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Polly’s hands came up to frame his jaw. She didn’t feel the scars beneath her palm. She didn’t see the prosthetic eye that skewed to the left. She saw only his stormy gray eye fixed on her as his fingers probed her arms, neck, and head for injuries. “Was that him? You shouldn’t have come out here alone.”

Daniel reached out to hug Pirate to his side and give the dog the same once-over. Pirate might have been unhappy with the tumble, but he didn’t seem to be injured. “I wasn’t alone.”

His arm stayed firmly around her back as she looked up at him, heart pounding. “Are you okay?”

He pulled her hand from the damaged side of his face and helped her stand. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, ignoring the throbbing in her knees. “Was it him?”

“Same damn car. Guy took off like a banshee once he spotted me. Couldn’t get a look at him. He must have circled the block, then come back to take a run at us.”

“Why?”

“I think he’s looking for you.”

“So he could kill me?”

“Don’t say that.” He shifted, shielding her more fully from the street. He deflected the offers of help from passersby and walked her and Pirate back across the street. Others praised the dog. One couple asked if they should call the police. Daniel’s arms flinched around her, and he hurried their pace. “I gotta… I need to get away from all these people.”

His PTSD. Oh, hell. Had he reinjured himself? Was he flashing back?

“It’s okay. We’ll just get our things and pay our bill. Then we can go.” She slid her arms around his waist, plastered her body to his side. His arm seemed to tremble around her shoulders. “I can take care of all that. You just take Pirate to your truck. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

The trembling stopped and he tightened his grip around her shoulders. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

She wasn’t sure if she was helping to hold him up or if they were just trading body heat while they regained their equilibrium and made their way back toward the diner. Polly stiffened and Daniel stopped when she heard footsteps running toward them.

She relaxed when she recognized Mollie’s husband. He held his badge up and dispersed the crowd of curious who’d paused to watch them. “Detective Joel Standage, KCPD. I took the liberty of running the plate number for you. I put a BOLO out on the vehicle.”

Daniel took a deep breath and pressed Pirate’s leash into her hand and extended his own hand toward the detective. “Daniel Travis. You get a name of the driver?”

“Car belongs to Neil Porter.” Joel read the name off his phone before looking up at them again. “Anyone you know?”

Polly shook her head.

“No, sir,” Daniel answered, his breathing no longer shallow, his tone just as clipped and businesslike as Joel’s. “Third time I’ve seen it today. I believe he’s tracking Polly.”

“A stalker?” The detective eyed their wet, slush-stained clothes. “Either of you hurt?”

“Scrapes and bruises. Nothing a hot shower can’t fix.”

Joel glanced back at the window near their booth, and she saw Mollie still hugging Polly’s bag, her worried face pressed to the window. He flashed a thumbs-up to his wife, and she returned the gesture, before he spoke to Daniel again. “I’ll run a deep dive on it. See if the car pops as stolen, or find out if I need to pay a visit to Mr. Porter.” His sympathetic brown eyes turned to Polly. “You’re Jedediah Burke’s stepdaughter, right?” She nodded. “I’ve worked with the K-9 squad on a couple of cases. I assume Mollie has your contact info?” Polly nodded again. “I’ll keep you and your man in the loop, either through Burke or Mollie.”

Her man? She glanced up at the strong line of Daniel’s jaw. She supposed they did look like a couple with his arm around her shoulders and her hand still fisted in the back of his sweater.

“Appreciate it.” The two men shook hands again.

Joel thumbed over his shoulder toward the diner. “I’d appreciate it if you came back inside and reassured my wife that you’re okay.” When Polly nodded again, he grinned and looked at Daniel. “She doesn’t say much, does she?”

“She says enough. We’ll be in in a couple of minutes.” After Joel made note of their surroundings and shooed some curious onlookers on their way, he jogged back into the diner.

“Here.” Polly thrust the leash back into Daniel’s hand and squeezed his fingers before leaning over to pet the wiry hair around Pirate’s ears. “You send some of that good energy up to your daddy, okay.” She gently tilted the dog’s head until he was leaning against Daniel’s leg. “Good boy. That’s a good boy.”

She straightened to find Daniel looking down at her. He brushed a loose strand of hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. His warm hand lingered against her neck, making her pulse do funny things beneath his gentle touch. “Thanks for not freaking out on me when I…when I started to lose it. I can’t keep eyes on everybody. Felt like the enemy was closing in.”

“That’s what you need Pirate for. He can have your back. See what you can’t.” Polly leaned into the caress and smiled. “And if that was you losing it—I’m a trauma nurse. Trust me, I’ve seen a lot worse in my ER.”

“I’ve been a lot worse,” he admitted. As evidence, he held up the bandaged knuckles she’d doctored up the night before. He tucked another lock of hair behind her ear, then rested his injured hand against her jaw. “Still feel a little edgy being out in the open like this.”