Brage & Dinah

by Debra Kayn

Not wanting her to know that not expecting the other club to do something would be foolish, he said, "It's my job to keep you safe. That's what I'll do."

  She turned away from him and stared off into the distance. He pushed away his concern about her emotional state for later. Right now, he only wanted to make sure she physically wasn't harmed.

  "Time's up. We need to roll." Elling walked toward his motorcycle.

  Roar hung back and walked beside Brage as he led Dinah to the truck. "Keep your head, brother."

  "Plan on it." He held on possessively to Dinah.

  At the truck, he put Dinah in the passenger seat and walked around and sat behind the steering wheel. He'd feel better about the situation if he knew why Aldridge volunteered to hand over a crime the Moroad MC committed. The only reason he could think of was that the motorcycle club was desperate for money. In the end, they'd gain back the extortion note for Los Li, while Slag held on to Red and Blue, plus gained the shipment of illegal guns.

  Dinah dug through her bag and pulled out an unopened pack of gum. He drove onto the interstate and squeezed her leg. Worried she'd fall apart when she came face to face with Aldridge, he needed her to keep her head and remember his instructions. It would take all his attention to protect her.

  She looked out the window. "What time is it?"

  Her phone sat on the seat. She made no move to look.

  "Ten thirty. We should be there a little before eleven thirty." He cracked his window and let in some fresh air, hoping it would keep her alert and level headed.

  "Since we're almost there, do you want to tell me the real reason Slag wants me to meet with Jeremy?" She snapped her gum. "I don't believe it's because Slag cares about helping me find out what happened to my parents."

  Club business was never shared with outsiders. Even with him claiming Dinah, she would have to learn that a part of his life would always be separate from what happened between them.

  "It's all about keeping a relationship with the other motorcycle clubs in the area." He removed his hand from her thigh and checked the rearview mirror for anyone following.

  "Right," she muttered.

  As much as she tried to focus on everything but her part in the meeting, he couldn't distract her. She needed to concentrate on getting the answers she needed to put the Reed brothers in the past. If she was going to continue living with him at the clubhouse, she needed to understand that there would be no contact or relationship with the men who pretended to be her brothers for most of her life.

  "This is stupid." She crossed her arms and chewed on her gum faster. "I don't even want to know why Moroad killed my dad. I have enough to worry about without thinking about that when I don't even remember my parents."

  Her opinion differed from his. He was a member of Slag because of his father. His heritage important, he wanted to surround himself with other Nordic people. It was important for the next generation to learn what their ancestors had fought for. The families that were created. The love that was shared. Those things should never be lost but shared from father to son, mother to daughter.

  Until he fell in love with Dinah, he never thought of sharing his life with a woman. He focused on Slag Motorcycle Club. He couldn't see the benefit of involving someone innocent and gentle into his crime-filled life that often became too rough for the strongest men.

  "You can find out the important things. Your name, your age, and maybe it'll lead to finding a part of yourself you never knew about." He glanced over at her and stayed in the right-hand lane. "You might have siblings or aunts, uncles, grandparents, who have no connection to Moroad and live a life you would approve of."

  "Or, I could have a family filled with murderers, felons, and prostitutes." She sighed. "I basically had that with Brad and Tony and look how that worked out."

  There was no convincing her to keep an open mind. He was only pissing her off. And, he could be wrong. Making her meet with the Moroad president could bite him in the ass, and she'd come away wishing she knew nothing about her past.

  He picked up and kissed her hand, holding onto her.

  "I love you." He didn't have to look away from the road to feel the warmth of her gaze on him. She could hold on to him and what they had going between them or she could dwell on her past.

  In his opinion, she'd already done a damn good job of forging her way through life on her own. There was no reason to stop looking toward the future.

  She whispered, "I'm scared."

  "I know you are, babe."

  She went back to looking out the window. He drove, scanning every possible threat out there. He wished he could go back to the clubhouse and lock her in his room to protect her from what was to come.

