Free Double Jeopardy (Entangled Select) by Linda Wisdom

to poach on her territory will get hassled in the process. She’s getting a lot nastier about it, too.”
    She grew still. “Give me some examples.”
    “What we once figured were nothing more than random vandalism and harassment to a few people we’re now giving more serious thought to. And that’s because each of them had dated Josh at one time. And they were usually the ones to call it off.” He didn’t need to pull out his notebook to refresh his memory. “It started out as little things at first. Prize roses cut. Paint thrown against front doors. Obscenities painted on outside walls. Phone calls in the middle of the night, then the caller hangs up. Two women Josh saw a few times had their tires slashed. When he broke up with them, the tricks stopped as suddenly as they’d started. The latest was a pretty nasty joke involving the lady’s job promotion. She now considers Josh lower than dirt.”
    Lauren leaned forward in her chair and laced her fingers together, resting them on top of her desk. “This may not be anything at all, but you may as well know that one evening when I got home from work, I sensed someone had broken into my house. Except I couldn’t find anything taken.”
    Kevin’s gaze sharpened. “Is this feeling something like a woman’s intuition? Was there proof someone had been in there even if nothing was taken?”
    “Have you ever been somewhere and had the hair stir on your arms or on the back of your neck because something just doesn’t feel right? It was that kind of feeling. I couldn’t find anything concrete, nothing even looked out of order in my drawers, but the stopper to one of my perfume bottles was lying on top of the dresser next to the bottle. I normally would have thought I’d done that myself except I hadn’t worn that fragrance that day. I had all the locks changed the next day and a security system will be installed tomorrow.”
    He nodded his approval. “Did you tell Josh about this?”
    She shook her head. “No reason to. Mr. Brandon and I are not an item, no matter what anyone thinks.”
    Kevin muttered a curse. “That doesn’t mean his ‘friend’ doesn’t think so, since she has a habit of jumping to quick conclusions about women Josh so much as talks to. I suggest you start acting a hell of a lot more cautious when you’re anywhere on your own.”
    “I’m not foolish enough to think I’m invincible, but I’m not going to look over my shoulder every thirty seconds, either,” she retorted, thinking back to a time when she’d done just that and, as a result, ended up a nervous wreck. It took a lot of inner strength for her to take back her life. “I can’t imagine why this woman considers me a threat.”
    Kevin pushed himself out of his chair. “Maybe it’s her woman’s intuition at work. I want you to call me if you ever again think an unwanted visitor dropped by. Next time, we’ll dust for prints and see if we can find anything.” He dropped a white business card on her desk. “Changing your door locks is a good idea, but I’ll warn you now that she’s gotten around new locks and security systems before.”
    She nodded.
    “Dr. Hunter, Pete needs you.” A bored-looking Sophie appeared in the doorway. “Now.”
    Kevin shot Lauren a sympathetic glance as he walked past the secretary. “Good luck, Doc.”
    “I should have listened to my mother. She wanted me to be a dermatologist,” she muttered, dreading to think what problem her assistant had gotten himself into.
    …
    She wondered how long it would take them to discover the paperwork mix-up. Considering how inept Pete Ignatius was at times, it was incredibly easy. Which was why she’d made sure the all-important file error would be blamed on him. How far would he get before he realized the error? And his only recourse would be to tell Lauren what had happened. It would throw their precious schedule off for good, which would then throw the blame on her. Yes, she even made sure of that