Page 38 of Chasing Shelter (Sparrow Falls #5)

TRACE

Anger blazed through me, burning away every ounce of calm I’d found by having Ellie in my arms. There were pictures on her phone, clearly taken with a long-lens camera, given their slightly grainy quality. A photographer had invaded her life, stalked her. And someone wanted her scared.

Ellie looked up at me, her face pale. “I-I don’t know.”

I wrapped an arm around her and scanned the street.

Nothing popped for me. There were no vehicles that didn’t belong or people out of place.

And our neighborhood was quiet, where you knew the people who lived around you.

If someone saw something out of place, they’d say something. It didn’t make sense.

“Keys?” I clipped.

Ellie looked up at me, a hint of confusion in her expression, but she handed over a ring with at least five keys and a charm that looked like the thing on her T-shirt she’d called a pegacorn the other day. I would’ve found it funny if I wasn’t so damn tweaked.

I pressed a button on the fob, and the SUV’s back hatch lowered. Beeping the locks, I guided Ellie to her front door .

“What about the flowers?” she asked.

“We’ll deal with them in a bit.” I did my best to keep my voice even, but I heard the strain in it as the photos swam in my mind. Testing the doorknob, I scowled. “Why is this unlocked?”

Ferocious barking erupted as we stepped inside, and Gremlin dive-bombed my ankles.

Ellie pulled out of my hold. “I was going in and out of the house. There was no reason to lock it.”

“You go in the backyard, get distracted, someone could slip through.”

Her lips pressed into a hard line before she spoke. “I’m pretty sure Grem here would’ve alerted me.”

The dog tugged at my uniform pants leg as if to punctuate the point. And for the first time, I was glad she had him. He might not be able to do any damage, but he was at least a sort of alarm system.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and hit Gabriel’s contact. He answered on the second ring. “What’s up?”

“Need you to roll out and check the area around Ellie’s house. See if you find anyone or anything that doesn’t belong.”

An engine started up; Gabriel must’ve already been in his vehicle. “Gonna give me any more than that so I have a direction to go in?” he asked.

My back molars ground together so hard an ache took root in my jaw. “Someone sent pictures to Ellie’s phone. They’ve been watching her. Could be Jasper, but she’s got trouble back home, too.” And the long-lens approach didn’t read like Jasper. He didn’t usually have that sort of patience.

Gabriel let out a stream of curses. “On my way. Try not to break anything in the meantime.”

My mouth twisted into a scowl. “Just get here.” I hit end on the call, frustration mounting on various levels: having no clue who’d sent those photos, someone being fixated on Ellie, and my wavering control.

Because I cared about Ellie. More than I wanted to admit.

As my gaze found her again, her skin still a little pale and her hands shaking a bit, I did want to break something. I wanted to end whoever had put that fear in her.

“Blaze,” I whispered. “Come here.”

She moved to me as easily as she breathed. I wrapped my arms around her, and Ellie pressed her cheek to my chest. I held on to her, relishing the feel of her breathing, in and out, a rhythm that reminded me she was here in my arms, safe and unharmed. “It’s gonna be okay. We’ll figure it out.”

Ellie didn’t say anything, but her hands fisted in my uniform shirt, holding on. And that said it all. Her trust. Her belief. Her leaning.

“Come on. Let’s sit down.” I guided Ellie into the living room that had come alive under her fingers. I never would’ve thought a rainbow mural would look anything other than ridiculous, but Ellie made it work.

The room had become a mix of whimsy and art.

She’d found a pale blue couch and placed colorful, flowered throw pillows on it.

The floor had a color-blocked rug that tied in to the rainbow motif.

Across from the couch was a yellow and pink chair with mismatched pillows.

But it all worked. Eccentric, over-the-top, and Ellie.

I settled her on the couch and turned to face her. “Can you talk this through with me?”

Ellie bent, picking up Gremlin and settling him next to her. “Sure. I…what do you need to know?”

“Do you think this could be Bradley?” I asked. His name felt like acid in my mouth, and saying it in Ellie’s safe space felt like sacrilege.

Ellie rolled her lips over her teeth. “It’s possible. Wouldn’t be the first time he had someone watch me.”

Everything in me stilled as I struggled for composure. “Explain.”

She tugged one of the pillows onto her lap, hugging it to her.

“He gave me a driver in New York. Said it was so I’d be safe, but the driver kept tabs.

