“Stay out of this,” Sam barked.

Matt chuckled. “Okay.”

He couldn’t wait to slam the asshole to the ground. He raised his fist.

The guy let go of Maya when he put his hands up to defend himself. Maya stepped to the side, but reached out her hands to put them on Matt’s chest. Her touch was enough to make him pause, fist in the air. Her touch was enough to make him go weak.

“Wait!” she cried. “Don’t hurt him.”

“Stay out of this,” Sam barked again, to her this time. “You wanna step outside?”

Oh, the balls on this man. Matt couldn’t keep himself from laughing. He had no idea who he was messing with. The fury that had come when he’d seen this dude manhandle Maya was turning to excitement. He hadn’t been in a good fight in a long time. He was looking forward to bloodying this guy up.

“Matt, don’t. You’ll hurt him,” Maya said. “Sam, just walk away. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

Matt’s lips jerked to a smile. Good to know she still thought well of him. And that she apparently didn’t have much love for this guy Sam she was with. But poor Sam did not like her turning on him.

“Excuse me?” Sam asked her, indignant. “He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.”

“Matt, please, can we just go?” Maya’s hand was on his chest still. He wanted to pull her closer and kiss her right there. But he couldn’t walk away and leave this guy without teaching him a lesson in the proper ways to treat a woman.

“Boss, is there a problem here?”

Three bouncers walked up behind Sam and waited for Matt’s answer. He came here often enough, and one of Antonio’s guys worked here as a bartender, undercover. He was known and respected.

“It seems that Sam here”—Matt clamped his hand down hard on Sam’s shoulder—“doesn’t understand that no means no.”

The bouncers didn’t hesitate or pause to ask questions. They each grabbed hold of Sam and hustled him to the door.

“Now we can go,” he said to Maya. “Do you have everything?”

She nodded and clung to his arm as they walked out of the club.

Matt’s mind was spinning. Maya was here. Maya was talking to him, touching him, clinging to him. Walking with him. Outside. Leaving with him?

“Where’s your car?” he asked.

“Uhh, Sam was my ride.” She made an apologetic face.

“I’ll drive you home.”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll get a cab.”

“Maya, please. Just let me drive you home.”

She shook her head. “I appreciate you stepping in when you did. I really appreciate it. But that’s all. I haven’t heard from you in six years. I don’t know you anymore.”

“I haven’t changed much.”

“Well, I have. Thank you again.”

She walked away and dug in her purse for her phone. He walked a few steps behind her. She turned and saw him. “Please don’t follow me.”

He stopped, but watched her. She talked on the phone for a minute, then put her phone back in her purse.

“Do you have money for the cab ride?” he asked.

She glanced back at him and nodded.

He couldn’t just let her slip away from him. Not now. Just seeing her and being close to her for that moment brought all his feelings for her back again. He wanted her. He still wanted to be in her life. If there was any way he could be with her and keep her safe, then he would find a way.

“Maya, can we talk for a minute?”

“I can’t. I’m sorry.” She opened her mouth to say something else, but a yellow cab pulled up. “My cab is here. Thanks again.”

She got in and before the cab could turn out of the parking lot, Matt had jumped in his car and started it.

He kept at least one car between them, but he was not going to let this cab out of his sight. He wanted to know where she lived now. He wanted to make her talk to him. To see if she still had any feelings for him at all.

The cab pulled into a small house. Matt stopped several blocks back and watched as Maya got out and went inside. Once she was inside, he waited another minute, then drove very slowly toward the house. He stopped a few hundred feet from her driveway.

He watched for several minutes, but when nothing seemed to be going on, he decided to leave and come back when he knew what he would say to her. As he was about to drive off, movement at the window caught his eye.

A small face appeared in the window. A child. She had a son? He looked at the boy for a moment. The longer he looked, the colder he felt. Something was not right here. Looking at this boy was like looking at a photo of himself from his childhood. No. Was there a chance…?

Matt stared at the house, even after the boy’s face left the window. A woman came outside a few minutes later and got into her car, then drove off. A babysitter maybe? One of Maya’s friends or family? He couldn’t move. He couldn’t even think.

Had he gotten Maya pregnant? Had she given birth to their son?