"You're driving entirely too fast." Beckett had one hand on the dashboard and the other on the handle over the window.

Lenni stifled a laugh. "I'm going the speed limit."

"Are you?" Beckett craned his neck to look at her dashboard.

She tapped the glass. "Forty-five. And not a mile faster. You need to relax."

"Maybe you're just driving too recklessly," he said through gritted teeth.

She shook her head. "You're just a control freak."

He snorted. "I am not."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and laugh again. He was arguing with her like a child. If it were up to her, he wouldn't have even been in the car. But being the man he was, Beckett had to follow her into town. She'd already filed for a restraining order against Ned on the advice of his lawyer, but Beckett was still jumpy. She had let him come along to humor him.

"At least I'm getting pizza at the end of this," Beckett said. He leaned back and closed his eyes. "You're lucky I even agreed to come with you."

It was Lenni's turn to grit her teeth. She shook her head and turned up the radio. She had never asked him to come. He was being so ridiculous about this whole thing. She was going to meet her dad for pizza at their favorite spot. It was a heavily populated pizza joint. Ned wasn't going to try anything there. He hadn't even texted her since the incident in front of the house.

It had been two days since she'd talked with her father and she wanted to talk with him in person to give him peace of mind. He wasn't that scared when he heard that Ned had come to Beckett's, oddly enough. He'd only asked if the bear-shifter was home and had been okay with it all once he heard that Beckett had taken care of it. Lenni suspected that the two men had been in contact via email. It would be so like Beckett to email her father so he knew a "real man" was taking care of the scared little woman.

She had handled Ned herself, darn it! It had been more difficult than she'd hoped, but she had gotten him to leave. It was nice having Beckett out there with her, but she could have done it by herself. She was sure that Ned would be over his obsession now. He had to know that she wasn't his mate.

"Hey, do shifters know when they find their mate?" she asked Beckett suddenly.

He opened one eye. "Aren't you familiar with all things shifter? Your dad's kind of a human expert."

"I'm just wondering why Ned is so sure that I'm his mate. Wouldn't I know it if I were?"

Beckett open both his eyes. "Not necessarily. While the shifter can be sure when they find their mate, there is no guarantee that the human will acknowledge or recognize the same truth. It can be a real pain when a shifter's mate is a human. It's better now of course. But in the past, it ended in heartbreak as often as happily ever after."

"But if I don't think I'm his mate then I'm not, right?"

Beckett looked out the window. "That's really tough for me to say. You're a human so it's impossible for you to know what it's like. But with this guy I'm pretty sure that he's very confused. You guys don't seem like you're right together at all. This is more like some kind of obsession. He wants you because he can't have you."

"How can you be sure?"

"I can't." He shrugged and looked back at her. "But I'm pretty sure I'm right. If you were his mate, his father would've pushed harder when I told him to back off. But the Scrabble alpha was very annoyed and promised to keep his son away this time. No alpha would let his son's mate get away. They'd be storming my castle by now to get you."

She nodded as she found a parking spot in front of the pizzeria. She checked the street before getting out. She wondered how long she'd be doing that.

Beckett looked around the parking lot too, and followed close at her side until they were inside. Lenni was relieved to have him with her even though she would never tell him that. She hated to admit it to herself, but she was feeling safer. She hadn't expected to feel so afraid being in public.

If anything were to happen, she had no doubt in her mind that Beckett could best Ned in a second. He may be a control freak, but he was a powerful shifter and a powerful man. Even if they fought in human form, she knew Beckett could take Ned out. It wouldn't even be a fair fight. She had to admit, sometimes it was useful to have a bit of brawn at your side.

"You brought Beckett," her father said delightedly once he spotted them.

Of course, her father was more excited to see the shifter than he was to see her. She hugged him and slid into her spot in the booth.

"You ordered yet?" Beckett asked.

"Not yet," her father said. "I'm so surprised you came out tonight."

Beckett looked at Lenni. "I wanted to be sure she was safe. And I do love the pizza. It's the best for at least fifty miles."

"Safe from what?" Her father's brow furrowed as he looked from one to the other. "This can't be about Ned still, can it?"

"It is I'm afraid," Beckett said, looking at the menu. "But don't worry. I'm going to get this settled if it's the last thing I do before I go. I'm not letting her leave my employment before I know that she's safe. And you too of course."

"Ned's never done anything unbecoming to me," her father assured him. "And I know that he would never try anything now that he knows Lenni is under your protection."

"I don't think he would ever hurt my dad," Lenni reiterated. "He's never even hurt me."

"Following you around isn't exactly nothing," Beckett growled. "Don't take this matter lightly. You have a restraining order now. If he comes within five hundred feet of you, you call the cops."

"I always knew those dating apps were going to get you in trouble." Her dad shook his head. "You don't use those, do you Beckett?"

"Actually, I don't." He determinedly looked at the menu. Redness crept up from under his shirt to the sides of his face. If she didn't know better, she would think he was blushing.

"You've never used one?" she prodded.

"My dad owns MateMe!" Beckett bit out. "I didn't like it from the minute I heard about it. It just doesn't seem natural for shifters to meet online that way. And you never know who you're really meeting either."

"That's exactly how I feel," her father nodded sagely. "I wish you could talk some sense into my daughter."

"I've never had a bad experience before this," she said, annoyed. "And again Ned hasn't hurt me—he's just a little strung out."

"Stalker. He's a bit of a stalker." Beckett looked her in the eye. "I'm not lying. I'm not going to leave your side until this is done. Or you're not going to leave mine. We're in this together now."

She was a little annoyed. She wasn't some helpless damsel in distress after all, but she couldn't help but smile inside. Beckett really was taking point on this. It was nice to be able to sit back and relax knowing that someone had her back. She knew it was weak of her, but it was all so tiring having to be on alert all the time. Now, if she slipped and relaxed, she knew she would still be okay. Beckett had her back.

She had been worrying about this for months and it was so nice of him to help her get Ned out of her life once and for all. She knew that he wouldn't go overboard because that wasn't his style, but she trusted that he would get it done the fastest way legally possible.

"You work in security?" her father asked him.

"I do. I do mostly cyber security now, but I have worked one-on-one before."

"That's so interesting," her father said. "I would assume that you're the one who needs security, not the one to watch people."

"Usually," Beckett agreed. "But I wanted to be able to protect myself and my family too. Learning how to do this side of it has given me a leg up when it comes to interpersonal problems. I'm never afraid now."

"Maybe you could teach Lenni some self-defense?" her father said, his voice rising.

"What would do you guys want to get? I was thinking maybe pepperoni," Lenni said, changing the subject.

"That's not a bad idea." Beckett rubbed his chin. "Both the pepperoni and the self-defense classes. I think we could not find out in a week. Definitely after we get back from the wedding we're going to do that."

Interesting, it sounded like he was talking about extending her contract if he wanted her around after the wedding. It sounded like he was going to be in her life longer than she had anticipated. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she wasn't mad. Beckett was a nice guy to have around. Ironically enough, even though she had been hired to assist him, he was the one making her life easier. She wasn't ready to have him move out of her life so quickly anymore.