Momma nodded and headed to her house, leaving us alone.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” I said, feeling helpless as I held her against me.

She only sobbed harder. If I’d been there, I’d have killed the man. I wanted to see him dead. He’d marked her life, and he had come back to reopen old wounds. The sick bastard.

Glancing up, I saw another truck headed our way. I recognized it as River Kipling’s. As much as I didn’t like him, I understood his need to come by and check on Reese. He’d seen it. He had saved her. And I would have to find a way to accept him.

He stopped his truck, and Reese jumped in my arms at the sound of his door opening and slamming shut. She was spooked. I had to get her home so she’d feel safe.

“Is she going to be OK?” River asked, keeping his distance.

I would do everything in my power to make sure she was. She’d overcome this terror before. She could again. “I’ll make sure of it,” I replied, knowing I had to say more. He deserved it. “Thank you. For what you did.”

He didn’t even acknowledge my words. His eyes were on Reese’s back, his jaw clenched. “I heard him. I was in the next aisle over, and I heard him. Did he . . . was he responsible for putting her through hell?”

I only nodded.

River nodded back, then turned and returned to his truck. Without a word, he drove off.

I picked Reese up in my arms and took her to my truck. She needed to be home.

I sat with my back against the headboard and Reese in my arms. Her head was against my chest, and her breathing had slowed. She was asleep and had been for more than an hour, but I hadn’t moved her.

If it took weeks, hell, if it took months, we would sit here like this. I’d hold her as long as she needed. I wanted her feeling safe again. I wouldn’t let fear own her. I’d love to erase it from her memory so she’d never feel like this again.

Once she was calm and rested, I was calling the police. She needed a restraining order. I was also putting more security around the ranch. I would need to talk to Piper about making sure she was never left alone at the stables. Better yet, I was teaching her to shoot. She was going to have a gun.

There was a knock on my door, and my mother’s voice called out my name softly. I couldn’t answer, for fear of waking Reese. Momma walked to the open door and saw me there with her. Her eyes were full of worry.

“Who was he?” she asked in a whisper.

“Her stepfather,” I replied.

Mother shut her eyes tightly. “Oh, God, no,” she said, and her eyes filled with tears.

“Yeah,” was all I said to confirm what she was thinking.

Momma covered her mouth to muffle a sob. “Oh, Mase, did you know?”

I nodded. “She told me before we ever . . .” Momma knew what I meant without me having to say it.

“You just stay here and take care of her. I’ll bring food. Dad will take care of the stables,” Momma said.

“Thanks,” I told her, although we both knew I hadn’t planned on going anywhere. I wouldn’t be leaving Reese’s side.

Momma walked over and bent down to kiss Reese’s head, then did the same to me. “That’s a horror no girl should ever know,” she whispered.

“Makes me feel helpless,” I admitted. I wanted to fix all her problems. I wanted to make everything OK for her. But how did I fix her past?

Momma ran her hand over my hair. “You are what she needs. Don’t feel helpless. Just be here with her.”

“Done. She’s got me.”

Momma nodded, then turned and left the room.

The house was silent after she walked out. I continued to make a mental list of things that I needed to do when she was resting. I would make her world safe. I would do everything in my power and then some.

A small cry came from her lips, and I tightened my hold on her and put my mouth near her ear. “I’m here, and you’re safe. Sleep, baby.”

She calmed instantly at the sound of my voice. This was what I could do now. The rest could wait. But I’d get to it soon enough.

My world had been threatened in a second. I should have been with her. I brushed her hair out of her face and stared down at the beauty in my arms. She had faced so much pain, yet she was still just as beautiful inside. She was kind. She was honest. More important, she was mine. I’d found her. I’d found the one. The one who would change my world. Rush was right: it was all I ever wanted.

Who knew Rush Finlay could be so damn wise? He’d been the hellion rock star’s son. I’d been the good one. Yet he might have said the most honest thing anyone had ever said to me in my life.

Captain

A run-down motel on the outskirts

of Fort Worth, Texas

I’d been waiting all night. I was a man of my word. Glancing at the time on the dash of the black Escalade I was driving, I saw there were minutes left before the sun rose. I had parked around the back of the building, out of sight from the front office. Not that it mattered. The attendant on duty was an older man who had drunk a bottle of tequila last night and entertained a prostitute just before coming back to his post and promptly passing out.

I’d watched every room. Only three were occupied. Two of them were closer to the office, but neither room’s occupants had returned sober enough to be awake before noon. The motel sat on an empty strip of road, making things all the easier for me.

I grabbed the only thing I needed and stuck it into the holster hidden under my leather jacket.