Chapter 140

Fiona

Not today.

“I’m sorry,” Patrice mutters as she steps off the elevator. I still haven’t been able to talk to Ethan since he came back from lunch with Angela. Thankfully, she wasn’t with him, but from the calm demeanor he gave off, I’m not sure if he handled the situation.

I thought he might invite me into his office to talk when he went inside, but he immediately got on the phone and talked for nearly an hour with someone. I couldn’t hear the conversation, but Ethan got heated a few times during the call.

“It was on the cart, so I brought it up. Do you want me to take it to Mr. Montgomery?” She asks, and I nod. I haven’t even touched it yet, and my hands are shaking.

Standing on wobbly legs, I lead Patrice into Ethan’s office. His eyes focus on the package instantly. A growl rumbles softly in his chest, and it’s the first sound I’ve heard from him, toward me, since he’s gotten back.

Patrice silently passes the package to Ethan before excusing herself and saying she’ll be right outside the door if we need her. Then, it’s just the two of us. Me and Ethan, alone for the first time since before he left.

The soft huffs of our breaths fill the air.

The tick of the clock sounds impossibly loud in the quiet.

Tension sizzles between our bodies, but neither of us says anything. We stare at the package as Ethan sets it on the desk, flipping it over and subtly sniffing at it. I don’t really want to know what’s inside, but I still lean in as Ethan tears the paper off.

Right before he lifts the lid off, Ethan nudges me behind him gently, which is the most contact we’ve had today

He inhales sharply.

“What is it?”

“Did you lose anything recently?” Ethan asks, his deep voice a soothing balm to my shredded nerves. My fingers twitch, itching to grab onto him, but instead, I clasp my hands together.

“I can’t find…” my words fall off as the only thing I can think of is a bra that I thought I lost while staying at Isla’s house.

Ethan turns, his face hard and his mouth forming a thin line.

“Black lace?”

My heart drops into my stomach. It’s one of the bras I bought after my house burned down. I took it to Isla’s along with another one I wore, but I haven’t been able to find it sense. I thought it just got lost.

Leaning to the left, I try to look around Ethan’s large form, but he stops me by putting his hands on my shoulders. Whoever this psycho is somehow got into my things or into Isla’s house and stole my bra.

The angry expression on Ethan’s face proves it.

“We need to call the police,” I whisper, stepping back. His hands slide down my arms and then fall completely away when I take another step away. I don’t want to move away, but with how he’s treated me today, I don’t know what else to do.

Ethan grabs his phone and while he makes the call, I slump down into his chair and sink into the soft leather. How had I not noticed someone sneaking around and following me? They got close enough that I should’ve seen them, but I didn’t.

Am I so distracted by life that I don’t clearly see the things around me?

My world spirals and darkens, everything around me falling away until a loud knock pulls me back.

“Enter!”

Two police officers walk into the office with Ryan and Patrice following right behind them. He gives me a questioning look, but I don’t offer any response. I can’t. There’s too much going on that I can’t focus.

“We’re here to talk to a Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery,” the officer on the left announces.

“Bowen,” I say, forcing myself to my feet. A barely audible growl comes from Ethan, but I ignore it. “My name is Fiona Bowen, not Montgomery.”

The same growl sounds from Ethan as I step around him, but I don’t know why. If you asked me a week ago, I would’ve said he’s angry that I’m not taking his name. Now, I’m not so sure. We’re together, yet not married, but he’s also going out to lunch with a woman his entire family wants him to marry.

There’s a thin line somewhere that I can’t see anymore.

So, I step forward and point at the box containing my lost, stolen, bra.

“I’ve been receiving strange gifts, each one worse than the last, for the past few weeks,” I tell them, holding my hand out to Ethan. Silently, he sets his unlocked phone in my hand, the images already on screen. “I believe I have a stalker, and I want you to open an investigation to catch and stop them.”

“How long have these gifts been showing up?”

