Her gaze went to Cassie, and Dash watched them moisten with tears. She pressed her lips tightly together as her fists clenched against the stained Formica of the tabletop. They were small, delicate hands, with long, graceful fingers. Hands a man would kill to have stroking over his body. He was dying to have her touch him. To see if the woman could match the drug-induced dreams he still clearly remembered.
“I don’t have a choice.” Her voice was rough, hollow. “I can’t take the chance, Mr. Sinclair. I don’t know you. I won’t trust you.”
They weren’t empty phrases. She had been betrayed one time too many. Had fought too long to give in now and just accept anyone else taking over. Which was okay, he told himself silently. He would let her fight as much as her pride needed, but in the end, he would win. Dash allowed a smile to tip his lips. “I didn’t ask you for your trust or your permission, Elizabeth. I was stating a fact. We have to get you and Cassie somewhere safe, then we can see about eliminating the problem.”
If her face could have whitened more, it would have. He knew she had tried more than once to go to the authorities, to find a way to do what was right. But men, even those sworn to uphold the rights of the innocent, were often much too human. Those who couldn’t be bought had been killed. And he knew her conscience had been laid bare by the deaths of those who had tried to help.
“I went to the police. Once,” she said bitterly. “I won’t make that mistake again.” Not all of the officers at that station had betrayed her there. The chief alone had been responsible for that one. Several of the investigators were still looking for her, unaware of what had caused her to flee. They only knew she was in trouble. In trouble, and a friend. Elizabeth had grown up with several of the officers in the small town she had been raised in. They couldn’t help her, but Dash knew he could. The small southern California town had been home to a drug dealer as well. A very powerful dealer. One willing to pay for the protection he needed. Unfortunately, Dane Colder had made the mistake of crossing the man. Then, in an effort to save himself had tried to sell his little girl to the perverted bastard. Dane was resting in hell now, courtesy of the dealer’s bullet as Cassie watched. The man had every intention of stealing Cassie away then. There was no doubt she wouldn’t have survived long. Thankfully, Elizabeth had somehow known to check on her baby and had heard the gunshots, watched in horror as her daughter was locked into one of the bedrooms as the body was being disposed of. How she slipped in and took her from under their noses Dash had no idea. One thing was certain, though; she had, and now she and her daughter were in more danger than they knew. Terrance Grange wasn’t just a drug dealer. His connections to the mob and the power structure he had built around his silent little empire had tentacles running all across the United States and into several government agencies. Now Dash had to figure out a way to save them, because who to trust, just as Elizabeth had found out, wouldn’t be easy to decide.
“I didn’t say we’d have smooth sailing, I just said we could do it.” He shrugged. “It’s your choice, Elizabeth. You can come with me and live, or keep running until the bastards take you down and take Cassie away from you.”
She drew in a hard, deep breath. Dash knew she was aware that eventually she would fail. She didn’t have the connections or the power to protect herself and her child. She was a woman alone and learning exactly what that meant.
“And how do I know I can trust you?” she asked him mockingly. “I don’t know you, Mr. Sinclair, and I sure as hell don’t believe you would chase us for six months out of the goodness of your heart.”
Dash glanced down at Cassie. When he returned his gaze to Elizabeth he knew his own anger was flaring in the depths of his eyes.
“Wrong, lady.” He wanted to growl with the strength of his sense of ownership toward the two females.
“She saved my worthless life when it didn’t matter to anyone but her. And I’ll be damned if I’ll let her or the mother she loves die. Now it’s your choice if you come with me or if you stay. But Cassie will be protected. She goes with me.”
He watched Elizabeth’s eyes widen as fear shadowed them further. Dammit, he hated seeing her eyes go dark with terror rather than the pleasure he wanted to bring her. He could see it snaking through her, knew it would be chilling her blood as she fought to find a way to fight back. She was a strong woman and having control taken from her wouldn’t be easy for her to accept. But he had to do it. Had to establish authority with her and Cassie if he was going to pull this off. A frown snapped in place over her eyes. Battle glittered in the fierce depths. His cock hardened, which was more than disconcerting for the situation and location they were in.
“That’s my daughter you’re talking about,” she finally hissed as she leaned forward, anger shaking through her. Which sure as hell beat the lethargy he had seen in her moments before. “You don’t do a damned thing without my permission.”
Blood surged through his body, hot and exhilarating, as her scent flowed to him, wrapping around him. She was aroused. Not a lot, curiously aroused maybe, a bit shy. He liked that. Liked that shyness, that hesitancy. But even stronger was her sudden anger. Her child. Her responsibility. She wouldn’t let it go easily. Even to him. Which meant he would have to fight her for it. He was looking forward to that fight.
“Your permission?” He tried to keep his voice soft, but he was aware of the throbbing growl resonating just beneath the surface of his words. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not asking for anything here, Elizabeth. I’m telling you. I didn’t travel halfway across the world and chase your pretty little butt across half the United States only to have you pat my head and send me on my way. You can accept this gracefully, or we can just go ahead and fight it out. But I promise you, baby, I know who’s going to win in the end.”
Her eyes widened in incredulity.
“Are you insane?” she finally asked him curiously. “Or do you just have a death wish, Mr. Sinclair? If you know what I’m facing then you know the men he’s already killed to get to me. Do you really want to end up being the next bloody body he leaves in his wake?”
