She moved closer to Dani, studying her profile. No, it would never work. She reached up and touched the wig, then shook her head. “Reid is right. It’s not going to work.” She met her gaze. “Don’t ever dye your hair brown,” she murmured.

“I take it we’re going with Plan B?”

“Yeah.” She turned to Reid. “Dani and I will go alone. That’ll keep you out of trouble with Mize.”

“That’s Plan B? No, Harper. Plan B should be going in to the station. Plan B should be you—”

“No. Tell Mize I took off and wouldn’t tell you a thing. If it ends badly, they’ll have someone to blame.”

“It’s going to end badly. You think you can take this guy on by yourself? Hell, Harper, he already killed a cop. He’s a pro. He’s not going to just waltz into your room and let you arrest him.”

“I don’t plan on arresting him,” she said pointedly. “As you said…he’s killed a cop. I doubt it’s his first time.”

“Harper, let’s go in. Tell Mize about the locket. Let them—”

“No,” she said firmly. “I don’t trust anyone right now. Not with her.”

Chapter Forty-Two

“Nervous? Scared?”

Dani nodded. “Not going to lie, yes. But I’m glad we’re together.”

“That was a stupid plan,” Harper conceded. “Although the hair salon in the hotel was very accommodating.”

She laughed. “Yeah, but that blond wig was so not you.” She leaned back against the seat, trying to relax. “You’re going to get into a lot of trouble with Mize, aren’t you?”

“I imagine so. I’ll worry about it later.”

Dani reached to her neck, noting the absence of the locket. Harper must have seen her.

“It’s in a safe place.”

Dani glanced at her and smiled. “It feels weird without it. It always does when I take it off.”

“Is that the only thing you have from your childhood?”

“Yes. When I left home, I didn’t take much with me. I told you, my parents weren’t in favor of the move and they didn’t help at all. I think they were hoping that the move would be too much for me—too big—and I’d change my mind.” She took a deep breath, remembering that time in her life. “There was always friction between us, but that was probably the thing that drove the biggest wedge. After I moved…well, our relationship deteriorated quickly. I was truly on my own.” She paused. “I think, secretly, they were glad I left. They didn’t know what to do with me; I was so different from my sister.”

“Well, like you said, they were older when you were born. They probably didn’t know how to relate to you.”