Reported on my movements. And then there was the time I found photos of me, long-range ones, kind of like these”—she held up her phone—”in his office. ”

“You confront him?”

Ellie shook her head. She looked so damn sad. “In hopes of what? A big, ugly fight? It wouldn’t have changed anything.” She toyed with a tassel on the pillow. “I had my own little rebellions. Took the subway to work now and then. Left work through the back door and went to dinner with a friend.”

“How’d Bradley react to that?” I asked, scared of the answer.

“He was tense, but he never called me on it. The reins would just tighten a little.”

The ache in my jaw flared brighter. “Because he couldn’t admit what he was doing.”

“Not if he wanted to play the doting fiancé card,” Ellie muttered.

“Have you heard from him since you’ve been here?”

Ellie’s gaze shifted to the side, a telltale sign.

My gut twisted, but I slid a hand over hers, interlacing our fingers. “You want to talk this out with someone who isn’t me? I can have Beth or Laney come take a statement and?—”

“No,” Ellie said quickly, squeezing my fingers and dropping our hands from the pillow to her lap. “I just want to talk to you.”

I would’ve understood if she didn’t. Our relationship had slipped from casual acquaintance to…more. But it meant something that she felt comfortable telling me her story.

“Okay,” I said quietly. “You need to stop, just say the word.”

She nodded, her grip on my hand tightening. “He texted a lot. After what happened…”

“The breakup?” I knew it was so much more. The time he’d laid hands on Ellie. Hit her. Marked her. I imagined it in a million different, devastating ways. Each one making the rage I was so at odds with pulse through me.

“After everything that happened,” she began, “it was like a roller coaster. Apologies. Explanations. Begging for forgiveness.”

“Then it would change,” I supplied. I knew the cycle of abuse, had seen it far too many times working the job I did.

“It would change,” Ellie echoed. “It became my fault. I’d put us in that position. The stress of what my father had done. Not being what Bradley needed. And then he’d go on the attack. Say awful things…”

Tears began to gather in her eyes, and my rage blazed brighter. I beat it back. “Hey.” I framed her face with my hands. “Nothing he said about you was true. Nothing.”

“I know that,” Ellie croaked. “I know they were all his projections. But when it happened this time, it was like I could see all the little patterns leading up to it. The ones I couldn’t see for so long.

The ways he punished me if I didn’t do things the way he wanted.

All my little rebellions came at a cost. It was never physical, but it hurt all the same. ”

Ellie leaned into me, her forehead against mine. “Seeing Linc truly happy, coming to Sparrow Falls for those handful of days, it made me realize that I wasn’t happy. I was living my life for everyone but me. But Arden made me see that maybe—just maybe—I could start over. Topple the damn board.”

“I’m so damn glad she did, Blaze.” I’d be forever grateful to my sister for that. For helping Ellie find her fight and hook into her bravery.

“When I ended it, and he hit me…it was like it woke me up, clued me in to everything else. Made me realize how I’d been allowing myself to be treated.”

My thumbs skimmed the apples of her cheeks, back and forth. “Not anymore. Look how fucking strong you are. You got out. Away. You’re starting this beautiful new life for yourself.”

I felt Ellie’s cheeks move under my hands, her mouth pulling into a smile. “You said the F-word, Chief.”

“Someone told me sometimes it’s okay.”

Ellie pulled back, that smile still on her face, even if it looked a little tired. “Don’t tell Nora. I don’t want her thinking I’m a bad influence.”

I chuckled. “Your secret’s safe with me.” Any amusement slid from my face because I knew we weren’t done. I needed more information. “What about after you got to Sparrow Falls? Can you tell me a little more about how he’s contacted you since? What those messages were like?”

Ellie’s gaze slid to the side again. “Same cycle. But it was clear he was watching me—or had someone watching me. Said something about me moving into this house. Sent flowers with a note that was more a threat.”

My eyes narrowed on her. “The ones you were throwing out the night Keely and I invited you to dinner?”

She nodded. “I changed my phone number, and that seemed to stop it, but…”

“What?” I pressed, trying to shove down the reminder that I’d known something was off about her changing numbers.

“My dad called today.”

My muscles wound impossibly tight. “From prison?”

