Dinah stared at her clasped hands. He shifted, picked her up, and held her on his lap. He couldn't protect her from the possible hurt if the knowledge of her parents brought out vulnerabilities that she had no idea she had. All he could do was be there for her.
"What if I find out I come from awful people?" she whispered. "What if everything I learn is worse than knowing that Brad and Tony stole me from my parents?"
He put his hand on the middle of her chest. Her heart raced against his palm.
Kissing the top of her head, he said, "Don't let other people's actions define who you are, babe."
Chapter 33
Elling tossed the wrench out from underneath the truck that appeared to belong to Slag MC as a whole. Dinah, leaning against the building, tilted her face toward the sky. The gentle heat of the early morning sun warmed her.
The few hours of sleep she'd received were interrupted by dreams of losing Brage. Whether it was the shock of having him involved in her nightmares or the reality of the emotions she'd experienced, she'd left the bedroom, afraid of dreaming again if she went back to sleep.
He'd given her no reason to worry about breaking up with her. She blamed her troubled thoughts on the fact they planned to leave tomorrow morning for Moses Lake.
The week of waiting went by fast and slow. She was anxious to get it over with and bring her belongings to Portland, and she dreaded meeting with Jeremy.
A cloud moved in front of the sun. She pulled the sleeves of her sweatshirt down over her hands at the loss of heat. If anything went wrong at the meeting, she was afraid Brage and Roar would blame her. Moroad couldn't be trusted. She knew that personally.
Moroad's crime had changed the outcome of her life years ago. Tomorrow could set her in a different direction, and her worry wasn't so much that she would change, but Brage would view her differently once the truth came out about who she was.
She thumped her head against the side of the building. If she could only remember something, anything, before the age of six years old, she could prepare herself for what was to come.
"Oil filter's changed. The truck is all ready for the trip." Elling pushed off the ground and wiped his hands off on his jeans.
She looked up and down the alley, unsure who he was talking to. They were the only two outside during the early hour.
"Um, thanks," she muttered. "I wasn't watching you. I mean, I'm out here, but I'm not worried if the filter is changed. I couldn't sleep."
God, her mouth kept going. Her and Elling had only said a few words to each other. It wasn't like he was asking about her. He was discussing the truck.
Elling leaned against the fender. "You have a good reason."
She looked at him and his gaze softened. While she found Slag MC a tight group of people who relied on each other, they all seemed to know everyone's business.
"You know what's happening tomorrow, don't you?" she said.
"Ja." Elling inhaled loudly. "I'll be along."
That's right. She'd forgotten that he was riding with Roar while Brage was driving the truck with her riding shotgun.
"Moroad killed my father," she blurted.
The accusation tumbled from her mouth before she could take the words back and once free, she realized it wasn't Elling she wanted to tell. She only needed to say the truth out loud.
"I grew up in Slag. My father was a member back home in Norway." Elling took a knife out of his pocket and cleaned under his fingernails. "He was killed by another motorcycle club when I was twelve. When I was fourteen, my mom crashed the car after dropping me off at school. She died instantly."
Caught up in Elling's traumatic past, Dinah could only gawk at him. He'd listed the events as if they belonged to someone else and not himself.
"The thing is, I..." He closed the folding knife, picked up the toolbox, and walked off leaving her alone in the alley.
She stared down the building where he'd last been and wondered if she imagined the whole conversation. He'd stopped in mid-sentence and left without any thought.
Everyone had a story. Some as bad as hers. Maybe Elling, like her, only needed to hear himself talk to remind him of how far he'd come.
Elling seemed happy. At least content. She hoped someday; she'd have moments when her past wasn't a major part of her life.
Having the alley to herself, except for a prospect at each gate, she wandered over to her Jeep. She would've been more comfortable driving her vehicle to Idaho, but there wasn't enough space to bring back her belongings.
She opened the door and sat in the driver's seat. Turning the key, she started the engine and let it run. The Jeep had been her biggest purchase as an adult. Paid for with money she'd earned herself.
The pressure in her chest eased. Brage loved her. She loved him. It was like the devil taunted her through her dreams. She would never leave Brage, and she'd fight and do everything possible to stay with him.
Maybe the dreams about her crying out for the woman she suspected was her mother was also the devil making her life hell. Maybe it wasn't her mom. Maybe dreams had nothing to do with the truth.
She sighed and let her head fall back on the seat. How quickly things have changed.
The passenger door opened and Brage slid into the seat. She rolled her head on the cushion and looked at him.
"We need to stop meeting like this," she said.
"You said you were going down to eat. You weren't in the kitchen."
"I felt like coming outside. It's calm out here. Quiet."
"Mhm." He palmed his thighs and pulled at his jeans,
