excerpt

He squared his shoulders and a new resolve filled him. He drove back to Bourbon Street and walked into the Jazz Club with purposeful strides. He saw one of the girls that he had questioned earlier in the week and went straight for her. He grabbed her arm and flung her against the wall.

The bartender went for something under the counter but Joseph pulled his gun out and tossed his badge on the counter. “Stay out of it.” He warned.

He grabbed her again and put his gun to her temple. “Another girl is dead and the one I love is missing. You don’t have to fear the killer any more because now you have to fear me. I have nothing to lose. If you don’t talk, and tell me the truth, you’ll be joining your friends on the other side of glory.”

She saw something in his face that made her believe him. There was a steely look in his eyes and she was afraid, terribly afraid. “Yes, it’s him. It’s the one you’re looking for, the guy in the picture.”

Joseph didn’t say another word, just picked up his badge and left the club.

He stood up unsteadily on his feet and grabbed her arm. “Let’s dance.”

She let him lead her to the floor. They were playing a love song called “This Magic Moment” and in spite of the circumstances, she melted against him. The beer gave him the nerve he needed and he held her tighter than he had ever held her. His lips brushed her hair so lightly she wasn’t sure whether he actually did it or not. There were just the two of them in the world. Everyone else ceased to exist. Their bodies moved as one as they moved on the dance floor. She wanted this to go on forever. She didn’t want to think about the girl he was with. It hurt too much. She wondered if the red head would feel his kisses this night, and she almost cried just thinking about it.

“Is she your girlfriend Joseph? You never mentioned her before. I guess you were too busy buttin’ into my life.”

She hated herself for saying that but the pain was so great she felt that she had to lash out at him.

Instead of answering her, he pulled her closer and showered tiny kisses on her neck, his face lost in the soft hair that hung to her shoulders. She responded by fondling the hair on the back of his neck, completely lost in the moment. He moved his head slightly and found her lips and they both seemed to drown in each other.

Jennie had never been kissed by anyone in her life like Joseph was kissing her now. It consumed her, lifted her up to heavenly places. She had fancied herself in love with Johnny, but his kisses were nothing compared to Joseph’s. She wanted so badly to say, “I love you Joseph,” but she didn’t want to make a fool of herself.

And Joseph was transported to heavenly places too by her kiss. He had never felt this way about a girl before and he marveled at the intensity of his feelings for her. Even in his drunkenness, he knew that she would always be the only one for him. He wished the song would go on forever. He didn’t want to let go of her, he wished he could just hold her the rest of his life.

When the song ended she pulled away from him. She didn’t want him to see how much his kisses affected her.