Freedom to Ride (Ravens MC) Read online

  He remembered Deanna pathetically sobbing an apology over and over as the familiar burning frenzy flowed through his body. His fists had curled as he swung them into her face repeatedly, cracking her lips. The feel of her blood splatter across his face as her lips split open was pleasurable and his cock had hardened, fueling him to jam his fists into her face again and again until she’d eventually fell to the floor crying out. She had cowered on the floor screaming for him to stop and as she’d tried to grab his foot he’d stomped on her continually until she shut up.

  The near orgasmic feeling that had run through his body at the sight of her bleeding was the only thing that soothed the overwhelming fury he always felt towards her. He had got his breathing under control, returned to the couch and drank himself into oblivion.

  Holding his aching head he swayed as he walked into the kitchen, grabbing a beer from the fridge and sighed as the coolness soothed his dry throat. Burping loudly he rubbed at the sleep crusted in his eyes and stretched, his dirty t-shirt clinging to his sweaty body.

  “Deanna,” he screamed again, getting more pissed the longer she made him wait.

  He stomped back to the couch and slouched down, reaching for the TV remote to watch some footie. He knew Deanna didn’t enjoy the sport so this was just another way to make her life that little bit more unpleasant. But that satisfied thought didn’t last long when after a few more minutes Deanna still hadn’t appeared and no sound was coming from any part of the house.

  Seriously annoyed now, he got back to his feet and stumbled upstairs to the bathroom. He stood having a piss, most of it missing the toilet as he wobbled, the sight bringing a cruel sneer to his face as he pictured Deanna on her hands and knees cleaning it up.

  To clear his head he plunged his head into cold water in the sink and caught sight of himself in the mirror on the wall. As he stared at his reflection he saw sunken cheeks and bloodshot eyes due to lack of sleep and excessive drinking. The slag drove him to this, he wanted to make her life a misery but every time he saw her he fought the uncontrollable compulsion to grab a knife and plunge it over and over into her disgusting body. He really hated that slut.

  “Bitch. Where the fuck are you?” His voice rising as his temper soared he staggered down the hallway, slamming her bedroom door open brutally, the handle embedding itself in the wall. He looked around the room, clenching his teeth and knuckles when he saw that her bed hadn’t been slept in and the little brat’s cot was empty.

  Lee’s temper rose as he scrambled from the room, running down the hallway and throwing open each door and searching the rooms, before stumbling back down the stairs and checking the rest of the house. He couldn’t find them anywhere.

  Throwing cushions aside he finally found his mobile phone tucked down the back of the couch, he furiously thumbed it, struggling to press the correct buttons as his hands were trembling so badly. Finally pressing ‘call’ he waited impatiently to be connected to her number when he heard the recorded voice ‘this number is no longer available’.

  Clenching his jaw, he threw the phone against the nearest wall, howling in madness and watching in satisfaction as it broke into pieces.

  He stomped back upstairs and it was when he was stood in her bedroom panting and sweaty, tugging at his greasy blonde hair, that he noticed the framed photo of Deanna in hospital holding Holly just after she was born was missing from the wall.

  A sudden panicked thought filled his mind as he ran to her wardrobe, sliding the mirrored door open so hard it slid off its runner and fell forward, shattering on the floor. Lee walked inside the wardrobe, pieces of the broken mirror embedded in his feet but not feeling any pain due to his blinding fury. Most of the clothes he had bought her, which weren’t many, were still there but it didn’t look as full as it normally did. He noticed that the small box which usually sat at the back of her wardrobe was gone. He knew this box contained photos of Deanna’s childhood that she’d tried to hide from him.

  It was in that moment he realised that she had escaped him and taken the little shit with her. He stood still, his whole body locked with shock at the nerve of the bitch and the pleasurable thoughts of what he would do to Deanna when he found her again.

  “Deanna. I will make you pay,” he promised, consumed with madness.

  He swung his arms frenziedly and destroyed her bedroom, smashing the furniture and ripping her remaining clothes to pieces, his temper now out of control.

  Minutes later Lee stood panting, blood dripping from his hands and bloody footprints all over the cream carpet. His thoughts filled with plans to find the bitch and to finish what he had promised all those years ago.

