Page 90 of Brage & Dinah

Chapter 36

Dinah sipped the coffeeand 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 the 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."

She nodded against him. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." He put her in the truck.

Roar and Elling rode off toward Eastern Washington on their way to Coeur d'Alene. Using the map app on his phone, he found the directions to Ann Gardiner.

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