Ellie turned slowly, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand.“You mean, you and me?”
“Yeah,” Dasher nodded.
A long beat.Then she exhaled.“Sometimes.”
They stood like that for a second.Not touching.Not moving.But Dasher felt the weight of the history between them settle into the air.
“I was stupid back then,” he said.“Didn’t know what I had.”
“You had a patch and a death wish,” Ellie said, but her voice was soft.Not angry.“And I had plans that didn’t involve hospital visits and shoot-outs.”
Dasher chuckled, dry.“Still don’t.”
“You left,” she said quietly.“You chose the club.”
Dasher wasn’t surprised she reminded him of that fact again.He didn’t blame her.She was probably still angry about it and had every right to be.
“I did.”He didn’t try to lie.“And I still would.But maybe I didn’t have to lose you to keep it.”
Her eyes flashed, then softened.“That’s not how it works, Dasher.”
“I know.”He shoved his hands into his pockets.“But I still think about it.”
They didn’t talk more after that, just collected the promised toys and made their way to the final stop: a small coffee shop tucked between the gym and a tattoo parlor.
It was the kind of place where all the mugs were mismatched, the floor creaked, and the smell of espresso hit you before the bell on the door rang.
While Ellie chatted with the barista, Dasher scanned the room.And that’s when he saw a guy leaning against a lamppost across the street.Leather cut with a rival club’s patch, casually smoking and pretending not to look straight at Dasher.Red Hounds.His jaw tensed.
When Ellie returned, to-go cup in hand, Dasher murmured, “We need to go.”
“What—”
“Across the street.Don’t look.Just move,” he ordered.
Her eyes widened, but she followed him out, and they rounded the corner before he slowed.
“A member of the Red Hounds MC,” he said quietly.“Watching.”
Ellie swallowed hard.“You think they’re the ones who broke into the storage unit?”
“Wouldn’t surprise me.Could be they’re testing boundaries,” Dasher said with a shrug.
“Why now?”Ellie demanded.
“Because holidays mean press.Attention.Toy drive gets the community on our side.Makes it harder for the Hounds to make a move without getting blowback,” Dasher explained.
Ellie shook her head.“This isn’t what I signed up for.”
“You didn’t sign up for anything,” Dasher said.“And I’m not dragging you into a war.But I’m not letting you go back to that unit alone either.”
Her expression was unreadable for a second, then softened.“You always were the protector.”
“Still am,” he told her.
They drove back in silence.Ellie dropped her cup into the car’s holder with more force than necessary.“What are we even doing, Dasher?”
“Working together,” he said.“Getting this drive done.”
