my friends. That's all I'm going to say."
"Fair enough." She fell silent as he turned in to the parking lot at Belle's. "This is where we part ways."
He threw the car in park as he gave her a troubled look. "I know it was my idea, but I don't want to split up."
She didn't want to, either, but she knew she had to make an unselfish choice. "We have to. I am not the person you want to be seen with right now, remember?" She didn't want Jax to lose his job because of her.
"I do remember. I'm just worried about you."
"I thought you weren't a worrier."
"I wasn't…until I met you."
She was touched by the concern in his eyes. "I'll be all right. I can do this. I can play this out the way I need to. I don't really have a choice. It's the best move I can make."
"Maybe it's not," he said slowly, indecision in his eyes. "The best move for you might be to get out of LA, go to your sister's house, or go see a friend in another city, put some miles between you and here."
"Running away won't guarantee I'll be safe. But stating publicly that Julia killed my grandmother might."
"If they believe you."
"Well, I may not be an actor, but I can be convincing."
He frowned, looking like he had all kinds of regrets about her decision, but she felt confident in her choice.
"I'll see you at the club," she said. "From a safe distance."
"Maya, wait."
She paused, her hand on the door.
He slid his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in close for a hard kiss. "Be safe."
"I will be," she promised. "Especially if there's going to be more of that."
"There will definitely be more of that."
She opened the car and stepped onto the pavement, closing the door before she changed her mind about going it alone. Jax had done enough for her. She had to do this next part on her own. She had to make them believe that Natasha's killer was Julia, and Julia's suicide had convinced her to abandon the movie and let the past die, too.
Chapter Sixteen
When Maya arrived at the Firebird Club a little before five, there was a line of cars waiting to get into the valet lot. She drove up the hill to the self-parking area and then walked back down to the entrance, which was flooded with more people than she'd ever seen at the venue.
Jax was right. The chess tournament was a big draw, and with any luck she could make her speech to more than one of her suspects. She would like to watch each and every one of their reactions as she told them what had happened, because she had a gut feeling that her grandmother's killer either had belonged or still belonged to this very exclusive club.
As she made her way inside, she first headed toward the executive offices, but they were closed. It was Sunday, after all. While she knew the library was off-limits to non-members, there had to be an exception for the tournament, so she joined a throng of people headed downstairs.
Walking past the photographs on the wall that included her grandmother reminded her that this club had been central to Natasha's life. Her secrets were known somewhere within these walls. Maya just hoped she could one day figure out exactly what those secrets were.
When she entered the library, she saw clusters of people standing by the bar and seated on couches adjacent to the main play area, where a dozen small tables were set up with chess sets. A few people seemed to be playing matches already, but she didn't know if they were official or not.
Scanning the scene, her heart skipped a beat when she saw the people gathered in one of the alcoves that ran around the room. Constantine was sitting with his wife, Louisa. Victoria and Alexander were there, as well as Ryland Jagger and his father Wallace. Sylvia and a tall gray-haired man completed the group. She recognized the man as Sylvia's father, Edward Coleman. While she hadn't yet met the former attorney general or Daniel Bragin or Dustin Paul, for that matter, she'd familiarized herself with their faces and their backgrounds. She only wished Bragin and Paul were present tonight. Everyone who had been an original member of the club was at the top of the suspect list. But hopefully her words would be spread throughout the club membership.
When she