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Martin looked skeptical. “No one else has called in any other vandalism, and the neighborhood was quiet and peaceful when we drove through it.”
“And why would anyone prank just me?” I asked, baffled. “I don’t even know any teenagers. My kid is in elementary school.”
“Then who else could it be?” The other officer shrugged.
“I might know,” Ryan muttered with a heavy sigh.
I turned my gaze to him, stunned. “What? Who?”
“You got a name?” Officer Martin asked.
Ryan nodded. “Yeah, Bill Johnson. He’s a former VP at my company. He was let go a couple months ago, and he didn’t take it well. He was harassing me and my company before I came back here, and I was told he’d calmed down. I hadn’t thought he might come here.”
“What makes you think he has?” Martin questioned.
Ryan hesitated, glancing at me, his gaze uncertain.
Finally, he said, “Last night, I heard something outside my house and when I went to investigate, I found my tires slashed. A pot had been broken on my back porch as well, but I’d thought it was a raccoon or something at the time.”
“And you didn’t report the tires?”
Ryan shook his head. “I didn’t want to draw attention to it if it was Bill. I wanted to handle it internally, with my personal security, but I didn’t think for a second that he’d go after someone other than me.”
I could hardly believe what I was hearing. This was just too crazy to be real.
It was a stark reminder of what Ryan’s life was actually like outside the borders of our little town. He was a businessman. A billionaire!
Of course he had to have enemies. Nobody made that kind of money without pissing a few people off along the way.
“All right, we’ll look into this Bill guy,” Martin said. “It doesn’t look like he broke in anywhere, and nothing else was vandalized or damaged on the property. You should be safe to stay here tonight, but we’ll have a patrol stay in the neighborhood just in case.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, rather comforted by that. “I appreciate you coming over.”
“Of course.” Martin nodded. “If anything else happens, give us a call right away. It’d go a long way if we could catch whoever this is in the act.”
That was a lot less comforting. “All right, I will.”
I stood and walked the officers out of my house, closing the door behind them. Releasing a long breath, I turned and found Ryan standing in the middle of the living room. He looked guilty as he gazed at me.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this Bill guy?” I asked, moving to stand in front of him.
He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I’m sorry. I really thought I could take care of the whole situation by myself without getting anyone here involved. I didn’t think he’d do anything like this.”
I folded my arms. “Why target me? It’s not like he could know about Henry, and we’re not a couple.”
Ryan nodded. “Yeah, I’m not sure. It’s possible, if he’s been lurking around town, that he’s seen the two of us together. He might have just drawn his own conclusions about our relationship, and since I didn’t really respond to his attacks at my place, maybe he thought going after you would get my attention.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head. “That’s really messed up.”
“I know,” Ryan murmured. “I’m so sorry, Sam. I never wanted to involve you and Henry in this mess. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to deal with this and make sure this never happens again.”
“It’s not your fault,” I assured him. “But, yeah, for Henry’s sake, please figure this thing out. I don’t want him in any danger.”
“Me either. I don’t want you in any danger, either.” His shoulders dropped, and he sighed again. “I’ll get out of here and leave you alone for the night.”
He moved to walk past me, but I grabbed his arm and stopped him. He looked down at me with a furrowed brow. I held his gaze.
“I don’t want to be alone,” I whispered.
