“I love you, baby.” She kissed her forehead softly, lingeringly. “You be good for Momma, and I’ll come get you soon.”
She handed her baby to Callan. Cassie looked so small, so defenseless in the other man’s arms as he lifted her up to Dawn.
He jumped into the helicopter as Dash wrapped his arms around Elizabeth and pulled her back. The door closed, blocking out the sight of Cassie’s pale face. As she and Dash drew back the required distance, the motor was engaged, the huge blades whipping up the snow on the ground, then it slowly lifted away.
“Cassie,” she whispered painfully, allowing her tears to fall now that her daughter was out of sight. Hot, scalding streams of moisture poured from her eyes as her chest tightened violently. “Oh God, Cassie. Momma already misses you.”
Dash’s arms were around her, holding her tightly to his chest, his head lowered over hers as the helicopter sped swiftly away from them, carrying away her reason for living.
“It’s okay, baby,” Dash whispered at her ear, his voice husky, dark. “It’s okay. We’ll make him pay for it. I promise you, he will pay for it.”
Chapter Seventeen
The Tolers returned to the ranch early that morning as Dash was packing the Hummer. Elizabeth was sleeping. Finally. She had cried herself into exhaustion as he held her. She was grieving, he knew, hating the separation from her daughter and the fear that filled her. But he knew it had been a cleansing thing, a preparation for what she was aware was coming. So he had let her cry, holding her, stroking her long hair back from her pale face and murmuring gently to her.
He had never been comfortable with a woman’s tears before. Had never known exactly how to handle the feeling of manipulation he had always known during them. It was absent in this case. It was the first time he had seen Elizabeth cry, had seen the control she kept so firmly in place slip. Or had it? It was hard to tell with her. She was equal parts warrior and woman. As she cried in his arms he could almost feel her resolve strengthening, her rage and pain forming into the core of steel she would need to see her through the coming days.
He could have accomplished this much faster, much easier and with no threat to her if he had taken Callan up on his offer. But Dash had known even before then that Elizabeth would have to see this through before she would have the courage to face the life ahead of them. He had chosen her as his mate, and she knew it, even if she never spoke of it. He was now, legally, Cassie’s father. The little girl was unique in so many ways that protecting her would be a full-time job until she was old enough to protect herself.
She would need parents who knew how to defend her, knew how to fight together. Dash would make certain Elizabeth was in the least amount of actual danger possible. But to be assured she could face the dangers that could come in their lives, he had to allow her this. There was always the chance he could be killed. A chance that once again she would be alone, facing dangers she had never imagined from the Council. He had to make certain she was able to protect herself, Cassie, and any other children they might have along the way.
When she had slipped into sleep, curled in the bed Cassie had slept in, Dash had slipped away and began preparing for their departure. A plane would come for them later that night and fly them to a deserted airfield not far from the cabin he had rented for a month’s stay. There, he would train her, see how tough she was and make plans to get to Grange.
Mike was insistent that Dash allow the bastard to live. All they needed were the files Grange possessed, detailing the experiment done in-vitro on Elizabeth. That alone would secure Cassie’s safety, as much as anything else would. Once she was under Pride protection the news of her existence would be revealed and would pull the teeth from the threat Grange posed. But Dash knew men like that. Knew that Grange would never be satisfied, never be content, until he destroyed Cassie. He wouldn’t allow that threat to continue. Grange was a drug runner, a slaver, a child molester. A man whose soul was so dark and diseased that he caused misery wherever he went. Dash knew he would likely have to kill him. He wouldn’t feel guilty over that fact, or remorse. Such monsters didn’t deserve to draw breath.
He loaded all the equipment necessary into the Hummer before packing the back seat area with weapons and ammunition. Getting to Grange wouldn’t be that hard, but he wanted Elizabeth familiar with the weapons he would be carrying in.
“This is too risky, Dash,” Mike warned him again. “If you won’t accept the offer Callan made, let me send a few of my men in with you. Make short work of the mission and get out. You’re placing Elizabeth in too much danger.”
“I did that when I came for her.” Dash ran a mental checklist as he stared at the store of weapons. “What she’ll face later will be even more dangerous. She needs this to continue, Mike. Life may not be easy from here on out.”
“She’s not a soldier, Dash. She’s a woman. Cassie’s safe now, her concentration will be fractured. I don’t think she’s strong enough for this.”
Dash braced his arm on the top of the vehicle’s frame as he leaned in to check the store of ammo stacked in the floorboards.
“She’s strong enough.” He had no doubt about that. It was the strength and experience to work under this new stress that bothered him. “I’ll protect her. I know what I’m doing, Mike.”
He had pulled too many civilians out of situations more exacting than what he was leading Elizabeth into. Grange was a pimple on society’s ass. Burning him off wouldn’t be the problem. Knowing that Elizabeth would survive with her honor and strength intact was the problem. He didn’t want to break her. Didn’t want to ask more of her than she could give. But he had to know she could follow him. Follow him, fight beside him and protect herself if she had to.
“I know you think you know what you’re doing,” Mike finally sighed. “For your own good, I hope you do. Just in case, I’m sending Matt and Joey out t
here. They’ll be in town if you need them. Don’t hesitate to use them.”
“Why?” Dash turned back to him, confused now.
Mike was watching him with a frown. “Because you might need help,” he snapped. “You might think you’re superman, Dash, but you’re not. I don’t want to have to bury you, if it’s all the same to you.”
Dash shook his head. “If I die, then I reckon they’ll dispose of the body somehow, Mike. What does that have to do with anything?”
Mike was silent for long moments. “If someone massacred me and my family, Dash, what would you do?” he finally asked curiously.
Dash shrugged. “Go hunting. They wouldn’t live long.”
A grin tugged at Mike’s mouth. “Why would you do that? I’m sure mine and Serena’s parents would bury us.”
Dash was suddenly uncomfortable. “It would piss me off,” he growled. “I might need your ass one of these days to help put out a fire.”
Mike shook his head. “Why not admit we’re friends, Dash? I’ve noticed you do that a lot. Forget you have friends. Steady, dependable friends. Why is that?”