Brage & Dinah

by Debra Kayn

  "Who is she?" She shot out of the chair.

  Brage caught her and held her close. Her body trembled. She remembered.

  While she couldn't recall who the woman was, she could feel deep in her bones her desperate need to find her. She remembered crying and begging to see her.

  "You were better off with us." Tony belched. "The son of a bitch owed us."

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. Something major was happening, and she couldn't grasp what it was.

  "Who?" she whisper-screamed. "Who owed you?"

  "Your dad. The fucker double crossed Moroad, but you don't have to worry about that old drunk. He's dead. Moroad takes care of their own. You should be grateful we took you away from—"

  She disconnected the phone and hurled it across the room. Brage's arms came around her. She screamed, snuffing out the words left behind, stabbing her in the heart. The fear, loneliness, and uncertainty of her past consumed her.

  The dirty men wouldn't let her see her mommy.

  Chapter 20

  Brage brushed the hair away from Dinah's face. He'd let her sleep the rest of the day after she'd cried herself into exhaustion.

  She'd refused to talk with him after the shock of information she'd received from the man who'd raised her as her brother. Whatever memories she battled against had won the war. Guilt riddled him, having let her learn about her past from Tony Reed.

  He wondered if she would've been better off never knowing the truth.

  It wasn't hard to figure out from the phone call that Moroad had killed her father and Brad and Tony had taken her and raised her into believing she was their little sister and her parents had died. At that point in the phone conversation, it no longer mattered what the Reed brothers planned for her. They'd ruined any chance at a relationship with her with their web of secrets.

  "Dinah?" he whispered, kissing her forehead. "Wake up and talk to me."

  "I don't want to talk." Her eyes remained closed.

  "Are you planning on going to work?"

  "Is Peer working tonight?" she mumbled.

  "Ja. Holly's going to watch the baby. It'll be good for him to have a break from caring for the child and clear his head." He rubbed her hip above the covers.

  Hating to see her hurting, he wanted to fix everything that made her feel less than she deserved. But she was an adult and needed to make the choices herself.

  To lose what she perceived as family, the people who were supposed to love her, and try to dig herself out of the devastation would happen on her own time. She was a strong woman who'd survived on her own before it was socially acceptable and she'd need to find the strength to forge on with her life, knowing that she had first belonged to a different family.

  "I'll work." She blinked and lifted her head. "Peer needs the help."

  He pulled her into a sitting position. Brad and Tony Reed couldn't kill her giving spirit. She'd spent a lifetime putting who she believed were her brothers first, and even in her darkest moment, she wanted to make life easier for Peer as he struggled with being a single father.

  "Up you go." He pulled her to her feet.

  Wrapping her warm body in his arms, he inhaled deeply when his cock reacted to having her against him. He kissed the top of her head. "Do you want another shower?"

  Earlier, she'd cried hard enough she couldn't catch her breath. He'd taken her into the shower. It was the only thing he could think of to help calm her down. The warm water had worked its magic and relaxed her enough for her to sleep.

  She shook her head. "I'll just get dressed. What time is it?"

  "Six o'clock."

  "Shit." She pressed her hand to her forehead. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

  He let her get ready for work, keeping an eye on her. If she showed any sign of not being able to handle working tonight, he'd take her out of the bar. Even if he had to serve drinks in her place and make an ass of himself, he'd give her that.

  With the ride to surprise Brikken in front of him, he wanted to have everything and everyone at the clubhouse in a good headspace. Nobody could let down their guard. The shipment leaving the Seattle Chapter for Norway needed to go out without a hitch in six weeks.

  With Moroad in chaos and soon Brikken keeping their eye on Slag, they'd have the attention on them, and the cargo would go unnoticed to Norway.

  "Let's go down and grab dinner before you need to leave." He opened the bedroom door.

  She followed him out. "I'm not hungry."

  "You need to eat something." He slipped his hand into hers. "At least try."

