Page 95 of Ordinary Girl

“I had family, in Holstebro. I stayed with them until my sixteenth birthday, and then I left. Packed a bag and sneaked out in the middle of the night, I had to get away. The memories were too raw, too close, I needed something else. Something different. A new life to make me forget the old one. That’s when I came back here, which seems odd, you know? Coming back to the place where it had happened. But it just felt like the right thing to do. I started looking for jobs, finding work wherever I could, anything that could put money in my pocket. I slept in doorways, on park benches, any place that had shelter, and those first few months, they were brutal. I was a fucking mess… But I’d heard about this club, The Viking Bandits. I was working in a café just outside of town when a few of the club members came in: I started asking questions, about the club, and they weren’t too keen on answering them, at first. But they could see something in me. They sensed I needed a place to go, somewhere to stay, even though I never told them as much. They told me to stop by the compound when I finished work, said someone would give me something to eat because it looked like I hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks. They were right. I’d been surviving on scraps from the café; food that had been thrown in the dumpster out back. Which is why I’ll always remember that first meal at the clubhouse – burger, fries and as much soda as I could put away.”

“Is that where you met Skip?”

“He was there, this man who had an aura about him, something that just fascinated me. The way he didn’t judge me, he just listened as I told him what had happened. Told him that I needed a new life, something with purpose, and he understood. He didn’t question me. I never left, after that. And the rest, as they say, is history.”

“Your parents’ house…?”

“They’d had no will, so I was left with nothing. The house was sold and I never thought I’d ever get it back. In those early days it never even crossed my mind that I could even try, I’d been too devastated to take everything in. But when it came back on the market, the club helped me buy it back. And I’ll be forever grateful to them for that, because having that house back… It helped me, you know? And that might sound weird, wanting to live in the house where my parents were murdered, but for me it gave me this odd kind of closure. I don’t expect anyone else to understand, not really, but it doesn’t matter. It helped me. It’s my home, and it always will be.”

She looks deep into my eyes, her fingers trailing over my cheek; my neck. And again, calm floods me. “I can’t believe you had to go through all of that,” she whispers. “I’m so sorry, Joel.”

“This club saved me, Ana. And that’s all I ever wanted for you, too. I wanted this club to save you.”

She smiles; kisses me, her fingers snaking around the back of my neck, touching me so lightly it makes my skin break out in goosebumps. “Yousaved me,” she murmurs, her mouth still resting against mine, and we smile. The connection between us is stronger than it’s ever been, and I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

“I just want you to be happy, Ana. And I know it’s hard, after everything you’ve been through, but I promise you, after tomorrow…” I stop talking, aware that I’ve said too much. But it’s already too late.

“After tomorrow? What’s happening tomorrow?”

I sit back against the tree and drag a hand through my hair. “Justice for your mama.”

I hear her gasp: feel her thigh touch mine as she sits back against the tree trunk.

“You can’t tell anyone else I’ve told you this, Ana.”

“What are you going to do?”

We look at each other. “Do you care?”

She shakes her head and shifts her gaze to the river. “I care aboutyou.”

“I’ll be fine. I can do this shit with my eyes closed.”

“Things can go wrong, Joel.”

I let a beat pass. “We know what we’re doing.” I look at her, but she keeps her eyes out front. “I need you to stay home tomorrow, Ana. Do you hear me? Stay home.”

“Are you warning any of the other club girls?”

“I don’t give a shit about anyone else but you.”

Her gaze meets mine, and there’s a fear in her eyes now. But that passes almost as quickly as it appeared, to be replaced with an icy coldness. She’s putting her walls back up, and I don’t blame her.

“Just do as I say, Ana. For one day. Please. Let us do our job and then it’ll all be over.”

“How do you know that?”

“Trust me.”

“What about my dad?”

I take a breath. Do I tell her any more? Does she need to know? “He won’t get a chance to do shit.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you don’t have to worry about anything.”

She holds my gaze before dropping hers. “I can’t lose you, Joel.”

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