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"Moving on!" I cut her off. "Has that stranger been back in Jasper Creek? The one Pearl spotted?"

"No, thank God. But something weird did happen." Her voice got serious. "Someone's been calling around town, asking about doing a book on Jasper Creek's history. Wanted to know if any celebrities had ever lived here, specifically people from Nashville."

My stomach tightened. "Russell."

"That's what Jase thought too. Everyone who got called pointed him to Little Grandma, because obviously she knows everything."

"What did she tell him?"

"Oh, this is the best part." Angelica's grin was audible. "She made up a bunch of complete bullshit. Told him Hulk Hogan used to give self-defense classes to seniors in the town square. That Dolly Parton's third cousin twice removed ran the hardware store. That Elvis faked his death and lived above the diner for six months in 1982."

Despite everything, I laughed. "She didn't."

"She absolutely did. Said if this guy was going to snoop, she'd give him so much fake information he'd never find the truth." Angelica paused. "She never mentioned you or me. Didn't confirm any celebrities at all, just fed him wild stories until he stopped calling."

"God, I love that woman."

"Me too. But Kit, why would Russell send someone if he thought you were going to drop out of the film because of the blackmail?"

I thought about the emails sitting in my regular phone's inbox. "I haven't answered his last two messages. On the first one, I told him I needed time to think about it. That I'd give him an answer two days before production started."

"So, he's getting nervous."

"Exactly. He sent someone to see if I was actually considering dropping out, or if I was stalling.” I blew out a frustrated breath. “This role matters to me. But I also don't want that video released. It’ll end my career."

"Code's going to fix this. You know that, right?"

"I hope so."

“He will. He’s amazing. All those guys are who work with Jase. They’re going to take care of this for you.”

I took in a deep breath, praying she was right.

"Hey." Her voice softened. "Kit, I know I gave you shit about not calling, but I need you to know something. You're not just my best friend. You're my sister. And I love you."

My throat tightened. "I love you too. More than you know."

"Good. Now stop scaring me by disappearing."

"I'll try."

We hung up, and the silence of the motel room closed in again.

I resumed pacing. Twelve feet by fourteen feet. Thirty-eight laps. Thirty-nine.

My phone buzzed. It could only be Code. I lunged for it on the dresser.

CODE: Found Eddie's location. Going in. Stay put.

My fingers shook as I typed back:

Be careful. Come back to me.

Three dots appeared, then disappeared. No response.

I turned on the TV and muted it, watching news anchors mouth words about traffic and weather. Normal people problems. Normal people lives.

An hour passed. Then two.