"when did these flowers come?" he asked.

"i don't know. they were delivered when i was out with peyton."

connor pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed it. "mason, it's connor. were you here when the flowers for ellery were delivered? i see. thank you," he said as he hung up.

"he said that when he and julia got home from the park, they were outside the door."

"connor, i thought they were from you along with the text messages. now you're scaring me," i said as my bottom lip started to quiver.

"why the hell would i send you text messages from a restricted number?"

"i thought you were playing with me."

he sighed as he paced around the kitchen, running his hands through his hair. "these aren't from me!" he yelled.

i couldn't stand there and be yelled at anymore. i didn't know what was going on, so i took off up the stairs and went into my bedroom. after i locked the door, i threw myself on the bed, scared and shaking that someone, other than my husband, was saying those things to me and sending me my favorite flowers. while i was lying there, connor knocked on the door.

"ellery, open the door."

"no! stay the hell away from me."

"baby, please. i'm so sorry. i didn't mean to yell at you like that. we need to talk about this, so please open the door."

he sounded like he had calmed down, so i got up from the bed and unlocked the door. with a turn of the knob, he opened it as i sat on the edge of the bed. connor walked in and sat on the bed next to me. he put his arm around me and pulled me into him as he held my head against his chest. i started to cry.

"i'm sorry. please forgive me, ellery. you just have no idea the terrible thoughts that are going through my head right now."

"you f**king scared me, connor."

"i know i did. i'm sorry. it's just the thought of someone saying that shit to you is unnerving, and i took it out on you, and i shouldn't have. please, baby, look at me."

i lifted my head up and connor wiped the tears from my eyes. he took my face in his hands and softly kissed my lips.

"we need to find out who's doing this. i put a call into detective james, the private investigator who worked with me on the chicago fire. he's coming over in a while and so is paul."

as i nodded my head, i got up from the bed and went into the bathroom. i looked at myself in the mirror and tried to remove the mascara stains from under my eyes. the day that was going so well and made me so happy had all just gone to hell. connor stood in the doorway of the bathroom and looked at me.

"are you okay, elle?"

"do i look okay, connor? some stranger is stalking me, sending me text messages and my favorite flowers, and my husband just got done screaming at me. so to answer your question, no, i'm not okay. i accept your apology, but i really just want you to leave me alone for a while so i can take in everything that just happened."

suddenly, we heard julia cry from her crib. "i'll tend to julia and leave you alone," connor said with an attitude.

i sighed as i closed my eyes and tried to figure out what the hell was going on. i needed to talk to peyton, but my phone was downstairs. the last time i saw connor that angry was back in the hotel room in michigan. the way he yelled and the look he had in his eye brought back all the memories i never wanted to remember again. once i finished wiping the mascara from underneath my eyes, i put my hair up in a ponytail and changed into my yoga pants and a sweatshirt. i walked past the living room. connor was giving julia her bottle. as i walked into the kitchen, i grabbed my phone from the counter and noticed the roses were gone.

"did you throw the roses away?" i asked connor as i walked over to the bar.

"you bet i did," he replied.

the bottle of jack was already sitting out and so was a shot glass. as i poured myself a shot, i looked over at my husband. "did you get this out?"

"yes. i figured you'd be coming down for some," he replied as he looked down at julia.

"thank you," i said as i threw the shot back and set the glass down. "i'm scared," i blurted out as i poured another shot.

chapter 31

connor

i looked over at ellery and saw the fear in her eyes. i wanted to go to her, but i was feeding julia. i never should've yelled at her the way i did. but when i read those messages and saw the flowers and the card, a fear crept up inside of me that someone was after my wife. ellery continued to slam a couple of shots as i burped julia. she had just finished her bottle, so i set her on the floor amongst her toys. ellery stood behind the bar, and i walked over to her.

"come here," i said as i embraced her. "i know this whole thing is scary, but i promise you that i'll never let anything happen to you or julia. we're going to find out who's behind this and they're going to pay. i'll see to that."

"who would do something like this?" she asked.

"i don't know, baby; some sick, twisted individual," i said as i tightened my grip around her.

the doorman rang up and said that detective james and paul were downstairs. i told him to send them up right away.

"mr. black, it's nice to see you again," detective james said as he shook my hand.

