Page 38 of Virgin for Next Door Wolf Daddy
Who knows, maybe it is, he thought.
Then, he wondered how she knew about Talia and growled. He wouldn’t put it past Sallie to approach Talia and try to scare her off.
15
Talia
Talia sang to herself as she got ready for the next day. She briefly considered the stack of ungraded papers in her briefcase but decided they could wait another day. One of the downfalls of being a teacher was all the free hours they were forced to work, creating lesson plans, grading papers, and staying after for extra-curricular events.
As she slid into bed, she thought about the fun she had with Sebastian. They talked a lot of nonsense. It was fun, though. They laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. Life wasn’t always about being mature and serious all the time. Talia was sure that if an outsider had heard Sebastian joking around tonight, they would be surprised because it seemed to conflict with his big, tough, biker, security guy identity.
A few hours later, she sat straight up in bed, woken suddenly from a deep sleep. Her heart thundered in her chest, and her breath was caught in her throat. She quickly scanned the room to make sure she was alone.
Her head jerked toward the window. It sounded as though someone was scraping against her bedroom window, trying to get in. Her hands shook as she peeked through the blinds, but she didn’t see anyone. It was a dark night out, the stars and moon hidden by clouds, and it would have been easy for someone to hide in the shadows.
She grabbed her phone as she briefly thought about calling Sebastian, but she didn’t want to wake him up. If someone had been out there, they were gone now. About a minute later, her phone rang, nearly giving her a heart attack.
“Hello. This is Katy from the alarm company. The cameras picked up a person walking around outside your house. Are you okay?”
“I thought I heard someone, but I looked out. I didn’t see anyone.”
“We’ll send the police to check. If there is no one around, they won’t knock. If there is, they’ll knock and alert Garner Security.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Remember your alarm code if there is an emergency,” Katy said.
“I do.”
Talia grabbed her computer to check her cameras but didn’t see anyone. She wondered if it was just someone cutting through her yard and she was being paranoid. The cameras picked up the patrol car parking in her driveway and two officers getting out and walking around the house. They apparently didn’t see anyone because they got back into their vehicle and left.
She walked around the house and double-checked all her doors and windows to make sure they were locked.
“I need a dog or something to keep me company and to let me know if there’s anyone around. A pooch would be better than any alarm system.”
She made a cup of chamomile tea and then laid back down. Talia closed her eyes and willed herself back to sleep.
The alarm was almost beat into slivers when it went off the next morning. Talia’s eyes were gritty and raw from the lack of sleep. They burned. She cringed when she looked in the mirror and saw that there was as much red as green.
Splashing her face with cold water and a couple cups of coffee made her feel almost human. She managed to get dressed, grateful that most of her slacks and skirts were black so she would always match no matter what she pulled on.
“Pants, bra, shirt, socks, shoes. Got it. Briefcase, phone, computer, car keys, school keys, badge. Got them. Alarm is set.” Talia always did a mental check before she left the house to make sure she didn’t forget anything, but this time she wanted to be doubly sure since she was so tired.
She opened her car doors and put her briefcase inside and then groaned, leaning her forehead against her car door. Sighing heavily, she walked around the car and discovered that someone had slashed all four of her tires.
“Just great,” she growled.
Sebastian pulled into his driveway as she was about to go into the house and call into the school, letting them know she would be very late.
“Hey, could you give me a ride to school?” she asked, forgetting the niceties of “Good morning” and all that.
“Sure, what’s up?” he asked.
“I had a visitor last night. Someone decided I needed a day off from work and slashed all four of my tires.”
“You’re kidding?”
“No. The alarm company called about two this morning because the cameras picked up on someone lurking about and sent the police to check it out, but they didn’t see anything.”
