Our waiter returned with the bottle I ordered and poured two glasses. He kept his eyes off Lila. We placed our order and happily munched on some bread while we drank.

Dinner was perfect. My stomach was filled with the most delicious and perfectly cooked steak I’d ever eaten. I rubbed my stomach, patting it.

“That was the best steak ever, and I’ve been here before.”

“I hope you saved room for dessert.” Lila stretched her hand out to me, and I slipped mine over hers.

“You’ll probably need to give me and hour or so and then I’ll be up for it.”

She let out a small chuckle. “I was talking about the sweet pastry kind.”

“You can eat more?” She’d devoured her steak just as I had.

She frowned at the thought. “Well…”

The waiter stopped by, but instead of asking if we needed anything, he set a cake covered in candles on the table in front of me.

Lila smiled at me. “Happy birthday.”

I stared at her for a moment, then my eyes moved down to the cake. Yes, it was my birthday dinner—May 30th. I’d agreed to celebrate it this year as a way of moving on. It was a little easier, because the one I hated to think about was on a different date, a date I’d never forget—June 21st.

It was the first time I’d celebrated my birthday in five years. I was trapped between moving forward and being stuck in the past. The candles flickered at me, waiting. That was the signal that jostled me to the present, and I thought about the wish I would make.

The year started out terrible and ended up beautiful—Lila and I were married.

But we still had one more obstacle that was looming over us, and it was hovering much closer than I liked.

I took a deep breath and blew out.

I wish that I can keep Lila safe, that she will be free from danger.

In one breath, all the candles were extinguished and my wish was out into the cosmos. I didn’t really believe, but it couldn’t hurt. We needed all the help we could get.

The cake was white almond with buttercream icing—my favorite.

“You got this from that cake place in Noblesville, the one we went to last fall.” She nodded, and I moaned as I took another bite. Yes, I was full, but nothing was going to stop me from eating the best cake I’d ever tasted. “When did you sneak this?”

“Sarah picked it up for me and delivered it to the restaurant.”

I chuckled. “Conspiring with my mother now.”

“You do it all the time.”

“Yes, but she’s my mother.”

She swiped her finger across the icing and stuck it in her mouth, sucking it off. Suddenly the best place for the icing wasn’t in my stomach, but on my cock.

“Well, it’s hard to surprise my caveman husband who can’t stand an hour without me.”

I gave her a pout. “Makes me sound like a dependent pu**y.”

She laughed and patted my hand. “Dependent? Yes. Pussy? Hell no. You can be a controlling ass**le… You’re so possessive of me.”

“Because you’re mine.”

She bit her bottom lip and smiled. “Because I’m yours.”

I leaned forward and kissed her, savoring the taste of her mixed with the buttercream frosting. When I sat back, my eye caught a familiar onlooker staring at us. I’d seen him before, but had no clue who he was. That didn’t matter, because I knew why he was there.

“Where are you going?” I asked as she moved to stand.

She smiled down at me. “I’ll be right back. I’m just going to the ladies’ room.”

I nodded, watching her go as I finished up the last bite of cake. I was mid-sip when my stalker sat down in front of me, a smile on his face. “Hello, Mr. Thorne. How’s your driving these days?”

The blood drained from my face as I remembered why he was so familiar—he held the gun in the car that ran us off the road.

It took every ounce of will in me to keep my reactions cool and calm, but inside I was trying to keep the anxiety from exploding, though anger and fear prevailed. My hands twitched, begging to wrap around his throat and choke the life out of him.

Dead men couldn’t talk.

I would do anything to keep her safe.

“Get the f**k out of here.” The words barely made it past my clenched teeth.

He wasn’t even fazed. “Getting rid of me won’t stop him.”

Fuck. How could I be so stupid? I’d relaxed, taken a breath and enjoyed the moment, and gotten comfortable with a deadly man so close.

“Why are you here, talking to me?”

He smirked. “How’s your wife?” Hatred flamed in me, my muscles flexing and ready to destroy. His smile broadened. “Mr. Marconi would like to congratulate you on your marriage.” His gaze flickered over to the restroom entry. “She’s beautiful.”

My teeth clenched tight, and my whole body vibrated. “Don’t you f**king touch her.”

He laughed as he stood and walked away just as Lila returned. Her gaze moved to him and then to me.

“Nate? What’s wrong?” Her hand reached out to touch me, and I shot up from my seat.

I ran to the door. He hadn’t gotten far—just a few steps ahead of me. It only took a few strides for me to catch up to him.

He turned just as my fist collided with his face, knocking him back against the brick wall. I didn’t waste a second before hitting him again.

His skull was hard, splitting my skin.

Beat him bloody.

Beat him dead.

Protect Lila.

The surprise wore off and his fist swung forward, connecting with my ribs. All breath left me as pain flooded in, giving him the opening to smash my face. My vision blurred, and he hit me again.

Lila screamed in the background, and I swung out, hoping to strike. My hand scraped against the brick before connecting with the side of his head. He stumbled back, and we both got a moment to catch our breath. He cursed when he noticed the crowd around us.

He spit the blood that filled his mouth out onto the ground and glared at me. “You knew, Thorne. I’ll let Vincent know you said hello.”

Before I could get to him, a car pulled up and he got in just as Lila grabbed hold of my arm. I watched them tear down the street and out of sight.

I grimaced in pain, bending over as the adrenaline started to wear off and the effect of his hits settled in. When I turned, Lila was staring at me, eyes wide in shock. I stepped forward and scooped her up in my arms.