Elizabeth's Wolf by Lora Leigh Page B

honesty or their commitment to her. She had learned quickly that the least controversy had even those friends she had grown up with pulling back.
    Yet, here was Dash, going to a man he had fought with, confident of that man’s loyalty, his honor. It made little sense to her.
    “How can you be sure?” It was her greatest fear. A betrayal that would cost her the life of her child. “You’re trusting this man with Cassie’s life.”
    “I’d trust him with my own.” He flashed her a dark look. “You don’t fight with a man for a year in hell and not know what he’s made of, Elizabeth. Mike’s a good man. He won’t let us down.”
    “You expect me to just take your word.” She kept her voice low, aware that Cassie was still awake in the back. She regretted the fact that her internal alarm clock had failed her today, allowing her to sleep until Dash awoke them both. She had needed to talk this out with him.
    “The fairy says it’s okay, Momma,” the little girl piped in then, her voice soft, reassuring.
    Elizabeth closed her eyes painfully, her chest tightening. How she wished Cassie’s fairy, whoever the hell it was, would tell her. But then again, this fairy thing was already starting to concern her. As they had walked from the basement to their apartment two days before, Cassie had whispered that the fairy didn’t want them going back to their room.
    Please, Momma. The fairy says to stay here. To wait. I don’t wanna go up there.
    Had Cassie somehow known their enemies were there?
    Elizabeth knew children had an advanced sense of their surroundings. One parents lost as they matured. The ability to see and sense things that parents rarely made sense of. Was the fairy merely a way for her to explain this?
    “Tell the fairy I said thank you, Cassie.” She looked between the seats, smiling at her little girl. “But Momma needs to make sure. Adults don’t have fairies to guide them.”
    Cassie looked up over at her with amazing sobriety. “You can use my fairy, Momma. I’ll tell you what she thinks.”
    And how did she answer that one? Cassie never failed to surprise her.
    “Thank you, honey, but Momma needs more than just the fairy’s word right now. Okay?” She kept her voice gentle. She didn’t want to hurt Cassie’s feelings. Didn’t want her to sense that her mother had lost her belief in fairies long ago.
    “I understand, Momma.” Cassie settled back in her seat, her smile flashing in the darkness. “You can talk to Dash all you like about it then. I know it’s going to be okay.”
    Elizabeth’s fists clenched as she turned back and faced forward. Snow still fell, though not as thick as before. The roads were deserted, the country lane blending into the surrounding landscape until only the faintest hint that it was actually a road remained.
    She hated not knowing. Not being certain. She didn’t know this rancher, this ex-C.I.A. agent Dash was taking them to. She didn’t know Dash. Yet she was being expected to trust merely because she had no other choice.
    “Why are you trusting me , Elizabeth, even this far?” he finally asked her. “You could have left the motel while I showered. You could have made any attempt to escape me. And you would have if you felt the need. Why didn’t you?”
    Dash’s voice was gentle. It was dark and demanding, but the underlying softness soothed the ragged edges of her nerves.
    She pushed her fingers restlessly through her hair. He hadn’t hurt her when he had the chance. He had killed a man for her. He had followed her through a blizzard and taken her farther away from the men searching for Cassie. He had haggled with Cassie over chocolate bars and carried a tote of clothes for months, picking up more here and there because he knew theirs were being destroyed.
    He had bought her daughter a bicycle. Had sent her a robe. He had done so many things, even before he found them, to make Cassie’s life, and hers, easier. How could she not take the