She was smart. He had known that all along. The mocking condescension in her expression and her voice would have given any other man pause.
“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of making him the next bloody body I leave in my wake,”
he said casually. “Make no mistake, Elizabeth. I’m not so easily brought down.”
More than one terrorist had tried, men more diseased than Grange with a larger network of evil to back them. Dash knew well how to play this game and how to succeed. He watched her then, sensed the battle waging within her, her instinctive knowledge that if anyone were capable of saving them, it was him. But she also doubted that there was any hope for her and Cassie to survive, period. Hope was slowly dimming within his mate.
He stood casually to his feet, laying little Cassie gently in the seat as he did so. Then he leaned in close, his hand flat on the table, his nose merely inches from hers as she stared back at him in surprise.
“We leave in five minutes. Me and Cassie, or you, me and Cassie. As I said, it’s your choice.”
Her eyes narrowed, her delicate little nostrils flaring as heat swept into her cheeks. He could smell her excitement now, but he also smelled blood.
“I won’t let you…”
He leaned closer. “You’re hurt,” he snarled in her face as she jerked back from his fury. “Fight me now and I promise you’ll regret it. Now get ready to pull out of here. We’re leaving.”
He didn’t give her time to comment. He straightened up, giving her one last hard look before turning and stalking to the counter. The husky ex-soldier waited, watching him with narrowed, appraising eyes as he neared.
“She’s in trouble.” The balding head nodded to Elizabeth as Dash stopped in front of him. It wasn’t a question. The man had an extra sense for trouble. It was something you learned in combat, something you never forgot.
“And I’m here to get her out of it,” Dash growled. “But I need a favor.”
Mac stared back down at Elizabeth and Cassie. “I haven’t made the call, but there’s a lot of money being offered for information on those two. ” His gaze turned back to Dash. The hazel depths were hard and cold. “Tell me what you need, boy.”
Chapter Three
What was she to do? Elizabeth watched as Dash paid for their meals, then bought several bottles of water and snack chips as he talked to the waiter. Their voices were low, almost imperative. They were discussing more than the price for a bag of potato chips.
She bit her lip hard, breathing in deeply as she fought to clear her head of the exhaustion and pain. It had been harder in the last six or eight months. As though Grange had grown tired of playing with her. She rarely had more than a few days to rest, to work some under-the-table job for less than minimum wage before she was on the run again. And Cassie. God, it was killing Cassie and she knew it. She couldn’t keep running like this. She had to find someplace to hide her baby while they both healed, body and soul. Her hand fell from the countertop, pressing against the deep gash in her thigh where the bullet had torn through the flesh. It wasn’t too deep. It could have probably used a few stitches but she considered herself lucky. It could have been a hell of a lot worse. The one in her side from the basement window paled in comparison, though it, too, was fairly deep.
She had cleaned them earlier in the diner’s bathroom, pouring alcohol straight into the wounds while Cassie stood trembling, watching her. It had been agonizing. More painful than actually receiving the wounds. But she knew she couldn’t afford the infection. If she got sick then there was no way she could protect her baby.
Her hand trembled, her stomach roiling with remembered panic as she thought of the agonizing flight down the apartment stairwell when she fought to get to the basement. Out of habit, she had pulled into the back of the apartment building rather than from the parking lot. It was rarely used and she had felt more comfortable parking there.
The back door was hard to open from the inside, though, and she couldn’t afford the precious minutes it would have taken to put Cassie down to open it. The basement door was easier and it had a bolt on the inside. She had slid the thick bolt home quickly before rushing to the line of washers and the often-open small window. She and Cassie had barely made it out before the men had busted through the door. The car had only been a few steps ahead. The doors were still unlocked and, thankfully, she kept her keys tucked in her jeans pocket rather than carrying a purse.
The past two years had been horrifying. Terrance Grange never gave up. He was like a pit bull, his jaws clamped on tight, refusing to let go or to give her any peace. At first, she had prayed that if she merely ran, forgot about going to the police, stayed quiet and hid, he would leave them alone. But he wanted Cassie. His men had made that clear. Give Terrance Cassie, then she could go free, do whatever the hell she wanted. He didn’t give a damn about Elizabeth. He just wanted her daughter. The perverted bastard. She knew exactly why he wanted her baby, and she would die before she would allow it. But what if she did die and he still managed to get Cassie? Icy terror lodged in her chest at the thought. She wasn’t strong enough to fight much longer. And she was learning just how adept Grange was at cutting off every avenue of escape she could find. He killed the people who tried to help her. Killed them or paid them off, leaving her with nowhere to turn. Had he paid off Dash Sinclair?
As he talked to the waiter, Elizabeth moved slowly from her seat. He turned his back on her, surveying a small row of teddy bears behind the counter, obviously intent on picking one out. Would he buy a teddy bear for a child he was going to betray?
She took a deep breath. God, she wanted to trust him. Wanted to believe he could help her, but she had learned better over the past two years. Had learned she could trust no one but herself. She eased Cassie from the seat, her breath hitching in despair at the painful thinness of her little girl’s body. Then she glanced out at the parking lot, fear streaking through her. They could die out there. What the hell was she supposed to do?