Protecting Dallas

I didn’t think I could eat, but it turned out I was wrong. I ate everything. I cleaned my plate and helped myself immediately to seconds, and when the seconds were finished I started looking around for bacon.

“You were hungry.”

I nodded. There wasn’t much else to say. Filling my belly was a welcome distraction from my predicament, and I used the relative silence (knives and forks scraping against ceramic plates notwithstanding) to take stock of my would-be rescuers.

Maddox seemed to be the ‘leader’ of the three, if you could call it that. He was tall and extremely well-built, with sexy amounts of stubble and thick blond hair much longer than enlistment allowed. That meant he was ex-SEAL, if anything. Or maybe he was so high up the Navy’s chain of command, they stopped bothering him about his haircut.

As for Austin, his whole demeanor seemed a little more uptight and by the book. He was the one cleaning things up and putting stuff away, even washing and storing the pans the very moment Maddox finished with them. His dark hair and olive skin made him incredibly attractive, and the military precision with which he groomed his impeccably-kept goatee told me everything I needed to know about his daily habits.

That left Kane, who was a lot harder to figure out. He was absolutely massive, with a broad, powerful chest and Atlas-like shoulders you could rest the world on. His big arms barely fit through his drab green shirt, stretching the fabric to the absolute limits as he shoveled eggs and sausage into his ruggedly handsome face.

But unlike the others, Kane was silent. He didn’t talk the entire meal, content only to eat and listen and observe. At one point he caught me staring at him, and I expected some kind of quick look away. Instead he held my gaze with swagger-like confidence, his mouth widening into the same gentle smile as before.

Somehow, despite everything that happened to me, I found myself smiling back at him.

The sun finally cracked the sky, and one by one the guys disappeared for a bit. They came back fully dressed and cleanly-shaven. Ready for whatever they were about to do next.

“Kane and I have some things to check out,” said Maddox. “We’ll be out near the city, but we’ll be back before sundown.”

I rubbed at my eyes. I could only imagine how I looked.

“If you make a list, Austin will pick up whatever you need. Clothes first, of course. Shampoo, toothbrush… whatever other toiletries, just write them down and—”

“I’m not writing shit down.”

Maddox stared back at me like I’d just spoken to him in Latin. He scratched his head. “Uhh… what?”

“Why in the world would I write anything down?” I asked. “I’ll just go with him.”

The guys all looked at each other uncomfortably. “You are not going with him.”

“Oh no?” I laughed. “Everything I ever owned is a glowing pile of ashes now. I have things I need. Lots of things. I’ll need a new phone, for one. I have to call my boss, see if he can get me a few new uniforms before tonight…”

“Your boss?”

“Yeah. At the casino.” I folded my arms across my chest. “You’ve been watching me long enough to know I’m a blackjack dealer, right?”

“Of course,” said Austin. “But—”

“You’re not going to work,” interjected Maddox.

My hands went to my hips now, fingers spread. “The hell I’m not.”

“Dallas, you can’t go back to work. These people will find you. Hell, they’re probably

already at the casino, waiting for you to show up. Just as they’re probably sitting at either edge of your block, waiting for you to come by and sift through the ashes... I mean the remnants of…”

His voice trailed off. Austin elbowed him in the ribs.

“Look, tell me everything you need and I’ll grab it for you,” he said. “I’ll do some shopping too. I’ll pick up food, groceries, that sort of stuff. Anything you like, just tell me and I’ll get it.”

“We’ll get it,” I corrected him. “When we go.”

He sighed heavily. “Dallas, it’s not safe.”

“Nothing is safe,” I said. “Look at my house.”

“Yes, but—”