But when I opened the door, he didn’t run for the tree in the middle of the front yard. He paused, ears perking like something had caught his attention. His nose lifted a few times as he sniffed the air. Then he took off at a run and disappeared around the side of the house.
“Damn it, Max.”
I followed. Thankfully when I turned the corner, I found him furiously sniffing the ground.
“What are you doing?”
I was still half asleep, so maybe that was why it took me a few seconds to notice the words on the side of the house.
You don’t see me.
Instantly awake and wary, I checked my surroundings. No sign of anyone but I still had the unsettled feeling of being watched. Max kept sniffing the ground and followed the scent toward the street in front of the house. He definitely smelled whoever had been there.
“Max, come.”
Amazingly, he obeyed. Or he wanted to sniff where the scent was strongest and that just happened to coincide with what I wanted him to do. Hard to tell, but at least he didn’t take off.
I stepped closer to the house. The words were in red, but it was brighter than the animal blood had been. It looked like paint. I touched one of the letters with the tip of a finger. Mostly dry but still tacky. Hard to tell how long it had been there, but it must have been some time in the night. We’d been out with Max before going to bed and there hadn’t been a scent for him to find then.
Damn it. I needed to tell Audrey and call Garrett. And obviously install a lot more cameras. I could already tell whoever had done this had figured out the blind spot. Maybe that was what the message meant. He wanted her to know that he could still get to her, despite my precautions.
Fucker.
“Let’s go, Max.”
We went inside and I sent a text to Garrett to give him a heads up. Then I went to the bedroom to wake Audrey and deliver the news.
She looked so cute, all snuggled up in the covers. She’d rolled to my side of the bed, probably to absorb the warmth I’d left behind.
I hated that this was happening to her. Hated that I couldn’t make it stop.
I sat on the edge of the bed and brushed her hair back from her face. “Audrey.”
She took a deep breath and stirred but didn’t open her eyes.
“Audrey, honey. Wake up.”
The fact that she smiled before even opening her eyes hit the soft place in my chest that I wanted to pretend wasn’t there.
“Morning.”
I loved her sleepy voice. “Morning. Sorry to wake you, but we have a problem.”
Her eyes opened wider. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone spray painted the side of the house.”
“Spray painted? Like graffiti?”
“It just says, you don’t see me.”
She sat up. “This is good. Maybe the camera caught him.”
I shook my head. “We’ll check but I’m almost positive he stuck to the blind spots. Obviously I’m installing more cameras today.”
Her shoulders slumped. “I thought maybe it was over. It’s been weeks.”
“Me too.”
“I just wish I knew why they were doing this. And who it is.”
“I think we know who.”
“Colin?”
“Yeah, obviously.”
She let out a breath. “I don’t know.”
“Who else would it be? He already proved he still has a thing for you.”
“I guess, but why would he start vandalizing my house?”
“Because he’s pissed at you.”
Her voice started to rise. “What did I ever do to him?”
“Gee, I don’t know, Audrey. Maybe breaking up with him?”
She fell back onto the pillow. “That was so long ago. And it’s not like he was that heartbroken. He married Lorelei right after.”
“That was probably his first act of revenge.”
“Why does it have to be my ex? Couldn’t it be one of your exes?”
“I don’t have any exes who hate me that passionately.”
“Colin doesn’t hate me that passionately either. He’s not necessarily the nicest guy but he’s not a criminal. I can’t imagine him sneaking over here in the middle of the night to spray paint my house. That’s insane.”
“Well someone did.”
“Maybe my mom is right and it’s someone who hates my dad. My dad’s not around anymore, so he’s harassing me instead.”
I hesitated, not sure if I should say what I really thought. “Look, I don’t know your mom, and I don’t want to talk shit about her, but it’s weird that she’s trying to make this about her.”