Dani Foster has spent the better part of the last year in witness security, seeking protection from a dangerous man in her past. Even behind bars, he had wielded power enough to have her killed-if he could've found her. But now he's escaped, and everything has changed. No longer can she live in a semblance of normalcy. Her survival depends on her acting talent, the masks she wears, and the hated lies she must continue to tell. Neither does she have any expectation of freedom from her masquerade. And no longer can she have any contact with anyone she's left behind: not in Sacramento, and not in Dallas.Jay Hunter is sure that, despite the secrets Dani hid, she is the woman with whom he wants to spend his life. Yet on the verge of him actually proposing, her past creeps in. Strangers shouting in a nearby parking lot spook Dani into an all-out flight. Jay's determined to protect her, until she climbs into the car of another stranger, then tells Jay goodbye. With a permanent sound to the word.Is it any wonder that the dangerous man, intent on killing Dani himself, would use her affection for Jay to his benefit? A shooter targets Dallas police, sending Dani into panic and giving the dangerous man exactly what he wants. Enough contact with her past to determine her present proximity. But Jay has been alerted to her contact as well. Can he locate her, forgetting the pain of her rejection, in time to save her life?