Page 75 of Girl Between (Dana Gray FBI Mystery Thriller #5)

Jake sauntered over, his long legs kicking up dust in the sunbaked parking lot. As usual, his poker face gave away nothing. He’d been on the phone for a long time. Dana didn’t know if that was good or not.

She watched him unwrap a stick of cinnamon gum and murder it between his molars, a sure sign of his aggravation.

“What’s the word?” George asked when Jake joined them at Dana’s car.

“Unofficially, the FBI agreed to move this case up the chain.”

“What does that mean?” Dana asked.

“Means BAU will take it, but we gotta do the leg work.”

“Wrap it all up neat with a big red bow?” George grumbled.

“Yep. The director wants me to stay on for now to facilitate chain of evidence while they work out where this lands.”

“So, you’re staying in New Orleans?” Dana asked, unable to keep the surprise from her voice.

“Is that a problem?”

“No, I just thought you were planning to be back in D.C.?”

“For Claire’s trial? Yeah, I am. Still think you should be there, too.

But right now, I’m devoting my attention to things with better odds.

” Jake faced George. “I’ll need to work with Dr. Cruz to get the autopsy files transferred to the bureau.

Protocol dictates she be given federal clearance to work with our agents. You good with that?”

“Yes. Anything you need,” George answered.

“Good. I’ll get started here, then head to the station to get the rest of the paperwork underway.”

“I’ll call Neville, he can run point for you,” suggested George.

Jake shook his head. “I’d prefer Officer LaSalle.”

George frowned. “Neville’s got seniority.”

“Yeah, and he’s got a wedding in a few days. LaSalle’s hungry. I saw that at the cemetery. She’ll work better with BAU. Plus, she’s not hanging up her badge for a honeymoon anytime soon. She’s on point. Keeps things seamless, streamlined.”

George’s frown portrayed his reservations, but he nodded anyway. “I’ll let her know.”

“What about me?” Dana asked.

“It’ll depend on the team, but BAU tends to leave discretion of field experts to local law enforcement,” said Jake. “You still have FBI clearance, so it’ll be up to Det. George to add you to the team once things are official.”

“I want on,” Dana volunteered before George had a chance to weigh in.

“Understood,” he said, sharing a weighted glance with Jake.

“What do we do now?” Dana asked.

“Until the FBI makes it official, you need to keep working these homicides like you normally would,” Jake advised.

George agreed. “Our first two vics made me want to revisit the old Harvest Girls case. I planned to follow up with a visit to the bayou today. See if an old source can connect anything from what happened back then to our current predicament.”

“Do it,” Jake said. “Let me know if you find anything pertinent.”

“I’ll go with you,” Dana offered.

George nodded, pulling out his phone. “Let me make a few calls, and we’ll head out.”

He walked out of earshot toward his truck, leaving Dana alone with Jake. He’d pulled out his little pocket notebook and started jotting down notes. The action was innocuous, but it immediately drew Dana back to the first case they’d worked together.

If she knew then what she knew now, would she have taken that case?

Part of her wished she would’ve kicked the surly FBI agent out of her neat, orderly life. Then she would still have Claire and Meredith and a job with a normal routine that didn’t involve risking her life.

But she knew better. The world didn’t work that way. One flap of a butterfly’s wings didn’t send the world spinning into chaos. Neither did her decision to work with Jake Shepard.

The actions of one singular being were not powerful enough to inherit the sole responsibility of the outcome of others. Some things were beyond her control. Set into motion long ago and influenced by millions of non-linear, infinitesimal events that preceded her existence.

And still, despite everything, Dana wasn’t certain she wouldn’t choose differently if she had it all to do over again

Her quest for answers had cost her everything.

Friends.

Family.

Maybe things she hadn’t even begun to realize.

Yet here she was. At the same crossroad.

Deciding whether to follow her heart or her head.

Have I learned nothing?

She and Jake had come such a long way since that first case. They’d been through hell and back in the past few years, but somehow it was as if they were still in the same place. Stuck in a stalemate. Fighting for the same thing, but never on the same page.

There had to be common ground between them. She didn’t want to believe two people could save and be saved by each other as many times as they had and not find some semblance of peace.

“Thanks for calling the bureau,” she said, offering an olive branch. “I know you and the new director aren’t on the best of terms.”

Jake shrugged. “Figured I’d have to call him back at some point. ”

“Call him back? As in you’ve been ignoring him?”

Jake shrugged.

“That sounds ominous.”

“He’s just more hands-on than Jenks. Likes to keep us on a short leash.”

“Jake, if you have to go back to D.C. I’m sure the bureau will send an adequate replacement.”

The moment it took Jake to school his features was all Dana needed to see how deep her comment had cut him.

Why did I say that?

She knew it was a lie the moment it left her mouth. No one was better than Jake. Because no one cared the way he did.

She may appreciate George’s easy-goingness, but in truth, she preferred Jake’s always-on-the-job focus. That’s how she operated. It was hard to find people who understood that. Hence the fact that she’d always worked alone.

Until Jake.

And Claire.

She shoved the unbidden thought away, hating that she was still struggling with the repercussions of the Reaper case. She hated even more that Jake might be right. Going back to D.C. to face her demons was the only way to truly vanquish them.