"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
