Elizabeth's Wolf

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?

“I’ll get her.” She jerked around, her eyes wide, arms tightening protectively around her little girl.

Dash watched her somberly. For once, his gaze wasn’t demanding, wasn’t glittering with heat and anger. It was still, understanding, as he gripped Cassie beneath her thin arms and lifted her easily from Elizabeth’s.

“Don’t hurt her.” She couldn’t stop the plea. For the moment, she had no choice but to trust him. She knew it and it was like a blade digging into her heart. “Please don’t hurt her.”

Gentle arms cradled Cassie’s body against his broad chest as savage eyes stared down at her with a hint of compassion.

“Get the stuff from Mac that I bought, Elizabeth. I got Cassie a stuffed bear to make up for the one that was destroyed. And some chips, in case she gets hungry before we get to our destination. We need to leave now.” His voice wasn’t gentle. It was cool, dark, deep. It stroked over her shattered nerves, surprisingly enough, stilling them.

She moved carefully for the counter, watching him, terrified he would simply leave her and take Cassie to the monster searching for her. Her body was tense, every muscle poised to jump and fight when she reached the bar.

“Trust him, little girl.” The waiter handed her the sack, his hazel eyes kind as she glanced at him. “He’s a good man.”

Elizabeth flinched in surprise. How could he know? How did he know anything? But there was nothing else forthcoming. She took the bag and moved quickly back to the man intent on taking over her life. Her life and her child.

Stepping into the swirling snow was like entering an isolated vacuum of icy beauty. It was nearly a white-out condition, with at least six inches of the thick, slick crystals built up on the ground.

“We can’t travel in this storm.” Elizabeth shivered as Dash quickly unlocked the rear passenger door. He deposited a sleeping Cassie into the back seat before jerking a blanket over her. He then unlocked the front and urged Elizabeth in.

“Get in.” His order was less than polite. “I figure those boys you have chasing you aren’t too damned stupid. They’ll guess the best time to catch you is during a snowstorm with a four-by-four. We have just enough time to pull out of here and get ahead of them.”

She jumped into the seat, staring at the unfamiliar interior in confusion. It was the most advanced vehicle she had ever laid eyes on. She had seen the military vehicles before, of course, but had never been inside one. She doubted she could even reach across the console between the passenger seat and the driver’s seat to hit out at her new captor. She glanced back at her sleeping daughter then. Cassie had been strapped into the single, wide bucket seat in the back, her head resting on a pillow that lay on the wide bench beside her.

“Buckle up.” He jumped into the driver’s seat and started the ignition.

“This is a blizzard, you know?” She did as he ordered, though, and buckled the seatbelt securely.

He stared out the window, considering, then he shrugged. “I’ve seen worse.”

Dash reversed the vehicle, a pensive look on his face as he exited the diner’s parking lot.

“Mac, the owner of the diner, is ex-Special Forces,” he told her quietly as they hit the deserted interstate. “Most of us stick together. I’m pretty certain he’ll cover for us, give Grange’s men a bogus vehicle and directions to follow, but just in case, we won’t be on the interstate long.”

“We won’t?”

Elizabeth gripped the edge of her seat as he picked up speed, making better time than she could have ever imagined on the snow packed road. The windshield, amazingly, had night vision, giving the driver a clear view of the world outside without the betraying beacon of the headlights. It was much more technological than she would have liked. She suddenly felt as though she had been thrown into a twilight zone. It made her off-balance, made everything around her seem a bit surreal.

“Who did you steal the Hummer from?” She rubbed her arms nervously as she fought the weariness dragging at her mind.

He flashed her a surprised look. “I didn’t steal it. I borrowed it. There was an Army depot close by. The Major in charge allowed me use of it to get where I needed to go. We won’t be keeping it long.”

“Isn’t that rather unusual?” She turned, bracing her back against the edge of the seat so she could watch him more closely.

The dashboard lights reflected back on a hard, primal expression. He didn’t glance over at her, though she had no doubt he could tell every move she was making.

He shrugged lazily as he pushed the vehicle faster through the thickening snow.

“Not normal, but not unusual exactly. I’m inactive for the moment, but still part of the services. My record speaks for itself and the Major at the depot had heard of me. There was no risk to loaning it.”

Silence stretched between them once again. Outside, the world was a blanket of white, piling against the large eighteen-wheelers parked here and there. Thankfully, it seemed most people had heeded the warnings about the coming blizzard and weren’t out on the roads. So far, they had passed no stranded motorists.

“Why are you here? And what the hell do you want with my daughter?” Elizabeth couldn’t stand it any longer.

She was trapped in a blizzard with a man she didn’t know and had no idea if she could trust. A hard, dangerous man.

His hands tightened on the steering wheel.

“I didn’t lie to you, Elizabeth. I came to help. I got Cassie’s letter the day I was returning stateside. When the letters stopped coming I had my Major check into it.” He paused for a moment, breathing deeply. “I thought something died inside me when he told me what everyone thought happened to you and Cassie. I lost something I didn’t know I had. When her last letter came, nothing could have kept me away.”

Elizabeth heard the throb of pain in his voice, a fury that confused her. She didn’t know what her daughter had written in her letters. Cassie had sworn she wouldn’t tell the soldier the danger she was in, and Elizabeth didn’t have the heart to refuse to allow her to write him.

It was during one of the rare times she had managed to get Cassie into school. She had bought illegal records, had nearly gotten herself arrested and spent countless nights pacing the floor in fear so Cassie could attend classes once again. So her child could have some sort of normalcy while her mother fought to make sense of the danger they were in.

The teacher had given the children a list of service men who didn’t receive mail and a permission slip to allow the kids to write. Cassie had been excited over the name she chose.

