Obsession Falls

I was about to say gone, when I realized Max hadn’t caught the scent of a squirrel.

There was a folded piece of paper on the windshield of my car, tucked beneath the windshield wiper.

Taking slow steps around the car, I moved closer to the driver’s side. My back prickled and my heart hammered in my chest. With quick, darting movements, I checked my surroundings. But I already knew I wouldn’t see him. I’d have bet anything that he’d either left immediately or was hiding, watching me from afar.

My hand shook as I reached for the note. It was a piece of printer paper. No handwriting and if it was anything like the vandalism incidents, there wouldn’t be any fingerprints. It was typed in a basic font, probably Times New Roman. No smears of blood or letters cut from newspaper and magazine clippings. Just the words, I hate you.

“Max, let’s go.”

With my heart in my throat, I loaded him up and headed home.





CHAPTER 32





Josiah





Five minutes after Audrey left, I regretted letting her go alone. She was right, it was probably fine, and I couldn’t shadow her every move like a bodyguard. But I still didn’t like it.

Despite the heat, the cabinets were going in without too much drama. My dad wasn’t as young as he used to be but he was still as strong as an ox. And despite the fact that Zachary was generally a pain in the ass, he was a good worker. Motivated by his paycheck more than brotherly loyalty, probably, but that was fine with me.

We’d put in the uppers first and so far, everything was level and square. My cabinet guy did good work. I’d go back through later and install all the doors and shelves.

Dad stepped back and mopped his head with a blue bandanna. “Looking good.”

Zachary handed him a bottle of water. “Yeah. Doesn’t suck.”

It was true. It didn’t suck. In fact, it looked great. Probably my favorite of all the houses I’d remodeled so far.

Audrey had good taste.

Of course, she was with me, but maybe it was just her taste in men that was questionable.

I was a lucky bastard.

Dad checked his watch. “Mind if we finish tomorrow? I have a few things to get done at home and then I need to get cleaned up. Your mom wants me to take her dancing.”

“Dancing?” I asked. “Since when do you dance?”

“Since your mom wanted to learn.” He shrugged. “We’ve been taking lessons.”

Zachary looked him up and down. “I can’t decide if that’s awesome or weird.”

Dad’s mouth lifted in a crooked grin. “First one. She always comes home in a great mood, if you know what I mean. Take notes, boys.”

“Did he just give us sex advice by referring to Mom?” Zachary shuddered. “I gotta go shower that off.”

“Yeah, go.” I shooed Dad out. “We can finish tomorrow. I’ll lock up.”

He chuckled on his way out.

Zachary followed. I cleaned up a bit and shut the garage door, then went outside, locking the door behind me. It would have been nice to get the rest of the cabinets in, but I wasn’t worried about it. The countertops weren’t scheduled for another few days, so we had time. And the heat was brutal. I didn’t want Dad to overdo it.

Audrey pulled up and parked in her driveway. Her door opened and Max bounded out of the car ahead of her. I took one look at her face and I knew something was wrong.

I jogged over to her while Max jumped around and tried to get my attention. “What happened?”

“He called. Right when I got to the pet store. I answered and started babbling at him because he never says anything. Just hangs up, right? But this time, he talked back.”

“What did he say?”

“'I hate you.'”

White hot anger seared my veins. I clenched my fists and my jaw hitched. “What?”

“That was all he said. Then he hung up. And no, I couldn’t tell who it was. I didn’t recognize his voice, but it also sounded like he was disguising it on purpose. Remember the Batman movie with the growly voice guy? He sounded like that.”

I hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her against me. I didn’t blame her for being upset by the phone call, but by the look on her face, I’d thought it was something worse. “Baby, I’m sorry that happened. But you’re safe.”

“That’s not all.”

“What else?”

She held up a folded piece of paper. “This was on my car when I came out of the pet store. Tucked under the windshield wiper on the driver’s side.”

I took the note and unfolded it. I hate you.

It took an act of self-control not to crumple it up in my fist. I needed to save it for Garrett, but fuck this guy.

“He left this on your car? Just now?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t there when I left home. I would have noticed. And Max caught his scent when we came out of the pet store. He was sniffing around the car like crazy. Josiah, I was only in the store for a few minutes. Five at the most. How did he know I was there?”

“He followed you.”

Her eyes glistened with tears. “I knew this was bad but I didn’t think he was following me around.”

“Maybe he wasn’t before.” I scanned the street for any sign of someone who shouldn’t be there. But I already knew this guy was good at not being seen. “But he is now. And he wants you to know it.”

“Why is he doing this? Why does he hate me so much?”

I knew exactly why this guy hated her so much, just like I knew who it was. Fucking Colin. He was taking his grudge against his ex-girlfriend pretty damn far, but clearly he was unhinged.

However, I didn’t want to argue with her about it.

“I don’t know.” I pulled her against me again and held her tight. “But we’re going to figure it out and get rid of the asshole.”

“That scared the crap out of me. I thought I might throw up on the way home.”

“Glad you didn’t. Max would have tried to roll in it.” That got a laugh out of her and I kissed the top of her head. “Is your mom still coming over?”

“Yeah, she’ll be here soon.”

“And then you’re hanging out with Marigold? Where?”

“We were going to go out to eat but I might ask if she wants to stay in. Just hang out here.”

“I won’t tell you what to do,” I said, in preparation for doing just the opposite and telling her what to do. “But stay in. You’re safer here than anywhere else.”

“You’re right. At least here there are plenty of cameras. I thought they were overkill but now I’m so glad you put in too many. Even though the squirrels keep setting them off.”

“The squirrels are annoying as hell, but I’d rather that than give this creep an opening.”

She pulled away and glanced around. “Do you think he’s watching us right now? I’ve never been so creeped out in my entire life.”

I wasn’t sure why, but my gut told me he wasn’t. That he’d bolted after leaving the note. “He could be, but I don’t think so. It seems like he’s good at staying hidden but I think he’s just a coward. He put that note on your car and took off.”

“Or maybe he got someone else to do it for him.”

“Maybe. Hard to say.”

She tucked herself against me again and took a deep breath. I kept an eye out for Max, but he was busy sniffing her car. Probably still smelling the stalker.

“I should go in,” she said. “I need to call Garrett and let him know about the call and the note. And my mom will be early. She’s early for everything.”

We went inside and Max went straight for his water dish, then to his favorite spot on the couch. He curled up and closed his eyes. Apparently his adventure to the pet store had been enough to tire him out.

Audrey got out her phone to call my brother. “Hi, Garrett. Yeah, there’s been another incident.”

I waited, listening while she relayed the information to my brother. When she finished, she put him on speaker so I could hear what he had to say.

“I’m sorry that happened, Audrey. Do you still have the note?”

“Yeah.”

“Stick it in a plastic bag for me. Based on the other incidents, I doubt we’ll get anything off it, but we’ll take a look anyway.”

“My fingerprints are all over it. I let Josiah touch it, too. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. We already know he’s careful.”