She looked up from her desk as a couple walked past her office windows for the third time in half an hour, and she began to feel uneasy again. They hadn’t even stopped directly in front of her office, but that didn’t prevent the hair on the back of her neck from standing up.
Was she just being paranoid?
Or were they watching her for some reason?
The incident on the yacht had been nearly an entire month ago. She hadn’t gone near a pier since then and was always more cautious in crowds, but most of her life had progressed rather normally. She knew a lot of that had to do with Troy. They’d begun dating and steadily grown more serious in the past month. Maybe she hadn’t been looking for a serious relationship, but she’d found one. And she was thrilled that they got along so well and had such fantastic chemistry.
She never felt unsafe when they were together and that had gone a long way in moving forward with her life. She wasn’t ready to get on a boat again, but otherwise, felt reasonably safe wherever she was.
When the couple walked past her office window a fourth time, she pulled out her cell phone. Troy was no doubt still working on base, but she tried calling him anyway. He’d told her several times to let him know if she had anything suspicious happen. Just hearing his deep voice would make her feel better. His phone rang several times before going to voicemail. She decided she was just being paranoid and hung up without leaving a message. She’d talk to him tonight and tell him about it then.
Typing an email on her computer, she clicked send. She just needed to update her spreadsheet and then she could head out for the night. Caitlyn was just shutting down her computer ten minutes later when the power flickered in her office. Looking outside, she saw the sky was beginning to darken.
Great.
She’d been running late this morning and hadn’t gotten a close parking spot, so she’d need to hurry if she didn’t want to get caught in the rain. Caitlyn grabbed her jacket and umbrella, walking toward the front of her office. She paused before opening the door, quickly scanning the sidewalk through the window. She didn’t see the couple who’d walked back and forth earlier, just other people hurrying to get out of the pending storm.
After locking her office door, she hurried along the sidewalk as the wind began to pick up. A few drops of rain began to fall, but she might just beat the storm. Her gaze tracked back and forth around her, but she didn’t see the couple from earlier anywhere. They were probably just enjoying a walk while the weather had been good. There was no need for her to be paranoid now.
A door swung open in front of her, a man rushing out. Caitlyn shrieked and jumped back, her heart pounding. The man looked over and apologized, then continued on his way. Caitlyn blinked, watching him go. He jogged across the street in the rain and then jumped into a taxi. Now she knew she was being paranoid.
Shaking her head, she hurried down the street to her car. She didn’t even bother putting up her umbrella, instead listening to the thunder rumble in the sky and letting some of the rain dampen her hair. She bumped into a woman coming the opposite way, apologizing, and then ducked into her own car a few minutes later.
Her hands were shaking as she clutched the steering wheel. This was nuts. She was worrying about every little thing today. The phone calls, the couple outside, the guy who’d almost knocked her over. She needed to get a grip.
Later that night, she was lying on her sofa reading when Troy called. It was much later than she usually talked with him, but she’d ordered delivery for dinner and then snuggled under a blanket all evening, knowing he was busy with work. The storm outside had raged on, and between the foul weather and her paranoia, she’d been content to lose herself in a book for a few hours.
Troy sounded tired when she answered. They hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, although she’d slept another hour after they’d made love this morning. He’d had to rush off to PT and then a full day on base.
“You sound tired,” she said, mentally cringing at stating the obvious. “Rough day?”
He blew out a frustrated sigh. “Yeah. There’s a lot going on. This whole mess with the admiral has everyone all worked up, and the team might get sent out soon.”
“Oh. Where are you going?”
“I can’t say,” he said in a clipped tone. “Sorry, Butterfly. I’m just wiped out tonight. I know we haven’t talked too much about my deployments, but when I get sent out, I can’t say where I’ll be or for how long.”
“Yeah, I get it. I mean, I understand why you can’t tell me. I’m just used to planning everything down to the final detail. I’m an event planner, remember?”
“And you’re great at what you do. How was your day?”
“Kind of weird, actually.”
Instantly, she could tell he was more alert. “Why? Did something happen? You should’ve called me.”
“I did,” she said patiently. “You didn’t answer. It’s okay,” she rushed on. “I know you were busy. I just had all these missed calls this morning. Someone called my office every half an hour for hours.”
“Was anyone there? Or was it some robocall or something?”
“They called early before I got in. I was running a bit late after—well, you know. I did talk to someone around nine thirty. He just wanted to know my office hours. Then I spoke with some other potential
