Page 16 of Girl Between (Dana Gray FBI Mystery Thriller #5)

Dana’s eyes slit open, the world swaying into focus. The unfamiliar scenery made her blink and rub her eyes, a mistake she realized too late as her contacts slugged across her dry eyes like glue.

She swore, closing her eyes again, waiting for her lenses to resettle. But even when the room came into focus, it did nothing to jog her memory. She propped herself up on her elbows, her head protesting with violent throbs.

Yellow walls, exposed brick and beams, mismatched furniture.

Where the hell am I?

Rolling to her side, Dana spotted her clothes on the floor. She glanced under the covers, appalled that she was only wearing an oversized t-shirt and it wasn’t even hers. She clutched the brown satin sheets to her chest with sudden embarrassment as the night started to come back to her.

Frenchman Street, jazz, copious amounts of alcohol, and … The sound of the shower turning off silenced her thoughts, slamming her back to reality.

She eyed the sliver of light glowing through the narrow opening of a door that must lead to an ensuite bathroom. She glimpsed the impressive, bronzed physique of the nude man on the other side as he reached for a towel, and her mind filled in the blanks of how the night must’ve ended.

Swearing again, she crawled out of bed, putting on her clothes as quickly as possible. She found everything but her bra, leaving it behind as collateral damage rather than face the man she’d spent a night with; a night she couldn’t even remember.

The floorboards creaked with each step as she rushed down the stairs and made her way out of the two-story blue and yellow shotgun home she had no recollection of entering.

What the hell is in a Sazerac?

Dana knew she’d drunk more than she should’ve, but as she hopped from foot to foot buckling the ankle strap of her sandals as she burned sidewalk, she chastised herself, vowing to get her life together.

Stopping at the first street corner, she automatically looked down at the sidewalk for the street name noted in blue and white ceramic tiles.

When there were none, she realized she’d strayed from her comfort zone of the French Quarter.

Dana scanned the foreign area for street signs, spotting some in a mess of telephone wires and Mardi Gras beads. Congress and Burgundy.

She had no idea where she was.

Fishing her cell phone from her purse she was about to look it up when she saw the red light of her battery, indicating she had just enough juice left to call a ride. Knowing she couldn’t waste it, she decided to keep walking, hoping she’d see something to give her a point of reference.

A bit further down the road, Dana saw it.

Bingo!

Railroad tracks running along the levee, told her where she was. She knew she could follow the Mississippi back to the Quarter, but her feet ached already. She hadn’t been walking all that long, but if her bleary memory was correct, last night’s dancing was to blame.

Flashes of moments appeared. The Apple Barrel Bar, Spotted Cat, Bar Redux, Bacchanal … She couldn’t pick any of them out of a lineup, but she remembered enjoying a drink or two at each .

Letting the smell of fried food guide her, Dana neared Chartres Street. A coffee au lait and some greasy beignets was her preferred hangover cure these days. But as her stomach growled, she realized she’d take anything right about now.

The intoxicating smell of boudin and chicory came wafting from the two-story white house on the corner.

The hand-painted sign out front read, Elizabeth’s Restaurant .

But Dana’s hopes were dashed when she saw the long line of people at the door.

It wrapped around the corner, where guests waited in the shade of the building, already fanning themselves in the early morning humidity.

Giving up hope of a real meal, Dana opened her ride share app and requested a car.

A few merciful minutes later her driver arrived.

She climbed inside and laid her head back, drinking in the air conditioning.

Her dewy skin stuck to the leather as she watched the Bywater rush past until finally, she arrived back at Hotel Monteleone.