Chapter 6 #2
Ty remembered her reaction to his assertion they were being followed at the tavern Friday night and went on high alert. “Who?”
“I don’t know! But he’s been in my house! This collar was in a box, on a shelf in my closet, when I left to come here.”
Which meant someone had broken in to take it and followed or tracked her here.
Ty straightened. “Stay here. Lock the door behind me.”
He sprinted up the drive, but there were no vehicles on the winding road.
Turning back to face the cabin, he studied the surrounding woods with sharp eyes.
Was somebody watching, sticking around to see the reaction he’d inspired?
He had questions, so many questions, as he circled around to the west side of the property, where he’d heard Duke barking.
He didn’t know exactly what he was looking for, and the light was going fast. The nearest road was on the other side of the next ridge.
Unless their perpetrator had hiked a lot further afield, that was the most logical place to have parked.
Ty jogged through the woods, scanning for signs of passage and hoping like hell he wasn’t destroying any evidence on the way. Finding nothing by the time he made it to the top of the ridge, he started to turn back. Whoever had been here was likely long gone.
The sound of a distant engine had him pivoting, scrambling down through the trees to get to the road below. But when he burst free of the trees, onto pavement, there was no one and nothing to see.
“Shit.”
It was full dark when he made it back to the cabin. He unlocked the door, grateful he still had his keys on him. Paisley had retreated to the sofa, locking her arms around Duke, who sprawled across her lap, still trying to lick at the tears streaming down her chalk-white cheeks.
“Did you find anything?”
“No.”
“We should call the vet. What if he did something horrible to Duke? Poisoned him or gave him pork bones or…” She trailed off, pressing her face to her dog’s fur, her brain clearly still spinning with the possibilities.
Ty had seen almost every mood of this woman. Joy. Excitement. Annoyance. Anger. Upset. Arousal. But he’d never seen her truly afraid, ever. The sight of that fear etched into her face had every protective instinct he possessed roaring to life.
“Has he thrown up? Behavior changed? Anything?”
“No. But—”
There were a thousand terrors in that “but”, and Ty knew she’d never settle until she knew for sure. He pulled out his phone. “We don’t actually have a vet in Eden’s Ridge, but I’ve got a friend who can help.”
Sebastian had more knowledge about animals than anybody else Ty knew. His specialty was horses, but at the moment, beggars couldn’t be choosers, and Duke was probably fine. This was more about putting Paisley at ease. He sent a quick text with the essentials.
Sebastian’s reply came back almost immediately. On my way. After a moment, the bubble popped back up, indicating he was typing another response. Is this a just me situation or do we want the whole team?
Hell if he knew. But by God, he was getting the full story out of her one way or the other. He tapped out an answer. Still getting the details.
Sebastian came back. Understood. En route.
“He’ll be here as quick as he can.” Crossing over, he sat on the edge of the coffee table, bracing his arms on his knees as he leaned toward her. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a stalker?”
She cuddled closer to the dog. “I didn’t think it would follow me. I came here to get away.”
“For a naked distraction,” he said flatly. He’d been on board with that. So why did it feel like such an insult now?
Paisley winced. “Don’t make it sound like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you were just some convenient warm body. I wanted to see you.”
“But you didn’t want to tell me about this.” Didn’t she trust him?
“It’s not your problem. The police in Nashville are handling it, insofar as it can be handled. And until now nothing that happened could be classified as an actual crime.”
Unless they could prove someone broke into her house back in Nashville, this didn’t count as one either.
But at least now he knew why she’d seemed off.
It stuck in his craw that she hadn’t confided in him.
That he hadn’t pushed harder to get at what was bothering her.
He’d sensed something was wrong. If he’d known it was this, he would’ve…
Well, he didn’t know what he would have done. Not left her alone today, for one.
“How long has this been going on?”
“Months. Well before we ran into each other again.”
He hadn’t seen her in years before a few weeks ago. She hadn’t been his to protect. Yet hearing that someone had been, at the very least, harassing her for months felt like another failure.
“I’m a cop, Paisley. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just tell me about this to begin with. Maybe not after the wedding, but when you called to come up here. Something happened to prompt that, didn’t it? Something that spooked you?” Rewinding their interactions, he could see it.
She just nodded, wordless.
“Did you think I’d dismiss you? Have the police in Nashville ignored you?”
“No. I...” Her throat worked as she seemed to search for words. “I didn’t tell you because that’s relationship stuff, and that’s not what we agreed we were doing.”
Everything in him rejected her explanation. “Oh, fuck that. It’s friend stuff. Naked tango benefits or not, I’m still that, and I’m going to help you get to the bottom of this. What’s the name of the detective in charge of the case?”
Surprise wiped away some of the fear. Jesus, did she think so little of him? But really, what did she have to base her opinion on? He’d agreed to this no strings bullshit. Why should she expect anything more?
Because it’s me, damn it.
“Um, it’s Joel Fisher. I’ve got his number in my phone. He’ll be more likely to answer if you call from mine.” Loosening her grip on Duke, she entered the passcode and handed it over. The fact that she wasn’t protesting his intervention told him plenty about how rattled she was.
The detective answered after two rings. “Paisley? Is everything okay?”
Ty didn’t like the familiar use of her first name or the warm tone of concern in the other man’s voice.
“Detective Fisher, this is Deputy Ty Brooks with the Stone County Sheriff’s Department.
I’m here with Miss Parish. We have reason to believe that someone has broken into her house in Nashville.
I need you to send a unit to check on things. ”
After a beat, Fisher responded with considerably less warmth. “I’ve had extra patrols in the area. Nothing’s been reported, but, of course, I’ll have them look more closely. Let me speak to Paisley.”
Translation: I’m not doing squat until I confirm she’s okay and you are who you say you are.
Approving of the man’s caution, Ty handed over the phone.
“Hey, it’s me. No, no, I’m…well, okay I’m not fine.
But I’m safe.” She paused, sighed. “There was another one on Thursday when I got home from the station. No address this time. Just dropped off on the front porch.” Another pause.
“We had literally just had a conversation about how there was nothing you could do. I didn’t see the point in bothering you again the same day. ”
So, Ty wasn’t the only one she hadn’t felt like informing. Stubborn woman.
“Yeah, well, you’ve finally got something actionable. This one was a dog collar, which I left in a closet in the guest room when I left town. About half an hour ago, Duke came back in from doing his business wearing it. Someone’s been in my house, Joel.”
She was on a first name basis with the detective? Was that only because of this case or did she know him more personally? What did it matter if she did?
“No, I’m safe where I am for now. Deputy Brooks has me covered. But I would really appreciate it if you could send somebody to check on my house and call back to let us know what you find. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Do you need to talk to the Deputy again?”
Paisley offered him the phone.
“Detective.”
“I don’t know what she’s told you about her situation, but whoever is harassing her just crossed a major line. There’s not been anything up to this point that suggested an outright threat to her person, but I don’t like this escalation. Do whatever’s necessary to ensure her safety.”
Regardless of the nature of their relationship, Ty appreciated the other man taking the situation seriously. A lot of cops wouldn’t. His gaze slid back to Paisley. A little bit of color had come back into her cheeks. “You can be assured I will. Let us know what you find out.”