  He took her straight to the kitchen. There was leftover food the women had fixed, and he stood back, letting her add whatever she wanted to her plate.

  She glanced over at him. "You're not eating?"

  Heather entered the kitchen. Brage moved out of her way. "I ate earlier when you were napping."

  "He and Roar get to eat first, but since Roar lives away from the clubhouse, Brage gets to be the guinea pig." Heather set out more napkins. "He's always excited when it's my night to cook."

  Brage scoffed. "That's the night I eat at the bar."

  "That was rude." Dinah picked up a fork.

  "He's telling the truth," whispered Heather, laughing softly. "I hate cooking. All the guys know when it's my turn, they can expect a Sloppy Joe type meal. If it can go on a hamburger bun, I'm golden."

  Dinah lifted a piece of bread off her plate. "Who baked the salmon?"

  "Nita. She's also the one who makes the tacos on Fridays." Heather wiped her hands off on her jeans. "I better go change into my uniform. I'll see you at work."

  "See you," said Dinah.

  He took Dinah out to a table, then left her to eat while he checked in with Peer and Holly. In such a short amount of time, it was natural to see Peer with the baby cradled against his chest. He hadn't yet figured out how to multitask with a kid in his arms, but he was taking care of the most important thing in his life.

  Going by the cries during the night, Brage would bet his share of the Slag pot that the baby hadn't slept more than twenty minutes at a time in the crib the guys slapped together upstairs.

  "Did you get any sleep?" he asked Peer.

  "I'm too wired." Peer patted the baby's butt. "When I do get him down, I've spent my time trying to track down Kelli. Her parents haven't heard from her, and she never returned to the Seattle Chapter. I've got Elling working on it now."

  "You'll find her." He held out his hands. "Give me your son and go shower. You've got less than an hour before you have to work."

  Peer handed his kid over and left the room without arguing. Nita, seeing a break when it came, promised to be back in ten minutes.

  Brage held the squirming bundle against his chest and walked around the room to soothe him. "Hey, little warrior."

  The baby rooted against the leather of Brage's vest. He walked over to the display case, holding pictures of current and past members. Swaying from side to side, he hummed, calming the baby.

  Everything about his heritage was contained behind the glass. Pictures of his parents in Norway, their arms wound around other Slag members. Karl, the president of Slag Norway, and his family. Multi-generations from numerous families, all of Nordic descent, dedicated to living their life together.

  The baby's legs curled against Brage's chest. He sang low. A childhood song, he remembered his mother singing to him and his sisters when he was little.

  It'd been a while since he'd felt like singing. The dangers surrounding the club hadn't allowed him to party like the other members.

  Peer's baby quieted the longer he sang. He started the song over, feeling successful at calming the child. A little bitty thing, he would grow up to be a proud man. An honorable man.

  After the fourth time through the lyrics, he started again and turned to walk back to the table and found Dinah standing a few feet away staring at him.

  Not wanting to wake the child, he sang quieter.

  Dinah's eyes welled up, and she walked
away from him. He watched her go to the door and push her way outside. Something was wrong.

  Needing to go after her, he took the baby to Nita, who'd returned to the table.

  Once outside, he found Dinah walking down the alley. He jogged toward her, finally catching up to her before she reached the gate.

  "Hey, hey, hey..." He stepped in front of her. "What happened?"

  Imagining the worst, he held on to her, afraid she'd try and walk out the gate. She was obviously running from something that upset her.

  She swiped at her cheek and looked up into the sky. "I've heard that song."

  "Song?"

  "The one you were singing to the baby." She scrunched her nose. "Not the words, the tune."

  Ah, he'd sung in his native tongue. She wouldn't have recognized the words.

  "Ja. It's a children's song. Baa Baa Black Sheep." He brought her face toward him. "Why are you upset?"

  Her mouth worked in worry. He waited, feeling the struggle going on inside of her.

  "I remember a woman singing that song to me." Her gaze came back to him. "I think it was my mother."

  He softened, bringing her to his chest. "Babe."

