by Debra Kayn
"There's a multi-shower in the community room. Only the officers share the bathroom we use. It's a short wait." His gaze wandered away from her. "Give me a few minutes."
She watched him walk away, meet Roar and talk to him quietly. Sighing at the contentment of being a part of the reunion. She enjoyed having the other women for support while he was away, but the best part was having him return to her again.
Chapter 26
"It's too soon to see how Brikken will react to us interrupting their transportation of the chopped motorcycles. I can guarantee they're going to try and change the schedule or go out of their way to take another route, and that will keep them busy." Roar looked around the table in the meeting room. "Normally, they go every six weeks. Slag will send two members to start watching them in four weeks. If we can get any sign that they're planning to move the schedule, we'll give them another visit. If we fail to get a step ahead of them, we're going to have to hit them a different way. Brage will talk to those who will be on the crew to watch them tomorrow."
"Will Brikken members come to the clubhouse to start any shit?" Viktor stroked his jaw through his beard. "We've got the majority of the members living in rentals in the area. We should think about beefing up protection around the block."
"They're not going to have the time to harass us, but we'll stay on high alert," said Brage.
"On to other business." Roar leaned forward and planted his elbows on the table. "Moroad has gone quiet since their visit a couple of months ago. By now, they're hurting without having the extortion money. They are the main reason why we'll remain on alert. They're not a club who is rolling in money, and without that cash flow, they'll rely on the illegal gun trade. I want to revisit the idea of intercepting one of their buys in a couple of weeks. We need to hit them hard and close, to keep them focused on us and not bothering the Seattle Chapter."
Peer, pacing on the far side of the room, said, "Bantorus is still dealing stolen cars out of their Pitnam Chapter. Stealing their money out of the safe never slowed them down over the last six months."
"I'm scheduled to call the Slag Seattle Chapter tomorrow. I'll ask them what the money package looks like that is set to go to Norway. In the meantime, Brage can make the decision whether Marcus or Joel will take a crew up to Pitnam and check to see if any extra security has been put up around the place. As we all know, it would be good to line the crates on the next shipment to Norway." Roar steepled his hands. "Now, I need everyone to listen."
"Our insider has informed me the Feds started a new file on us after the member from Blue was found murdered close to the clubhouse." Roar lowered his hands and sat back in the chair. "While our hands are clean on that crime, we need to make sure we stay tight. Crew leaders, I want you to put one of your seasoned members with each prospect. Toughen them up and make sure they can handle any questions if they are approached by an outsider. Nobody rats us out and lives. Slag was built on loyalty, brotherhood, and respect for our heritage. We are one. Drill that into them and keep us safe."
"Slag," said Elling.
Glenn, Marcus, Aron, Joel, Rune, Viktor, Peer, and Brage said, "Slag."
Roar ended the meeting. Brage stood. When Elling called his name, he hung back while the others left the room.
Elling closed the door. "I wanted to update you on the search into Dinah's past."
"Did you find out anything?" Brage sat back down at the table near Roar, who stayed for the private meeting.
"Not enough." Elling sat between the two men. "I dug deeper into the rumor that her father was a Moroad member."
"What did you find out?" asked Brage.
"I found out there is a hell of a lot of Moroad Motorcycle Club members who've been killed in and out of prison over the last thirty years." Elling exhaled loudly. "The three years I concentrated on that could be around the time Dinah was taken by the Reed brothers, there were a total of eight lost men. Out of those members, three of them were married. That's not enough information because most of those guys don't go through the legal system to get a marriage certificate. Of those three, Moroad is still supporting the widows. We can either try and make contact with them and see if any of them had a daughter stolen, but I'm going off my gut instinct that if the crime against the club were bad enough they murdered one of their own and stole a child from her mother, the club wouldn't be handing out money out of the club's earnings to Dinah's mother."
"Agreed." Brage inhaled deeply, frustrated at the obstacles in their way. The urge to go see Dinah had him shifting in the chair. "Damned situation. I don't know what direction to go in without more information."
"Dinah hasn't volunteered anymore?" asked Roar.
"It's not about if she will or won't, she has no memory of another life with a different family. Just a dream that has always bothered her and never made sense until she came here and we learned about her birth certificate." Brage shrugged. "All she can do is hope the memories come back."
"She's trying too hard," said Elling.
Brage nodded. "It's stressing her out."
"I imagine," muttered Roar.
"I need to go see her." He stood. "Thanks for looking into everything."
"Not a problem, brother." Elling slapped his hand down on the table. "I need a drink."
Brage strode out of the room. He took the stairs two at a time. His inability to take away the pain or provide answers for her weighed heavily on him.
She deserved to know where she came from and the hope that her mother mourned her loss when Dinah was stolen. Like everyone, she wanted proof that someone, somewhere, loved her.
He opened the bedroom door. His heart pounded at the sight in front of him. Dinah sat on the side of the bed, her arms around her middle, and rocked as she cried.
Always strong, even when he'd put her in lockdown and kept her away from others, to see her hopeless and sad broke his heart.
She looked up. The pain in her eyes humbled him.