  CHAPTER 5

  A steady routine began over the next few days as the girls settled into their new life.

  Deanna and Megan were introduced to the rest of the club members who came and went from the compound each day. She had been delighted when she was first introduced to Bruce’s father, William, so much so that she’d struggled to contain her laughter. William looked so like the characteristic biker that Deanna had always pictured. Nate watched her reaction with a smirk, clearly remembering her comment of him not looking like a typical biker. When William had walked away after an amiable introduction, she fell about giggling, nudging Nate in his side as he made fun of her.

  As she met more of the bikers she began to recognise that most of the older members were the ones with the big beards and even bigger bellies. Deanna enjoyed meeting them as they welcomed her to the club, each pulling her into a hug of man boobs, making her feel like she was cuddling a teddy bear. Each time Nate had winked at her smiling knowingly at their private joke.

  Nate explained that, as it was winter, business was at its quietest at the garage, even though Deanna saw and heard a constant stream of customer’s bikes passing through. She had come to appreciate listening to the roar of the different engines and saw some fantastic bikes, but still considered Nate had one of the best. She wondered just how busy things would become in the summer if this was considered a quiet time.

  Only a few of the men were needed to work at the garage during winter so the other club members just came and went from the compound. Several of them worked with Nate’s older brother, Ethan, covering various duties concerning their city centre security company ‘McKnights’. Some of the members were ex forces and one of the older blokes was a retired police constable, so their skills and experience came in useful.

  If they weren’t needed in the garage or with Ethan they would arrange club business, as a lot of planning was required for the rides that the club took part in throughout the year, especially the charity runs. Nate had told her the charity runs were very beneficial for the club, but the most important to Nate was the charity run for cancer support, which was for his father.

  Deanna became interested with everything that involved the MC and could see the genuine affection between all the men. She admired the members gleaming bikes lined up in the compound that attracted envious looks from passing tourists and customers. All the members wore similar dark clothing and leathers, none of them ever without the club’s leather vest or ‘cut’, bearing the raven MC emblem.

  She came to understand the true meaning of why motorcycle clubs were so popular, the brotherhood and loyalty between them all was obvious and inspiring. Nate was a very busy man, being the President, and every Sunday the whole club held a meeting where they discussed all the businesses, financial issues and any problems that occurred during the week.

  Thankfully Deanna hadn’t witnessed too many women flaunting themselves around the garage, as she understood this was another aspect of the club lifestyle – female biker groupies. Most of the members were happily married with kids and it was rare to see of any of them stray, raising them even more in Deanna’s estimation. However the younger single lads were quite the opposite. Deanna was sometimes surprised seeing a member wrapped around a different woman, or sometimes two women, each day.

  Deanna regularly noticed women s
howing Nate attention but he always remained friendly and polite, keeping them at a distance. Logan had once seen Deanna watching an exchange between Nate and a pretty blonde and had told her that Nate was the most loyal man he’d ever known. He wasn’t interested in flirting like some of the others and took his work seriously. She had been secretly relieved.

  The club had a big get-together at the end of each month at the clubhouse, which often became rowdy. However the club had a strict ‘no drugs’ policy, although there was plenty of alcohol consumed and club hangers-on or dedicated party girls turning up to see who they could hook up with. When fights broke out it was usually between jealous women fighting over a club member, Nate often having to deal with the problem.

  The police were rarely called, the surrounding homes were owned by club members so they never had complaints of noise. As the MC had a good working relationship with the police, especially because of the associated security company and most of the members having some sort of security training, the police trusted the club to handle any problems that occurred, only being brought in when really necessary.

  Deanna had declined to attend the last party night, preferring to stay at home with Holly and Megan, neither of them really into the party scene just yet as they were still adjusting.

  Whilst the men were working all day, Deanna and Megan cleaned and stocked up the house, the lads more than happy for them to do it. Every night the two of them cooked a delicious meal for Nate and Logan, Fraser and Bruce regularly joining them. They were the members who lived nearest to the house and the four men were the closest friends within the club. It was rare for any of the other members to join them at the house in the evenings, most wanting to be with their wives, or ‘old ladies’, and children.

