“Detective Jeremiah…good to see you,” he said with a quick handshake. “Bill Ford, this here is Harper Jeremiah.”

Harper looked past him to his partner and nodded. “Ford….yeah, I’ve seen you around.”

“You got Danielle Stevens in there?” Ja’wan asked with arched eyebrows. “Got all kinds of rumors swirling around.”

“Like what?”

“Like she’s linked to that rape the other night. The case Springer caught.”

Well, so much for Mize thinking there wasn’t much speculating going on. She didn’t see the point in lying to them. “Yeah, she’s in there. She’s got some guy stalking her. He keeps finding us.”

“Yeah, I heard about the baseball last night. We’ll keep a good eye on the place, Detective. You won’t have a disturbance tonight. Not on my watch.”

“I hope not.” She tapped the side of his car. “Thanks for having my back.”

“Sure thing, Harper.”

Ja’wan Freeman was one of the first officers she’d met when she’d transferred to Dallas. He’d worked the scene of her very first assault victim—a scene that brought back all sorts of nightmares—and for some reason, he’d taken a liking to her. He was big and black and brawny and she admitted she was a little intimidated by him. But it was as if he’d sensed the war going on inside of her. He’d stuck by her all night, helping with the questions, prompting her when she’d stumbled over some of them. Afterward, they’d gone out for drinks when his shift had ended. He hadn’t asked any questions and she never felt the need to explain, but they’d bonded over drinks. They hadn’t seen each other socially since that night, but whenever she saw him—like now—he was friendly with her, more so than he might have been with other detectives. She always tried to give him the same respect that he showed her.

She turned back around, finding him watching her. She gave him a quick nod, wondering if he was remembering that night too.

She went back inside the house, locking the door behind her. She heard Dani call from the kitchen.

“Harper? That’s you, right?”

She smiled. “It’s me.”

“Good. Come chop the onion. I’m ready for it.”

The kitchen smelled divine and she inspected the pans on the stove before going to the cutting board and the onion.

“Toss it in the pan. Then add the mushrooms.”

“So you sliced the mushrooms but not the onions?”

Dani laughed. “Mushrooms don’t make me cry.”