Page 8 of The Vampire in the Potting Shed

If not for the vampire in the potting shed, I would have called out an apology, but that would have led to another delay I couldn’t afford if I wanted to get him off the property alive. Ish.

Once I was alone, I collected Myrtle, who had no place to stay, and let myself out the front. I didn’t see Tai, but I heard him sneezing as he inhaled my eau de bleach. I only had to walk one block over to reach the small house Aunt Lettie—my mom’s older sister—left me when she passed five years ago.

The unexpected gift from a woman I had never met encouraged me to pack up and move out on my own. The nest egg I also inherited was how I afforded the creaky Victorian I renovated to house GSG.

“This is only temporary,” I told Myrtle as I let us in the front door. “Don’t get comfortable.”

The dog huffed at me through her feathery bangs and wriggled to get down.

Not a fan of being held by strangers was Ms. Myrtle.

“Hold your horses.” I carried her through to the backyard and set her on the grass. “Have at it.”

Dark eyes drilling through my skull, she lifted one front paw then the other.

“It’s dew.” I leaned down to run my hand across the damp lawn. “It won’t hurt you.”

A grumble in the back of her throat, she climbed onto the porch, leapt into the tiered herb garden, and…

“Myrtle.” I staggered back a step.“No.”I rushed for her. “Bad dog.”

Holding my stare the whole time, she kicked dirt—and a basil plant—onto her, um, deposit.

“I’ll add that to your tab,” I groused as she trotted into the house with her tail held high.

I followed her in, set down a pee pad in the kitchen, then went in search of the tiny tyrant. I wasn’t surprised one bit to find her already curled up on my couch, nesting in my favorite blanket.

“I see you ignored the part about not making yourself at home.” I anchored my hands on my hips. “Food and water will be in the kitchen. Next to your personal toilet. Donotpiddle in my house. Donotchew on my furniture. Donotbark or…”

A delicate snore ripped through my tirade as Myrtle caved to the stresses of the day.

Poor thing. None of this was her fault. She hadn’t asked for her owner to ditch her.

I was taking out my frustrations on her, the same as I had with Sloane earlier.

Regret weighing me down, I slipped out of the living room, careful not to wake her. I set out the ceramic food and water bowls I kept for emergencies, as promised, then padded out into the yard and fired off a text to Sloane.

>I’m sorry.

There was no reply, but then, I hadn’t expected one.

five

Aware I was takingmy life—no, worse, my freedom—into my own hands, I let myself into the neighbor’s yard. He had been good friends with Aunt Lettie, apparently, and they had built a cross-through gate in their shared fence. From there, I climbed out of his yard into the next and then the next and then the next until I hit the one beside GSG.

Had I been wearing my charm, I wouldn’t have left a trail. As it was, I had to rely on the scents of the dog in the yard behind me and the three stray tom cats Mrs. Engleton fed to conceal my route. The chemical stink wasn’t doing me any favors, but it might be enough of a deterrent to keep Tai from snooping while I was gone.

Add to that any noises Myrtle made that convinced him I was pet sitting like a good little girl, and I might just pull this off.

Bleach was a part of my daily life, so I didn’t struggle to check for competing scents between me and the gate leading into the side yard where the potting shed was located behind the kennel runs. Now I had to compare the angle of the video I saw earlier against the other side of the street until I located a slow red blink, barely a pinprick of light. That must be the camera. Unless I wanted to end up on a live feed on the tablet Mercer was neverwithout, I had to think up an alternate route in that avoided the rear entrance I had no doubt would be under heavy surveillance until Dad was satisfied the doggy deposit was a one-off and not a veiled threat to prove how easily a rival pack could circumvent my meager security measures.

“What are you doing?”

A yelp stuck in my throat as I spun to find Sloane behind me with her fists anchored on her hips.

“I forgot something.” I hooked a thumb over my shoulder. “At work.”

“And you thought you would creep through your neighbors’ yards instead of using the front door why?”

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