Cocky Protector - Kat Mizera Page 0,5

was there at least someone would believe me when I said I felt like I was being watched, and maybe help me figure out what was going on. At the very least, I could go to my parents’ townhouse when I needed a good night’s sleep. Because that hadn’t been happening at all lately. Every noise, every gust of wind or drop of rain on the windows made me jump and then I couldn’t get back to sleep. It was ridiculous, but my overactive imagination was getting the best of me since I’d begun seeing things moved around my apartment.

At first, I’d thought it was my imagination, but then I tested my theories…taking pictures of each room and countertop in the apartment in the morning before I left and comparing them to how they looked when I got home at night. Yesterday, someone had moved my teapot from where I’d left it next to the sink and put it back on the stove where I normally kept it. It had completely freaked me out.

I’d asked Mrs. Winkelhofer if she’d seen anyone hovering around the building but she hadn’t, so I didn’t know what to make of it. I was careful, sticking to populated routes and going out in groups, but I honestly didn’t have any proof other than the relocated teapot. It had freaked me out so much I’d told my mother, and now she was freaking out, which was never a good thing. All I needed was for her to make an impromptu trip.

She’d visited before and it was nice, but it was December now and the end of the semester was on the horizon, so my students and I were gearing up for finals. I didn’t have time for company and she wasn’t good on her own. We’d become close after Dad passed away, especially with my divorce becoming final soon after. She felt responsible since she’d set me up with Douglas, and she sometimes went overboard to make it up to me, which was the last thing I needed right now. I appreciated the effort she was making, but I’d moved to Germany to do something on my own. She and my father had dictated pretty much everything I did up until I got married, and now I needed to find my own way. Emotionally, anyway.

I dropped my bag and took off my coat, kicking off my shoes before heading to the bathroom. I immediately started running water for a bath, dumping in some bubble bath and a few drops of essential oils. I stripped off my clothes, put them in the pile I was taking to the dry cleaner in the morning, and pulled on my bathrobe. I padded out to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of prosecco, my latest guilty pleasure. Then I dug my e-reader out of my purse and walked back to the bathroom.

I was about to get in the water when my paranoia got the best of me and I went out to grab my phone. Just in case. I dug around in my purse and it wasn’t there. Panicked, I ran to find my clothes, digging through the pockets. Still nothing. It wasn’t in my coat pocket, my laptop bag, or on any of the counters. Had I left it at school? No, that wasn’t possible because I’d checked the weather forecast on the way home. I’d walked home and hadn’t made any stops, so there was no way I’d left it anywhere. Which meant I’d dropped it. But I was always so careful about that.

I grabbed my purse and opened it again, ready to dump it out in a last-ditch effort to find the phone, and there it was right on top, mocking me. I stared for a long minute as goose bumps broke out all over my body. I turned around slowly, swallowing down my fear. Was someone here or was I actually losing my mind? A chill raced down my spine and my heart rate kicked up a few notches. What the hell was going on?

With my phone clutched tightly in my hand, I threw open the hall closet, determined to check every nook and cranny of my small apartment. It was blissfully empty and I hurried into my bedroom, opening the tall wardrobe that was provided since there was no bedroom closet. There was nothing there but my clothes and shoes, and even though I didn’t know what I would do if I found someone,