Obsession Falls (The Haven Brothers #1)

“What if it’s not me?” The pitch of my voice started rising. “What if whoever did this got the wrong house? Or it was meant for someone who used to live here and they don’t know they moved?”

Josiah put his hands on my arms, holding me in a gentle but firm grip. “We’ll find out who did this, okay?”

I nodded, desperately wanting to believe him.

Garrett walked back over. He wanted Colin’s full name and any contact information I had, so I gave it to him.

“We’re going to need to process the scene,” he said. “What did you touch?”

“Just the doorknob,” Josiah said. “Didn’t touch or move anything else.”

“The squirrel was there when you found it?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t in a hurry to pick up another dead animal.”

“Fair enough. I don’t know if we’ll find much. Seems like whoever did this would have worn gloves, but you never know. And we’ll check with the neighbors. See if anyone caught something on a front door camera.”

“I’m installing one of those tomorrow.” Josiah shook his head. “I should have done it after the first squirrel.”

“What are you going to do with the squirrel’s body?” I asked.

“We’ll bag it up and take it down to the station to be examined.”

“And then what?”

Garrett’s brows drew together. “What do you mean?”

“She wants to make sure it gets a proper funeral,” Josiah said.

He turned his confused look on his brother. “A funeral?”

Josiah sighed. “Can we just have it back when you’re done with it?”

“Probably.” Garrett sounded more bewildered than ever. But he didn’t say anything else. Just shook his head and walked back to his car.

“Thanks.” I could feel my lower lip protruding in a pout, but I couldn’t help it. I’d gone from deliciously happy after our date to horrified in the blink of an eye. I glanced at the door again and turned away. I didn’t want to look at it anymore.

“Stay at my place tonight,” Josiah said. It wasn’t a question.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”

He moved closer and placed his big hand on my cheek. “You’re staying at my place.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Okay. Thank you.”

He lifted my chin and kissed me. I still felt queasy, but kissing Josiah helped. A lot.

Even more than petting Max.

“Go ahead and get whatever you need for you and Max. Then we can get out of here.”

I packed a bag, grabbed a few things for Max, and we got back in Josiah’s truck. As much as I hated the idea of someone driving me out of my own house, even for a night, I was filled with relief that I didn’t have to stay.

By the time we got to Josiah’s house, darkness had fallen. I clipped on Max’s leash before we got out of the truck. With all the scents of a new place, I didn’t want him taking off on us. The last thing we needed was another wild dog chase.

Josiah took my things and led us inside. He shut the door behind us, flipped on a light, and paused.

“Sorry.”