  Chapter 35

  Jeremy Aldridge, President of Moroad Motorcycle Club, sat on his motorcycle. Dinah pressed her hand to her stomach. She was going to throw up.

  The tension rolling off Brage in the cab of the truck only made matters worse. Throughout the long car trip, she'd changed her mind a dozen times. Then, changed it again.

  Taking her gum out of her mouth, she dropped the tasteless wad into the empty water bottle in the cup holder.

  Jeremy got off his bike and stood. Her heart hammered. In the distance, she noticed two more Moroad members near one of the exits from the empty lot.

  Needing to warn Brage, she said, "There's two—"

  "I see them." He rolled to stop.

  Roar and Elling parked on each side of the truck. She rubbed her hands along the thighs of her jeans. Brage had warned her against grabbing onto him or holding his hand. All she wanted to do was touch him and assure herself he was at her side.

  She understood the caution. He would need to be free to protect himself and her, but she could use the added strength to walk up to Jeremy.

  "At least Tony isn't here. By now, he's probably visited the prison and let Brad know what is going on." She exhaled a trembling breath. "God, I don't want to do this."

  Roar got off his motorcycle and stepped in front of the truck. Brage opened his door and said, "Five minutes and we're out of here regardless if he gives you any answers."

  As he'd warned her about the process for the meeting earlier, Brage walked out. Elling opened her door. Before she could balk at going, she was escorted to the front of the truck and put beside Brage.

  Her legs shook. Telling herself that she'd been around Moroad members most of her life because of Brad and Tony failed to calm her. There was more at risk.

  She wasn't the young girl who stayed in the house when the bikers visited or hid in her bedroom if they came inside. She was now the daughter of a man Moroad murdered. She knew their crime, and she worried they'd rather shoot her than risk her going to the police.

  "Let's go." Brage moved forward, taking her with him. "Stay by my side."

  Her muscles in her chest squeezed the air out of her lungs. As if on a death march, she had a hundred things she'd like to tell Brage before they reached Jeremy.

  He was the only man she'd ever loved.

  He was the first person not to use her in one way or another.

  His acceptance of her made her feel special and safe.

  She never wanted to leave him.

  Brage stopped in front of Jeremy. She stood beside him and raised her gaze. The familiar ratty jean vest on his upper body reminded her of doing laundry for her broth—for Brad and Tony.

  "Thanks for meeting me." Jeremy's gaze went to Dinah. "Do you remember me?"

  Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. She swallowed. Flashes of faces from her past flickered through her mind. She remembered the salt and peppered long-haired man riding over to the house when she lived with Brad and Tony.

  Sometimes, she would see him parked outside the Sterling Building on her way home from school. There were rumors that he ran prostitutes inside the building and she had no doubt it was true.

  Her gaze lowered to his vest. The outline of a pistol in his pocket apparent to her, she hoped Brage knew Jeremy was a
rmed.

  "Yes. I remember you." Her voice barely audible over the pounding of her heart.

  "Your father rode for Moroad when my dad was president, and I was a teenager. When I took over the club, your dad continued to ride for me." Jeremy widened his stance.

  She shook her head. "I don't remember."

  Jeremy was much older than her. She guessed he was around Brage's age.

  "I was serving a seven-year sentence in prison when your father was killed. When I gained my freedom, I learned the Reed brothers were raising you as their little sister."

  Her throat closed. She wanted to ask about her mother and how Brad and Tony were able to take her away from mom, but she couldn't get the words past her lips.

  Jeremy stroked his long beard. "I'm disappointed to learn that it wasn't an enemy who killed a patched member of my club but Brad Reed who pulled the trigger on one of our own. This is new information I gained only recently. I had been under the impression that the Reed brothers were close to your parents and it was a mutual decision to let them raise you."

  Brad was the murderer? She covered her mouth as her stomach rebelled. He'd killed her father?

