Addie shakes her head, closing her laptop gently and sliding it into the case at her feet.

“Please, go ahead,” she says, a single note in her tone wobbly. I sit next to her and wrap an arm around her tense shoulders, hoping that my presence will bring her some semblance of safety and comfort.

“Please, tell me how you two love birds met,” Mark says, settling in his new seat. He waves to the waiter for another drink, and internally, I groan.

“At a book signing,” I respond. “Super amazing author was there signing books. I saw her and instantly fell in love. I sought her out afterwards, asked her on a date and the rest was history.”

She smiles, though it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Yeah, he’s a persistent one,” she says with an awkward laugh.

“Fascinating!” Mark says, his eyes pinballing between us. His phone vibrates and when he slips it out of his pocket, his face drops.

Clearing his throat, he looks up at us with a sheepish grin. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to head to the restroom and take this call. Addie, please order yourself another margarita. It’s on me.”

Mark gets up and walks away without a backward glance, his stagger uneven from the copious amounts of alcohol he consumed and his gaze pinned to his phone.

Addie starts packing her belongings frantically within a millisecond, hands shaking as she throws the rest of her stuff in her bag.

“If you think you’re leaving, you’re sadly mistaken.”

She freezes, glancing back at me before she resumes. Keeping my movements calm and fluid as not to raise any alarm from bystanders, I slide my hand to her neck.

She pauses again when she feels my touch, and then whimpers when I squeeze tight.

“Look at me. Now.”

Her eyes pinch shut for a moment before they open, and those pretty caramel eyes glide to mine. They’re full of fear, and I’m almost surprised.

In the dark, she comes alive with fire. As if it’s the night that feeds her flames and not oxygen. And in daylight, she’s timid and scared. She becomes her moniker—a meek little mouse.

“If you’ve never taken me seriously before, then do it now, Adeline.” Her eyes widen at the severity of my tone. “You’re going to sit there like a good little girl and play along until I can convince Mark to leave. Then and only then, you can pack up your shit and go home. Do you understand?”

There it is.

The fire sparks and ignites.

“Fine. At least tell me what the fuck is happening, Zade. Or Zack. Which is your real name? You know what, I don’t care. I don’t know what game you’re playing, but after this, you need to leave me out of it.”

I lean forward and give her a warning look. She snaps her mouth shut, but the flames never dull.

“I. Tried,” I bite out. “I will try to leave with Mark as soon as I can, but until then, do as I fucking say. We're super in love and you're my doting little girlfriend. That's all you need to know right now.”

Her eyes widen gradually until she’s staring at me like I’ve lost my mind. What she doesn’t realize is I did lose my fucking mind the second I laid eyes on her, and I haven’t gotten it back yet.

“What is this, Zade?” she asks quietly. “Is Mark dangerous? Why are you lying to him?”

I sigh. “Yes,” I concede. “He is dangerous, and he set his sights on you.”

Before she can question me further, Mark returns, a jolly smile on his flushed face.

“No drink?” he questions, sauntering up to the table with his arms outstretched.

“My fault. I got a little carried away with my hello kiss,” I lie, grinning a cheesy smile. The thought of me making out with my girl in public clearly gets him hot and bothered by the flash of heat in his eyes, but he covers it well enough with a hearty laugh.

Addie clears her throat, elbowing me hard in the side and offering an embarrassed smile.

“What is it you were working on, Adeline dear?” Mark asks, settling back into the chair and gulping down a large swallow of his bourbon.

“Uh, a few things. I was researching a cold case from the ‘40s,” she answers.

Mark cocks a brow. “Really? Why’s that?”

The red in her cheeks brightens. “Uh, well it’s my great-grandmother’s actually. Genevieve Parsons.”

“Oh, I know that case!” Mark exclaims. "My father was a detective during that time, though he wasn't allowed to work the case.”

By the way her brows raise, her interest has been piqued. "He wasn't allowed to? How come?"

"Conflict of interest. He and John Parsons were best friends for twenty years, and Gigi was a good friend of his. His sergeant said it'd be too personal, so he had to stand by and watch them butcher the case." He shrugs. "Dad always thought John was the one who did it."

Addie leans forward, hanging on Mark’s every word. “Your father was Frank?”

Mark quirks a brow. “Yes, he was.”

Addie clears her throat. “My Nana mentioned Frank a time or two.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, we played together when we were younger.”

“So, why did your father think John did it?”

Mark shrugs a shoulder. “Not sure, to be honest, but I do remember that Gigi and John were fighting a lot. He was real adamant, but there wasn’t any evidence to prove it. I was pretty young back then, so my memory might be a little sparse. But there were a few nights he would drink an entire bottle of Jack, always muttering under his breath about making "him" pay for what happened.” He finger quotes the word him. “I know their friendship fell apart after her murder. John was a raging alcoholic, and my dad was devastated that he lost two good friends."

Addie’s eyes are wide with excitement. Clearly, she cares. Solving Gigi’s murder means a lot to her. But I know she’s only trying to prove something to herself.

If it wasn’t for the fact that she has her own stalker, I don’t know if Addie would’ve even bothered figuring out who murdered her great-grandmother.

It’s not about finding who did it, it’s about proving that it was Gigi’s stalker and no one else. I get the feeling that if she can one hundred percent prove it, then it’ll cement the fact that all stalkers are murderous psychos, and she can finally hate me and shut me out for good.

And all that tells me is I’m getting through the diamond-encrusted fortress surrounding her heart.

She wants something concrete to believe in because her morals and fundamental beliefs are being challenged.

Mark’s phone rings, cutting off any further questions Addie was gearing up to ask. Mark glances at his phone and silences it, but from the way his face has turned serious, I know something is calling him away.

“That was my associate. I gotta head out for some business,” he starts, swallowing down the rest of his drink and standing. “But listen, I’m hosting a charity event at my house next weekend. It would be my absolute honor if you both could attend.”

“Oh, I don’t know…” Addie says, the discomfort renewed. Last thing she wants is to pretend to be my girlfriend any longer than she has to.

Wonder what she’s going to do when we’re married, and her belly is swollen with my child.

Quite the predicament she’ll be in there.

“Please, I would be insulted if you didn’t show. Zack here has been a wonderful friend, and I would be heartbroken not to see you two there.” Noting the trepidation in her eyes, he tacks on, “If you’d like, we can talk further about your great-grandmother’s case. With my father being so close to your family, I was around John and Gigi quite a bit growing up. In fact, Sera and I played together all the time. I’m sure there’s some potential information rattling around in my head.”

Fucker.

He’s manipulating her, and that’s a big no-no. No one manipulates my girl but me.

“I have a few business meetings that weekend,” I cut in, keeping my face controlled but growing a tad angry by the reluctant interest in Addie’s eyes. She wants that information and Mark damn well knows it.