Before he could get to her, she jumped to her feet. He caught her, and she jerked away from his touch. Giving her space, he tried to wrap his head around what could've gone wrong in the two hours he was away from her at the meeting.
"Babe." He stepped in front of her. "What's wrong?"
"Everything." Her pain turned to anguish. "I need to go to Idaho."
"Why?"
"Because I don't have anything here." She clenched her teeth together and growled. "I've been wearing the same six outfits over and over. My mail slot is probably full back at the apartment. I can't even remember the last time I put gas in my Jeep—God, my Jeep. I love my Jeep. It was the first thing I ever bought myself, and it was used, but it was mine. Now, everything that's mine is gone. Just gone."
"Dinah, you can—"
"Don't tell me what I can do or can't do." She glared at him and finally muffled her scream of frustration, pushing past him and walking out of the room.
He followed her out the door and watched her hurry down the stairs. Perplexed about what was behind her tirade, he jogged after her.
She made it outside before him. In the alley, he looked around and caught the door of her Jeep slamming shut.
Elling stepped into his view. "Marcus picked up the cases of oil this morning."
"Mhm." He gazed across the alley.
"Do you want me to have someone change yours out?"
"Nobody touches my motorcycle." He inhaled deeply. "I'll get around to it."
"Figured you would. I'll be getting around to doing mine later, before the..." Elling walked off giving him half a conversation.
Pushing club business to the side, Brage walked to the Jeep and opened the passenger door. He sat inside, leaving the door open.
A cloud of smoke filled the interior. He stared at the dash of the vehicle, reminding himself that she hadn't started the Jeep, she wasn't leaving.
"Don't lecture me. I know it's bad for me." She flicked the ashes off the cigarette out the window. "I quit. I really did, but it's all too much, and
gum isn't helping."
He looked at her. "I have no room to judge."
"Well, I'm judging myself." She inhaled deeply and let her head fall back on the seat, blowing out the smoke. "Maybe I don't deserve good things. I fought my whole life to prove I wasn't like my brothers. I saw how teachers curled their lips when dealing with them about my grades and activities. Every time I tagged along to the store, I noticed how people skirted around Brad and Tony—I don't know, maybe they were afraid they'd get stabbed or raped. From as early as I can remember, I knew I wanted to be different. I wasn't like them. I wanted an education. I wanted a good job. I wanted to become a mother and be married to the father of my children. All the things that other people had and I didn't."
"You're young, you can still have all that," he said softly.
She took another hit on the cigarette and searched for a place to put it out. He took the butt from her and held his arm out of the Jeep, knocking off the coal and pocketing the filter.
"Maybe." She sighed. "On the outside, at least. But, what about how I feel on the inside?"
He had no answer for her. All he'd known throughout his life was acceptance. While he felt the impact of growing up with a father who was a Slag member and experienced the prejudice against an unconventional lifestyle, he had love waiting for him at home where he was accepted for who he was.
"I'm lightheaded." She closed her eyes for several seconds. "I went without smoking for three months. Time to quit again."
He pulled out a package of gum from his vest pocket and handed it to her. Lately, he'd been carrying a spare around for the times she ran out or was away from the bedroom.
"About going to Idaho—"
"No." She laughed sadly and sobered. "Just forget it. I'm apparently not ready to face everything that will come by returning there."
"Promise me one thing?"
She looked at him and nodded. "If I can."
"When or if you leave, you'll let me help you. You won't go alone," he said softly.
She looked away from him. He snagged her hand and held it between his.
"Don't," she whispered.
He refused to let her go. Instead of pulling away, she squeezed onto him
She turned back around. There were tears in her eyes.
"What do you want from me?" Her dark eyes begged for the truth.
He never hesitated. "You."
Chapter 27
The door opened, and a crowd walked into The Fire Ring. Dinah moved behind the bar and spotted Lizzy picking up the tub of dirty dishes.
"Hey, I'll get those for you." She reached in front of Lizzy and took the heavy item from her.
"What are you doing?" Lizzy laughed, holding her empty hands up. "Trying to take my job away from me?"
"No, of course not." Dinah set the tub near the kitchen door on the rolling cart. "You shouldn't be lifting heavy things right now."
Lizzy's smile softened. "You sound like Roar, but luckily, I'm good to go with my regular routine, which includes lifting the dirty dishes. That's per my doctor's orders, by the way."
"It doesn't hurt me to help out more." Dinah curled her arms and flexed her muscles. "It gets me in shape for when you're off on maternity leave."
Hands grabbed her biceps. "Showing off your guns, babe?"
"Don't knock my muscles." She smiled looking over her shoulder at Brage. "Do you want a beer?"
"No." He turned her around. "I stopped in to tell you I'm taking off for a few hours. I'll be back before the bar closes."
"Okay." She leaned back when he leaned forward for a kiss. "I'm working."
"I don't care." He wrapped his arm around her back and brought her forward. "I want you to be careful while I'm gone."
"I will be." She kissed him quickly.
He continued holding her, amusement lighting his eyes. "Mhm."
She flickered her eyes at him but went back in for a deeper kiss. His hand pressed against her lower back, holding her firmly against him. When he pulled back, she had forgotten where she was and rubbed her lips together. Her cheeks tingled from his beard.
