Her heart broke when the little girl's arms went around her. Oh, how she longed to hug her back!

"I'm scared, Erin."

"I know, sweetheart. I'm scared, too. We're going to have to be brave, though, okay?"

"'Kay."

"Everything will be all right. I promise. Just hold on to me and try to stay calm, okay, sweetheart?" Erin didn't know that for sure. She had no idea what DiCarlo had planned for them. But she couldn't bear to let this child go without some kind of reassurance.

"I love you, Erin."

She closed her eyes, felt the tears burst through the dam. Knowing she had only a moment, she pressed her cheek against Stephanie's, felt their tears join. "I love you, too, sweetheart."

"Take the child to the limo."

Erin 's heart stopped in her chest at the sound of DiCarlo's voice. Terror pierced through her pain.

"No!" Stephanie cried. "I want to stay with Erin!"

It took Erin a moment to find her voice. "Go with them, honey. Please. They'll take you home." She forced her gaze to DiCarlo's, hoping for some kind of confirmation, but his expression was cold.

She barely felt the rough hands that jerked her to her feet. She watched as one of the thugs approached and began rolling Stephanie toward the entrance. The little girl turned in her chair, her eyes seeking Erin 's. Agony filled her chest at the fear in Stephanie's eyes. Erin felt the child's departure like a stake through her heart.

"Ah, I'm deeply touched."

Breaking eye contact with Stephanie, Erin faced DiCarlo. He was standing so close she could smell his expensive cologne. He contemplated her with eyes that were as lifeless as a mannequin's. She'd seen dozens of pictures of him over the years, but nothing had prepared her for the power of his presence. He was shorter than she'd imagined, just an inch or two taller than she was, but he emanated power from every pore.

Without warning his hand shot out, his palm cracking against her cheekbone like a bullwhip. The sudden violence of the act stunned her. Her head snapped back. The force of the blow sent her down on one knee.

"I've waited six months for this moment," he said.

Shaking her head against the dizziness, she raised her eyes to his. "Give me your word you won't hurt that child."

"The way you hurt my son?"

She didn't even pretend not to know what he was talking about. The warehouse. The man she'd shot six months ago in Chicago. "Your son pointed a gun at a police officer."

"My son was eighteen years old. A child. You didn't give him a chance to bargain, Officer McNeal. You didn't give me a chance to beg for his life. Why should I do the same for you?"

"That little girl is innocent. She lost her mother three years ago. She's had enough pain in her life. Dammit, let her go."

"My son is dead because of you," he said coldly. "You took from me the only thing I truly cared about in this world. I'm here now to make sure you pay for that."

Dread squeezed her chest like a giant serpent, tightening until she couldn't draw a breath. For the first time, Erin realized fully his capacity for evil, the breadth and width of his need for revenge. "You can do what you want with me-"

"Of course I can. And I plan to. Very, very slowly."

"Give me your word you won't hurt her."

Something flashed in the depths of his reptilian gaze. Something cold and lifeless that sent a chill to the depths of her soul. "I want you to know what it feels like to lose something precious."

Panic gripped her, twisted her insides into knots. Erin struggled openly against her bonds. The wire cut into her wrists, but she didn't care about the pain. All she could think of was Stephanie, and the father who loved her.

Awkwardly, she struggled to her feet. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

Cold amusement sparked in his eyes. "You're in no position to threaten me, Officer McNeal."

"No, I'm not. But I'm here. I kept my part of the deal. My hands are tied. I'm yours, DiCarlo. I'm a cop, and I shot your only son. Do with me as you please, but let that little girl go. Let her go, and I'll play your twisted game with you."

"You don't have a choice."

"Let her go." Her voice was low and hoarse. "Please."

Shaking his head as if she'd offended him, he said, "Ah, but I'm not a child killer."

Erin wasn't sure why, but she believed him. She believed that if DiCarlo had planned to kill Stephanie, he would have done so in front of her just to make some sort of twisted point. Just to make her suffer before he killed her. The realization made her sag with relief.

He looked at the thug on her right. "Put the child in the car." DiCarlo's eyes shifted to the other man. "I'll meet you back at the chopper when I'm finished here."

The two men stepped back, then retreated, leaving her alone with DiCarlo. For the first time, Erin considered the very real possibility that she would die at the hands of this man. The possibility that she would never see Nick again. Never hear her name on his lips. Never see him smile. She would hurt him one final time, she realized. Just as he'd feared she would. The irony made her want to sob.

Another corner of her mind, the part that thought like a cop, wondered if he'd found the recording. If he was on his way. If she could somehow get her hands on the revolver in her ankle holster.

"Get down on the ground, Officer McNeal."

He's going to kill me, she thought with an odd sense of calm. Execution style. His trademark. The realization made her nauseous.

"Get on the ground, or I'll kill you where you stand."

She stared at him, unable to move, unable to believe it had come to this. "Don't do it," she said, starkly aware of the holster pressing against her right ankle.

"Contrary to popular belief, I don't like killing, Officer McNeal. Particularly women. But I'm a firm believer in an eye for an eye. Besides, I've got an image to maintain. So, if you don't mind, get down on the ground and let's get this nasty business over with."

Nick took out the last thug just as he was getting into the limousine. Using his billy club for silence, Nick put him down with a single blow. The thug fell into the mud like a sack of flour. After disarming him, Nick cuffed him to the undercarriage of the car and left him in the rain.

Praying he would find his daughter in the limo, he swung open the door. Stephanie cried out, the sound going through Nick like his lifeblood. Dropping to his knees in the mud, he gathered her into his arms and held her tight while tears burned his eyes and waves of relief shook him through and through.

"Sweetheart." He kissed her cheek, her forehead, the top of her head. "Hey, are you okay?" His voice broke as he closed his eyes and took in her sweet little-girl scent.

"Daddy." She sobbed in his arms. "Daddy, I'm scared."

"It's okay, honeybunch. I'm here. You're safe." He tightened his arms around her. "Did they hurt you?"

"No, but those men were mean. They said a bunch of bad words."

Clenching his jaw against the emotion gripping him, he eased her to arm's length. "Where's Erin?"

"She's in the big building with another man. I think he's bad, too. They tied her up, but Erin wasn't even scared."

"I've got to go help her. I'm going to take you into the cornfield to hide. I want you to stay there until I come for you, okay?"

Wiping her nose on her sleeve, Stephanie nodded. "I'm still scared, Daddy."

"Everything's going to be fine. I promise." Loath to leave her alone, but knowing he didn't have a choice, Nick worked off his jacket and slipped her arms into it. "Here's my jacket so you don't get wet."

"'Kay."

Scooping her into his arms, he started toward the cornfield a dozen yards away. Several rows in he stopped and set her gently on the ground. His heart broke when she looked up at him.