“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 there. 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?”
Dash sighed wearily. “I’m a Breed, Mike. You let your friends know you. Knowing who and what I am puts you at risk.”
Mike shook his head again. “We were already friends, buddy. You need to loosen up some and accept that. Friends share the burden. If my wife or daughter were in danger, you would have been the first person I contacted because I know you would be the one most likely to never flinch in protecting them. Our friendship would assure you would never betray them. Not just because you’re the best damned warrior I know, but because you’re a friend, one I know and respect. It’s that simple.”
Dash pushed his fingers through his hair, sighing roughly. “I don’t know how to be a friend, Mike.”
“Like hell.” Mike frowned. “You’ve never been anything but the best friend I ever had. You think I don’t know who was looking after Serena and Mica on that last mission I took? You requested leave, flew over here, and spent a damned month in the hills watching the house to protect my family. What was that if it wasn’t friendship?”
Dash was more than surprised. “How did you know?”
Mike shot him a sardonic look. “Come on, Dash. You were damned good, I admit. But there’s no way those two ‘hunters’ that turned up dead on the other side of the mountain were anything but Gorley’s men. And you forget, that nice clean little swipe across the throat is one of your trademarks. I knew the minute I got the information what was going on.”
Dash cleared his throat uncomfortably. “The knife doesn’t make as much noise as a gun.” He shrugged.
“Besides, I liked Serena. She’s too good for your sorry ass, though. I told you that already.”
But Dash was realizing something more. He was realizing that, despite the fact that he had fought to keep himself distant, a loner, the people he depended on were more than military contacts. He had told himself that was all they were, and yet, at the same time, he had formed bonds he now realized were stronger than he could have imagined.
“Everything packed then?” Mike asked as he closed the door to the Hummer. Dash nodded. “I’m going to head up and get some sleep before leaving tonight. I appreciate you returning the Hummer for me.”
The supplies would be transferred to the plane when it arrived, then to the truck Dash had arranged to be waiting at the airfield. The plans he had worked out with Mike after receiving confirmation that Cassie would be accepted into the Breed compound were coming together quickly.
“You need any other help, you be sure to let me know, Dash.” Mike sighed. “You have a lot of people who would help you in a heartbeat.”
Dash took a deep breath. He had never considered how close he was to some of the men he had fought with until his near death. And even then he had shied away from the knowledge, always feeling that he would bring friends more danger than comfort if his secret was ever revealed.
“Serena, Mica and I are heading into town for the day,” Mike told him as they entered the house. “We’ll be back in time to catch you before you leave. Rest while you can. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Dash didn’t go to his room, though. He went to Elizabeth’s. She was still curled in the middle of the bed, a slender mound beneath the blankets, her hair flowing in wild abandon around her. He listened as Mike and his family left the house, shaking his head at the knowledge his friend—and he admitted it now, Mike was a friend—had forced him to realize. He had more than he ever dreamed he could have. A child, his woman, and a network of men and women working to make certain he could protect them both. Not because they were fellow soldiers, but because they were friends.