"Later," he murmured.
She blew him a kiss and went behind the bar to shake off the pleasure Brage had left with her. It was late to be out riding. She hoped he and the others were careful.
A customer sat down on the stool. She stepped over in front of him. "What can I get you tonight?"
"Rum and Coke." The man half turned. "Can you bring it over to the pool table?"
"Sure." She grabbed a glass as more customers came in the front door.
It was going to get busy.
"I'll serve the new arrivals." She looked over at Peer, surprised to find he hadn't brought Tyr with him tonight. "Holly watching the baby?"
"Ja." Peer's brows lowered. "He's been fussy ever since I took him to the doctor and he got his shots."
"Ah, poor little guy." She let the customers coming in know she'd be right with them and walked to the pool table.
On the way back, she took everyone's orders. The next hour flew by, and Lizzy started sending the servers on their breaks.
Dinah grabbed a washcloth and scrubbed down the counter while Peer put bottles back on the shelf and out of her way. She enjoyed the nights that kept her busy, and her mind focused.
Peer nudged her arm. "I'm going to take my smoke break and run over and check on Tyr."
"Go ahead. I've got things covered here." She put the rag away.
She'd come a long way since she began working at The Fire Ring. Her arsenal of drinks she could make from memory grew each week. She no longer had to ask where bottles were located or the bar's policies on how to deal with drunks, fights, and food complaints.
Somehow, while her life fell apart, she'd clung to her position at work. The boost of energy filling her came from being proud of herself. She'd powered through the devastating news that the family she thought she belonged to were actually criminals who'd stolen her from her birth family and had murdered her father.
Her reasons for adapting had come about because of Brage. He never wavered in his support. When he should've been disgusted and angry about her coming here for bad reasons, he'd taken care of her and listened.
She slipped her order pad in her pocket. Although his type of caring for her leaned toward the Neanderthal range...or she should say, the Norwegian way. He had kidnapped her.
"What are you smiling about?" asked Peer, having returned from his break.
"Am I?" She touched her cheek, unaware that thinking of Brage showed on her face. "Life is good, you know. Right now. This hour. I can't bet on anything beyond now, but I'm good. Real good."
"You stoned?" Peer narrowed his gaze, studying her.
She laughed. "I don't touch the stuff."
"I liked you better when you stuck to your heavy thoughts."
"What?" She gawked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Peer shrugged. "It was nice to know someone was as miserable as I am."
"You're not happy?"
"I'm happy I'm alive. I'm happy to belong to Slag." He put two glasses on the counter and looked at her. "But I have an ex-girlfriend who walked out of my son's life, and I'm pissed."
"At her?" She stayed close to Peer, knowing he wouldn't want the conversation overheard.
Peer normally wasn't a talker. While he was nice and helped her learn what she needed to know at the bar, their talks always remained about the job at hand. Never personal.
"Kelli's...she's a good woman." He turned his back to the customers and lowered his voice. "I enjoyed her. I respected her. But our relationship was never based on love, and I knew how she felt about children during the times we were together."
She couldn't hide her confusion. "Are you saying Tyr's not your son?"
"I had that thought when she told me she was pregnant and wanted to come back to me." Peer rolled his lips over his teeth and inhaled deeply. "Tyr's mine. One look at him and—"
"He looks like you. Like, exactly like
you," she said, hoping he understood that fact.
He nodded and looked into Dinah's eyes. "I failed my son."
"How?"
"I did not pick a woman worthy enough to be his mother," whispered Peer. "It's not the way we do things, separating a child from his mother, and now my son will hurt for the rest of his life because his mom wasn't strong enough to be in his life."
"Oh, Peer." She swallowed, taken aback by the conviction in his voice.
Peer poured a shot of whiskey and tipped it back. She watched him, making sure he was going to be okay. He'd dumped some heavy shit on her, and she found herself pulled in two different directions, seeing things through Tyr's eyes. Being the kid who grew up without a mom.
Knowing how he felt, and being able to tell another person, her respect for Peer grew to extraordinary levels. For that reason alone, Tyr would be perfectly fine being raised by his father. The man had enough love in him to give to his son.
"Fuck me," muttered Peer.
She rubbed his arm. There was nothing for her to say to help him through his struggles. She had only good thoughts that with time, he would find contentment. He was a wonderful father. So many men would've walked away from the idea of raising a child alone, and he'd only embraced the opportunity.
Peer's drive to give his son the best life possible boosted her acceptance that while she was handed one kind of life, she found herself thrust into a different one entirely. If Peer could figure out how to find contentment and acceptance, she could too.
Coco set two order forms on the counter. "Is it possible to get all of these fast?"
"Sure." She grabbed the first one and glanced at the list of several drinks.
As she poured, she took in Coco's harried expression and loud exhale of air. "Is everything okay?"
The smile Coco shot at her was fake. "Young fools and grabby hands do not make good customers."
"I can take them their orders." She started making the second drink.
"Girl, you're younger than me, and they're on the prowl tonight. I wouldn't do that to you." Coco leaned against the counter.