And I’ve seen her completely naked, she thought. He had no idea how beautiful she truly was. But it wasn’t just her physical beauty. That may have been what attracted her, but that wasn’t what drew her to Dani. Underneath it all, Dani was a young woman from a small town, still living in small-town fear of her aging parents. She was alone and vulnerable, yet still strong. Through this whole ordeal, Dani had only broken down one time. And that one time had tugged at her heart. But it wasn’t just that, either. Dani could read her. Dani could look into her eyes and know what she was thinking…feeling. Dani could sense her guilt…or her lack of it. Dani knew about Jan. Harper hadn’t been able to tell anyone about Jan yet Dani…she’d told Dani after knowing her one day. She’d told Dani everything.

“I miss her.” The sound of her own voice startled her. She hadn’t meant to say the words out loud. She smiled apologetically. “I mean…she was around 24/7. I kinda miss her.”

Reid grinned. “You kinda have a crush on her.”

“Yeah, so I do,” she admitted.

“That’s okay. I do too. And let me tell you, I have a much better chance with her than you do,” he said with a laugh. “Although picturing you and Danielle Stevens together…” He wiggled his eyebrows. “That’s kinda hot.”

Harper slugged him on the shoulder. “Do not picture me naked!”

He laughed as he rubbed his shoulder. “Not so much you I’m picturing naked, Harper.”

A loud knock on the door signaled pizza, and Harper let out a grateful sigh, ending that conversation.

Instead of using the table, they took the pizza into the living room and relaxed on his sofa. Reid put the TV on but muted the sound.

“Let me tell you,” he said, waving his pizza at her. “I think Mize was really upset about the suspension. I know you think he doesn’t like you, but I think it bothered him.”

She put her piece of pizza down, picking up her drink instead. “I quit, Reid.”

He stopped in mid-chew, staring at her with wide eyes. “What?”

“I resigned. He wouldn’t accept it. He told me to take the two months to think about it.”

He dropped his pizza. “Why the hell would you resign? Just because you got suspended? Come on, Harper. You had to have known that was coming. You took off with her, wouldn’t even tell me where you were going.”

“It’s not because of the suspension.” She took a deep breath. “Remember me telling you about the serial killer in Tucson?”

“Yeah. The Raggedy Ann doll freaked you out.”

“He killed eight women.” She swallowed. “The last victim…her name was Jan. She was my…my partner. My wife.”

“Oh, Jesus, Harper…I’m sorry.”