"Why didn't you recognize him before?" Clay asked.
"Because he looked completely different with the hat pulled down so low. He has a distinctive haircut and hairline, so once the hat fell off, I knew who he was."
"When will the cops be here?" he asked. "This guy reeks."
Dylan asked the dispatcher for an ETA and just as she answered, the faint sound of sirens threaded through the night air.
Dylan covered the mic again and said, "Thanks for riding to my rescue, Big Green. Or do you prefer Incredible?"
He sneered at her. "Your Excellence works," he said. "Or Imperial Highness."
"Oh, yeah, I'll jump right on that," she said.
Dylan walked to the gate and opened it as the sirens stopped in front of the house.
"We're back here," she said to the officers.
She held the gate for them and thanked the dispatcher before she disconnected the call. While they talked to Clay over Larry's prone body, she made a quick call to the detective in charge of her case and let him know what happened. He assured her that he was on his way and that he would arrive shortly.
With that taken care of, Dylan approached the officers.
"Ma'am," the older of the two said with a nod. "Your husband said that he was asleep when the man broke in and that he tried to drag you off the property. Can you tell us what happened exactly?"
Dylan's stomach fluttered at the idea of Clay being considered her husband, but she swallowed hard and focused on giving the officers an accurate description of events. She also told them about the open case file on the break-in at her duplex and that she'd already called the detective in charge as this was the same man.
As she told the story, the men's eyebrows rose higher and higher.
By the time she was done, Larry was beginning to stir on the ground at their feet.
"Wha's goin' on?" he slurred, his eyes blinking sluggishly. "Wher'm I?"
The officers untied him and secured him with their own handcuffs before they hauled him to his feet.
"You're taking a trip to the jail," one of them said. "For breaking and entering and other assorted charges."
Larry looked between them in confusion, then at Dylan, before his gaze finally settled on Clay and his eyes grew enormous.
"The green man!" he yelled, trying to back away from Clay. "He said he was going to eat my face!"
The officers shot each other looks over Larry's head. "Why don't we get into my car?" one of them said. "That'll get you away from the green man. He won't be able to eat you then."
"Okay, okay," Larry sobbed. "Just get me away from him."
While the officers led him to the front yard, Clay reached out and grabbed Dylan up in a bear hug.
"Hey, what're you doing?" she squeaked, her air supply nearly cut off.
"Your screams woke me up and I have never been so scared in my life. Then, I couldn't find you in the house. I was afraid I would be too late to protect you."
Dylan wrapped her arms around his bulky shoulders and hugged him back. "I'm okay. I had it under control before you showed up. He's a very disturbed man, but between me and your trees, I would have subdued him."
"Sorry, my brain understands that but my heart doesn't give a fuck," he said, giving her another squeeze.
"It's okay," she comforted him. "I'm okay and nothing happened. He'll go to jail and probably to a psychiatric hospital after that because I'm pretty sure he's not completely sane."
"Maybe, but I don't think I'll be able to let you out of my sight for at least six months. I wonder if your boss will mind if I start building things in the back room of the bookstore. Think she'll be upset?"
"I don't think we'll have to resort to that," she said.
