stubborn. Zoe was well within her rights to subdue you any way she saw fit.” Anya fluffed Jaime’s pillow, frowning when she felt a piece of paper beneath it. “What is this?”

Jaime quickly snatched the paper from Anya’s fingers.

“N-nothing.” She sighed when Anya raised a brow.

“I wrote some stuff down that I was feeling. It’s a letter to you.

But now that you’re here asking about it, I’m a little embarrassed.

” She tucked the letter back under her pillow.

“Maybe we could circle back to that, yeah?”

The last thing Anya wanted to do was make Jaime feel uncomfortable. Was she curious about what the letter said? Of course. But hounding Jaime about it wouldn’t do her any good. “Okay.”

“Thanks. Now, how long am I supposed to pretend that I haven’t noticed the blood on your shirt?”

Anya looked down and saw the red splatter across the front of her blouse. She hadn’t known it was there, or she would have made a point to change before coming to see Jaime. “It’s not mine.”

“Is Max okay?” The tremor in Jaime’s voice filled the air with trepidation.

“Yes, he’s fine. He stayed behind to help Kate tie up some loose ends.” Anya pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down. She took Jaime’s hand in hers, aching to feel that connection.

Jaime’s eyebrows shot up. “Max is voluntarily helping the fucking feds? Specifically that one? Are you sure he’s okay? Did he get bopped on the noggin?”

Anya rolled her eyes and let out a laugh.

“First, Kate has apologized, and I’ve forgiven her.

You should, too. Second, I have absolutely no residual feelings for her, so if that’s what’s causing your animosity, you can let it go.

And lastly, Max and Kate seemed to have hit it off quite well.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a job offer waiting for him at the end of all this. ”

“Max will never be a fucking fed!” Jaime grinned. “As for the two other points, I’ll work on it.” Jaime took as deep a breath as her wounds and pain would allow. “Loose ends mean it’s over, yeah? Can you tell me about it now? Who was the killer?”

“Your hunch that it was someone at the club was correct, obviously.”

“It wasn’t Frank. He doesn’t have the brain cells to evade the police for as long as this killer did.”

“That was some restraint, Detective. I expected a few derogatory names for him.”

“Yeah, well, I’m working on my insensitivity. I’ll only end up on fucking sensitivity training again.”

“I’m proud of you, baby.” Anya bit her bottom lip but couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling up.

She blamed her inability to stay focused and serious on the intense day she’d had.

If she didn’t allow herself to appreciate life’s levity, she would revert to the loneliness she only recognized after meeting Jaime.

“You’re right, it wasn’t Frank. It was—”

“Wait! Let me guess. It was bouncer boy, wasn’t it? What’s his name? Sammy? No, uh, Sonny! Sonny, the son of a bitch who shot me!”

Anya rubbed Jaime’s knuckles with the pad of her thumb, coaxing Jaime to relax her tightly clenched fist. “He killed those women, yes. But he didn’t shoot you.”

Jaime frowned. “I-I don’t understand. Did he have an accomplice?”