He twisted the man’s arm behind his back, hit him in the stomach, then tripped him as he started to go down. The man turned and Walker saw the dilated pupils, smelled the stink of something gone bad.

“Neil, I presume,” he said, easily wrestling him to the ground and fighting the urge to snap his useless neck like a twig. “You should know better than to mess where you don’t belong.”

Elissa roused herself. “He’s got a knife.”

Walker quickly bent his wrist until he released it. “Not anymore.”

The drugged-out loser lay on the ground, mewling like a kitten. Walker thought about killing him. It would be so easy. A quick twist of his head and Elissa would never have any trouble with him again.

The need grew until one of his hands reached for Neil’s throat and tightened slightly.

“I told you Walker would save us,” Zoe whispered as she huddled next to her mother.

The quiet words spoken with such confidence were enough to release his rage. He’d arrived in time-that was going to be enough.

“Do you have any rope?” he asked.

Five minutes later Neil was hog-tied, the police were on their way along with an ambulance, and Walker had examined both Zoe and Elissa for other injuries. The little girl had been punched in the stomach and back, along with the blow to her face. Elissa had been kicked around. The break looked clean. Once he knew what the little shit had done, Walker wanted to kill him all over again.

“How did you know we were in trouble?” Elissa asked as he shifted her into a more comfortable position and wiped her face with a damp cloth. “I thought he was going to…”

Her voice trailed off as she glanced at her daughter, but he knew what she’d been about to say. She thought Neil was going to kill them both.

“I had a feeling,” he said. “I couldn’t get you on the phone, so I came home.”

“I heard the phone ring right after he arrived,” she said, her eyes dark with pain and tears. “I thought maybe it was you, but I couldn’t pick up and let you know. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come when you did.”

Zoe watched her mother anxiously. “Don’t cry, Mommy. Walker made us safe.” She glanced fearfully at a tied and moaning Neil. “The bad man is going to jail.”

He was going to make sure of that, Walker thought grimly. He didn’t care how much it cost, Neil was going away. But not before he cut Elissa loose, once and for all.

The next couple of hours passed quickly. The police and EMTs arrived at the same time. While Elissa and Zoe were looked over and prepared for transport to a local hospital, Walker explained everything to the police. The officer in charge took him aside.

“You could have killed him,” the officer said, glancing at a still-tied Neil.

“No, I couldn’t. He’s the kid’s father. I doubt she’ll want him in her life, but I didn’t want her to see him die. Not at my hand.”

“I know what you mean,” the other man said. “I’ve got kids myself. We’ll finish this up at the hospital.”

Walker explained everything to a stunned Mrs. Ford who had just arrived home from a bridge party, then followed the ambulance to the hospital. He found both his girls in the E.R.

“Hey,” he said, stepping into Elissa’s room.

She was white and fading fast. “Where’s Zoe?” she asked, barely able to form the words.

“Right next door.”

“Stay with her, please. I might have to have surgery. She’ll need you. The nurse is going to call my parents, but you’re the one she trusts right now.” She managed a smile. “Even when Neil had us both cornered and hit my arm with that damn baseball bat, she said you’d come rescue us.” Tears spilled out of her eyes. “She said you were the handsome prince, and that the prince always shows up in time.”

His gut twisted and he swore as he took her hand and kissed her fingers. “I’m no prince.”

“Tell that to my daughter.”

She was bruised and beaten, yet he saw the strength and courage in her eyes. “You would have been a hell of a soldier,” he said.

“This feels like war. Everything hurts. They want to check for internal injuries and X-ray the arm to see how bad the break is.”

“I’ll take care of everything,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be with Zoe and handle Mrs. Ford and call your boss.”

“Work,” she breathed. “I forgot about work.”

“They’ll understand. Just rest. Have they given you something for the pain?”

But she didn’t answer. She had faded into unconsciousness.

He called for one of the nurses to come check on her, and was quickly pushed out of the room.

Even as he told himself she was going to be fine, he felt the stiff chill of panic. It was just a beating, he thought, refusing to give in to the need to burst back into the room and take over. It’s not as if he knew anything about making her better.

But he’d seen plenty of guys after fights and she was going to be fine, right? It wasn’t as if Neil had taken the baseball bat to any other part of her body, had he?

A familiar cry of his name sucked him into the next room, where he found Zoe in tears as a nurse put a bandage on the cut by her eye.

“She’s been really brave,” the young woman told him, “but she needs a little comforting.”

Without thinking, Walker moved to the side of the bed and held open his arms. Zoe dived into them and held on as if she would never let go.

“Where’s Mommy?” she asked.

“Getting looked at by the doctor,” the nurse said before he could answer. “They want to take pictures of her arm and then she’s going to get a cast.” The nurse smiled. “I’ll bet she’ll let you be the first one to sign it. Maybe you can even draw some pictures on it or put on stickers. Stickers make it look really nice.”

Zoe sniffed and raised her head, but she didn’t let go of him. “We have stickers at home.”

“Then we’ll use those,” Walker promised, hoping Elissa’s recovery was all going to be as simple as a cast.

The nurse patted Zoe’s back. “You need to stay here, honey, until the doctor releases you, but other than that, you’re good to go. The bast-” The nurse cleared her throat. “That man only hit her a couple of times. She’s okay.”

Thank God.

Walker didn’t know if he said the words or only thought them. Either way the relief was instant and powerful. He carried Zoe to the chair and settled her on his lap where he kissed the top of her head and held her securely in his arms.

“Was that man really my daddy?” Zoe asked quietly.

