The swishy-haired nightclub blondes at Spiral could probably talk their way out of this, but Piper was so grateful for the reprieve that she didn’t even try. “I couldn’t afford it, but I know that’s no excuse. It’s not my habit to ignore traffic safety.” Except when it came to speed limits, but since he’d checked her plates, he’d already discovered her old transgressions, along with the fact that she had a Concealed Pistol License.

“Driving an unsafe vehicle is dangerous,” he said, “not only to you but to...”

She didn’t hear the rest of his lecture because a one-hundred-thousand-dollar metallic-blue Tesla had whipped into the strip mall. As the car parked in front of the dentist’s office, fresh dread swept through her. The officer knew her real name, and what had turned out to be a simple traffic stop had escalated into a major disaster.

She wasn’t the only one who noticed the ex-quarterback unfolding from the driver’s seat like some kind of urban panther. The officer stopped talking. His chest expanded and his cop cool evaporated as Cooper approached, extending his arm, and introduced himself, as if such a thing were necessary. “Cooper Graham.”

“Sure! I’m one of your biggest fans.” The hunky cop pumped Graham’s hand as if it were a backyard oil rig. “I can’t believe you’re not playing for the Stars this year.”

“All good things come to an end.” Cooper’s drawl was straight out of the Oklahoma prairie. She half expected to see him poke a blade of switchgrass in the corner of his mouth to maintain the illusion that he was harmless.

“That was some game you played against the Patriots last year.”

“Thanks. It was a good day.”

The two of them talked blitzes and pass rushes as if she weren’t there. For someone who was such a stickler about the rules of the road, Officer Hottie wasn’t nearly as exacting when it came to following proper police procedure for a traffic stop.

Graham had his own agenda. He took in her short hair, which had been hidden by last night’s wig. “What’d she do?”

“Didn’t get a broken taillamp fixed. You know this lady?”

Graham nodded. “Sure do. She’s my stalker.”

The cop shot to attention. “Your stalker?”

Graham gave her a piercing look. “Annoying but harmless.”

Suddenly, Officer Hottie was all business. “Step out of the car, ma’am.”

A string of obscenities jammed against the back of her front teeth. Officer Hottie had heard her speak. He knew she didn’t have a British accent, but if Graham heard her plain midwestern speech, whatever slim chance she had of seeing this through would be ruined.

“Lift your arms, please.”