Chapter 4

Afternoon sunlight poured through the coffee shop windows, making me sleepy as I worked behind the counter. I was getting good at the latte art, and for the first time in forever, I felt... normal.

It had been almost a week since I married Jack. He'd drop me off every morning and pick me up every night. He wasn't much of a talker, but he always put an extra sugar in my coffee and made sure I was tucked in when I fell asleep on the couch.

It was nice. Almost made me forget about the nightmares.

"Ava, someone's here for you," my coworker Mia suddenly elbowed me, practically bouncing with excitement. "Oh my God, look at this guy! He's like, movie-star gorgeous!"

I glanced up toward the door without really thinking about it.

And my heart stopped.

A black Tesla was parked outside. The door opened and a man got out—tall, wearing an expensive suit, holding a huge bouquet of red roses.

Alexander Blake.

The coffee cup slipped right out of my hands and shattered on the floor, hot liquid splashing everywhere. I couldn't even feel it burning my legs. All I could feel was pure terror.

This was impossible. This couldn't be happening.

In my past life, I didn't meet Alexander until May, at some charity thing. It was only February. He was supposed to be in Europe on business. He shouldn't even know I existed yet.

My hands started shaking as all those memories came flooding back—the basement, the chains, Alexander's eyes when he looked at me like I was his favorite toy...

"Ava? What's wrong?" Mia grabbed my arm. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I tried to speak but nothing came out.

The door chimed and Alexander walked in. His eyes swept the room, found me instantly, and he smiled. That same smile from my nightmares.

"There you are," he said quietly, like we were old friends.

Everyone in the coffee shop was staring now. A few people had their phones out, probably thinking they were about to witness some grand romantic gesture.

Alexander walked toward me, each step making my chest tighter. He reached the counter and set down the roses—99 of them, red as blood under the shop lights.

"Ava," his voice was smooth, warm, everything I remembered and hated, "would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

The whole place went crazy.

"Oh my God!"

"This is so romantic!"

"Say yes!"

People were cheering, taking pictures, but I felt like I was drowning. Like the walls were closing in.

Then Alexander dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring box. The diamond inside was massive, catching the light and throwing rainbows everywhere. Half the girls in the shop looked ready to faint.

"I've been looking for you," he said, staring right into my eyes with that intensity I remembered too well. "From the moment I saw you in this coffee shop, I knew you were meant to be mine."

No. No, no, no. This was all wrong.

I shook my head, backing up until I knocked over a display of mugs.

"I can't!" My voice came out as a squeak. "I'm married!"

Something flickered in Alexander's eyes—something dark and cold. But it was gone so fast I almost thought I'd imagined it.

"Married?" He stood up slowly. "To who?"

He sounded calm, curious even. But I could hear the edge underneath.

"Hey," Mia stepped in front of me, "she's telling the truth. Ava's married to this guy Jack, and he's crazy about her. So maybe you should just—"

Alexander looked at Mia, and for just a second, I saw murder in his eyes. But then he smiled again. "I see. My mistake."

That's when I heard the motorcycle.

Jack's Harley pulled up outside, engine rumbling. He swung off the bike and pulled off his helmet, and I'd never been so happy to see anyone in my life.

I ran. Didn't think, just bolted from behind the counter and threw myself at him. Alexander didn't try to stop me, just watched with those cold, calculating eyes.

"Jack!" I wrapped my arms around his waist and held on tight.

Jack went rigid for a second, then his arms came around me. "Hey, what's wrong? What happened?"

I pressed my face against his chest and whispered, "There's a guy in there. He won't leave me alone."

Jack's whole body tensed. He kept one arm around me and looked through the window at Alexander.

"My wife doesn't take flowers from random guys," Jack called out, his voice carrying that dangerous edge I'd heard before.

Alexander walked out of the shop, still wearing that perfect smile. He looked Jack up and down, his gaze lingering on where Jack's arm was wrapped around me.

"Congratulations," he said pleasantly. "Though I have to ask—when exactly did you two get married?"

"None of your damn business," Jack said.

"I'm just surprised." Alexander straightened his already-perfect cufflinks. "Ava doesn't seem like the type to rush into marriage."

My blood turned to ice. Why would he say that? What did he know?

"And Ava," Alexander's eyes found mine, "you seem frightened of me. Have we met before?"

"No," I managed to say. "I just don't like being bothered by strangers."

Alexander smiled that smile that used to haunt my dreams.

"How unfortunate." He gave me one last long look before heading to his car. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

He got in the Tesla, then rolled down the window. "Oh, and Jack? I hope you're good at protecting what's yours. The world can be a dangerous place."

After he drove off, my legs gave out. Jack caught me before I could hit the ground.

"Okay, what the hell was that about? Who was that guy?"

I stared down the street where Alexander had disappeared, my mind racing.

Everything was wrong. The timeline was completely screwed. Alexander wasn't supposed to be here for months, and he definitely wasn't supposed to know who I was.

What did this mean? Had he somehow figured out I'd been reborn? Or worse...

Had he been reborn too?

"Ava?" Jack shook my shoulder gently.

I looked up at him—this rough, dangerous man who was the only thing standing between me and a monster.

"Jack," I grabbed his hand, "if someone tried to hurt me, would you stop them?"

He frowned. "What kind of question is that?"

"Just... if someone really dangerous wanted to hurt me..."

Jack didn't answer right away. He just looked at me with those dark eyes, like he was trying to figure out what I wasn't telling him.

Finally, he reached out and messed up my hair. "Ava, I don't give a shit who it is. Anyone wants to touch my wife goes through me first."

Simple words, but they meant everything.

The problem was, Alexander wasn't just anyone. In my past life, he'd had cops, judges, politicians in his pocket. The FBI couldn't touch him.

And now he'd found me.

Whatever peaceful life Jack and I had started building was about to get very complicated.