The Murder Show

CHAPTER 14

Previously...

Andy leaves, closing the door behind her, as Maya goes to lock it before radioing the team outside confirming they were secure again.

She turns to Carina who is learning against the back of the couch bottom lip pulled between her teeth as she looks at Maya, who gulps slightly.

"So..." She squeaks.

____

"Sorry about-" "Now what-" They both say at the same time. Before Carina looks at Maya frowning.

"What do you mean sorry?! Are you sorry it happened?" She asks, looking something between upset and annoyed.

Maya sighs, sitting down on the couch. "Kind of..." She says, before looking up, seeing hurt fash across Carina's face before she quickly continues. "Not because I didn't want it to. But because this." She gestures between them. "It can't happen."

Carina frowns at Maya coming to sit next to her. "Why not?" She asks in a quiet voice.

Maya looks up making eye contact with Carina. "Because you're involved in an ongoing case, Christ Carina, you are a potential victim!" She cringes at how that sounds. "Sorry. I just, I mean, I have to stay objective and uninvolved in the case on a personal level."

Carina scoffs. "Right, so just because nothing is physically happening you can be emotionally and personally detached from me? Your feelings can just be put to one side... Can you really pretend?" She asks incredulously.

Maya sighs heavily. "I have to! Do you get that! It's not me being stubborn or pulling away because I want to, I HAVE to. I should have stopped it before anything happened." She says.

"Oh so you do regret it?" Carina says sourly.

Maya shakes her head but doesn't say anything. "Carina, you need to understand me here, until we nail this guy and get a conviction, what I feel doesn't matter." She tells her.

"How can you say that! Of course it does, just like what I feel matters." She says.

Maya rises from the couch pacing. "NO IT DOESN'T!" She yells, before lowering her voice. "Carina if we catch this guy and they get wind of us being anything more than what we are supposed to be they could throw the WHOLE case out! Do you get that? All these victims and their families, the cases would be trashed. The only way to stop it would be to drop the case and get someone else to take over. I won't do that. I have to catch this guy, I have to bring him to justice."

Carina looks surprised. "Why does our relationship matter?" She asks.

"Because that's the way it works, Carina. Any half decent lawyer will claim I am targeting him and trying to get him convicted out of malicious intent, the case would become about us, about you and me and not about him. And like I said I won't drop this case. I can't walk away from this." She says.

"Right so that's it. No matter how I feel or what I want, you and I - it's done?" She huffs.

"For now, it has to be Carina." Maya tells her sitting back down, she places her hand on Carina's leg trying to offer some source of comfort. "Look, when this is all over, and it will be..." She says looking at Carina. "And if you still want to - we can revisit this?" She asks, before adding. "But I'm not asking you to wait for me, I don't expect that." She says

"So, you like me, you know I like you, but we can't be together at the moment, maybe in future. But not now." Carina says, seeing Maya nod. "So all we have now is one great kiss?"