I nodded again. But didn’t tell him that I wasn’t trembling solely out of fear. I’d have to be a moron not to be freaked out by this, but, even more than scared, I was pissed. This guy had taken away the safety of my home, my neighborhood, my job. He’d turned my life upside down. And I was ready for it to end. I was ready to take my life back.

And as I stared at what could very well have been barbequed me, I vowed that I wasn’t going to stop until I did.

Two hours later the cops had dusted, swabbed, and sprayed the entire parking lot for any trace evidence my would-be killer might have left behind. With no results. They said they needed to take it all back to the lab for more comprehensive testing.

As soon as the detective in charge said I could go, I bolted, leaving Cal to deal with the rest of the mess. I knew he could handle it. Me? Hangover plus explosion was more than I could take in one day. Instead, I marched up to the second floor and shoved myself in front of my computer. I pulled up a word processing file and immediately started typing.

GOSSIP COLUMNIST CALLS OUT HER MYSTERY STALKER

RECENTLY YOURS TRULY HAS BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF A NUMBER OF THREATS—

I paused. Then hit the backspace button.

—THE RECIPIENT OF A NUMBER OF CHILDISH THREATS—

There, that was better. I smirked as my fingers continued typing.

—CHILDISH THREATS FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE. THIS SOURCE PROMISED THAT IF I DIDN’T STOP PRINTING ARTICLES ABOUT HIM OR HER, I WOULD END UP DEAD. WELL GUESS WHAT, MYSTERY STALKER? THIS IS ONE REPORTER WHO IS A LITTLE CLEVERER THAN YOU BARGAINED FOR. I KNOW YOUR IDENTITY. AND IF YOU DON’T TURN YOURSELF IN TODAY, I’LL BE PRINTING IT IN TOMORROW’S PAPER. HOW’S THAT FOR A THREAT?

“What is that?”

I spun around to find Cam reading over my shoulder.

“It’s my column for tomorrow.”

Her blonde brows puckered in concern. “Are you sure that’s wise? You’re kind of taunting a killer here, Tina.”

I looked back at the screen. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” Which was the biggest load of false bravado ever, but I wasn’t about to back down now.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked.

“Yes.” No. “The only problem is going to be getting this past Felix. There’s no way he’ll print it.”

“Felix is a smart man.”

I chose to ignore that comment.

“What we need is a distraction. Final copy has to be in to the printer by six. If I can find a way to distract Felix and slip this in at the last minute, it might work.”