“Oh.” She saw her name—Danielle Stevens—stamped across the front. “Sorry. I forgot.”

“Forgot you’re a big star?”

Dani smiled. “Yes. And I like it very much. But I have another card. In my real name.”

“That’s okay. I got it.”

Harper leaned closer as she carried their bags out. “So are you really like…a big shot?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. I only have four movies. And I’m rather reluctant to give interviews. I hate doing the talk show circuit.” She shrugged. “Again, I’m not a very good celebrity.”

“You’re obviously good enough to warrant a stalker.”

“Or bad enough.” She got in beside Harper and closed the car door. “I’m being honest here. I’m not all that good. As an actress, I mean. It’s totally based on my looks and I don’t pretend that it’s any other reason. And if I was really into this whole lifestyle, then yes, I could milk it for years, I’d guess. But I’m not into it. At all.”

“Which is why you want to do the drunk cop movie.”

“Exactly. I’ll be exposed. It’ll be a damn good reason to get out.”

“That’s got to be disappointing, though…going out on a low note.”

Dani shook her head. “Not for me. Maybe disappointing for Danielle Stevens but not for Dani Strauss.”

“What about going back to Tennessee and trying to reconnect with your family? Is that in the cards?”

“I don’t know.” She turned to look at Harper as she drove. “You mean going back as their lesbian daughter?”

Harper smiled. “Yeah…the real you.”

“I would imagine they’d prefer I stay away if that was the case. What about your family? Since you left Tucson, do you still have a relationship with them?”

“We talk on the phone some. Not a lot.” Harper glanced at her quickly. “They didn’t like me being a cop to begin with. The thing with Jan…well, they blamed me. So did her parents.”

“Did you blame you?”

Harper nodded. “Yes.”

“Still?”

“Still.”

* * *

“This place is certainly nicer than the other one,” Harper said as she inspected the master bath. “Wonder how long it’ll take him to find us?”

“Well, he certainly wasn’t tailing us. You made me dizzy with all the turns you made.”

Harper followed her into the kitchen. “Yeah, I almost got lost myself.” She caught the onion that was about to roll off the counter. “I’m a great onion chopper. But let me check in with the unit out front. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”

The patrol car was parked across the street from the house. She jogged over to them, smiling at Ja’wan Freeman as he lowered his window.

“Hey, man. You’ve got an easy job tonight.”