  "Two night's ago, one of the wardens at the state prison found Brad dead in his cell. He'd hung himself." Jeremy gaze intensified. "We have men looking for Tony, who ran after the shooting on Slag property. As of yet, we're unable to locate him. You have my word that we will find him and he'll pay for his part in stealing a child away from her mother."

  Her knees weakened. Her arm brushed Brage, and she stiffened, keeping on her feet. Jeremy made it sound like they were going to kill Tony. She couldn't make herself say anything to stop him.

  She hated them for what they'd done to her. But she refused to condone murder.

  "I pulled the Moroad records on your dad. His name was Tom Copelan." Jeremy looked at Brage. "I have a piece of paper in my vest pocket that I'd like to give to Dinah."

  Brage removed his pistol and aimed it at Jeremy. "Take it out slowly."

  Jeremy reached inside the pocket and extracted a folded white paper. Elling stepped forward and took the item, walking back and handing it to Dinah. Her hands shook.

  Ann Gardiner

  559 Thompson Street

  She moistened her lips with a dry tongue. "What is this?"

  "It's your mother's address. She moved out of Federal when your father was killed," said Jeremy.

  "Why didn't she stay and look for me? I went to school in Federal." Lightheaded, Dinah reached out for Brage and remembered his instructions not to touch him. "I don't understand."

  "She was told you were killed along with Copelan. Moroad paid to have your father cremated. And, ashes were prepared for her that she believed were also yours. Whether she was threatened into silence or paid off not to go to the police, I couldn't tell you that. She moved away soon afterward."

  "Oh, my God." She gagged and covered her mouth, turning away from Jeremy.

  How could they? She was alive. She lived in the same town all those years and could've been with her mother instead of being raised by Brad and Tony.

  "Does she know about me?" She panted for breath. "Does she know I'm alive?"

  Jeremy shook his head. She closed her eyes at the onslaught of disgust choking her.

  "You can find her at that address. I had one of my men verify that she was still living," said Jeremy.

  She couldn't stand still. Looking at Elling and Roar, she begged one of them to let her leave. She couldn't hold herself together any longer.

  "Is that all you need to know?" asked Brage quietly.

  She nodded and changed her mind. "Why tell me? Why now? Nobody at Moroad cared that I was stolen from my mom or that Brad killed my dad."

  "Those are good questions, huh?" Jeremy inhaled, broadening his shoulders, the soft sound he'd made opposite of his size and demeanor. "I only recently learned you belonged to Copelan when I dug into Tony's background after our visit to Portland, hoping to find him. I was under the impression he and Brad gained custody of you. Once I found out they'd stolen you from your mother, it took me a few weeks to discover how you fit into the picture, seeing how you belong to Slag."

  "Why are you helping me?" she asked.

  Several seconds passed, and she was afraid he wasn't going to answer. He tilted his head, his gaze softening in a harsh, hard face. "I understand what it feels like to be taken from a parent that you relied on to keep you safe and put in a dangerous situation. As president of Moroad and seeing how it was patched members who had done this to you, I wanted to make this right for you."

  "We're done here." Brage stepped in front of her and lifted his chin.

  She walked back to the truck and climbed in, holding the paper with her mother's address in her fist. Her past was straight out of a horror movie.

  Everything Jeremy told her she'd pieced together. Her father was killed when she was a child. Her mother was alive. The little details only made her physically sick.

  "Hang on, babe. We must wait for Roar and Elling." Brage started the truck.

  The three men came together in the empty parking lot. From the cab of the truck, she couldn't hear what they had to say to each other. They could be discussing her or whatever business went down today. Brage wouldn't want to hear it from her, but she believed Jeremy when he claimed to have told her the truth.

  There was something in his eyes. A sincerity that masked a familiar pain. Through the years, she had no reason to ask Brad or Tony about every Moroad member who'd stopped by the house. Whatever personal reason Jeremy had for telling her, he could keep it to himself.

