Page 92 of Girl Between

“Cadie’s.”

He put his drink down. “I didn’t realize you two were so close.”

“Neither did I.”

“Is George your plus one?”

“No,” Dana replied.

“Good. Then be my date.”

“Are you even invited to the wedding?” she asked.

“No.”

“Then you can’t bring a date, Jake.”

“But you can.”

Dana laughed. “So, I’m asking you to be my date?”

He grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Dana rolled her eyes. “I need another drink,” she said, draining the last of the bourbon.

Jake raised two fingers, and another round appeared. “Seriously, fill me in. What happened today?”

82

Jake listened intentlyas Dana shared the events of her trip to the bayou, including striking out finding anything to connect the Harvest Girls to the current investigation.

“I even called George’s mother, since she’s so plugged into the Voodoo scene, in case she had any insight regarding the Goode sisters, but nope. Zero, zilch, nada.”

“Tough loss,” he said, meaning it. He knew how invested Dana got in her work. It was more than just the hunt for her. She knew those left behind were victims, too. And she did everything she could to make sure they weren’t forgotten.

“Yeah.” She exhaled deeply. “I can’t help thinking I’m missing something.”

“It’s a twenty-year-old case, Gray. Cut yourself some slack.”

“I realize that, but you know when it just feels like something’s off?”

Their eyes met, that unspoken pain tethering them. Of course, Jake knew what she meant. To do what they did and to do it well required more than following clues. They couldn’t just walk in a killer’s footsteps. They had to become the evil they hunted.

Operating on that sixth sense that let them slip into the shoes ofthe monsters they pursued took its toll. But it was a price they were both willing to pay. He supposed it’s why they worked so well together.Or used to.

Jake took another sip of bourbon. “If there’s something to find, the BAU will sniff it out.”

“It’s official?” Dana asked.

Jake finished the last of his bourbon and nodded.

“Do you know who they’re sending?”

He nodded again.

“Who is it?”

“Do you want the bad news or the bad news?”