Harper could hear the apprehension in her voice. “Dani…I’m not going to leave you until we’ve got this guy. If I’ve got to take you all the way to California, I will.”

Dani nodded. “I’m ready for this all to be over with, you know. But…it’ll be hard to say goodbye to you, Scout.”

Harper smiled. “Not that I want to say goodbye just yet, but I’m really sick of this bastard.”

* * *

Dani sat down in the chair, feeling somewhat detached from the situation she found herself in. It could have been a movie set; the gun felt odd in her hands. The whole last week could have been a movie, she thought. Especially last night. She’d been abducted by the stalker—the clown. Thrown, unconscious, into the backseat of a car. Then, with recovered consciousness, she threw herself out of that same speeding car, more scared of her fate with him than that of tumbling out onto a busy street. And then Harper was there, picking her up, holding her, telling her everything was okay. And later, Harper had been there when she’d needed her, when she’d been at her lowest, when—emotionally—she was as drained as she’d ever been. Harper had been there. She glanced over at her now, letting her gaze linger on her face, feeling somewhat comforted by simply looking at her.

They’d entered the motel room and Harper had quickly turned on all the lights. She’d placed the locket on the dresser. After locking the door and sliding the chair in front of it, they’d gone into the adjoining room, turning no lights on at all. Harper had pulled the drapes closed tightly, only then turning on the bathroom light. She’d given Dani her backup weapon, then had literally crashed on the bed. She’d been asleep within seconds, it seemed.

Harper had told her she needed at least a couple of hours of sleep. She’d also told her if she heard anything suspicious or if she was scared to wake her immediately. Of course every little noise she heard outside had her fidgeting nervously.

Scared? Yes, she was. Scared that he would come. Scared that he wouldn’t and they’d have to deal with it all again another day. And also scared that it could be over soon, for completely different reasons.

She needed to come to grips with the fact that what they’d shared last night was the result of the circumstances and nothing more. They would say their goodbyes and get back to their respective lives. And in a few months’ time, she would return to Dallas, this time definitely as Danielle Stevens, about to shoot her final movie.