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Someone must have done that while I’d been out for my walk because it sure as hell hadn’t been there when I’d locked up. A chill crept over me, and I looked around, realizing they could still be here. I hadn’t been gone for long. Half an hour, at most. What if they were watching me right now?
Cicadas chirped. Birds cheeped. Flowers swayed in the breeze. And all of it took on a sinister tone. I felt as though the world was closing in on me. Splotches appeared in front of my eyes, and I clutched at my throat. Somehow, I’d forgotten to breathe.
I sucked in a lungful of oxygen. Then another.
I looked around. Nobody was here. At least, no one that I could see. But I didn’t trust that. I rushed to the other cottage and hammered on the door. It opened a moment later.
“Hey, whoa, whoa—what’s up?” Blair asked as I fell against his chest. His arms curled around me.
“We need to call the police,” I gasped. “He was here.”
“He, who?” His eyes darkened. “The stalker?”
I nodded frantically. “I think so. He… I…” I tugged his hand. “I’ll show you.”
He let me lead him to the door, calling back over his shoulder, “Tyler! Get your ass out of bed!”
I dragged him to the other cottage’s front porch and held his arm as he swore a blue streak. He reached toward the red lettering, but I snatched his hand away.
“Don’t touch it. The police might be able to use it for evidence.”
“Shit, sorry. I didn’t think.” He leaned close and inhaled. “It’s spray paint. Looks like it’s still wet.”
“They were right here,” I whispered. Right here. In Destiny Falls.
“It still could be someone paid to do it,” Blair pointed out.
I nodded, but I was beginning to get the feeling that we were denying the obvious. It made more sense to acknowledge the fact that my stalker was most likely somewhere nearby.
And why hadn’t the alarm gone off? Or did the ones Liam had set up only get triggered if someone actually entered the building?
“Holy crap,” Tyler said, arriving behind us, tugging a sweater over his bare torso. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” But I wasn’t. Not even close.
“You got your phone on you?” Blair asked him.
Tyler scowled. “Dude, I didn’t even have a shirt on until a second ago.”
“I have mine,” I said, fishing it from my handbag with shaking fingers. I found the number Nate had given me and called it. When the sergeant answered, he sounded wide awake. I gave him a quick rundown, and he promised to be here as soon as he could.
“Well, that cements it,” Blair said. “I’m not leaving this place until I know you’re safe.”
For once, I didn’t argue. I couldn’t imagine how frightened I’d have been if I’d discovered it without him here for support.
“Should we wake Grace?” Tyler asked.
I considered that. “Yes, she’ll probably want to know what’s happening. Would you mind doing it?”
“No problem.” He gave me a reassuring smile. “I’ve got it. You just focus on the police.”
Only a couple of minutes later, a police car pulled up to the curb. Blair and I waited while Nate and a uniformed officer got out. They headed up the path, wearing identical black expressions as they took in the vandal’s work. I couldn’t help glancing at it too. I wondered whether the culprit simply mean to hurt me, or if this was a sign they didn’t like the fact Liam and I were rekindling our relationship. If the stalker considered me to be his, as he’d indicated before, then I doubted he liked having another man on the scene.
“Rough way to start the day,” Nate said, coming to a stop in front of us. “You’d been out for a walk?”
I nodded. “It wasn’t there when I left.”
“That means they were most likely waiting for you to go,” he said, resting one hand on his hip. I closed my eyes at the thought that while I’d been waking and making breakfast, someone might have been lingering nearby, waiting for the opportunity to strike.
