Page 154 of Girl Between

“What aren’t you telling me?” Jake demanded.

George looked him in the eye. “That hearse is the same vehicle Monroe’s been using to sneak his victims into our cemeteries.”

“No.” Dana wasn’t a victim. She was smart. Strong. After everything she’d been through, this was not how her story ended. “What about her cell phone?” Jake demanded.

“There’s no signal,” Creed said, joining the conversation. “Whoever has it was smart enough to pull a disable and ditch.”

“There has to be something, dammit!” Jake yelled.

Everyone in the room stopped to stare at him, but he didn’t care.

George pulled Jake into his office and shut the door. “Jake, you figured out she’s missing. That puts us one step ahead of Monroe. That’s something.”

He shook his head. “Not if we can’t use it to our advantage.”

“We’ve got all hands on deck. We’ve been searching for this guyfor weeks now. Thanks to Dana’s help we’re closing in. We’ll find him. Keep the faith, brother.”

A thought dawned on Jake. “Her report. I want to see it.”

George gave him a look that said he didn’t know what Jake was talking about. But Jake knew Dana well enough to know she always covered her bases.

“She’s a librarian,” Jake barked. “Every case we worked, she wrote up a report. She can’t help herself. And every time, her notes were dead on. If she was officially working this case, I know she gave you a report. If there are any clues we’re missing, they’ll be in there.”

George frowned. “If Dana wrote a report I don’t know about it. Maybe she would’ve given it to Creed. He took over the investigation after we got back from Monroe’s property.”

“Then that’s where we start.”

136

Dana’s mind awoke first.She was in that stage between sleep and waking, trapped in the dark reaches of her mind. Still, she understood where she was and what was at stake if she didn’t wake up.

Somewhere deep down, an unsettling notion of fruition settled over Dana. She’d started this path long ago. She’d made a career of chasing darkness. It seemed foolish to expect it wouldn’t have a chance to chase her back. But this was it. The final clash. The darkness was here. And she would face it, one last time.

Whether it would consume her, or she would emerge beyond its reach … that was yet to be seen.

But one thing was certain. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

It started as a pinprick of light. A tingle in her fingers. Then a thousand stings, as if her flesh was on fire. Consciousness came quickly as Dana realized she could move her limbs again.

They ached with stiffness, and the alarming sensation of pins and needles, but she didn’t care. If this was the only chance she got, she wasn’t going to waste it.

She went to work.

First on her IV.

Working the leather cuff of her restraint back and forth, shecaught the tape holding the IV cannula in place, then yanked with all her might. It took two more tries to get the leverage right, but finally, the entire thing yanked free, spewing blood and IV fluid. She gave herself one full breath to ease the pain before she began working on the restraints. The one on her arm where the IV had been wasn’t as tight. She tore her hand free, losing skin in the process.

Flesh was a small price for freedom.

Dana sat swiftly. Too swiftly.

The room swayed as a stabbing pain in her abdomen stole her breath. She clutched the edge of the gurney and forced herself to breathe until the dizziness passed and she could focus.

The first thing she noticed was the puckering laceration on her stomach. Monroe’s scalpel, no doubt the culprit.

The wound was deep. Two slashed incisions just below her ribs, forming an X that spewed blood every time Dana moved. Painful, yes. Fatal, no.

But she needed to keep moving.