Temptation Trails (The Haven Brothers #3)

No wonder Mavis thought someone had broken into her house.

But who would do that? And why leave such a mess?

A rustling sound made me turn, my hand straying near my sidearm. “Mrs. Doolittle, is that you? I need you to wait outside.”

No reply.

Taking slow steps, I moved in the direction of the sound. A piece of cookie crunched under my shoe. My brow furrowed as I glanced into the dining room. I didn’t see anything, until—

A streak of gray fur flew through the air. Instinctively, I put my arms up to shield my face.

The squirrel landed on my shoulder, its claws pinching through my uniform. It scampered across my back and leaped onto the floor.

“Damn it.”

I followed it into the kitchen, wondering how the hell I was going to get a squirrel out of Mavis Doolittle’s house.

I keyed my mic again. “Squad seven.”

“Go ahead, squad seven.”

“Suspect is a squirrel. On the loose in the house.”

“Now this makes sense,” Brenna said. “Be careful. Those little things are shifty.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

I didn’t see the squirrel in the kitchen, so I backtracked toward the front door and checked the living room. Not there, either. Had it run upstairs?

And how had it gotten in, anyway?

A quick trip upstairs revealed the mode of entry. One of the windows in Mrs. Doolittle’s bedroom was open. The tree outside had a few branches that reached toward the house, close enough that the squirrel could jump the distance and scamper inside.

Was it too much to hope the little guy had escaped the way it had come?

I couldn’t leave until I was sure. I searched upstairs, closing doors behind me so it wouldn’t run into one of the bedrooms if it was still inside. With no trace of it, I grabbed a towel out of the hall bath in case I needed to catch it, and went down to the main floor.

Maybe it was gone.

A chattering sound coming from the kitchen made me freeze in my tracks. Holding up the towel, I tried to be as quiet as possible as I moved toward the noise.

The little asshole sat on the table, right in the center of the cookie carnage, stuffing its face. Its fluffy tail twitched and it looked right at me, but didn’t stop eating.

I kept the towel raised, ready to throw it on the squirrel, and slowly moved closer.

That’s it, little thief. Keep shoving food in your face. Don’t worry about what I’m doing.

As soon as I tossed the towel, it bolted, scattering crumbs everywhere. In one quick motion, I grabbed the towel and pivoted. The squirrel dashed across the kitchen, climbed onto the counter, and ran across the front of the sink. I threw the towel again, aiming ahead of it, but it jumped on top of the fridge and disappeared.

“I know you’re up there.” I picked up the towel again. “You’re backed into a corner, my friend. Nowhere to go.”

A streak of fur flew from the top of the refrigerator and slid across the kitchen floor, back legs splayed. I dropped the towel onto it, but I was a second too late. Before I could wrap it up, it escaped out the other side.

I followed it into the living room, where it climbed the curtain and paused to look at me, beady black eyes full of… well, fear, most likely. But in the moment, it looked like rebellion.

I couldn’t keep chasing this thing around the house. I needed a new plan.

You worked in law enforcement in Tilikum long enough, you learned a few things. This wasn’t my first squirrel rodeo.