“For two or three weeks. We have pictures of the previous ones. There have been more than five, and this one came today. It’s something I thought I lost almost two weeks ago,” I inform them, pushing the box forward. I try not to feel embarrassed that these random men will see my bra, but if it helps catch this crazy person, I show them whatever they need.

The officers peer into the box, one taking notes as the other takes the phone I hold out. He silently flips through the pictures Ethan took, and as we wait for them to look through the evidence, I hold my breath.

Ethan’s heavy presence stays firmly planted behind me, growing closer with each second that passes.

“How do these packages arrive to you?” One officer asks, looking up.

“Patrice,” I say, motioning to the woman, “She usually finds them in her mail room or on her cart, but she can tell you more about that.”

The officer taking notes nods, turning to Patrice and asking to speak with her to get her statement. They walk a few feet away, and after a moment, Patrice launches into her explanation so the officer can take notes.

The officer in front of me steps forward and addresses Ethan, “In a company like this, I’m sure you have cameras. Do you mind if we take a look at the footage?”

“Of course. I’ll take you there,” Ethan says. He steps around me but pauses and turns back to me.

“You can stay here if you’d like. Take a minute to yourself, and we’ll be back soon,” he says softly, his fingers brushing my wrist briefly. The soft touch soothes me only a bit, but it’s enough to give him permission to leave.

My nerves are frayed, so a few minutes with no one asking me questions or bothering me would be nice.

So, once they all leave, I sit back down in Ethan’s chair, letting his spicy pine scent envelop me. With no one around, I let myself sink into the seat and just breathe it in. It sinks into me, into my bones and allows me to relax almost like if Ethan were holding me, and of course, just as I begin to calm down, my phone rings.

I think about letting it ring through to voicemail, but I shake my head. It could be important.

“Hello?”

“Fiona, how could you do this? What is going through your thick head?” Jack’s voice slams into my ear loud enough to shake my skull. “Was your life not pathetic enough that you had to share your misfortune with me? You’re taking everything and leaving me with nothing!”

Tears blur my vision as my heart kicks back into gear, racing in my chest. I yank the phone away from my ear, immediately regretting that I didn’t look at the caller ID.

“You’re a fucking pathetic bitch!” He screams loud enough that I nearly drop my phone.

“Sto—”

“Do you know what you’ve done, you bitch?!”

“I didn—”

“Shut up! Everything bad that happens in my life is tied to you, Fiona, and now you’re forcing me into a jail cell with…”

Tears stream down my face and I gasp for air as my chest caves in on itself. I throw the phone, watching it sail across the room and slam into the wall.

I gasp, trying to draw air into my lungs while clutching at the edges of Ethan’s desk. I can’t breathe. My eyes swim with tears, making it hard to see.

“Fiona?”

My eyes jump to the door where Ethan and one of the cops stands, watching me. His brows pull together, and he walks toward me. In the moment, it doesn’t matter that he’s ignored me all day. I just need him to touch me, to hold me.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Ethan asks, looking around the room as he moves closer.

Scrambling to my feet, I stumble over to him and throw my arms around his waist.

“J-Jack called. He was screaming and a-angry. I couldn’t,” I gasp, drawing in another breath when Ethan slides his arms around me. “He wouldn’t stop cursing me.”

A gentle hand smooths over my head as his other arm tightens around me, holding me closer. He continues to hold me until my breathing slows down and until my body relaxes against him. Ethan’s heart thumps steadily against my cheek, helping me pace my breathing and calm down.

“It’s okay. Jack won’t bother you anymore,” Ethan whispers,

“H-how can you say that?”

“Because we found video footage of him leaving todays package at the front desk this morning before anyone else came in,” Ethan says, and my eyes focus on his.

“It was him?” I ask, disgust bubbling up and taking over my anxiety.

“Yes, Ma’am. We’ll be heading to find Mr. Aldridge when we leave here,” the officer says, making me look at him. “With the evidence, the video footage, and the statements we’ve gathered today, we’ll have enough to take your ex-husband into custody.”