It wasn’t possible, she told herself. This couldn’t be Dash Sinclair. He couldn’t have really found them. Couldn’t have even known they needed help. Yet, who else could he be?
He glanced at Elizabeth. “Have you eaten?”
She could only shake her head. Dear God. It couldn’t be. It was a trick. She picked up the letter from the table and unfolded it.
I know you have lots of other little girls to love. Momma says you must be married with children and don’t need us. But I need you Dash. Please help me and my Momma before the bad guys get us again.
How had Cassie managed to post this letter without her knowing it? She stared at her daughter, barely able to process the fact that she was speaking to the stranger. A dangerous, cold-eyed stranger who claimed to be Cassie’s military penpal.
Cassie’s cheeks were flushed now. Hope radiated from her big blue eyes as shock was slowly displaced by happiness.
“You came, Dash.” Cassie threw herself into his big arms, her tiny body looking frail and helpless against the man’s chest, though his expression tightened with some undefined emotion as his arms contracted around her.
Dash Sinclair. She had loved that name herself, but had pushed it from her mind except for the few times Cassie had written the letters to the wounded soldier. That and when he had invaded her dreams. She hadn’t shared Cassie’s belief that one day Dash would come riding to their rescue, though. That one day he would protect them both. She was an adult. She didn’t believe in fairy tales, though she had fought to keep her daughter’s belief alive as long as possible.
“Eat, Cassie.” He sat Cassie back in her seat, pointing commandingly at the food.
Surprisingly enough, a french fry disappeared into her mouth immediately. Then another. Despite Elizabeth’s thankfulness that her daughter was eating, she couldn’t halt a small streak of jealously. Cassie had refused to eat for her mother. Yet she was eating for a stranger.
“Mac,” he called out the name of the aging, rotund man behind the diner’s bar. “I need two cheeseburger platters, two milks.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No…” She knew one of those platters was for her.
“Thank you, Dash.” Cassie laid her head against his arm as she chewed tiredly at the hamburger. “Momma was hungry. She didn’t eat yesterday, either. But I knew not to worry. I knew you would be here. I knew you would, Dash.”
Chapter Two
Dash barely stilled his rumbled growl as Cassie leaned against him. He lifted his arm, curving it around the frail shoulders, and star
ed back at her mother with a determination he prayed she was taking in.
His possessiveness toward these two had grown only stronger, only deeper over the months he had been searching for them. With each miss, each added awareness of the danger they faced, his resolve had only hardened. As though the extra DNA he possessed inside his body was howling out for a claiming in a way that threw him off guard. He didn’t like being thrown off guard. But he found himself accepting the responsibility of these two so naturally, that he often didn’t think to question it.
He could sense Elizabeth’s strength. It was there in her squared shoulders, the glint of battle in her weary blue eyes. She didn’t trust him and she sure as hell didn’t believe he was who he said he was. But he had expected that. Expected her to give him a fight. He had known she wouldn’t be easy to conquer.
He didn’t want her to be easy, though, Dash realized. She was a strong woman and his dominating instincts would run roughshod over any woman who wasn’t. She would have to learn how to stand up to him, when to push back and when to allow him to shoulder her weight. She would have to learn how to share the burdens rather than carry them on her fragile shoulders as she was used to.
Careful of the little head tucked against his chest now, Dash reached into his back pocket and pulled his wallet free. Opening it, he laid it between them. It had his driver’s license in one clear pocket, his service ID in the other, both easy to see.
He watched her as she studied both and then lifted her eyes, a single brow arching mockingly. She had spunk; he’d give her that. She wasn’t taking anything at face value. Not the letter, not his ID.
Her gaze went to her daughter once again. Cassie had slumped against his side, her fragile body slowly relaxing as Dash felt her soaking in the heat of his body through her thin sweater. “Eat, Cassie, then you can sleep.”
“Yes, Momma.” Cassie was plain worn down and it infuriated him.
Mother and daughter looked like they had spent too many days without sleep or proper food. Their faces were pale, their eyes overly bright from nerves and fear.
“I came to help, Elizabeth,” he promised her as he replaced his wallet, aware of the burly waiter as he moved from the bar with the plates of food. “Eat and then we’ll discuss it.”
He tried to sound reassuring. Tried to appear non-threatening, but he knew it was like trying to hide an elephant with a blanket. He was dangerous when crossed in the wrong way. Dangerous period if the situation warranted it, as this one did.
Mac, as his name tag proclaimed, set the platters heaping with food on the faded top of the booth’s table. As he did, the sleeve of his white T-shirt slipped up, revealing a Special Forces tattoo. Dash filed the information away for the moment. He would need someone to cover for them when they left. With any luck, he could gain help there.
“You’re very bossy,” Elizabeth murmured as she stared down at the food.
Dash could damned near see her mouth watering. Just as he could see her pride warring with her need.
“Realistic.” He shrugged. “You don’t eat, you can’t fight, darlin’. What’s more important? Your pride or your health?” Or your daughter. He left those words unsaid, though.