Chapter 12
Dexter
A s soon as I walked in the door, I grabbed my computer and headed out onto my front porch. I sat on the porch swing and started doing some online research, eventually ordering some top of the line security, rush shipping so that it would be here tomorrow for me to install. If I obsessively sniffed the air, well… I was just being cautious.
I could smell a rotting soul miles away, and I’d felt confident at the time telling Toby he could go into town. It wasn’t that far, and I hadn’t sensed anything. But now doubts were starting to creep in. What if the stalker wasn’t fully rotting yet? I hadn’t sensed any decaying souls either, which was actually really rare for a town and one of the reasons Paradise Falls was so welcoming. Usually there were souls who were decaying and could go either way in most towns, but Paradise Falls seemed to genuinely be a good place. I didn’t know if all the demons and angels and the oracle somehow scared off bad souls, but the town smelled nice.
Nevertheless, if the guy had never actually done anything, and if his intentions toward Toby hadn’t turned malicious, then maybe he wouldn’t smell like decay. People had weird and terrible thoughts all the time, and some online bullying and trolling wasn’t enough to make a soul decay. If that had been the case, I thought the human race would’ve been doomed. But everyone made mistakes, and most humans were redeemable. We only went after the ones who were beyond that point.
At any rate, I still didn’t smell decay, and with how creepy and malicious the stalker seemed, I thought his ill intentions would have affected his soul.
Maybe I should put a tracker on Toby. Just a little one. Surely that was ok, wasn’t it?
I started searching the internet, but it wasn’t long before I realized my next step was going to be dealing with Liam. Not only did he know tech equipment better, but I also needed to get him in on the emails.
I sighed and picked up my phone, but before I could even dial, it rang. I looked at it stupidly for a moment before hitting the green button and grunting into the phone.
“Well hello to you too,” I heard.
“Oracle,” I said hesitantly. “There are no returns allowed.”
He snorted into the phone. “First of all, I have a name, as I told you the other night. Second of all, I’m not returning Q.”
“What’s a Q?” I asked.
“Give me strength to deal with idiotic hellhounds,” he muttered to himself.
I growled into the phone at him, but I don’t think it did much good.
“Q is the guy you dropped off on my porch, hellhound. And he’s settling in just fine. Sort of. I’m sure you were super concerned and all,” he grumped.
“I knew you’d take care of him. You’re a good soul. I never leave strays with humans who won’t take care of them,” I defended.
“Strays?” he sputtered. “He isn’t a freaking dog, Dexter.”
Ah, so he remembered my name. That was nice.
“Yes, Cassius,” I replied, emphasizing his name, because I wanted to show him I wasn’t clueless. “I’m well aware he isn’t a dog. Or a cat. And I don’t know why people keep talking about stray humans like that. It’s pretty disrespectful, you know.”
Cassius sputtered and mumbled to himself some more, and I continued looking up tiny tracking devices I might be able to slip on Toby. Maybe one on his car and one in his wallet? And on his cell phone. It would be even better if it was on him, since a kidnapper would surely take everything away. I wondered if I could get him microchipped. Huh—that would actually solve everything. I pondered it for a moment.
Nah, that was probably a bit much. He’d probably notice if he fell asleep suddenly and woke up with a small scar. I shrugged to myself and was about to continue my search, but Cassius apparently got his shit together enough to get to the point.
“Toby was here,” he finally said.
I perked up at that. “Was he ok?” I asked, and I knew my voice was more guttural. I really needed a run in my hellhound form after this.
“He was fine,” Cassius reassured me. “I take it you know that he’s in some sort of danger?”
“Yes,” I ground out. “Did you get anything specific?”
“No, unfortunately. Just a sense of danger and then a whiff of smoke with a feeling of safety. When I came back to myself, I realized he actually did smell like you, so I figured you were already on your way to marking him,” Cassius responded.
“Marking him?” I asked. Could I mark him? Was there something I didn’t know?
“Oh, look at that, time to go! Q is fine, the dogs are fine, and I’m sure you’ll keep Toby safe! Bye!” Cassius rushed out, hanging up before I could ask any more questions.
Fucking oracles and seers. So damn annoying. They never told you what you needed to know.
I knew I needed to call Liam, but I was kind of obsessively sniffing the air now, and I was debating getting in my car and heading into town to find Toby when I heard his car in the distance. I closed my laptop and sat nonchalantly on my porch.
When Toby drove up, I could see the relief on his face when he saw me on the porch. That was good, at least.
