She barely saw him before he moved out of sight, certainly not enough to identify him, but she knew it had been a man. Who the hell was he and what on earth was he doing? Her client’s gorgeous house was in a remote location with no close neighbours, a mile and a half from town.

Had she locked the front door? She was certain she had, but now she was doubting herself.

Climbing to her feet, annoyed her legs were shaking, she left the bedroom, heading across the landing. Her stomach felt like it was going to drop as she crept downstairs, and she hated how unnerved she was.

She had worked so hard over the years to build up her confidence and a tough exterior, hating the idea of anything that made her weak, and all it had taken was a handful of unsettling incidents to reduce her to a quivering wreck.

As she reached the bottom step, she saw a flash of black through the living-room window and nearly tripped over as she ran to the front door, tugging on the handle to make sure it didn’t open. She heaved out a breath when she realised it was definitely locked. Someone was out there and she had no idea who they were or what they were doing there.

Yes, it could be completely innocent, but she couldn’t be sure, and she wasn’t about to stick her head out of the window and ask.

Retreating back to the stairs, she concentrated on her breathing, angrily telling herself to get a grip. She was still sitting there minutes later, trying to figure out a plan of action, knowing that if she called the police over something that could easily be a misjudgement on her part, she would be made to look a fool, when her phone rang. She glanced at the screen, expecting it to either be Rosie or her mother, surprised when she saw Liam’s name flash up, and she hesitated briefly before answering. ‘Hello?’

‘Hey, you still up for meeting later?’

He hadn’t made it clear why he wanted to meet. Was it personal or because he wanted to talk more about her past? Hannah wanted to kick herself for blurring those lines, but truthfully, as uncomfortable as it had made things, she couldn’t regret what had happened last night. Besides, right now she was grateful he had called. ‘Are you still at the cottage?’

She kept her tone low. If the man was still outside the house, she didn’t want to advertise the fact she was indoors. Maybe he thought the property was empty and had come to burgle it…

‘Yeah, I’m working. Why?’

‘I’m at a client’s house. Someone is… was outside.’

‘What?’ His tone was sharp, alert now. ‘Hannah, where are you?’

‘I might be overreacting. It could be—’

‘Tell me where you are.’