  "Tony admitted I have a father who is dead. What if my real mom is alive?" She clung to him. "Why would she let Brad and Tony take me away?"

  "I don't know." He stroked her back. "There are always two sides to every story. You've only heard Tony's side, and he didn't give you much to go on."

  She raised her head. "I need to find out if she's alive."

  "You want to find her?"

  She shook her head. "I don't know, but I need to know if she's been out there all my life when I couldn't remember what happened when I was little. I need to find out why I'm living this way."

  "I'll talk to Elling and see if he can find out anything for you." He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and knew he couldn't mislead her. "You have to realize that there isn't much information to go off of. Your life with the Reed brothers wasn't official. Your birth certificate is fake. They hid that you weren't their blood relative. We don't even know how old you really are. I suspect they've forged documents to get you in school and to keep authorities away."

  "I don't even know who I am anymore." She inhaled a shuddering breath. "You're the only real thing in my life."

  "You'll find yourself." He wiped her cheeks. "You're strong. Beautiful. A hard worker. Smart. Do you need me to go on?"

  She laughed sadly. "No, but thank you."

  He kissed her. "Okay, let's get you inside the bar. Keeping busy will help you clear your head."

  She wrapped her arms around him. "Will you stay at the counter for a little while?"

  "I'll stay as long as you need me." He opened the back door of the bar.

  "I might always need you," she whispered as she walked down the hallway.

  He dropped her off in the breakroom and went into the bar. Sitting on a stool, he used the quiet before the doors opened to text Elling. His confidence that they'd find Dinah's mother low, he then called his parents in Norway, needing to hear their voices.

  Chapter 21

  The Slag gate opened. Dinah flipped the blinker on and slowly pulled the Jeep into the alley.

  "Damnit," exclaimed Monica from the backseat.

  Heather turned in the front seat. "What's wrong?"

  "Joel's outside."

  Dinah peered in the rearview mirror, trying to see what was wrong. Monica undid her messy bun and fluffed her hair around her shoulders.

  "I wanted to surprise him, but he's going to notice right away." Monica sagged against the seat.

  Along with buying a gazillion baby clothes and a portable crib that could be kept downstairs at the clubhouse for Peer's baby, the three of them had stopped at a tattoo parlor before coming back.

  Dinah looked ahead, trying to find Brage in the group of men but couldn't see him in the crowd. In some ways, she'd wanted him to forbid her from running errands with the ladies. Not because she wanted to be kept under lock and key again, but she hadn't been ready to face the world.

  Slag, despite the confusion and caution, provided her with a safe haven. One she needed at the moment.

  She parked away from the line of motorcycles and got out of the vehicle. Stopping at the back of the Jeep, she helped Monica situate her hair in front of her shoulder to hide the new tattoo.

  "Don't move your head and you'll be fine." She reached in and grabbed a few bags. "You're gorgeous. Joel won't even notice."

  "He'll notice," argued Heather. "That man can't keep his eyes off her."

  "Oh, stop." Monica laughed. "He's been distracted by club business lately. Some things do come first."

  Heather hummed as if she disagreed. Dinah held out her arms, clasping the bags in her hand. "Someone hand me the box."

  "Are you on a personal mission to carry everything?" Monica reorganized the back of the Jeep and brought out another sack. "You didn't even buy anything for yourself or get a tattoo on your virgin skin."

  "I don't need anything. I'm a simple girl. Besides, with everything we bought for the baby, my Jeep is packed to the limit." She smiled to soften her words.

  Her heart wasn't into shopping. A private person, she hadn't shared what was going on in her personal life with any of the women. She hadn't wanted them to judge her, or worse, pity her.

  Carrying her load toward the clubhouse, she spotted Joel walking toward Monica with a few men to help them bring in their purchases. The hours spent away from Brage had been hard. She found herself wanting to go back to the clubhouse to be with him. She hadn't expected to have anxiety while being separated from him for a few hours.

