I’m afraid that I have to burst his bubble. “Actually, it was my idea to go out that gate.” He places his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him as we walk past the kitchen and towards the workshop. “Where are we going?”
“I know that the two of you wanted to do more than you did yesterday, so we all decided to go for a ride today as we need a time out.”
I stop. “What about Esmeralda? Don’t you need to find her or try to figure out everything in the book?”
“Tor and Asgar are staying behind to continue looking through the book. We are waiting for info from Celmund in regard to the coordinates, and if there is any connection with anything that we have suspected before or anyone that might work in the building.”
“Does that mean that we will spend the whole day together?” We have had hardly any days alone together, so the fact that I will be with Dane the whole day has just improved my mood considerably.
“Hopefully, unless something happens,” he says as he lowers his head to kiss my lips.
“Come on, we are all waiting here,” Colborn says loudly when Dane lifts his head. Looking over at them, I smile when I see the men on the bikes. Ulrich and Anastasia are just getting onto his Harley. Since being here at the club, I’ve learned to look at life differently. These men have shown me how protective and caring they can be, even if they’re not family.
I’ve seen everyone pull together. Now that we are at war, I’ve noticed how worried they all are about each other. Looking at all of them you would never say how close they all are by the way they argue, or how different each one is, but when living with them, we see how they go out of their way for each other, something that I didn’t see in the life I was living.
Tom phoned me again, to tell me that they had got someone else for the role in the movie and what a bad decision it was not taking it. I know that he’s not happy because he lost out on a big commission with me not taking that role, but I still think it was the best decision I made by not taking it. I’m so much happier now; I feel like I can finally be myself.
I haven’t heard anything from my mother. If she continues with her plan and tries to fight me in court for my money, saying that I’m not fit to make my own decisions, I might have to find a good lawyer as I don’t want this out in the public domain for everyone to know. I still can’t believe that she would do something like she did, or say something like that to me. I mean, we don’t talk much, but I’ve always taken care of her even though she has never been a good mother.
The day she came here was the day that I decided that I needed to think about myself and see what made me happy. This relationship with my mother is toxic to me. I won't stop sending her money every month if she doesn’t decide to take me to court, but if she does, then I will stop the monthly instalments I deposit in her bank account and forget that she’s my flesh and blood. I let Dane guide me to the Harley, taking my helmet from him and placing it over my head.
“Are you ready?” Dane asks when we are both sitting on the bike, the others already pulling away.
“I’m ready.”
I’m more ready than he knows. Now that I’ve decided to retire from being an actress, I need to do something else with my life, I know that as things are now, it will be difficult to do anything, but with time, I plan to start my own nursery. Planting and working with soil have always brought me peace and made me happy. I know that Dane might not like the idea of me being out every day, but it’s better than me being away in some other country filming.
I have money to start the nursery, and make it successful, I will just need to get someone to help me with the office work as I hate paperwork. Looking at Ulrich and Anastasia that are riding next to me, I consider asking Anastasia to help me.
I know that Anastasia worked for a shipping company before meeting Ulrich. Now, besides trying to find ships that might be suspicious for the Elementals to investigate, and see if any women are being trafficked in them, she doesn’t have anything that keeps her busy, and has complained to me more than once that she needs to find something to keep her occupied.
Anastasia and I have become friends. In all the time that we have been together, she has shown me that she is true to what she says, and that she is a true friend. I’ve never had a true friend like I have in Anastasia, and I’m pleased to know that she thinks the same about me.
When Dane turns, I frown when I see that we are riding into the city. I thought that we were just going for a ride, but it seems like we are going into the centre where Dane and Ulrich found us yesterday. A few minutes later we are all pulling up outside the little coffee shop where we met Esmeralda.
Again, looking inside, I see that the place is full. If everyone thinks of sitting inside, it will be a tight fit, as I don’t think they have enough empty tables to accommodate everyone. Dane helps me off the bike, guiding me inside.
“They don’t have enough sitting space,” I murmur, only to feel Dane squeeze my waist gently.
“Dag, Tal, and Einar are joining us later.” Glancing over my shoulder, I realize that he’s right and that the three men have crossed the road and are walking in different directions.
“Are they looking for Esmeralda?” I ask.
“From what you said, it sounds like she knows the coffee shop quite well, which means that she must be staying close by to walk here.” Now that he says that, I remember something I saw on top of the table that I only remembered now.
“I forgot to tell you,” I say as Dane sits on the chair next to me, “Esmeralda had a pamphlet on the table that she took with her of a laundromat,” his back is to the wall as he faces the main door. Colborn sits on my right, then Anastasia with Ulrich next to her. Garth, Haldor and Eirik are sitting before us with their backs towards the door. It is clear that the staff aren’t too thrilled to have so many dangerous looking bikers in a family bakery like this.
“Do you remember the name?” Eirik asks, but I shake my head in denial as I can’t think of what the name was.
A little girl of about three comes to stand next to Haldor.
I smile when I see him tense. It is clear that he is uncomfortable with the attention he is getting from her. The mother starts to call her, but the little girl is so fascinated with him that she doesn’t pay her mother any attention. I signal the mom telling her it’s okay, I can see the uncertainty on her face, but she stops calling her. The little girl lifts her hand and places it on Haldor’s hand. “Pitty.” At her touch, I swear he pales.
“She doesn’t bite,” I inform him.
“Yes, she does, look, she has teeth,” he says softly as if telling me a secret.
I grin. “Well, she thinks you’re pretty.”