Page 134 of Stormswept Colorado

I was grateful for that too. Thank goodness for Susan.

“Officer Bradley is with Piper, getting an initial statement. She and Ollie are shaken up, but I’m sure it’ll help when you get here. Chief, I think it was the same guy.” Her voice had lowered. “The vandal. Left a red flower spray-painted on the side of the house.”

I’d already suspected it was him, but the confirmation had my pulse in overdrive. “I’m almost there.”

Red flowers. That reminded me of the red daisies in the flower arrangements Paul had sent Ayla. An eerie similarity, but it couldn’t possibly be anything more than a coincidence. Right?

As I sped down the road, I radioed the station. I made sure the officer on the front desk contacted Sheriff Douglas’s task force to inform them about the link to the string of vandalisms.

We were going to need the regional crime scene techs. Every officer and deputy the sheriff could spare. Not because the latest victim was my sister, but because the guy had once again struck while the homeowner was there asleep. And he’d changed his M.O. Not just hitting rural areas, but a denser neighborhood.

Another escalation. He was getting more reckless. All the more likely he would get violent.

He’d been inside the house with my sister and nephew.

Fuck.

When I pulled up to the curb, Susan had created a perimeter and was speaking to a couple of Piper’s neighbors. I threw my door open, not bothering to turn off my flashers. My boots hit the ground hard, and I charged toward the house.

Then I saw it. Looping red spray paint. A roughly drawn flower. Where the paint had dripped down the siding, it looked like blood.

FORTY-TWO

Ayla

I wantedto call Teller to find out how Piper was doing. He’d been so stressed out when he left. Not that I could blame him.

But he’d seemed angry with me. Did he regret that I was here?

Stay inside, he’d ordered. As if I would’ve done anything else. I usually like his protectiveness, but I didn’t appreciate him speaking to me like I was exasperating him.

Like I was a burden.

After I made sure the alarm was set and every door was locked, I tried lying down in Teller’s bedroom. But I couldn’t stay still. So I got up and paced the carpet.

Ugh, it was awful that someone had broken into Piper’s home. I wished there was something I could do. But I also suspected that Teller’s guilt about taking care of his sister and Ollie had reared its ugly head. He didn’t want my help. Didn’t want me to causetrouble.

You’re more trouble than it’s worth.

“Stop,” I said into the silence.

Teller was upset, with good reason, but he loved me. We loved each other. Nothing would change that. Not even our first real fight as a couple.

My phone rang, and my heart leaped, hoping it was Teller.But it was someone else. Someone who made my head pound just looking at his name.

You’re kidding me.

Paul Ruxton was calling. What on earth could he have to say to me?

Well…maybe it would be useful to talk to the man. Just so I could ask where he’d gotten the old photo of me, because that still nagged at my mind. And the thing with the red daisies.

Better yet, I could record this call. I had an app for that on my phone, considering the calls I sometimes received from reporters. There were laws about recording people in California. Something Cheryl had mentioned to me. But I wasn’t in California right now, so I wasn’t going to worry about that.

I opened the app, then hit the record button before answering. “Paul?”

“Ayla. Thank you for picking up.” He sounded out of breath.

“You’re lucky I didn’t block your number.” I paced across Teller’s bedroom carpet again, stopping to look at the trees through the window. “I should have, after what you’ve done.”

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