"i wish it was under better circumstances," i sighed.

paul walked over to ellery and gave her a hug. "are you okay, elle?" he asked.

i escorted the detective to the living room and offered him a drink. paul got up, walked over to the bar, and poured himself a glass of bourbon.

"detective james, you remember my wife, ellery."

"yes, i do. it's nice to see you again."

ellery gave a small smile as she nodded her head. i sat down beside her and held her hand.

"your husband has filled me in on what's going on. can i see the messages you received today?"

ellery reached over, took her phone from the table, and handed it to him. as detective james scrolled through the messages, i got up, walked into the kitchen, and grabbed the card that came with the flowers.

"he sent her three dozen roses with this card attached," i said as i handed it to him.

"have you met anyone new recently?" he asked.

"i meet people every day, detective."

"what about the showing at the art gallery?" paul said as he looked at ellery.

"i met and talked to a lot of people there."

"did you notice anyone as being odd or felt like something was off with someone?" detective james asked.

"no. not that i can remember," ellery replied.

"i'm going to take a screenshot of these messages. you didn't change your number already, did you?"

"no, i was going to do that first thing tomorrow morning," i said.

"well, don't. we need to see how far this person will go. it could just be a couple of messages and then he's done with it. unfortunately, we can't do anything unless he threatens her in some way."

julia started getting fussy, so ellery picked her up. she said she was taking her upstairs to change her diaper. as soon as she was out of earshot, i looked at detective james and said sternly, "i will use every resource i have to find out who's doing this. i will not stand by and wait until he harms ellery or julia. i don't give a shit about the law and i'll warn you now, if i catch him first, i'll kill him."

"connor, i'll pretend i didn't hear that," detective james said. "my men and i will be on this. after all, you're paying us very well," he said as he got up from the chair. "i'll start first thing in the morning, and i'll try to find out where those flowers came from."

"thank you, detective james," i said as i shook his hand.

"no problem, connor. we'll find this son of a bitch. try not to worry."

as i shut the door, ellery walked into the room with julia. "did detective james leave?" she asked.

"yes, baby, he did," i replied as i walked over to her and gave her a kiss and took julia.

"what do you want me to do, connor?" paul asked.

"find me a bodyguard for ellery and julia. i'll need two of them. one to go out with ellery and one for mason. i want you to get our tech guys on these messages and find out what number they're coming from, and i want to know where the flowers came from. i'm not going into the office tomorrow, so report back here."

"i'll get on it right away," paul said. he walked over to ellery and gave her a hug. "don't worry about this; we'll keep you safe."

"thanks, paul. i appreciate it." she smiled.

paul walked out the door, and ellery wrapped her arms around my waist. "do you really think it's necessary to hire a bodyguard?" she asked.

"yes, i do. i'm not taking any chances, and i can't be with you twenty-four-seven."

"i wish you could be," she said as she kissed my lips.

"i do too, baby. i do too."

ellery tossed and turned all night. i tried to keep her still by holding her, but she was so restless that she would wiggle her way out of my grip. when i got out of the shower, ellery was sitting up in bed with her phone in her hand.

"what's wrong? did you get another text?" i asked.

she held out her phone to me, and i walked over and took it from her. sure enough, there was another message.

"i couldn't stop thinking about you all night. i hope you were thinking about me."

i threw the phone on the bed and ran my hands through my hair. reading those words that were being said to my wife fueled my anger even more. i took in a deep breath as i walked over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans.

"i'm not letting that bastard run my life, connor."

i turned around and looked at her. "what do you mean by that?"

"i can't live in fear and i won't. i'm stronger than that, and i won't let some obsessive sick f**k control my life."

i walked over to the bed, sat down, and put my arm her. "ellery, i'm sorry this is happening, but you'll be protected at all times. you're not allowed to leave this penthouse or building without security."

"so you were really serious about having someone follow me around?"

"not following you around, sweetheart; protecting you," i said as i kissed the side of her head. "now go and get dressed. we have to go visit denny."

when we heard mason downstairs, ellery threw on some clothes, and we walked into the kitchen, where he was dancing with julia.

"good morning, momma. good morning, daddy." he smiled.

"good morning, mason. we need to talk to you," i said as i grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.

"that doesn't sound good. did i do something wrong?"

ellery took julia from him and asked him to sit down. "it's nothing you did. do you remember those text messages i received from the restricted number?"