He got out of the car, and I jumped off the porch, strutting a bit when I smelled Toby’s arousal. He was so fucking cute.
He blushed prettily and then opened his back door, grabbing a bag. I walked over and grabbed the rest out of his car. He just sort of stared at me, and I made the go ahead motion with my head. I didn’t have his key after all. Not yet, anyway.
“Oh, yeah, duh, sorry,” he mumbled, rushing up the porch and opening the door. I noticed the slight crack in the doorframe where I’d broken it and reminded myself to fix that as I went in and put the bags down on his table.
“Everything ok in town?” I asked.
“Yeah…” he said, starting to unpack the groceries and shoving stuff into the fridge. I sensed his hesitation.
“What is it? Did someone bother you?” I growled.
Toby chuckled nervously. “No, no, nothing like that. There wasn’t even anything in my PO box.”
I growled again. “Don’t check it again without me,” I ordered. That was a way to find Toby, and I didn’t trust it.
He stared at me, and I slow blinked, making sure my eyes were normal. Fuck. I was totally losing control. I felt like a fucking puppy around Toby, but I couldn’t help it.
“Ok,” he breathed out, still staring.
“What spooked you?” I asked.
He chuckled nervously then, starting to unload the groceries again. “It’s probably nothing. It’s just that Mrs. Dillinger told me that Edna told her that Patricia got an offer on her house this morning.”
I had no fucking clue what he was talking about. Was I supposed to know these humans?
I grunted in response.
“And I’m sure it’s not a big deal,” Toby went on. “Patricia has been wanting to move south to be closer to her grandkids for a while—she’s always talked about it. It’s just that I didn’t know she’d even listed the house. I mean, I didn’t see a for sale sign or anything.”
I grunted again. Did Toby want to buy the house? Was that why he was concerned? Did he want to move away from me? I growled a little at the thought, and Toby looked at me.
“So you think it’s concerning?” he asked, closing the fridge and staring at me across the kitchen.
“You want to move into Patricia’s house?” I questioned, trying to maintain my composure.
“Why would I want to do that?” he asked, looking confused. “I mean, her house is nice, and it’s a little more private than mine, being further back in the woods, but I like my house. I can’t imagine moving all my stuff just to be your neighbor on the other side.” Toby went over to the bags and grabbed some stuff for the pantry, adding, “And her house isn’t as close to yours as mine is. Not that it matters or anything, because obviously I wouldn’t choose a house based on how close it was to yours. Because that would be, like, stalkerish or something,” he laughed, hiding his head in the pantry.
Ahhh. “Patricia owns the house on the other side of me?” I asked.
He picked his head up and looked at me. “Um, yeah. I thought you knew that. I’ve seen you talk to her.”
“Yes. Of course,” I mumbled. At least Toby wasn’t trying to move away. “Wait, someone offered to buy her house?” I asked, finally catching up to things.
Toby was worried because he had a stalker and now someone was buying a house close to his. I had a feeling it wasn’t his stalker who had put in the offer, though.
“Yeah, that’s what Mrs. Dillinger said. She works at the supermarket and knows all the gossip. Anyway, you don’t think it’s anything, right?” he asked, looking at me.
“No, I don’t think so, but I’ll look into it. I have to make some calls on the emails, as well,” I said. I guess there was no putting it off now—I definitely had to call Liam.
I walked over and wrapped my arms around Toby, nuzzling my nose by his ear and sniffing. He smelled so good. I wanted to lick him all over, but now wasn’t the time. I leaned back and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. He looked a little shocked—no idea why—but also pleased. Humans were an odd bunch sometimes.
“I’ll be in touch. And promise me you’ll holler if you need anything , ok?” I demanded.
Toby flushed but nodded, and I turned and walked out before my hellhound decided that it was a good idea to bend him over the kitchen counter. Or lay him across the table. Either would work.
I made my way across to my own porch and pulled out my cell phone, heading inside as I pressed the call button for Liam’s number.
“Yeah,” Liam answered distractedly, keyboard clicking in the background.
“Don’t you ever get off the computer? You know we have jobs to do, right? Pretty hard to send hellbound souls on from behind a desk,” I teased.
I heard the clacking stop, and Liam gave a huff. “You know, I find a ton of hellbound souls through the computer. You wouldn’t believe some of the depraved shit that people post…” he trailed off, keyboard clacking again.
