Page 10 of Girl Between

He grinned. “You’re one of those, aren’t ya?”

“One of what?”

“Someone who always has a plan.”

Dana bit back her automatic retort, knowing it would’ve sounded defensive, because George was right. She was one of those.The hand she’d been dealt in life demanded it. “Don’t assume to know me,” she finally said, finishing her beer.

He held his hands up, smirking all the while. “I wouldn’t dare. Though the detective in me thinks you haven’t spent a lot of time letting go of the reins.”

“Never saw the point.”

He dropped his fork. “Well, you came to the right man.”

She crossed her arms, cocking her head in challenge.

“Let’s give Nawlins control, see where she takes us tonight.”

Their eyes met, a silent standoff. But when George offered his hand, gaze gleaming with mischief, Dana couldn’t fight her desire to accept. Hand in hand, they stood, dropping cash on the table before rushing back out into the Louisiana night, the staccato of their rushed footsteps adding to the rhythmic jazz drawing them near.

12

“I-I didn’t askyou to do this,” he blubbers.

“You didn’t have to,” I say, undeterred.

I’ve always been the type to know what someone needs before they do. It’s true, he didn’t ask me to carry out this kill, but it didn’t change the fact that it was done and righteously so.

This arrangement can be mutually beneficial. He’ll see it soon enough.

“Are you saying she will go to waste?” I press.

The old man blanched, his paunchy cheeks sucking in and out like a tired blowfish. “I-I didn’t say that. It’s already done. It would be a sin to let her go to waste.”

I smile, knowing he would eventually see it my way. It’s why I’d chosen him. Well … partly why. He’ll see the true reason soon enough.

“Shall we get started?” I ask.

He nods, donning his gloves. “There’s no time to waste.”

I stand over the exam table, eyes wide as I watch him work. I fight my admiration, but there’s no denying his skill. Instead, I study, absorbing each move so that dismantling a body will come as naturally to me one day.

The blade slips through her skin like a hot knife through butter. Narrowly missing vital organs. He knows what he is doing. He’s been honing these skills for years. But tonight is special. The culmination of so much unrest. Finally, my goal is near.

Knowing my revenge is within reach, arouses me beyond measure. But I check myself.

This is just the beginning.

13

Dana wasbreathless with laughter as George expertly spun her around the six-by-six foot dance floor of the aptly named Apple Barrel Bar on Frenchman Street. Her shirt was drenched through with sweat, but she didn’t mind.

Normally, it would’ve made her self-conscious, but everyone she bumped into was in the same boat. She couldn’t even fathom what New Orleans was like in the summer. But if she could feel this carefree, she wouldn’t mind if she sweat her clothes clean off.

The music was partly to blame. The three-piece rock band was playing their hearts out on the makeshift stage that was barely big enough for one. Dana couldn’t stop herself from swaying to the rhythm. George seemed moved by the same demons as he pulled her close, guiding her around the packed dance floor. He even managed to dip her which seemed impossible in the crowded space.

A place like this would never pass inspection in D.C. But tonight, Dana was grateful for the leniency of historic properties. The bodies gyrating with her on the dance floor were clearly over the marked capacity, but things like that didn’t matter when the music and booze were flowing. Especially once the second line band showed up.

The lively brass band pulled every patron from the FrenchmanStreet establishments, including the musicians, moving the party to the street. Dana followed George to the corner, gratefully sucking down the sticky sweet libation he’d offered her in a Styrofoam cup. She bobbed to the upbeat jazz, watching everyone take turns out-dancing each other.