The fairy said this one, Momma. She had giggled as she waved the piece of paper with the name and address on it. He’s got a nice name, Momma. I bet he’s a good daddy.

She was fascinated with the idea of good daddies. Daddies who didn’t hit their little girls, who didn’t bargain with their children’s bodies, then get killed in front of their eyes.

The fairy, Elizabeth wasn’t sure about. Cassie had been talking about the fairy since her father’s murder. Elizabeth never pushed her about it. She never questioned her. Just like the elves and the unicorns and the other fantasies that played a part in Cassie’s vivid imagination. Elizabeth didn’t have the heart to take it away from her.

“You don’t owe us your life, Mr. Sinclair.” She shook her head at that thought. “I don’t think I can bear being the cause of any more deaths.”

He was a strong man. A determined man. But even he had his weaknesses and a bullet didn’t make allowances for any man.

“I owe her more than my life.” He finally shrugged. “Might as well give in, Elizabeth. You aren’t going to win this one.”

Elizabeth shook her head. She was tired, dazed. How could she be expected to fight him when she knew how desperately they needed him? She was living on nerves alone now rather than a clear mind and well rested body. It wouldn’t be much longer before she made a mistake and when she did, she knew Grange would be there waiting.

How had her daughter managed to find someone like Dash Sinclair to exchange letters with? What instinct had guided the child to choose his name above all others? Cassie claimed it was her fairy. Elizabeth was terribly afraid it was just another joke fate was playing on them both.

“She cried for a week after I refused to let her write anymore,” she finally said tiredly. “I didn’t know she had posted that last letter to you. I don’t know how she found the chance.”

“Good thing for you she did,” he grunted, though he still hadn’t looked over at her. “If she hadn’t, you’d be in a hell of a mess right now.”

She was already in a hell of a mess, though she held back from pointing that out. The snow was getting thicker and she didn’t want to distract him, didn’t want him to become angry and possibly lose control of the vehicle. They were still running much faster than she thought was safe.

“Relax.” He was sitting comfortably in his own seat, gripping the steering wheel confidently, his big, lean body relaxed. “It’s just a little snowstorm.”

Just a little snowstorm?She refrained from an unladylike snort. It was almost a complete white-out. But as dangerous as she knew it was, she couldn’t help but admire the sheer power and beauty of the storm. It enclosed them within the Hummer, insulated them from the rest of the world in an intimacy that left her mouth dry.

“You should try to nap.” His voice was quiet, deep. There was nothing dangerous or threatening in his tone. It lulled her mind at a time that she knew she should be even further on guard.

The dark velvet roughness of his voice had her longing to reach out to him, to be enfolded in the strength of his arms, to lean on his strength. She was tired. Elizabeth had known for weeks that she was approaching a point where her body would soon begin faltering. The thought of that had terrified her. The fact that this big, dangerous man was suddenly encouraging her to do so, at once made her nervous as a woman, even as it stilled the fears that often swept through her mind.

“I will. Later.” She wasn’t about to go to sleep yet. Not until she was certain of what was going on. “Where are we going anyway?”

“An army buddy owns a ranch across the state line,” he said. “We’ll stay there a few days until I can get further with another contact I have. I’m hoping to have you and Cassie in a secured area within a week. We’ll decide our best course of action then.”

“We will?” she asked him archly. She had a feeling she wouldn’t have a lot of opinion in whatever decision he made. Dash Sinclair didn’t look like a man who shared anything well, least of all responsibility.

His lips quirked. It was sexy. That thought slammed into her system like a thunderbolt. Dear God, how long had it been since she had noticed anything about a man other than whether or not he was the enemy?

That little smile was incredibly sensual. A firm, decisive shift of his lips that looked erotic, making her wonder how they would feel against her own. And that was something she definitely shouldn’t be thinking about right now. Not while her daughter’s life was hanging in the balance. Not while the man she was lusting after could be either friend or foe. Until she knew which, she had no business allowing her body to heat for him.

“We will,” he finally allowed with an edge of amusement. “As long as the two of you are safe, then you can help decide.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the conditions. As if she was going to accept that one. But she couldn’t stop the grin that tugged at her own lips. “Now that’s not nice.”

“I wasn’t trying to be nice.” But he was restraining a grin. She could see it. It made her wonder what he would look like if he smiled.

“Well, you weren’t succeeding, either.” Her eyelids drooped as she relaxed against the seat, but they didn’t close.

She was so tired. How long had it been since she had slept? Since she had felt safe enough to close her eyes and allow just a few hours of deep escape? Not since the night she had arrived at her ex-husband’s to check on Cassie and heard the sounds of gunshots.

She flinched, opening her eyes and staring desperately out the windshield. Would she always see it? The view from the window of her husband’s lakefront house. Cassie struggling in Terrance Grange’s hold as he aimed a gun and delivered yet another round in Dane’s body.

He had laughed when Cassie screamed out her daddy’s name. His evil, scarred face had held lustful intent as he stared at her baby. A baby. She shuddered, holding back the rage, bottling it inside her to keep from screaming out in fury.

She was silent, though she was aware of Dash glancing at her several times.

Elizabeth jumped when he moved easily, then breathed out a strangled sigh when he turned the radio on. Soothing, soft music filled the interior of the Hummer, wrapping around her, lulling her back into that near sleep existence she always feared.

“Sleep, Elizabeth,” he whispered soothingly. “I’ll wake you when we arrive at the ranch. I promise you. You and Cassie are both safe.”

Safe. Cassie was safe. For now. That was all that mattered.

“We have to hide her,” she sighed, breathing out deeply as her head rested against the back of the seat, her eyes finally closing. “He can’t touch her, Dash. I can’t let him touch her…”