Out of Love by

“Or end yours. You read too many thrillers. He’s not a plot to solve. He could actually be a dangerous person. For. Real. Did you ever think of that?”

“I walked around his house. I didn’t go inside.”

“Because the door was locked or because it was a bad idea?”

“Yeah.” I grinned.

“Yeah to which one?” She chuckled.

“I mean …” I rocked up to sitting and folded my legs. “The garage door was locked too. And that’s fine … whatever. Maybe he keeps important stuff in his garage. But the side door’s window is painted black. All the shades are down in the house. All. Of. Them. That’s not normal. He’s hiding something.”

“Drugs!” Missy ran her fingers through her hair. “If you had drugs in your house … maybe meth residue on the coffee table and bongs haphazardly discarded on the sofa—you’d shut your blinds too.”

I returned an easy nod. “True.”

The doorbell rang, and Missy jumped up to answer it. I craned my neck to see who was there, scrambling to my feet when I made out the two police officers.

“Uh … Livy?” Missy turned just as I came up behind her. “They’re asking about someone in this house who was trespassing down the street.” With her back to the officers, her eyebrows crawled up her forehead. “I’ll leave you to it.”

I slapped on an innocent smile as Missy skittered off to the kitchen. “Hi.”

“Miss, we received a trespassing complaint, and—”

“Whoa …” I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest. “I was just seeing if he was home. When no one answered the door, I checked the garage. He caught me trying to look in the garage door window. That’s it.”

The female officer bobbed her head several times. “Well, he said you’ve been harassing him on campus as well. So maybe it’s best to keep your distance.”

“I …” My head shook. “I can’t believe he reported me. You should give him a warning for wasting your valuable time. There’s probably some real crime going on right now, but you’re here because my asshole neighbor upped his dickhead game. His dog likes me more. That’s why he’s mad. And if you want a real tip … I heard he’s dealing drugs.”

They gave me two pained expressions. I couldn’t read if they were feeling sorry for me, like the poor obsessed, stalker girl or because they realized how ridiculous it was for them to give his prank call the time of day.

“Do you have a credible source?”

I shrugged. “No. But that doesn’t mean it’s not true. You should search the premises … but I know … you’d need a warrant and a credible source.”

The stocky officer with a graying goatee smiled. “Yes. For now, just watch yourself and keep off his property.”

Not a chance.

“Absolutely.” I returned a tight grin as they retreated to their car parked on the street. My gaze shifted to the firehouse for a few seconds before I shut the door and leaned my back against it.

“What the hell?” Missy rushed me from the kitchen. “Dude … he seriously called the cops on you! Wow … what did you do to piss him off?”

“I don’t know. But he’s not winning.”

“Wait? What? No.” She shook her head a half dozen times. “There is no winning, Livy. You’ve known him … and I use that word lightly … for two days. I don’t think you should interpret the police at our door as a game.”

Trapping my lower lip between my teeth, I slanted my head and narrowed my eyes. “What do you suppose he’s doing in that house? The rent is outrageous. No one in their right mind moves into the firehouse. It’s haunted. Everyone knows that. I don’t care where he’s been. It’s just common knowledge.”

Missy shook her head. “I think it’s a ginormous fuck-off. If I sold drugs, could afford my own place, and wanted privacy, I would rent that place.”

On a laugh I rolled my eyes. “No you wouldn’t. The only person who believes it’s haunted more than I do, is you.”

“True. I’m saying if I were a hot, fearless drug dealer … then I would totally rent the place. I bet the ghosts are freaked out by him.”

“Maybe.” I glanced at my watch. “I’m running an errand.”

“Beach?”

I pulled my ponytail up higher on my head and twisted it into a bun. “No. I have something I need to do.”

“As long as it doesn’t have anything to do with him.”

Without making eye contact, I slid my hand into my back pocket to check for my bank card. “Pfft …” I rolled my eyes to stress the absurdity.Chapter FourAfter a quick trip in my Jeep to The Panting Barkery, I stood at the end of Slade’s driveway, rehearsing my speech. When the words refused to do anything but fumble from my mouth, I opted to just go with whatever came to mind in the moment.