Page 26 of Holiday Loss

They filled him in a way that nothing else ever had. They gave him a purpose that made him feel like a well-rounded person. They completed him. Seeing their faces each morning was the perfect way to start the day, and he loved being the last thing they both saw at night before they went to sleep.

And the best thing was he had an entire lifetime to enjoy those little moments.

Now, he was heading home to spend the holidays with his girl and his little boy, and he couldn’t be happier. Jessica was probably healed enough that she was okay to go back home, and they’d decided that she would after the holidays, but for the next two weeks they were going to stay in his penthouse. He’d tripled security, upgraded his system, and he was confident that his stalker wasn't going to be able to get to them there.

Their own little Christmas vacation. Just the three of them, in his penthouse, he’d made plans for several things they could do, both him and Jessica as a couple as well as family things. He couldn’t wait.

The building was quiet as he walked through it. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and he’d decided everyone was to take the whole day off. They’d had a Christmas lunch today, he’d handed out bonuses, and everyone else was home already.

Vacation time had begun, and as much as he was looking forward to a quiet staycation, he was also planning all the places he wanted to take Jessica and Freddie. There were so many amazing countries in the world, so many spectacular cities, he couldn’t wait to open that up to them. That was one of the things he’d loved the most as a kid, the toys, nice house, and new clothes were all great, but nothing compared to taking your seat on a plane ready to travel the globe.

That was a feeling he wanted to share with the people he already considered his own little family.

When his phone buzzed, he pulled it out, expecting the text to be from Jessica. She and Freddie were decorating the penthouse today. He’d dropped them off on his way into his office this morning, and he’d already received at least three dozen pictures of Christmas trees andtinsel, garlands and decorations. Every time he replied with a warning for Jessica not to overdo things.

A warning she didn't seem to be taking seriously.

As much as he was enjoying seeing the smiles on her and Freddie’s faces, it had only been five days since she was knocked unconscious. She was still suffering the side effects of the concussion, and he was worried she was going to set herself back. That was the last thing he wanted with Christmas just two days away.

These memories would last them all a lifetime, and he wanted their first Christmas together to be a special one.

One look at the phone told him this was not another Christmassy photo.

It wasn't Jessica’s name on his screen.

The message was from an unknown number.

Which of course meant he knew who it was from.

His stalker.

At least Jessica and Freddie were safe at his penthouse with an alarm, armed guards both down in the building’s lobby and at the top of the lift outside the front door to his home. No way could his stalker get to them.

They were safe.

Safe.

The reassurances did little to calm his racing heart as he read the text.

I warned you and you didn't listen

The cops had told him not to engage with the stalker, that it would only be giving them what they wanted. They wanted his fear, they wanted his attention, they wanted to know they were getting to him, that they were affecting his life.

But this time he wasn't sitting back and beingpassive.

He’d had enough of this, he wanted it finished, wanted to end this now and move forward with his life.

Leave them alone

They have nothing to do with this

I told you not to date her

What happens next is on you

There was something in the tone of the message—odd though that sounded since they were just words on the screen—that had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

Turn yourself in

---