“Come on, Cassie, we need to get a shower.” She fought to keep her voice even, to still the tremor of nerves she could feel racing through her body.
He might think he had made his claim, she thought, and she might need him now more than she had ever needed anyone in her life, but he would learn she wasn’t as easy to conquer as he thought she was.
“Oh Momma, let me sit with Dash.” Cassie turned back to her, her expression pleading, her eyes wide and distressed. “I’ll be good. I promise.”
“You’re always good, sweetie,” Elizabeth assured her, keeping her voice firm. “But you need a bath, and I need a shower. Now come on, so you can eat and maybe watch cartoons for a while.” She dangled the treat before her daughter, hating to take something away from her that she wanted. But she couldn’t—wouldn’t—trust Dash that far.
“But, Momma…” Cassie whined.
“Now, Cassidy Paige.” She used her full name, keeping her voice firm, aloof. She prayed Cassie didn’t choose now to defy her. She didn’t think she could handle the fight.
Cassie sighed deeply as she slid off Dash’s lap. “You won’t leave. Will you?” she asked in a small voice.
“I promise.” He laid his hand against his chest, his expression somber. “I’ll be right here, waiting on my cartoon partner.”
Cassie giggled as Elizabeth moved to the tote and picked out the clothes Cassie would need. Toothbrushes, hair brushes, little girl’s hair bows, a multitude of small, insignificant but prized items were all held within a large clear plastic carrier lying on top of the clothes. She drew it out, gripping her robe and gown before her as she backed to the bathroom. She kept her eyes on Dash, fought to keep her worries under control.
He watched her, his golden-brown eyes quiet and intense. Steady.
“Don’t forget to put a decent bandage on your leg,” he reminded her as she reached the alcove. “That soap will burn like he…” He cleared his throat. “Like heck.” He glanced at Cassie.
Elizabeth flushed but nodded quickly before easing Cassie toward the bathroom door. Like Cassie, she wanted to ask him if he would be there when they were done. If he would promise not to leave.
Somehow, he must have read her fears. Keeping his gaze locked with hers, he returned his hand to his chest. “I promise.” He mouthed for her alone.
Chapter Six
Dash watched Elizabeth sleep for hours. She was curled around Cassie’s small body, protecting her, even while nearly unconscious from exhaustion. They had both fallen asleep during the first hour of cartoons, and he had let them be. Hell, he’d figure something out about the schedule. Elizabeth was right, Cassie needed to sleep, but so did her mother.
Dark circles ringed Elizabeth’s eyes. They weren’t as noticeable while she was awake; the vivid blue, so unlike the lighter tone of her daughter’s, drew attention from her pale, tired features. But asleep, she looked wounded.
He sat on his bed staring at her. He couldn’t help it. He had imagined her for over a year. Touched her in his dreams; loved her in his fantasies. What was it about her that it had only taken her daughter’s smallest descriptions to fill his mind with her?
He wasn’t a man that believed in soul mates. There were times he wondered if a creation of science could even have a soul. But Elizabeth made him want to believe. And as he watched her sleeping, he realized he did believe. He believed in it more than he had ever believed in anything. But it also made him realize the bleak, agonizing future awaiting him if he didn’t do something about Terrance Grange. That, and convincing Elizabeth that she was his. That he was the daddy Cassie needed, the mate she longed for. Which meant he had work to do. He picked up the phone and called Mike.
Dash had fought for more than two years with Mike Toler in the mountains of Afghanistan, searching for the pockets of terrorists hidden within mountain caves and underground tunnels. He had saved Mike’s ass more than once, and he knew the caliber of man he was.
Mike was ex-C.I.A., a rancher now, though Dash knew he still had enough contacts to get a line on any information he needed. There was something wrong with the situation as he knew it, Dash finally admitted to himself. Terrance Grange was a mean bastard, and a pervert, but he wouldn’t risk his whole organization for one little girl. Even one who had witnessed a murder. Not to this extent.
He would wait. Wait until Elizabeth went to the authorities, wait until Cassie was in protective custody and in a place certain to allow him the opportunity to get to her. He wouldn’t be running her and her mother down like animals. The situation was growing more complicated by the day and it was making Dash more suspicious by the moment.
He had suspected, after no more than a month into the chase for Elizabeth and her child, that the complications were likely to build. He hadn’t expected what he was facing at the time.
He had tried to accept that Grange was just an obsession freak, an animal that needed killing. Which was true to a large extent. But still, there was more. He could feel it in the deepest reaches of his gut.
He called Mike as daylight turned to night and the worst of the blizzard had passed, at least enough to allow visibility in the Hummer. As he expected, Mike was waiting on him.
“Get on out here,” Mike ordered him briskly. “You need to get some rest while I follow up on some other information coming in. Your instincts were right, Dash. As usual.”
“What have you found out?” He kept his voice low. He didn’t want to wake Elizabeth or Cassie.
“Grange is a dirty bastard. And a pervert. But little girls Cassidy’s age aren’t his preference. Nor is spending this amount of money on tracking down one little girl who was likely too shocked to even remember who killed her father. Right now, the details I have are sketchy at best. I did manage to contact Kane Tyler for you, though. He’s waiting on you to get to the ranch for a secure transmission. Get your ass out here as soon as possible.”
He glanced toward the window. He wouldn’t leave until dark. It was much easier to hide the fact that he carried a woman and child in the Hummer with him after nightfall.
“Tonight,” he told him. “Expect us sometime after eight. I imagine getting this little pup Elizabeth calls a child ready to go will take a while. She has more energy than any kid I think I’ve ever seen.” She had bounced around for nearly an hour before collapsing on the bed to watch the cartoons.
Mike laughed. “Yeah, they’re like wild monkeys at that age. Take care, old buddy. I’ll see you tonight.”
Dash hung up the phone, wiping his hand over his face as he tried to pull together the fragments of information he had. There wasn’t much.
Dane Colder had been a very prominent doctor in the small California town. He had married Elizabeth when she was fresh out of high school. Ten years older than she, he had wooed her within months before giving her an elaborate wedding. A year later Cassie had been conceived. Two years later, Elizabeth had divorced the bastard on grounds of incompatibility. Dash suspected other reasons.
She had fought visitation, but Colder had been determined. He was awarded one week a month with the child. From that time forward charge after charge of abuse had been leveled against him by Elizabeth, only to be thrown out of court for lack of evidence by the judge. Colder had carried a lot of influence, and had some powerful friends. A year before his death, he had hooked up with Grange for some unknown reason. Six months later Colder had sued for custody of Cassie. It was rumored he would have received it if his body hadn’t been found in a dirty alley pumped full of bullets.
There was something missing, though. Some piece of information that Dash knew would allow everything to finally fall into place. Until he had it, he was working blind, at least until he got his hands on Grange. Until then, he had to make certain no one could touch Elizabeth or her child ever again. Which meant they would have to head out soon and get to the ranch tonight.