“Then I should say I’m sorry.” She forced a smile to her face. “I guess it’s a good thing that I’ll be leaving in a couple of days, huh?”

Dani’s attempt to lighten the mood seemed to have the opposite effect. For both of them, it seemed. Harper couldn’t believe how quickly Dani had become a part of her life, as if she belonged there. She was having a hard time remembering her days—and her lonely, solitary nights—before Dani popped in.

A quiet tap on their door interrupted her thoughts and she turned to it, thinking it must be Reid.

“Got another delivery, Detective.”

She looked at Dani with raised eyebrows. She didn’t recognize the voice and she wondered if Officer Sorrell’s shift was starting later than usual. She went to the door but kept the chain on as a precaution. She’d barely turned the doorknob when it was forced open in a rush, throwing her against the wall. She turned, only to have the side of her face smashed with the blunt force of a gun. She tried to hold on even as her eyes were swimming in blackness. Her knees buckled and as she hit the floor, Dani’s scream echoed in her muddled brain.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ignore the pounding in her head. Get up! Get up! Get up! She struggled to her feet, blinking her eyes to try to clear the stars that were blinding her.

“What the hell’s going on?”

“Reid…thank God!” Harper grabbed his arm. “Come on! He’s got her.”

Reid should have been the one driving, she knew that as she sped out of the parking lot. It was a nondescript smallish black car that she’d seen Dani being thrown into. Dani had been limp, dangling in his arms like one of his lifeless dolls. Had he knocked her out? Had he smashed her face too? Had he drugged her?

“Jesus Christ! Slow down, Harper!”

Reid held on to the dash with one hand, the other was on the door as he braced himself against the wild turn she made. The neighboring car honked several times at her as she cut in front of them. It was still relatively early in the evening—eight thirty, maybe?—and there was enough traffic for him to get lost in. That was probably his plan all along.

She pounded her fist against the steering wheel angrily. How could she have been so lax? Why had she opened the door without knowing for sure who it was?

“Slow down!” he yelled again. “He’s only three cars ahead of us. We got him.”

“If he gets to the freeway, he’ll disappear in traffic. We’ll lose him!”

Reid was thrown against the door as she changed lanes, cutting off two cars in the process.

“Goddamn it, Harper, you’re going to kill us both!”