  It was as if he was responsible for her happiness and that wasn't like her at all. At least not like the old her. The new her was still a stranger.

  She had no idea what was going to happen in the next minute, and her past was a series of lies. Brage was her foundation through all the changes.

  Viktor held the door open for her.

  "Thank you." She slipped inside and spotted Peer and the baby right away.

  Without disturbing them, she set the packages down at the table. The others came in and piled the items on the floor. Slipping away, she looked for Brage.

  Unable to find him, she approached Roar and Lizzy. "Have you seen Brage?"

  "I think he's in the kitchen." Lizzy gazed around the room. "Look for Coco, and you'll probably find him. She was talking to him earlier."

  "Okay. Thanks." She headed to the kitchen.

  Brage sat at the table near the unused woodstove. Almost to him, she heard the Mhm comments coming from him as Coco and Elling talked. Not wanting to interrupt the conversation, she circled the group and approached him from behind.

  Her arrival hadn't gone unnoticed by Coco. "You guys are back already?"

  "We bought out the baby section at Target." She looked up at Brage when he kissed the side of her head. "Keep talking. I just wanted to let you know I'm back. I'm going to go upstairs."

  "No." He handed her his plate. "Eat."

  Her stomach growled on command. She raised her brows. His lunch looked suspiciously unappetizing.

  She peered closer. "What is it?"

  "Apple slices." Brage grinned.

  "Not that." She pointed. "What's on the toast?"

  "Brunost."

  "What?" She laughed. "Translate."

  "Brown cheese."

  "Hm, I think I'll pass, but I'll take a piece of apple." She plucked a slice from the plate.

  "Open your mouth." He held up the toast. "Try it."

  "Does it stink?"

  He chuckled. "Why would it?"

  "You've never tried Blue cheese, have you?" She leaned forward and bit into the toast.

  Brage studied her for a reaction. She chewed hesitantly, waiting for the taste to come, and when it finally hit her palette, she stopped eating.

  "It's not cheese," she mumbled around the food in her mouth. "It's sweet like caramel."

  Br
age moved to set the plate on the table, and she took the toast out of his hands and sat in the chair. "I'll eat it."

  Halfway through the piece of toast, she asked, "What have you been doing today?"

  "I went for a ride." He placed his hand on her thigh underneath the table.

  She glanced at him. "Did you follow me?"

  "Mhm." He shrugged. "Until you got to the store."

  "I wondered if it was you, but Monica said it was probably Joel."

  "He was with me." Brage wiped a crumb from the corner of her mouth. "Missed you."

  Her stomach warmed. Besides knowing he wanted her sexually, that was the closest to Brage expressing there was more going on between them.

  She kissed him quickly. He summed up how she had felt all day being away from him and it hadn't mattered that he'd followed her to the store. He'd trusted her to come back to the clubhouse and him.

  Self-conscious, she looked up and found Coco and Elling gone from the table and they were alone in the kitchen. She no longer hid her displays of affection from the others, but she also wasn't going to act like Brage's sex partner.

  She finished the toast and apple while enjoying Brage's hand on her leg. The comfort his touch brought her was right up there with him hinting at how he was feeling. He grounded her to the here and now.

  "I'll put the plate in the dishwasher." She got up from the table.

  As she came back to wipe off the table, a loud cheer went up in the main room.

  Slag.

  Slag.

  Slag.

  Having never heard the members shout out as celebration—and it was good— the tone of the men's deep voices surprisingly optimistic left her smiling.

  "What's that about?" She tossed the cloth in the bin for dirty clothes.

  "Don't know." He walked with her to the group surrounding the table with all the packages they'd bought at the store. Brage nudged Rune. "Huh?"

  "Peer named the kid." Rune grinned.

  Interested in what he'd chosen, Dinah leaned in front of Brage to direct her question toward Rune, and asked, "What is it?"

  "Tyr." Rune nodded in appreciation. "Ballsy name."

  "Ja," replied Brage, squaring his shoulders.