dug through every time I needed something. I was more efficient when traveling, using packing cubes because I didn’t have time to dick around with that kind of thing when I was on a mission, but Shannon’s setup was curious to me. I reached out to touch a lacy piece of cloth and almost smacked myself as I jerked back to reality.
What the fuck? Why the hell was I thinking about how she stored her panties? I wasn’t a pervert and, dammit, the fact that I jerked off to memories of our kiss had nothing to do with what I was doing now.
Liar.
I almost laughed at the subconscious thought that whipped through me because I was a damn liar. Rooting through her drawers gave me a ton of pleasure, added inspiration to upcoming fantasies, and made me want to wait for her to get home and announce myself.
Dumbass.
I took a breath and finished going through all her drawers without further distraction. There were no hidden compartments, envelopes or wads of cash that might send up a warning. There hadn’t been anything unusual in the cannisters in her kitchen, the books on her shelves were actual books and not decoys used for storing important documents or items, or even her freezer was devoid of any red flags. Everything in her bathroom appeared to be just what it was supposed to be. Nothing was hidden behind paintings or picture frames, and I was running out of both time and patience.
I checked under the bed, mattress and throw rug. Nothing. This was getting tedious now that I’d forced my amorous thoughts away. I was just about to give up when I noticed a slight variation in the compartments of her wooden headboard. It had sliding doors, which she used to hide a handful of personal items like nasal spray and tissues, but as I glanced under the bed again, I saw that there was something attached to the bottom of the compartment. I felt around and finally found a latch. Huh. She’d attached a completely separate box, with a trick door, to the bottom side of her headboard. Anyone who wasn’t a spy and trained to find anomalies wouldn’t have caught it.
I snapped it open and two thick binders fell out. I blinked and stood up, holding them carefully. I opened the first page and grimaced. Sweet Jesus, I was definitely going to hell.
This was her diary.
Chapter Six
Shannon
I was on pins and needles all through my morning classes. I didn’t dare check the nanny cam website while I had students in the room because I didn’t trust myself not to shriek like a madwoman if I actually saw something, but it was all I thought about. By the time I got to my planning period at ten o’clock, I was a nervous wreck. I opened my laptop and clicked on the site. It took a few minutes to connect, but then my living room flashed onto the screen. And there was a man on my couch.
Reading my fucking diary.
My heart nearly pounded out of my chest as I stared at the screen. I hadn’t been imagining it. Someone was literally in my apartment. I should call the police. Or Mrs. Winkelhofer. My mother.
Fuck me loud!
I needed to do something but didn’t know what.
The police. Definitely the police.
But then the man in my apartment looked up and the hand that had been reaching for my phone froze in midair.
It couldn’t be.
I squinted, cocking my head and leaning closer, as if that would somehow make the picture clearer.
My heart was hammering against my ribcage, my breath caught in my throat.
The man looked very familiar. I couldn’t wrap my head around it, but it looked like…Ace Ross? How was that possible? What in the ever-loving fuck would Ace Ross be doing in my apartment? He was my stalker? It made no sense, and I stared at the screen a long time. Maybe it wasn’t him. It had been ten years, after all, and I’d only spent a significant amount of time with him that one night. This guy was older and more…rugged. It was hard to be sure, though, and I needed to be positive because this was baffling.
I stared at the screen through my entire break, watching the man in my apartment reading my diary. I kept it hidden in a little compartment I’d discovered beneath my headboard because Mrs. Winkelhofer and Sandra sometimes watered my plants for me when I traveled, and I hadn’t