She moved her finger along the screen, looking into the faces of children. One hundred and sixty-eight people went missing within three years. Her heart pounded. That seemed like an awfully lot. How can people just disappear without someone noticing?
Had no one looked for her? Tony mentioned her father was killed, but she had to have a mother. The woman in her dreams could be her.
She rubbed her temple, wishing she could remember.
None of the faces looked familiar. The children were not her. It could be possible that she lived in a different state when she was little. If that were the case, it would take her weeks to find records.
In the Clubhouse, a baby cried outside the bedroom.
Frustrated over not finding any answers, she tossed her phone to the bed and walked out of the room. With the majority of the Slag members gone, including Peer, Holly was in charge of babysitting Tyr. The least she could do was check on them and if Holly needed a break, give her one. Staying busy helped keep the tension out of her day.
Holly walked the floor holding the baby. She approached them, peeking at Tyr, whose face was scrunched up like a wrinkly raisin.
"Is he in a bad mood?" she asked over the warbled cries.
"Him and me." Holly bounced him on her shoulder. "I've fed him, changed him, and wound up that little bird toy he seems to like, and he's not having any of it. Nita's better with him than I am when he's cranky, but she's doing laundry with the other ladies, and I don’t want to bother her. Do you want to try and get him settled?"
"Oh, um..." She looked around the empty room. "I don’t know how."
"Just hold him and move around." Holly held Tyr out.
"He's so little." She hesitantly put her arms in front of her. "I've never held a baby before."
"Well, pretend he's a sack of tomatoes that you can't drop." Holly wiped the hair off her forehead. "I'm going to run and go to the bathroom and grab a sandwich. Then, I'll come back and take him from you if he hasn't calmed down."
"What if he doesn't stop crying." She held him close, surprised at how light he was even with a blanket wrapped around him.
"Crying never hurts babies. It only makes adults go insane," said Holly.
Cradling Tyr, she looked down into his upset face. "Okay, little guy. It's you and me. Let's see if you like the way I walk."
She weaved around the tables slowly, swaying side to side the way she'd seen the others do it. His poor little body was like a bundle of heat against her. Cradling him in the nook of his arm, she loosened the tightly wrapped blanket around him.
Catching one of his waving hands, she put her pinky in his palm.
He latched onto her tightly. She stopped moving. His grip was strong.
"My, my, my, you are going to grow up to be strong like your daddy," she said.
Tyr inhaled a shuddering breath and stopped wailing at the sound of her voice. She smiled and held still, letting him look at her.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Tyr." She slowly moved to the nearest chair and sat down. "I'm Dinah. You've got a lot of people here who love you. Yes, you do."
She opened up the blanket all the way and lifted him out and put him on her chest. His head went right to her shoulder. With his body free to move, he kicked his little sleeper covered feet against her.
"Are you trying to walk?" She rubbed his back, inhaling his sweet scent. "You have months before you have to worry about that. Right now, you get to be a baby."
She rocked back and forth in the stationary chair. Proud of herself for getting him to calm down, she was amazed that such a tiny human could make so much noise.
Holding a baby wasn't too difficult. It was like getting a hug.
Holly came back into the room with a plate and approached the table, taking one of the chairs. "He likes you."
"I think he noticed someone else holding him and doesn't know what to do." She laughed softly.
"Do you want me to take him from you?" Holly chewed a piece of her sandwich.
"Go ahead and eat. I'll hold him as long as he's happy with me." Afraid to change what she was doing, she rocked and rubbed, rocked and rubbed.
"Have you eaten dinner?" asked Holly.
"Not yet." She hoped Brage would come back and she could fix them both something to eat. "Do you know when the guys are supposed to return to the clubhouse?"
Holly shrugged. "I haven't heard."
Taking in the sandwich, she asked, "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"I've noticed that everyone here doesn't use two pieces of bread on their sandwich. Why?" She eyed the bread with two slices of tomato on it and a piece of meat. "Is it a Norwegian thing?"
Holly's studied the sandwich. "I don't know. It's how we always eat. There's no reason for two pieces of bread."
"It makes sense, I guess." She rubbed her cheek against Tyr's bald head. "I think he went to sleep. Should I put him down?"
"Do you want to?"
"No," she whispered. "I like holding him."
"Then, that's what you'll do." Holly wiped off her mouth. "Now, it's my turn to ask you a question. Do you love him?"
"Who?" She knew who.
Holly dipped her chin and looked at her under lowered brows. "Brage."
"I..." She looked away from the woman's imploring gaze. "There's a lot going on."
"When isn't there?" Holly sat back in her chair. "I wish I had the days back when my husband was alive. I wouldn't mess around. I'd live every second as if it was the last and do the things that make my heart fuller, instead of worrying about the small stuff."
Guessing Holly's age around forty-five years old, she was surprised to hear she was a widow. "I'm sorry about your husband. I didn't know."
"It's