  Roar walked toward the truck while Elling remained behind. A few seconds later, Jeremy got on his motorcycle and rode away. She looked in the distance, and the two Moroad riders also left. Elling waited until the lot cleared, and then he turned and walked to the truck.

  Brage rolled down the driver's side window. "Over?"

  "Ja." Roar glanced at Dinah, his eyes studying her. "Let's hit the Pancake House and get some food and coffee in her."

  "Lead the way, I'll follow." Brage turned the truck around and waited for them to pull onto the street.

  She glanced down at the paper, reading the name again. Her parents had different last names. They hadn't been married. She still had no idea what her real name was.

  Brage picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. She glanced at him. Though he never said a word, he stayed. She inhaled deeper, trying to calm her racing heart.

  Every muscle in her body let her know how tense she was and how hard it had been to go to the meeting. She hurt all over.

  Chapter 36

  Dinah sipped the coffee and stared at her untouched plate of food. Brage cut into the pancakes and lifted his full fork, hoping to encourage her to do the same. Putting some food in her stomach would help her feel stronger after meeting with the president of Moroad.

  For Slag, the meeting had gone down without a hitch. A ten-man crew from Slag had found the drop-off of weapons at the designation in Seattle that Moroad had promised would be there, and they'd handed over the contract with Los Li back to Aldridge for the extortion money.

  Elling pushed his empty plate to the middle of the table and scooted his chair back. "I'll go out and have a smoke, take a look around."

  The restaurant, located in Moses Lake, afforded them a window to keep an eye on the parking lot. Brage scooped the last bite into his mouth.

  "What time do you plan on heading back to Portland tomorrow?" asked Roar.

  He reached over and put his hand on Dinah's thigh under the table. "It'll take us about two and a half hours to get to her apartment in Coeur d'Alene. I should have everything in the truck and secured later tonight. Once we get some sleep, we'll be back on the road, probably late tomorrow morning. If everything goes okay, we'll be back around ten at night."

  Roar lifted his coffee mug. "I still think it would be a good idea if Elling and I stay with you. We can help you pack everything up, get back on t
he road and ride through the night. Dinah can sleep in the truck."

  He'd rather have the company. While Moroad had kept to their word, he wouldn't deny that Slag had taken advantage of them over the past year. He wouldn't be surprised if they attacked. He had Dinah to think about. It would be safer for three men to watch over her rather than one.

  "Ja. I agree." He went with his gut feeling. "With three of us getting her apartment packed up, it'll go faster."

  Dinah raised her gaze and blurted, "I want to see my mother."

  Surprised by the conviction in her voice, he leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Are you sure?"

  "Yes."

  "It might be better to write her a letter. She doesn't know what went down today and has believed for many years that her daughter was killed."

  Dinah shook her head. "If I had a daughter, I would want to know. Not tomorrow, not in a letter, but immediately...no matter how painful or shocking."

  "Babe," he whispered. "You don't know what you're stepping into. You don't know what kind of life she's lived. Let Elling check things out when we get back to the club and find out what kind of woman she is first before you bring more into your life."

  "I can't wait." She grabbed his hand. "Please."

  Brage exhaled and looked at Roar, who shrugged. All he wanted to do was protect her. She could be walking into a situation that was no better than living with the Reed brothers.

  "I'll take you." He hoped he wouldn't regret his decision.

  Dinah passed the address to her apartment on to Roar, handed him the key for the door, and then walked out to the truck with Brage. At the door, he wrapped her in his arms and held her.

  She stiffened before she relaxed against him. His woman was wound up tighter than a top braid.

  He worried today had been too much for her, and she ran off pure emotion on wanting to find her mother. Not knowing what they'd walk into making contact with the woman who believed her daughter was dead or what kind of reception Dinah would receive, it could all turn out to be too much for her to handle.

  "One sign that you're hurting, I'm going to take you out of there." He stroked the back of her head. "I won't allow anyone to put more pain in your heart."