Page 28 of Girl Betrayed

“What do you mean?”

“It’s too much to get into now, but he was given a report explicitly stating the area was too volatile to infiltrate withoutmore time to do proper recon. Hayes sent us in anyway and he never had to answer for that.”

“Jake, the man’s dead. Isn’t that answer enough?”

“You know better than to think cutting the head off one snake ends this.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Make sure another head doesn’t grow back by getting put on this case. Because if I know anything about guys like Norton Hayes, it’s that they never act on their own. If he was doing something shady enough to get himself killed, I need to find out who else is involved so I can see them coming if they have Claire in their sights.”

“Do you really think that will happen?”

“I don’t know, but I’m not taking any chances. The last two people we know he was seen with were Claire and Meredith. I’m not letting him put anyone else I care about in the crosshairs, Dana. The best way for me to do that is to get on this case.”

“Okay, I get it, but I know you saw what happened in there with Claire,” Dana said, gesturing back toward her house. “I’m concerned about her. Can’t we trust Jenkins to take the lead for now?”

“Jenkins isn’t going to want me involved in this case because she’ll think I can’t see past my history with Hayes.”

“Can you?”

“If it means protecting you and Claire, you’re damn right I can.”

“Okay, do what you need to, but Jake, don’t even think about keeping me in the dark on this. I need to know you’re going to tell me what you find, even if it’s not what I want to hear.”

“Roger that.”

Dana gave him a tiny salute, and he couldn’t stop himself from pulling her into a quick embrace. “Hold down the fort. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

21

Dana stoodoutside gazing after Jake’s taillights, her fingers still pressed to her lips where he’d dropped a kiss before racing off to play hero.

His lack of fear was something she both admired and despised. She knew he was right. They needed answers and since he knew the deceased Congressman, he was the best one to get them. But that didn’t stop Dana from wishing he could’ve stayed to help her deal with Claire.

The reality was, Claire needed help.

For the first time, it was clear to Dana that her intern wasn’t getting better. In fact, by the light of day, Dana could see how much worse she looked.

The girl had always been thin and pale, but there was a gauntness to her now that Dana hadn’t seen even when Claire was battling her addiction.

That coupled with the disturbing hypnosis session she’d just witnessed left Dana reeling. Through her field of expertise, she’d come across numerous accounts of demonic possession, identity disorders and dissociative delusions. Moments ago, she’d witnessed Claire exhibit traits of each.

Dana had a feeling what she saw was merely scratching the surface when it came to the inner turmoil her friend was battling, and that terrified her.

Being out of her depth wasn’t a common occurrence for Dana. But she’d never let that stop her from pursuing the truth.

In her field, something that often appeared dark and sinister was simply misunderstood. It was Dana’s job to peel back layers until she could shine light into the darkness and discover the truth.

Dana told herself to apply that same theory to Claire’s situation. She didn’t know exactly how to help Claire, but that wasn’t going to stop her from trying.

Taking a deep breath, Dana turned back toward her house ready to start peeling back the layers.

“Where’s Claire?”Dana asked, looking around her empty living room. Only Dr. Dvita remained where she’d left him.

“She said she was feeling tired and wanted to lie down,” he replied.

Dana eyed him suspiciously and started down the hall to check for herself.