Page 18 of Romania
Nodding, I smiled up at the cop. “Thank you.”
“These three hold you in high regard, Romania. Thanks for helping keep everyone safe.”
I shrugged. “I only did what any person would.”
“Rommy.” A man with a wicked beard and ’stache walked up. The name on his club vest read Country. He was the president to the Diamond MC. “You’ll come with us. Your family will arrive at our compound tomorrow evening.”
“You got it.” I winked. Facing Cal, Iola, and Jenny again, I gave them a sad smile. “I guess this is goodbye.”
“Not forever,” Cal said quickly. “You’re stuck with us for life.”
Tears sprang to life, and my gaze blurred. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. Does anyone have a pen and paper?” I called. The officer produced one, and I wrote down my number, passing it to my friends. “Call me. Anytime. Love you, guys.” I hugged them tightly before stepping back. With a big wave where I stretched my arm all the way up, I called. “Bye, everyone. Take care.”
There were a lot of farewells before I turned and made my way to the car with Country. I felt dead on my feet, but the excitement of seeing the Diamond MC compound and meeting more amazing people gave me enough energy to keep my eyes open. Plus, I knew I’d be getting food soon, and I really couldn’t wait for that. Just the thought had my mouth pooling with saliva.
CHAPTER SIX
Sleep evaporated, and I stretched on the bed before moaning from how good it felt. Opening my eyes, I took in the room and remembered where I was. With a smile, I did a wiggle at the thought of not waking in that damn stinky shipping container.
Sure, I missed my friends, but I wouldn’t want to go back in time to be with them in there again. And since Cal, Jenny, Iola, and I had all been from Melbourne, we could easily catch up when we got back to town.
I was surprised I didn’t have nightmares or some type of fear over the whole ordeal. Maybe if I were anyone else but myself, I would have. Instead, the positives outweighed anything else I’d been put through. Yes, we went without a lot on the ship, but I knew help would come. I knew we would get out of it because I believed in my family.
And maybe that was what helped keep the fear and nightmares at bay.
Then again, my mind was wired different too.
Sitting, I pushed the blankets away and turned before dropping my feet to the wood floor. It was a little chilly this morning… wait, it was morning, right? I glanced to the digital clock on the bedside table. Nine in the morning. Perfect time to grab some much-needed food. Mum always said I woke hungry like a bear.
Mum. On the boat, I’d missed her and Dad and everyone all the time. They must have been going nuts to find me. I couldn’t wait to see them later tonight. The phone call on the drive to the compound wasn’t enough. I needed to have them in front of me. At least now they didn’t have to worry. Dad trusted the Diamond MC, so I would too.
Though, they’d already made it easy to trust them for coming to the rescue and then taking good care of me last night.
Dusty, Country’s old lady, had fed me when we got to the compound before showing me to a spare room where I crashed big time since the adrenaline had worn off.
Now it was a new day.
A better day because I was free and happy and surrounded by people who were awesome. I couldn’t wait to get to know them. I’d met a few when I’d walked in last night, but I didn’t really take in any faces or names.
I headed to the attached bathroom and took another shower. I’d had one before I climbed into the bed last night, which had felt like heaven. Even now I grinned as I dropped my head back and let the droplets run over my face.
But then coughed and spluttered when some of the water slipped up my nose to run down my throat.
Laughing at myself, I finished washing and then dried off before wrapping the same towel around my hair while I looked through the clothing options. Dusty had given me some items that belonged to a woman named Eve. However, I didn’t feel comfortable wearing someone else’s undies, so I went commando with the wide-legged, black tracksuit pants and a black, tight, long-sleeved, cotton top. With them, I put on nice thick socks.
The fresh clothing felt snuggly and warm. On the boat, we’d had many nights huddled together to try and stay warm from each other’s body heat, so it was good to have that toasty feeling again. The day I’d been taken I’d only been wearing jeans and a tee, which hadn’t been comfortable to stay in for a month.
Removing the towel from my hair, I went back in the bathroom to hang it and brushed my long locks. Dusty had also been a gem to find me a new hairbrush, toothbrush, and toothpaste. She’d asked me if I wanted make-up, but when she saw my screwed-up nose at that offer, she smiled and told me I was naturally pretty without it anyway, which was sweet.
Not that I saw the appeal with my looks. I always thought my eyes and lips were too big. But if people found me nice to look at, I wasn’t going to question them about it.
Once ready, I made my way out of the room and down the stairs. I walked straight into the common room area, which was a lot busier than it had been last night.
“Hey, hi, hello, everyone.” I waved when I came to a stop at the bottom of the staircase. The room went quiet, so I, of course, felt the need to fill that silence. “For those who I didn’t meet— Actually, I was in a bit of a daze last night so I might not remember who I met, which is why I’ll just let you all know, I’m Romania, but you can call me Rommy. My dad runs the Caroline Springs chapter of the Hawks Motorcycle Club in Melbourne, Australia.” When no one said anything, I did. “I’m a mechanic. I like working on cars, but I prefer bikes. I like reading romance books that steam up the pages, and I… am rambling because I’m nervous, sort of, or just feeling like I’m making this more awkward than it should have been. Anyway, thank you for coming to the rescue at the shipping container.” With that, I bowed. I didn’t know why, but I just did it, and when I popped back up, I smiled and shot finger guns.
Kill me now.
“Can someone show me where the food is, please?” I begged.
