But Dani followed her, leaning against the adjoining doorjamb as she watched her stuff pillows under the covers, shaping them as if two people were sleeping. Then she took the locket and placed it on the nightstand beside the bed.

“We’ll leave the lights on in here for an hour or so. If he’s going to try to get in, I would guess it’d be well after midnight.” Then she shook her head. “This is a crazy plan, Dani. Unless he’s desperate to get his hands on you, I can’t believe he’d try something with me in the room.” She shrugged. “Of course I was in the room the other night. It didn’t take much to get me out of the way.”

“Quit blaming yourself,” Dani said. “We were…distracted, for one thing. And we were surrounded by cops. We felt safe. Besides, it happened so fast, I don’t think I even had time to scream.”

“Yeah, you did.”

Dani smiled. “I did? All I remember is him hitting you and you falling. When I woke up, I was in the car.”

Harper stared at her. “I’m sorry, Dani. I should have—”

Dani held her hand up. “Stop. You act like you let him in and stood by while he took me.” She pointed to her cheek. “You have a battle scar to prove otherwise.”

Harper nodded. “You’re right. I was distracted.” She held her gaze. “I’m still distracted.”

Dani’s smile was…it was sweet. “Well, then I guess that makes two of us.”

Harper laughed lightly. “And that’s not a good thing. Come on. Let’s go next door. Maybe you can find you a cooking show to watch.”

* * *

The cooking show couldn’t hold her interest. There were too many other things vying for her attention. Like the bed bugs that she imagined were hopping all over her, and the stale cigarette smell that was stifling…and the roach she’d seen slinking across the carpet—the worn, dirty, stained-with-God-knows-what carpet. Most likely it was the anticipation of the clown finding them tonight. Anticipation? No. More like expectation. She didn’t know what sixth sense told her that he was close, but she could practically feel him. The hair on the back of her neck was standing on end. Harper felt it too, she knew. Harper was pacing. Harper would stop and listen, alert to every noise from the parking lot. Loud voices from outside brought them both to their feet once, her heart thudding nervously until Harper shook her head, indicating it wasn’t their guy.

They’d turned the lights off in the adjoining room—the room where the locket was—at eleven. Now as midnight approached, she knew she’d have to turn the TV off, plunging the room into darkness. The yellowish, dim light from the bathroom was barely enough for them to see by.