ashlyn struggled and managed to break from my grip as she pushed me off of her.

"i'm going to f**king kill you, bitch! it's something i should have done instead of burning down that building!" she screamed.

she came at me and grabbed my hair, knocking me down as i hit my forehead on the table. i heard peyton scream as she tried to grab her. suddenly, the door flew open and two men came running in. connor grabbed me from behind and denny grabbed ashlyn and restrained her.

"ellery, you're bleeding," connor said as he wiped the blood from my head.

"she threatened julia," i said.

"what?!" connor yelled as he looked at her.

peyton went and got a cloth from the bathroom and handed it to connor as he held it over my cut.

"you're in big trouble," connor said as he applied pressure to the wound.

"how did you know i was here?" i asked.

"we aren't talking about that now."

"believe me, we're talking about it, connor."

two police officers walked into ashlyn's apartment and took her from denny.

one of the officers walked over and asked me what had happened.

"she just went crazy and came after me. she knocked me down, and i hit my head on the table," i said innocently.

"would you like to press charges for assault and battery, ma'am?"

"no, i don't think that'll be necessary," connor said.

i glared at him in disbelief at what he just said. "yes, i do want to press charges," i said.

suddenly, ashlyn yelled. "she came after me first. it was self-defense!"

the officer looked at peyton. "were you a witness, miss?"

"yes, i was, and that woman made a clear threat to kill her and then she came at her and pushed her into that table. i was so scared, i couldn't move."

as ashlyn was screaming in her defense, the officer handcuffed her and escorted her out of the apartment. denny looked at me and smiled as he walked over to me.

"are you okay?" he asked as he took my hand.

"yes, i'm fine."

connor removed the cloth from my wound, and it was still bleeding. "you're going to need stitches, ellery," he said as he shook his head. "i'm so angry with you right now."

"save it, connor. i'm in no mood for a lecture."

"henry's at the hospital. i just talked to him, and he's waiting for us. i'll drive the range rover and meet you there," peyton said.

i looked at her and nodded my head as i asked, "did you get it all?"

"i sure did." she smiled as she held up the little device she had in her hand.

as peyton walked out of the apartment, connor and denny helped me up.

"it seems to me i've done this with you before." denny smiled.

"what did peyton get?" connor asked as we walked out of the apartment.

"evidence." i smiled.

chapter 21

connor helped me into the limo and then shut the door. he walked around and slid in next to me. the pain in my head was starting to get worse, and i didn't need him yelling at me.

"what the hell did you think you were doing?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"trying to save our family."

"i told you to stay away from her and you disobeyed me. you know how unstable she is. she could have killed you, ellery."

"connor, please stop yelling. my head really hurts," i said as a tear sprang from my eye.

"lay off, connor. the two of you can talk about it later. the most important thing is that we get her head looked at," denny said.

connor turned away and looked out the window. i reached for his hand, but he pulled away. the last time he was this mad at me was back in michigan when he found out about the cancer. denny pulled up to the emergency entrance, and peyton was waiting for me with a wheelchair. i opened the door myself and started to get out. connor came around and grabbed my arm. i jerked away from him.

"don't touch me," i snapped as i sat down in the chair.

peyton looked at him and then at me. she wheeled me to the registration desk and the nurse took me back into a room right away. she took the cloth from my head and looked at me.

"dr. henry can fix that up for you." she smiled as she patted my hand.

after she walked out of the room, connor stood at the side of the table. i couldn't stop thinking about how he and denny knew that i was at ashlyn's apartment. it was bothering me on a whole new level. as i was about to ask the dreaded question that i wasn't sure i wanted to know the answer to, henry strolled into the room. he stood in the entrance with a smirk on his face.

"is this deja vu?" he asked.

"sort of feels like it, doesn't it?" i replied.

while henry stitched me up, he started to ask questions. "so, why were the two of you over at ashlyn's place, but most importantly, what was she doing there? i thought she was in jail."

"apparently, she posted bail and they let her out on house arrest," peyton said.

he put the final stitch in and kissed me on the head. "all fixed up, again." he smiled.

connor didn't say a word. he just kept staring at me with a look of disappointment and anger. "peyton, i'll drive you home and connor can take ellery home in the range rover," denny said.

great, i thought to myself. i didn't want to be alone with him. i knew the biggest of arguments was coming, and i didn't feel good or strong enough to fight with him. he extended his hand to me and helped me off the table. i turned and looked at peyton.

