Page 87 of Girl Betrayed

“FBI forensic lab. Just got word from the BAU. The D.C. Reaper case got bounced to them, and they’ve asked Metro for joint assistance. I got you on the team as an expert witness.” Dana paused, staring at the closed door in front of her, then said, “Give me twenty.”

“No, this is dangerous,”Jake argued. “I’m not comfortable with you going alone.”

“I don’t have a choice,” Dana replied.

“Yes, Dana, you do. You’re the one with all the choices here. I’m suspended and that’s my fault, but I signed up for this life. You didn’t. I dragged you into it, and I regret it every day.”

“You’re wrong, Jake, I signed up for it, too. It was my choice to work with you on that first case. It was my choice to continue working with you. Everything that’s happened to me, it’s on me. I made the decisions that led me here. And this is me, choosing to sign back up, for us, for Claire, for whatever lies ahead. I need to know you can respect that.”

Jake growled as he paced away from her. He looked like he wanted to punch something. Thankfully for the sake of all the irreplaceable antiques in Dana’s home, he didn’t. When he turned to face her, his pain was obvious, etched across his face like a scar.

“What am I supposed to do?” Jake implored. “Stay here and do nothing while you put yourself in harm’s way, again?”

“You’re supposed to trust me.”

“I do. You know I do. That’s not the issue here.”

“Then what is?”

“If something happens to you …” he threaded his hands behind his head and blew out a breath before sinking down to sit on her bed. Jake looked up at her, his blue eyes a storm of sorrow. “It’s not supposed to be this way.”

She moved close enough to stand in front of him. Jake let his arms circle around her waist, hanging his head to rest on her stomach. “I know,” she whispered, running her fingers through his hair. “I can’t promise you nothing will happen. You know that.”

He looked up at her, his expression a mirror of misery.

“Each day we wake up with the knowledge that it might be our last. The challenge is pushing past that fear and finding a way to live anyway. What you’ve helped me learn is that it’s awhole lot easier to do when you don’t have to do it alone.” Dana knelt down until their faces were level. “I don’t want to do it alone anymore. I want to live this life with you, Jake. But I want a partner who will back me up, not fight me every step of the way.”

He stroked her hair away from her face. “Dana, that’s what I want, too. Tell me you believe that.”

“I do,” she whispered, letting her lips graze his.

Jake drew her in for a kiss she wished never had to end. But she tore herself away. “I have to go.”

“And I have to stay,” he said, morosely.

She dropped one more kiss to his lips. “Jake, Claire needs you more than I do right now. Protect her. You’re the only one who can.” Then she pulled the dog tags and Post-it note from her pocket and pressed them into his hand. “You may not agree with my methods, but this means something. Look into it … for me.”

75

Jake watchedDana walk out the door, the note and dog tags heavy in his hand as he wondered, yet again, what his troubles had cost her.

He sat on her bed for a long time, fighting every instinct to chase after her. Of course, that’s exactly what she’d asked him not to do. She’d finally answered his question, admitting what he’d hoped all along. She wanted to be with him, but she needed a partner, not the over-protective Alpha-hole he tended to be.

The way she’d claimed responsibility for her choices made him admire her even more—even if it did little to absolve him of his guilt. Her choices were her own, but Jake knew he had a role in bringing her down this dangerous path. He’d devoted his life to the philosophy: protect and serve. Accepting he couldn’t do that for the woman he loved was intolerable.

Still, he knew Dana was right. Jake wanted to respect that, but he didn’t know how to deal with being sidelined like this.

Normally, he would bury himself in work when his personal life got too complicated, but now even that wasn’t an option. He stared down at the note, now crumpled next to him on the bed. It glared back, a yellow reminder, warning him to stop putting off the inevitable.

He’d call, but not until he was ready.

Jake slipped his dog tags around his neck, then stood, shoving the note in his pocket before walking down the hall to check on Claire. Right now, she was the only one he could help.

The door was ajar, just as he’d left it. He knocked before pushing his way into the room. Claire still lay on her side, staring into nothingness. Jake pulled up a chair and sat down, hoping she could sense his presence from whatever far corner of her mind she’d retreated to.

He regretted his earlier actions. She needed his support, not accusations. It wasn’t clear what was going on with Claire, but if he was going to find out, he needed to gain her trust again.

Claire didn’t trust easily. Jake had known that from the moment he’d met her. Like most individuals of immense intellect, she appeared shy and awkward at first, but Jake had pushed past that to the fiercely loyal, brilliant, hilarious girl beneath her many layers of gothic attire.

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