Page 18 of Ordinary Girl

Lighting up a cigarette, I walk back across the compound toward the clubhouse. I can hear her, talking to Kasper, although I can’t make out exactly what they’re saying above the roar of Harleys entering the yard, people drifting outside; heavy rock music. The party’s really getting started now.

Reaching the clubhouse entrance, I glance over at Ana and Kasper. She’s leaning back against his bike, takes the cigarette he offers her and draws deeply, blowing smoke up into the air before she hands it back to him. I back up against the wall and watch her for a few seconds more. Did Kasper mention this party to her, when she was last here? I’m guessing so. I’m guessing that’s the reason she’s here again. I’m just not sure this kid’sreally ready for the kind of crazy shit that goes on at these club parties. And this one – this one’s a big one. The Vikings have eight chapters all across northern Europe, and a great many brothers from every one of those chapters has made the trip here, to Denmark, for this gathering. And this girl, she may be a little too green for all this, ’cause if she thinks Kasper is some kind of knight on a Harley, she might want to think again. He’s no knight. And he’s definitely no saint. I’m not sure any of us are.

I finally go inside, and the clubhouse is already crowded, the music loud, a thick fog of smoke hanging heavy in the air. People are starting to spill outside, into the yard, as they always do, and any second now someone’ll light a fire, start a makeshift barbecue, and Elise’ll come out with steak and sausages and homemade pork and beef burgers, it’s the way these things always turn out. The way we like them.

I grab a beer from the bar and look for Skip.

“Hey, Wade, you seen the boss?”

Wade looks up from the stacked red-head he’s attached to. “Still out back, I think.” He takes a drag on a joint the red-head hands him and resumes his position.

I push my way through the crowd, finally finding Skip on his way back to the party.

“Did you know Ana was going to be here?”

Skip frowns. “Ana?”

“Our new accountant’s daughter.”

“She’s here?”

“Outside. With Kasper.”

Skip shrugs. “She’ll be fine. She seems like a sensible kid.”

“’Cause you’ve known her all of, what? Five minutes? You gonna let her mother know she’s here? Didn’t seem like she wanted her daughter hanging ’round this place last I saw.”

“The kid’s twenty-two years old, Joel. She’s old enough to look after herself. Just, y’know, maybe keep an eye on her, that’s all.”

“Now I’m a fucking babysitter?”

He shrugs again. He’s pissing me off now. “Okay.Don’tkeep an eye on her. You’re the one who seems concerned about her welfare.”

“I don’t give a fuck whether she’s here or not, I just thoughtyoumight like to know, seeing as you’re so keen to help her mama. You think she wouldn’t want to know where her daughter is?”

“Like I said, Joel, the kid’s twenty-two. And I need a fucking drink.”

He heads toward the bar, but I wait a second or two before I follow him.

Ana’s leaning against the pool table now, swigging beer from the bottle, talking to Kasper, until he’s called over by Skip, leaving Ana alone, although I can see Kai lurking close by, about to make a second attempt at a move on her. Not fast enough. I get to her first.

“You okay?”

She turns her head to look at me, frowning slightly. “I’m fine.”

“Something going on with you and our sergeant-at-arms?”

She leaves a beat or two before she answers me. “No. He called me, told me there was a party here tonight and asked if I wanted to come hang out for a few hours, that’s all. Not that it’s any of your business.”

I raise an eyebrow. She’s got a smart mouth on her, this one. Just like her mama. “You exchanged numbers, huh?”

She doesn’t respond to that.

“And you don’t think he’ll want something in return?”

Her clear blue eyes lock on mine. She’s got guts, I’ll give her that much. She doesn’t seem fazed by any of this – any ofus, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

“He knows the score.”

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