"i want you and henry to come over tonight for dinner."

"no, ellery. you need to rest," connor said.

"don't worry about me. we have some things to discuss."

"we'll bring dinner. so don't worry about anything," peyton said as she walked over and hugged me.

connor pulled the range rover up to the entrance and sat there. i thought he would've gotten out and opened the door, but he didn't. he was being a complete a**hole, and i didn't appreciate it. my heart started beating faster when i climbed in and shut the door as he took off out of the hospital parking lot and drove us home.

the ride home was silent. he didn't say a word and neither did i. i walked up the stairs and into our bedroom. mason had texted me earlier, saying that he was at the park with julia and they'd be back later. i sat on the edge of the bed and waited for connor to come and start yelling at me. he walked into the room and handed me a white pill and a glass of water.

"what the hell were you thinking?" he snapped.

"before i say a word, you are to answer two questions."

his angry eyes glared at me. "you are in no position to tell me what to do, ellery."

"did you know that ashlyn was out of jail?" i asked.

connor ran his hands through his hair and took in a sharp breath as he turned away and walked across the room. "yes, i f**king knew!"

as my body shook, i set the glass on the nightstand. "you knew and you didn't tell me? you lied to me, connor."

"and you lied to me, ellery!" he said with a raised voice. "i told you a hundred times that you were to stay away from her and you didn't listen. that's your problem: you never listen. you're always going off and doing whatever the f**k you want to without any consideration for me or my feelings."

"she's going to destroy you, destroy us, and our family. i couldn't sit back and let her do it."

connor became enraged as he stepped closer to me and pointed his finger in my face. "i told you that i wouldn't let her do that, yet you didn't believe me and had to take matters into your own hands. you could've been killed. she's crazy like that!"

"how did you know i was there?" i asked as i got up from the bed.

once again, he wouldn't look at me and he turned around. "it doesn't matter how i knew."

"were you having me followed?"

"no."

then suddenly, my mind kept going back to the times when he would randomly show up at the places where i was. i remembered when he showed up at fao schwarz and he knew exactly what floor i was on and what section cassidy and i were in. i looked over at my phone, which was lying on the bed.

"you motherfucker! you were keeping tabs on me through my phone?! you were tracking me?!" i yelled.

the air was thick and he didn't need to say anything, because his silence said it all. i closed my eyes as i felt dizzy, and i needed to lay down on the bed.

"you had no right," i whispered as a tear streamed down my face.

"you gave me no choice, ellery. i knew you would do something like this," he said calmly as he took a few steps closer to the bed.

"i want you to get out of this bedroom and leave me alone. my head hurts and i need some space."

"i think we both need some space," he said as he walked out and shut the bedroom door.

chapter 22

connor

after grabbing the bottle of motrin from the bathroom cabinet, i walked into the living room and straight to the bar. shaking two pills into my hand, i popped them in my mouth and chased them down with a glass of scotch.

"don't you think it's a little early to start drinking?" denny said as he walked in the room and sat down in the leather chair.

"it's never too early to start drinking. would you like one?" i asked as i held up my glass.

with a wave of his hand, he politely declined. "did you and ellery have it out already?"

"sort of." i sighed.

"i told you she was going to find out that you knew ashlyn was out of jail. did she find out how you've been tracking her?"

"yes," i said as i sat down on the couch.

"i warned you, connor. i told you that it wasn't a good idea to keep secrets from her."

"like i had a choice. look at what she did."

"exactly! she would've done it anyway. so wouldn't it have been better to tell her from the start? because if you ask me, the pain she's feeling now is far worse."

"yeah, well, what about me and how i'm feeling, denny? she lied to me. she lied about what she was doing and where she was going today."

"you lied, she lied. you two are perfect for each other. listen, connor, i know why you did what you did, and i know why ellery did what she did. the truth of the matter is that at the end of the day, regardless of all the bullshit that went on earlier, you two love each other more than you did yesterday. i'll tell you something, though; you were one cold-hearted bastard to her in the limo and at the hospital."

i got up from the couch, walked over to the bar, and poured another scotch. "don't start with that, denny." i sighed.

"damn right i'll start it. your wife, the mother of your baby, is upstairs with stitches in her head because of that psycho girl you used to date, and instead of apologizing to her and comforting her, you're down here, throwing back scotch."