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“Take your coffee and go,” Daniel repeated. The tremor in his voice wasn’t fear—it was restraint. He could hear his old sergeant in his head, De-escalate or dominate. Your call, Travis.

But Tate wasn’t listening. “Am I not needy enough for you?” he asked Polly, his grin spreading. “You could’ve just said you had a type. The broken hero kind. Or is it that he bosses you around and makes decisions for you? I can be bossy, too.”

Daniel moved before he thought. Two steps forward, solid footing, his left hand catching Tate’s wrist as Tate tried to hand her the cup. The lid popped free, coffee splattering over the back of the truck and the guy’s pant leg. Tate cursed, his other hand cocking back in a fist. Wrong move. Daniel pivoted, swept Tate’s legs out from under him, and drove the man down hard, his weight balanced, one knee pressing into the other man’s shoulder blade.

“Don’t touch her,” Daniel ground out, his voice low, controlled, fighting the pulse roaring in his ears. He could feel Tate’s breath hitch under him, the quick rhythm feeding his own adrenaline.

“Damn it, man. Lighten up. You’re hurting me.”

“Daniel—” Polly’s voice cut through the static in his brain. “Let him go. You don’t have to do this.”

He felt her hand on his shoulder and he shrugged it off.

“Please.”

Hell. The enemy never said please. He swallowed hard. In—two, three. Out—two, three. Repeat. The world steadied around him. You’re not back there. You’re not in combat. You’re home.

With Polly.

Tate’s laugh was ugly and breathless. “What’s the matter, Marine? Afraid she’ll see who you really are?” He twisted just enough to look back over his shoulder. “So, you like fixer-uppers like him?”

Daniel didn’t answer. He didn’t trust his voice. He was breathing too hard, too fast.

Polly stepped forward again, Pirate alert at her side, the dog’s low growl deepening in warning. “I know who he really is. I like him,” she said clearly. “I’m with him.”

The words cut through the cold like a flare. For the first time, Tate’s confidence cracked. His smile slipped into a sneer. “Fine. She won’t put out for you, Marine.”

“Shut it.”

“She’s an uptight Goody Two-shoes. I don’t know why I’m wasting time on you. You’re not worth the trouble you’ve cost me.”

“You should go,” Daniel said, his tone razor flat. “You come near her again, I’ll take you out at the knees. Then I’ll report it to hospital security—and to Detective Standage at KCPD.” He leaned closer, voice dropping. “I’ll make sure the harassment charges stick.”

Tate exhaled through his nose, a shaky, mocking sound. “Harassment? Hell, I was just having some fun.” He shoved himself upright as Daniel stepped back, brushing at his scrubs. “Don’t come crying to me when he hurts you, Poll. See you around, sweetheart.”

Polly’s voice didn’t waver. “No. You won’t.”

“Yeah, I will.” He took several steps beyond Daniel’s reach before he turned and snickered. “We have to work together, sweetheart. It’ll be up to you how nice working conditions will be.”

Daniel took a step toward him at the threat, but Polly clamped her hand around his arm and stopped him. “Don’t.”

“That was a threat,” Daniel seethed between clenched teeth. “Something’s not right with that guy. He shouldn’t talk to a woman like that.”

“Just let him go. I think he got the message. I’ve put up with worse in the ER. If he steps out of line again, I’ll report him myself.”

Daniel watched the male nurse walk toward the elevator, every muscle ready in case the man turned back. But Tate didn’t. He disappeared behind the steel door with a hollow clang.

Silence pressed in.

Then, faint and quick, he heard a scuffle of footsteps. A car door slammed somewhere on the far side of Level 3. Someone running to their car. Someone who’d witnessed that whole interchange.

Daniel spun around, hating that the noises had come from his blind side. His gaze swept the shadows. Nothing moved but Pirate, tail low, nose in the air, ears pinned back. The tension in the dog’s body told him enough.

They weren’t alone in here.

But he couldn’t see the enemy.

“Let’s go,” Daniel said quietly, guiding Polly around the truck. He opened her door, scanning the level one last time. “First, we call Detective Standage and report this. Then we go get food and you can take Luna out.”