I humphed in reply. I actually did know, and if he wanted to find his hellbound souls online as opposed to smelling them out the old fashioned way, I guess it did give him further reach. Still, it seemed like a real pain in the ass.
“Is this a social call?” Liam asked.
“Did you put in an offer on the house next to mine?” I responded, not wasting any time.
“Wait a minute, aren’t I the conservative computer nerd? Would I make such a big decision without even checking out the town?” Liam joked.
Fuck. It wasn’t like Liam to do something like that, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t told Wilder or Corbin or even that Jude hadn’t done it. Still, I didn’t have time for guessing games. If there was an offer and it wasn’t from a hellhound, then it was something to worry about.
“Liam, I need to know if it wasn’t one of us, and if it wasn’t, I need the fucker who did put an offer in tracked down,” I responded.
The clacking of keys stopped, and Liam asked, “Is everything ok?”
“No,” I grumbled. I sat at the kitchen table and opened my laptop, holding the phone in the crook of my shoulder while I went to the emails and forwarded them to Liam. “I need you to look into what I’m sending you,” I muttered as I typed.
“What? Can’t hear you, Dex. Sounds like you’re in a fucking tunnel. It couldn’t possibly be because you’ve refused to join the twenty-first century and use bluetooth and instead have your phone scrunched up on your shoulder, could it?” Liam teased.
“You’re a fucking hellhound. You can hear me just fine, asshole,” I griped.
I heard more clicking, then Liam whistled softly. “Well shit, this isn’t very pretty. I take it the original email address is your human neighbor?”
I was scanning the emails for the first time now that I’d sent them. This fucker was twisted, and I desperately wanted to go over to Toby’s and… I didn’t even know. I had the urge to lay over him in my hellhound form, which was just fucking stupid, but my protective drive was beating at my skull. “Yes,” I ground out, my voice guttural.
The clacking stopped again. “Dex, are you alright?” Liam asked.
All I could was growl low in my throat.
“Ok, stop reading the emails,” Liam said calmly.
Everything was taking on a red haze, and my eyes were glued to the screen. I knew I was still growling, but I couldn’t help it.
“Dex!” Liam shouted, and I jerked backwards, blinking a few times.
I grunted in reply.
“Stop reading the emails. Close the computer. Do it now, Dexter,” Liam commanded.
I chafed at the order, but I did it anyway.
“Take a few deep breaths. Toby is safe. He’s next door to you, isn’t he? Is he home now?” Liam asked.
I stood up and walked over to my window, cracking it open. I listened and smelled the air. Yes, Toby was still home. Of course he was—I would have heard if he left. I could hear him puttering around the kitchen, and his smell was faint on the breeze. It also smelled like he was cooking something. Or, more accurately, burning something. I smiled despite myself.
“Yes, he’s home. He’s burning dinner,” I commented.
“Better?” Liam asked.
“Yeah,” I responded. “I just…” I trailed off, not knowing what to say. Finally I just muttered, “He feels like pack.”
Liam was quiet for a moment, and I expected a million questions, but instead I just heard the clacking of keys start up again, and his voice was business-like when he responded. “Well,ok then. Let’s get this stalker shit figured out so we can keep your Toby safe.”
Liam was an asshole at times, and he was totally the big brother of the group, but he always had my back, and I was so thankful for that. Sometimes he really did know exactly what we all needed.
“The house offer?” I asked, wondering if that was also a loose end.
“Ah, yeah, sorry. That wasn’t me, but it was the pack. Jude told Corbin about it, and Corbin did his witchy mojo shit and read some tea leaves or some such thing, and he told me about it before he put the offer in. The property is huge—it’s comprised of three actual lots if we wanted to build additional structures—and there’s even a fully furnished pool house in the back that would serve as an apartment for someone who needed more space,” Liam replied.
We were probably both thinking of Atlas. He was the loner of the group, with good reason, and although he was pack, he liked his space, too.
“Ok, so about this stalker…” Liam started, and I grunted in reply.
He continued to chatter on about IP addresses and VPNs and other weird IT initials that made no sense to me, and I just grunted along, happy that he was looking into things.
This would probably mean that someone, whether it was Corbin, Jude, or Liam, would show up soon, but suddenly that didn’t sound so bad. It would be someone extra to help me protect Toby, and that was all that was important to me at the moment.
Somehow my sweet, cute neighbor had become more important to me than I thought possible, and I didn’t know what I would do if something happened to him. I pitied any fool who tried to harm him. I would burn them and everything they held dear down to protect my Toby.