Deadly Dance by Dee Davis Read Free Book Online Page B

in her hair.
    “Not in a really long time. But when I was in college, I had a bad night. Some buddies and I decided to throw a party. And stupidly, I volunteered to play bartender. Rule was that every time someone had a shot, I had to have a shot, too. You can just imagine.”
    “Oh, God, makes me sick just thinking about it. I take it you took your duties seriously.” She smiled, suppressing a laugh.
    “Very seriously. And of course, as we just said, the most deadly thing about tequila is that it doesn’t hit you right away. So when a bunch of us decided to go see a movie, I was more than game.
Apocalypse Now
was showing at the student union on campus. Part of some seventies film festival. So we went.”
    “Uh oh.”
    “Got it in one,” he smiled, remembering. “We went into the theater, and I remember the opening. You know the fan blades going around above Martin Sheen’s head, the sound swelling.”
    “Yeah.” She nodded, sipping from her bottle. “It turns into the sound of a hovering helicopter, right?”
    “Exactly. Anyway, the motion made me sort of sick so I made my way to the bathroom, and next thing I know, I’m waking up over the toilet bowl, and the credits of the movie are rolling.”
    “Oh, my God.” She was laughing out loud now. “It’s a three-hour movie.”
    “Suffice it to say, I haven’t had tequila since. Justthinking of it gives me the shudders. And Bree was really pissed because she had to leave her friends and take me home.”
    “Bree?” Hannah queried, her fingers picking at the label on the bottle.
    “My sister,” Harrison said, just the mention of her name sobering him. “She was at the movie, too. Saw me and my condition and swooped in to take me back to my dorm room. Probably a good thing in hindsight as I was still pretty drunk, even after crashing in the john. But I didn’t think so at the time, which made it that much more difficult for her. Anyway, point is, I learned my lesson when it comes to tequila.” He kept his voice light, praying that she wouldn’t probe any further about his sister. It was just easier to keep the past separate from his life now.
    “Well, my story isn’t as spectacular,” she said, her lips curling into a smile, “but it does begin with what I thought was a clear-headed game of pool. I leaned over the table to make a bank shot, and the next thing I remember, Jason and Nash were, literally, carrying me back to the hotel where we were staying. Needless to say, I still haven’t lived it down. So I can truly sympathize.”
    Most women he knew wouldn’t have been able to keep themselves from digging for more information. But not Hannah.
    “I guess everyone has stories like ours.”
    “If they’ve ever drunk tequila.” She leaned back, propping bare feet on the adjacent counter. “So after college you went to the FBI, right?”
    He nodded, taking another sip from the bottle to order his thoughts. “I thought I could make a difference.”
    “And did you?”
    “Not as much as I’d hoped,” he shrugged. “Sometimes the bad guys win the day no matter what you do.”
    “Only you can’t look at it that way,” she said, “or it’ll eat you alive. Jason always said it was about winning battles. And that the war might be never-ending, but that there were moments. The important thing is to celebrate the victories no matter how small rather than letting the losses weigh you down.”
    “It’s good advice. And I suppose that’s why I’m still here.” He shrugged and hopped up. “Another round?” Hannah nodded, and he walked over to the refrigerator. “You and Jason were close. I could see that even in the short time I had with the two of you together. Was it ever something more?” He wasn’t sure why he asked the question. There was no question that Jason had been in love with Lara. But still he couldn’t help but wonder.
    “Me and Jason?” she asked, clearly surprised as he handed her a beer. “No. Never. With him, it was