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.
