Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
W
illow snapped awake when Rufus let out a low growl from the foot of her bed. It was still dark, but he was staring intently across the room, ears pricked, body stiff.
She sighed and reached out a hand to soothe him. “Shush.”
The bedside clock read just after one in the morning. It was probably Tripp moving around somewhere in the house.
But Rufus hopped off the bed and slowly stalked toward the door with that same tense posture, head lowered slightly. He let out another low growl.
“Rufus, no,” she whispered. “You’ll wake Tripp up.”
The dog paid no attention to her whatsoever, poised in front of the door like something was waiting for him on the other side.
Her skin prickled with unease. She got up, grabbed him by the collar and quietly eased the door open. Rufus tried to dart forward, but she held him back.
The house was still and dark.
The guestroom door opened. Rufus jumped a bit when Tripp stepped out but then went back to staring toward the kitchen, his posture still eerily tense.
“Everything okay?” Tripp said quietly.
“I don’t know. He hears something.” She relaxed her grip slightly to give Rufus a little slack, allowed him to pull her toward the kitchen, where he growled again and froze facing the French doors leading out to the back porch.
She didn’t see anything alarming.
“Should I let him out?” Could be just a raccoon back there.
But it could also be something way worse.
Tripp was sliding his shoes on. “Sure.”
All right. Here went nothing.
She unlocked and pushed the right door open, releasing her hold on the collar. Rufus shot through it like a bullet, sprinting straight for the fence.
Willow flipped on the back porch light, a gasp sticking in her throat when she saw someone in dark clothes disappear over the top of the fence.
Rufus leaped up, missing the intruder by milliseconds, barking his head off.
“Stay here.” Tripp rushed past her out into the darkness.
She swallowed her automatic response to stop him, watched as he grabbed the top of the fence and scaled it in a fluid motion.
“Shit,” she whispered, running for her room.
She grabbed her phone from its charging station and called 911 to report the intruder.
While speaking to the operator, she went back through the house and into the yard to get Rufus’s leash on him and drag him back inside with her.
If anyone tried to get in, maybe the dog would make them think twice.
“I didn’t see the person clearly, but I think it was a man, and he was dressed in dark clothes.” Had to be someone connected to the cache. No way it was some rando looking to break into her house after all of this.
“An officer is on the way. Stay on the line with me until he arrives.”
“Okay, but there’s more.” She explained everything else so that it was all on record, staring anxiously at the back fence.
Tripp hadn’t come back yet. What if the intruder had been armed? As far as she knew, Tripp didn’t have a weapon on him—
She almost jumped out of her skin when her front door opened behind her. Rufus whipped around and started barking frantically.
“It’s just me,” Mae said as she slipped inside, pocketing her keys.
Willow didn’t mind because she knew Mae was worried about her.
“What on earth’s going on? I heard Rufus going nuts and thought I’d better come see if everything was okay.”
“Someone was in the backyard. He jumped the fence when I let Rufus out. Tripp went after him. I’m on the phone with the emergency operator.”
Mae came up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Tripp’ll be fine. He can take care of himself.”
She nodded, but still worried until Rufus started barking again. She grabbed his collar just as Tripp hopped back over the fence. He didn’t appear hurt.
Oh, thank God.
Stepping out onto the porch, she held Rufus by the collar, and he settled down when Tripp came into the light. “He’s long gone. Was too far away for me to catch him, but it’s definitely a man.”
“A deputy’s on his way here.”
He nodded and pulled out his own phone. “I’ll call Rafe.”
They all gathered in the kitchen. Willow and Mae listened while he spoke to Rafe. After another ten minutes, the deputy arrived, one of the men who had been here earlier.
He looked around, verified the property was secure, then took their statements. Since nothing had been stolen or damaged, there wasn’t anything more he could do.
“I told Rafe I’m taking you up to my place for the night,” Tripp said to her as the deputy drove off. “He agreed that’s the best for now.”
Willow didn’t argue. “What about Rufus?”
“He’s coming too. After we meet Rafe in the morning, we’ll check in about your car, then get you an alarm system and some security cameras installed here. I’ve got a buddy here on the island who’ll help us out.”
She kind of loved the way he was taking charge right now. Not in a controlling way. Protective, decreasing the load she carried.
“Okay, good idea.” She never would have imagined needing all that here on Skelly. “I mean, I wanted to see your workshop anyway, but...”
The hint of a smile tugged the corner of his mouth upward. “I’ll show you first thing in the morning. Grab what you need, and we’ll head out.”
“I’m gonna head home,” Mae said, and hugged her. “Don’t worry, sweetie. This will all be over soon, you’ll see. And for now, you’re in good hands.”
Yes, but the problem was she’d love to literally be in Tripp’s hands...while he ran them all over her naked body. And it was getting harder and harder to remember why it was such a bad idea.