“I’M NO expert,” Cooper said, “but I’m fairly sure that’s not a glass of water.”
“I’ll get that in a minute,” Maya said.
“Would that be after you kill me?”
There was one of those horrible, elongated moments—a second or two in actual time that feels like an eternity when you experience it. Both of their lives could hinge on what happened next.
“You really do think the worst of me,” she replied, breaking the tension. “No, I brought this out to show you my high-school graduation present from my father. Very ladylike, isn’t it?”
Maya snapped open the wheel of the small pearl-handled revolver and showed him the empty chambers. She moved with the grace of a person who had grown up with guns. Cooper was simply relieved he wouldn’t be forced to pull his own piece and engage in a gun battle with the most beautiful woman he’d ever met.
“Adorable,” Cooper said. “But that’s not the gun I was talking about.”
“But this is my point,” Maya said. “I don’t know how you learned about the Glock, but that was a gift from Detective Bernstein. I guess he thinks I’m just some rube from West Virginia, so I need to have some personal protection.”
“Where is the Glock?”
“That’s the weird thing—I don’t know. Maybe he took it back when he realized I had my own gun and a permit to carry? I honestly hadn’t thought about it until you mentioned it.”
Cooper’s mind spun with possible explanations, all of them sinister. Among the worst was the idea that Bernstein was trying to frame Maya, taking advantage of her kindness and her proximity to the murder victim. Could be that he wasn’t dating Maya; he was merely getting close enough to tighten the noose around her slender neck.
“I know where the gun is,” Cooper said. “It’s booked into evidence.”
Maya’s face twisted with revulsion. “Are you saying that gun was used to kill Archie?”
“Possibly,” Cooper said. “If we knew for sure, we’d be that much closer to finding his killer.”
“I’ll get that water now. And a drink for myself.”
Cooper followed her into the kitchenette. She opened the tap to fill a tumbler, then turned around to find Cooper very close.
“There’s no one else here,” Cooper said. “It’s just the two of us now. If you tell me what you know, I’ll do everything in my power to protect you.”
“I’m not the one who needs protecting.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Maya sighed. “Archie had enemies on and off the field. You don’t want to provoke them.”
“What, you don’t think I can handle myself?”
“Clearly that’s what you think about me.”
Cooper had to admit she had a point.
“Listen,” he said. “All I’m saying is, if you let people like Bernstein and the Sables into your life, they’re going to want something in return. They always do. Maybe it’s something as simple as sex. But sometimes it’s more. A lot more. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
Maya smiled. “Look, I have my eyes open. Mickey is just…we’re having fun. We both know what this is. And the Sables, yeah, they’re sleazebags, but they’re mostly full of bluster. They’re harmless. I’ve had to deal with guys like them all my life. I know how to handle them.”
“The same words have been spoken by every victim,” Cooper said, “right before she realizes she can’t handle them.”
“Do I look like a victim to you?”
Maya Rain filled the tumbler with water and gave it to him. And in that instant, Cooper saw her mask slip a little. He saw a fierceness in her eyes, and it caught him by surprise. Maybe it was anger, maybe it was lust, maybe it was something else. Cooper could have responded with another question. Or a kiss…
But his instincts told him to go in the opposite direction. So he dumped the water into the sink, walked out of the apartment, took the elevator down, and left the building.