“I don’t know why, but I took the call.” Ellie’s lips twitched, a move that didn’t make sense until she continued speaking. “I told him what an awful dad he was. That I didn’t want anything to do with him. And it felt so damn good.”

My hand found hers again, needing the contact. “Giving yourself that freedom.”

Ellie looked up at me. “I guess I am. He wasn’t thrilled about it. He wants me back in New York, living up to the Pierce name. What a joke.”

I struggled to keep my hand on hers gentle as rage coursed through me like a living, breathing monster. “What’d you say about that?”

“Told him to take a long walk off a short pier. He tried to manipulate and pull strings. But the thing about starting over? Throwing everything away and beginning again? He doesn’t have that hold anymore.”

“So damn strong, Blaze.”

Her mouth curved the barest amount. “I’m trying to be.”

She was, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have one more suspect to add to the list. This felt like more of a Bradley play, but if Philip had her new number, we couldn’t know for sure. “Can I get another contact on this?”

Ellie frowned. “Who?”

“Anson has a friend from his days at the bureau. His name is Dex. He was a black hat hacker the FBI…adopted. ”

“You mean he could either work for the FBI or get charged with something.”

My girl was always ten steps ahead.

“Exactly that. But he’s helped us with a few different cases now. He might be able to get more information on the numbers and images than I can.”

Ellie tapped her feet on the floor but finally nodded. “Okay.”

I pressed a kiss to her temple and unlocked my phone, scrolling to Dex’s contact information. I tapped the number, and it began ringing. Once. Twice. Three times. Finally, someone answered. “What?” It was more grumble than anything else.

“Afternoon to you, too,” I greeted.

“I was sleeping,” Dex muttered, an extra rasp to his deep voice.

“It’s almost six back east.”

“I was up all night working on a case.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask which one, but it was none of my business. Dex’s time with the bureau had come to an end, and he was working freelance these days. “Sorry, man. I could use your help.”

A rustling sounded in the background, and I pictured a faceless guy surrounded by crushed energy drink cans. “Talk.”

“So verbose. No wonder you and Anson are friends.”

“You want my help or not?”

I did. More than that, I needed it. So, I laid out the situation to Dex, leaving out as many personal details as possible.

I knew from Anson that Dex’s justice trigger got flipped when anyone hurt women.

I didn’t know why; it was just that he wasn’t afraid to dip his toe back into those darker waters to help.

“Tell me the numbers the texts came in from,” Dex ordered.

I read them off one by one, hearing Dex’s keyboard in the background as I did.

“It’s software. All these numbers are coming from one software program, so it’s likely all the same person. I don’t have a lock on the IP address, but let me dig a little more. And get me the photos. I might be able to find something on those.”

“You got it.” I paused for a moment .

“Something else?” Dex pressed.

“Thank you. I really appreciate your help.”

It was Dex’s turn for silence. “Who is she?”

That was the million-dollar question. I went with the simple truth. “Someone important.”

He chuckled. “Town sheriff bites the dust.”

“Are you going to hack some stuff or sit around and gossip?”

“I can do both at the same time. I’m talented that way.”

“Goodbye, Dex.”

“Buzzkill,” he shot back.

I shook my head and ended the call.

“What’d he say?” Ellie asked. “I could only hear a few things.”

“The texts came from a software program. Like the kind that sends those political texts or spam bots. It’s probably all coming from one computer. Dex is going to try to find out where that computer is.”

Ellie nodded slowly. “It could be either of them. Neither are super techie, but they could’ve paid someone to do it. Philip’s assets are frozen, but I’m sure he has bank accounts in places the US government can’t touch, and I know his lawyer isn’t opposed to handling his dirty work.”

I didn’t miss how Ellie had used her dad’s given name, creating more of that distance.

I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into me.

“We’ll figure it out. I promise. You’re already on the drive-by list, but I’ll increase the frequency.

And I think we need to get an alarm put in here.

My brothers have used a great company called Anchor Security in the past. Anson’s friend, Holt Hartley, owns it and?—”

Ellie pulled back. “Wait, wait, wait. I don’t want to feel like I’m living in a prison. I just got out of that.”

The tension in my jaw was back. “We need to keep you safe.”

“If this person wanted to hurt me, don’t you think they would’ve done it already instead of sending photos? They want to scare me.”

She had a point. Right now, their game was fear. But when people like that didn’t get what they wanted, they did one of two things: They either found a new target, or they escalated.