My muscles tightened, hope rising from his words. Lila was the same, leaning forward a bit in anticipation.

“Your all-consuming hatred for Delilah Thorne is profound, and I can find no basis for it. After she was taken from her father’s home years ago, you were sent to jail for attacking her. Once released, you continued in your violence against others, unrepentant of your actions.”

It felt like I was about to burst, begging him to get to the damn point. Was he drawing it out to torture us?

“Thirteen years passed in which you had no contact with her, and yet you still hunted her down. You tricked your way past her security and brutally attacked her.”

I flinched, a memory of that night flashing.

“Your lack of remorse is astounding. It is my ruling that you need to serve the full extent of each charge against you, reaching a total of twenty-seven years. It is your actions that have put you here, and no other’s. Take responsibility for yourself.”

A harsh breath left me. Disbelief followed by relief filled my body all in the same moment.

We did it.

Lila was still staring at the judge, almost as if she was waiting for him to change his mind. When he stood and exited the room, she remained silent.

I stood, smiling, and held out my hand.

“Thank you so much, Lawrence, for all your help.”

“I think I should be the one saying that. It’s not often I get to work with other lawyers, and it’s usually a disaster when I do.”

I laughed at that. “Yeah, lawyers don’t make the best clients.”

“But you did.”

We waited a moment for Lila’s father to leave first, then walked out with Lawrence. I waved goodbye as he headed off, but Lila wasn’t beside me.

I looked over and froze as I stared at her. “Baby?”

Lila’s whole body shook and she leaned over, one hand pressed against the wall for support. A choking sob came from her. Her reaction confused me, and I rushed to her side.

I pulled her face up to look at me and sighed in relief when I saw a smile on her face—it was a cry of joy. Her nightmare had the fairy tale ending we hoped for, and the evil monster was banished from the kingdom.

She threw her arms around me and cried into my chest. Happy tears.

CHAPTER 19

Lila was different. That was the only word I could come up with to describe the change. Over the past few days, she’d shed a lot of the crap that held her back for years. It always dwelled in the back of her mind, ever since she left her father’s house—when will he come for me?

The unsurmountable weight that pressed upon her was lifted. Chains that held her down released, shedding away the girl like a cocoon and opening up the woman inside. Adam was going to be in jail for a long time, and the judge had approved the restraining order on her father.

It was the first time in over a year I felt like my words really penetrated her. After years of suffering, others finally saw the monster that Adam was. It was validation.

Life returned to its normal pace. It was hard to believe how fast the days were passing. Even more unbelievable was how even we were—no more ups and downs. I was thankful for the change, for the monotony of getting up, going to work, and coming home with my wife—dinners together, talk of what to do on the weekend.

“Hey! That’s mine.” Lila swatted at my hand, knocking the fry away.

I snuck another one and popped it in my mouth. “We’re married—what’s mine is yours and vice versa. Right?”

She glared at me and moved her plate away. “You’re right. What’s yours is mine, but what’s mine is mine as well.”

“Oooh, man, you better step back from her plate.” Drew cackled from across the table.

Caroline was howling in laughter, and I felt like I was being ganged up on. I needed to change my tactics if I was going to get any more fries. Though, I had to admit I was cracking up on the inside watching Lila guard her plate as she ate, giving me the stink eye.

“You said you’d do anything for me, baby.”

“You finished your fries. These are mine.”

I gave her my best puppy dog eyes. “Just one or two?”

She moved her plate further away. “No.”

More snickering from across the table.

“Just think when she gets pregnant. All food will be hers.” Caroline slapped her hand on the table as she tried to talk between snorts of laughter. “Try stealing food from a pregnant lady, you’ll draw back a bloody stump!”

Drew’s jaw dropped. “Dude, what if you end up with the cravings?”

“And lose his taut bod?” Caroline gasped.

Lila joined in, giggling with them but still guarding her plate. The back of my head tingled, like someone was watching us. Granted, with all the commotion, I was certain half the restaurant was staring at us in annoyance.

Drew pointed a fry at me. “You better watch it or you’ll end up gaining weight with that sweet tooth of yours.”

I glared at him and snatched a fry from his plate.

His eyes narrowed at me. “What the hell?”

I shrugged. “Payment for your jabs at my expense.”

Drew pulled his plate back and leaned over it, one arm blocking the front.

I looked over at Lila, who was conversing with Caroline and not protecting her plate as much. It wasn’t that I was hungry, but it was now a game, one I was determined to win. With my wife distracted, I planned my attack. I slithered my hand in the space between her arm and ribs. My fingers grazed her breast, and I cringed when metal slapped across my knuckles.

I pulled my hand back, hissing as I shook it out.

“No!” Lila glowered and pointed a fork at me.

I stared at her in shock for a moment, then shook my head. “Oh, hell no.”

I grabbed hold of the back of her neck and pulled her to me, kissing her hard. She squeaked and tried to pull back, but I held her tighter, kissing her deeper until she melted against me. There was no way she could resist me.

When I pulled back, her eyes were glassy and unfocused. I reached over and grabbed a few fries and tossed them on my plate.

Drew shook his head.

I stuffed one into my mouth. “What?”

“Nothing.”

Caroline snorted. “And that’s lunch, boys and girls.” She pushed back from the table and stood up. “I have a meeting in half an hour.” She grabbed Lila’s arm. “Come on. Walk with me while your husband pays for lunch.”