“Yeah.” But I wasn’t. Not even close.

“You got your phone on you?” Blair asked him.

Tyler scowled. “Dude, I didn’t even have a shirt on until a second ago.”

“I have mine,” I said, fishing it from my handbag with shaking fingers. I found the number Nate had given me and called it. When the sergeant answered, he sounded wide awake. I gave him a quick rundown, and he promised to be here as soon as he could.

“Well, that cements it,” Blair said. “I’m not leaving this place until I know you’re safe.”

For once, I didn’t argue. I couldn’t imagine how frightened I’d have been if I’d discovered it without him here for support.

“Should we wake Grace?” Tyler asked.

I considered that. “Yes, she’ll probably want to know what’s happening. Would you mind doing it?”

“No problem.” He gave me a reassuring smile. “I’ve got it. You just focus on the police.”

Only a couple of minutes later, a police car pulled up to the curb. Blair and I waited while Nate and a uniformed officer got out. They headed up the path, wearing identical black expressions as they took in the vandal’s work. I couldn’t help glancing at it too. I wondered whether the culprit simply mean to hurt me, or if this was a sign they didn’t like the fact Liam and I were rekindling our relationship. If the stalker considered me to be his, as he’d indicated before, then I doubted he liked having another man on the scene.

“Rough way to start the day,” Nate said, coming to a stop in front of us. “You’d been out for a walk?”

I nodded. “It wasn’t there when I left.”

“That means they were most likely waiting for you to go,” he said, resting one hand on his hip. I closed my eyes at the thought that while I’d been waking and making breakfast, someone might have been lingering nearby, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

“You’re going to find them, right?” Blair demanded. “This isn’t acceptable. They can’t get away with it.”

Nate gave a long sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’ll do the best we can. At least on this occasion, they’ve broken the law by trespassing and vandalizing personal property, so if we do find something that makes a connection to the stalker, we can haul them into the station and rake them over the coals.” He looked at me. “We probably can’t charge them with any crimes against you, but Grace could press charges if she wants.”

“I do,” Grace said, hurrying toward us with Tyler in tow. She must have taken the time to dress, because she was wearing jeans and a blouse, but her hair was a mess. “You find him, and I’ll press whatever charges I can.”