Danielle had never really thought about how she would feel if she ever lay her eyes on James Fuller again, but she never expected to feel this... numbness. The man who had hurt her so much stood in front of her, unkempt and his eyes bloodshot and all she saw was the pathetic coward that he was. She had expected the panic to grip her, then the fear to set in, but instead, there was nothing. She didn't even know how to react when he gave her a dirty little smile. She should have been angry that he could he stand there with that smile on his face after all the pain and humiliation he had put her through.

"Well, aren't you going to let me in?"

He didn't wait for an answer, instead roughly pushed his way in. It occurred to Dani that she was not afraid of him anymore. Whatever she had felt for him, all the fear and hatred, had been completely replaced by the pain she felt at leaving Randy. It almost made her laugh, how easily Randy had done the job she had taken two years trying to do on her own.

"What do you want?"

"What do I want? You get me arrested, then disappear on me for years and have the audacity to ask that?" Jamie sneered, making himself comfortable on the only couch in the little hotel room. "Do you know how hard it's been to track you down? Then I find you shacked up with that little shit."

"Well, that 'little shit' is going to be here any minute, so just piss off, Jamie."

The old Dani would never have had the guts to talk back. This Dani just didn't care. What more could this man do to her? She was already hurting in the worst possible way.

He laughed at that.

"I'd forgotten what a lying whore you are," he said, taking a bottle of beer out of the dirty plastic bag he'd brought with him. "There's noone coming here. In fact, you've got them running around looking for you."

"You've been spying on me?"

So all those times she had felt like someone was watching... it had been him?

"Just looking out for you, sweet cheeks, protecting my investment."

She was still standing with the door open. She wasn't stupid. She knew he could hurt her physically and make her lose the one thing she had left to live for so she was not about to give him that chance. Maybe in a few weeks, after she got used to being without Randy, she would look back on this day and tremble at thought of the danger she had put herself in. Maybe even seeing Jamie would reopen old wounds, deeper than what she had reopened when she walked into what had been their master bedroom. But not right now.

"I'd like you to leave, now."

The evil man only laughed. It was an ugly laugh followed by a nasty cough. Obviously, he had been too indulgent over the years with his drink and all the other questionable substances he took.

"Sit down, babes. We've got a lot of catching up to do," he said. "Tell me everything, tell me about all the men you've been whoring with."

He was already opening another beer. In the past, it had never ended well for her after he'd had so much to drink.

"My mum sends her love," he continued. "Said she can't wait to see you again. You should make more effort this time, Dani."

The cheek of the man! His mother was as evil as he was. Obviously, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. It made her stronger in her decision to rid of Jamie and all the damage he had done before the baby was born so she could do a better job than Jamie's mother had done, raising him by herself.

"You don't own me, Jamie. I suggest you leave before I call the cops."

He laughed again, and this time the sound grated her nerves. If he didn't go, she was going to have to.

"And say what? I haven't laid a finger on you. Last time I checked, it wasn't against the law for a husband to sit and talk to his wife."

"Lets try her phone again," Shawn said when they'd come out of another hotel with no luck. "She knows I worry about her, she should have called by now."

There was no answer again. It was almost two in the morning and they were running out of places to look.

"Something is wrong," Randy said. "I can feel it. I think that bastard has her."

"Don't talk like that, Randy. Lets keep looking."

He had the detective, Ron Tucker, working all night on it with instructions to ring them when anything at all turned up. So far, they hadn't had a single call.

"I'm going to ring H to help. Maybe you should call John. We need all the help we can get."

"John will be here in the morning, I've already talked to him," Randy confirmed, opening the passenger door of Shawn's car.

If he had not stopped to look around one last time, he would not have seen her coming from the very hotel they had just checked. He was by her side like a shot.

"Oh, God! You had me so worried," he said, holding her in a tight embrace. "I thought that prick found you. I've been imagining all sorts of things."

Shawn joined them then and took her into his arms.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

She nodded at her brother and let him take her one bag. Shawn knew her well enough to know she wasn't, and that she was not about to open up to him.

"Lets go home. You'll feel better after you've had a bit of sleep."

"I'm not coming to your house, Shawn."

"What? Why?" Randy asked, his relief at finding her quickly replaced by an indescribable pain at the empty expression he finally noticed on her face.

"I'm going to find another hotel."

This was directed at Shawn. Randy realised she had not looked at him at all. His heart sank a bit more.

"Why?" Randy asked again.

"I need to be by myself for a while. I'll let you know where I am, Shawn, I'm not about to run away again."

Shawn looked at his sister and nodded. He'd never seen her like this before, devoid of any emotion. When she was ready to talk, she would tell him, but right now, he needed to give her her space.

"Jamie is about. I'll take you wherever you want to go, but you have to promise me you keep in constant contact," he said.

He would have people watching her every hour of the day, making sure Jamie didn't get anywhere near her. Hopefully, she would be ready to come home soon. He wasn't going to get anywhere by forcing her to go home with him.

"Shawn, what are you doing?" Randy asked, pushing him out of the way so he stood facing Dani. "I can't let you be by yourself. Jamie has been watching our house, he probably knows where you are."

Dani looked up at him for the first time.

"Go back to St. Louis, Randy," she said. "I'll be alright."

"I'm not going anywhere without you."

"You've got no choice Randy. Me and you are done."

"Wh... what do you mean?"

She looked away from him.

"I mean just that. It was fun while it lasted, but it's over now."

"You can't mean that, not after..."

"I do mean it. You helped me a lot, and I'll never forget that, but it's not fair for me to be with you. I'm not in love with you, Randy."