Walker swore under his breath. Not on my watch, he thought desperately. He couldn’t answer these kind of questions. Not now, not after what she’d just been through. He was the wrong person to help her deal with all this crap.

But there wasn’t anyone else, so he cleared his throat and prayed for divine guidance.

“It takes a man and a woman to make a baby,” he said, then wondered if he’d just dug the hole bigger. “But making a baby doesn’t mean a man is a daddy. Being a daddy is different. It’s a name a man has to earn. He has to prove himself by doing the right thing and being there and…” And what else, he thought desperately.

“And loving his little girl,” Zoe whispered as she began to cry.

“Right. He has to know her and because he knows her, he loves her. Because she’s a very special little girl.”

Zoe raised her head and stared into his soul. “So you’re my daddy.”

From the moment he’d found out Charlotte was dying and had realized he was going to walk out on her, he’d carried around a weight in his chest. It was as if that action had somehow locked his heart in a small box that was both heavy and painful.

Zoe’s innocent, trusting, scary-as-hell words had just opened the box-and for the first time in over a decade, it didn’t hurt to breathe.

“Yes, Zoe. I’m your daddy.”

ELISSA RESURFACED in a hospital room where a brisk, efficient nurse explained she would be kept overnight for observation.

“The doctor will be by later to discuss your injuries,” the woman said. “Basically you’ve got a broken arm and some internal bruising. Nothing’s seriously damaged, though. You got lucky.”

Lucky was an interesting word for what happened.

“My daughter,” Elissa said. “Where’s Zoe?”

“I met your little girl. She’s a sweetheart. That big handsome man of yours said to tell you he was taking her home to a Mrs. Ford and he would be back later tonight.”

Elissa closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of thanks. Zoe must be all right or she wouldn’t have been let out of the hospital. Thank God.

“You can have more pain medication now,” the nurse told her. “But as it seems to knock you on your butt, you might want to wait until you’ve seen everyone. Unless you don’t want to see them.”

Elissa still felt fuzzy. The details of Neil’s rampage were still completely clear in her mind, but she was less certain about what had happened after that.

“Everyone?” she asked, shifting, then wincing as waves of pain shot up her arm. She glanced down and stared at the cast covering her left arm from just below her wrist to above her elbow. “I slept through getting a cast?”

The nurse grinned. “Honey, you slept through more than that. Are you up to seeing the herd?”

She had a herd? “Sure.”

A few minutes after the nurse left, her parents entered, followed by Bobby. Her mother and father rushed to her side.

“Are you all right?” her mother asked. “I couldn’t believe it when Walker called us. Oh, baby, your face.”

Elissa touched her swollen lips and had a feeling she looked even worse than she felt. “I’m all right, Mom. Zoe and I survived, thanks to Walker’s help.”

“I wish he’d killed that bastard,” her father said, his gaze intense. “I’d like to do it myself.”

Elissa waited for her mother to scold her husband for being so aggressive, but she only stroked the uninjured parts of Elissa’s face.

Bobby stepped closer. “You’ve got a black eye. Cool.”

Elissa couldn’t help smiling. “Black-and-blue?”

Bobby squinted. “More purple-and-red.”

Her mother shushed him. “How’s your arm? It must hurt.”

It throbbed, but Elissa didn’t want to take any pain medication until the visit was over. Right now the fussing felt really good.

“Knock, knock.”

Elissa looked up and saw Dani Buchanan hovering in the doorway.

“Are we interrupting?” Dani asked.

Elissa smiled. “Of course not. Come on in.”

Dani entered, followed by Reid and Cal.

“Penny’s at home with the baby,” Dani said. “Otherwise she’d be here.”

Elissa was more surprised that they were here. “You didn’t have to come to the hospital.”

Reid smiled at her parents, then leaned in and kissed her unbruised cheek. “Sure we did. You’re Walker’s girl.”

Tears filled her eyes. She appreciated the sentiment, even if it wasn’t true. Walker’s girl. She liked the sound of that and she would have given a lot to make it happen.

Cal walked over and squeezed her hand. “You don’t look so bad.”

“Good to know.” She introduced the Buchanans to her parents.

After they’d chatted a few minutes, her mother excused herself. “I’m going to go pick up Zoe. Mrs. Ford called me earlier and said she was fine. Still, I want to see for myself.” She hesitated. “You don’t mind, do you? You’re going to be in the hospital overnight so I thought…” Her voice trailed off.

“I don’t mind,” Elissa told her. “I’m glad you’re going to take care of her. I know she’ll be safe with you.”

“Of course she will be. She’s your daughter, Elissa. I would give up my life for her.”

“Oh, Mom.”

Elissa felt tears on her cheeks. Suddenly she and her parents were hugging. She opened her eyes and saw Dani sniffing and both Cal and Reid clearing their throats.

“Where’s Walker?” she asked.

Reid shrugged. “He said he had a couple of things to do, but that he would be back. He said not to worry.”

She didn’t know what that meant, but she smiled and nodded as if she did. She didn’t want anyone to know how much she missed him and wished he was with her. He’d saved her and Zoe. That should be enough.

But it wasn’t.

WALKER WAITED until the police officer in the emergency room had stepped out to grab some coffee and then he moved into Neil’s room.

Neil lay on the bed, his eyes closed. Two IVs connected to a single line that fed into his arm. Walker moved next to the bed and bent down so his face was close to Neil’s ear. Then he placed one hand on Neil’s chest and the other over the man’s mouth.

“How you feeling?” he asked, pressing against Neil’s nose just enough to let him know that breathing was a privilege, not a right. “Coming down from that shit yet? Is your skin crawling or do you still feel good?”