  Many of the men visited the house throughout the day, often popping in to say hello and play with Holly. Deanna could see they were all smitten with Holly, none more so than Nate. Holly absolutely adored Nate, always wanting to be near him.

  Most nights it was Nate, Logan, Bruce, Fraser, Deanna and Megan, who had all become fast friends, relaxing as the men told funny stories of the MC life. The only thing that wasn’t discussed was Deanna’s ex. She knew the men were curious, she just didn’t want them to see her as an object of pity.

  This was the only problem that had been worrying Deanna. She had thrown out her old sim card and ‘phone the morning they’d arrived, but not before a final check for any missed calls or messages. Absolutely nothing. This disturbed her as so much time had passed and Lee must have discovered them missing.

  Because of Deanna’s worry, a couple of days after they’d arrived Megan decided to contact the restaurant they’d both worked at before leaving Leeds. The manager told her that a man had come in searching for Deanna but he’d refused to give him any information, for which Deanna was thankful.

  Deanna made the decision to finally get Lee out her mind as he had no way of finding them. She was moving on, slowly learning to relax.

  As the men, Megan and Deanna bonded together she was slowly regaining the confidence that Lee had taken away, each day feeling more like the woman she used to be. Deanna also noticed Holly was blossoming under all the attention, their new life was good and they were healing together.

  Deanna discovered that Bruce was married and he and his wife were expecting their first child in a few weeks’ time. Logan was seeing a local girl, Heather, who was a vet. She had come to the house one night and was welcomed into the group. She was a shy petite brunette who shared Deanna’s love of animals.

  Not long after arriving Deanna noticed something was going on between Megan and Fraser. Megan had confided, back when they’d lived in Leeds, that the pair had had a drunken night together some days before Megan left Scotland. Now she was back they’d decided to start a relationship, but were nervous of Logan’s reaction.

  Deanna was rather concerned about the girl that all the members referred to as ‘The Bitch’. Vanessa worked in the office at the garage. Deanna had only met her once when she’d gone across looking for Nate to borrow the club’s vehicle, a gleaming big black Mitsubishi Warrior. This had been the first time Deanna had come onto the compound and she had looked around interestedly. There was actually just one building that was shaped in an ‘L’, the office joining the garage and clubhouse together in the middle. Deanna noticed that everything appeared new and well kept, obviously the club was doing very well financially.

  She had spotted Vanessa leaving the office glaring as Deanna stood talking with Nate. She’d walked up interrupting them and wrapped her arms around Nate’s waist. He’d looked uncomfortable and shaken her off, telling her to get back to work. Vanessa had turned a frosty glare on Deanna before stomping off. Deanna could see that she was beautiful, tall and slim with lovely long straight blonde hair. Vanessa was everything she wasn’t.

  Deanna thought at that moment she didn’t stand a chance with Nate as she wasn’t even his type, feeling upset but not understanding how her feelings for Nate could be so strong after knowing him for so little time. When Deanna discovered that the pair had been seeing each other on and off for nearly a year she felt even worse. Logan told her that Vanessa had been pushing Nate for more of a commitment but he wasn’t interested. The lads knew he was going to finish with her but he wanted to do it the right way. Nate knew she could be a nightmare and could cause serious problems and he would also need someone to take over her job in the office.

  One evening, a few days after they’d arrived, Deanna was curled up on the couch watching her now favourite TV programme based on an American motorcycle club, when Nate walked in. It was late and the others had already gone to bed, Holly fast asleep in her cot.

  “Mind if I join you?” said Nate.

  “No, not at all. It’s your home.”

  Nate sprawled on the couch next to her, his huge body taking up a large amount of space and Deanna could feel his body heat fill her side.

  “How you settlin’ in? Do you think you’ll stay?”

  “I love it here. My dad was Scottish so I always felt Scotland was my second home. I never want to leave and I know Holly has settled in brilliantly.”

  “That’s good,” he replied distractedly as he sipped his whisky. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes as they both tried to concentrate on the television programme.

  “You watched this one before?”

  “Yeah. Megan bought me the DVD’s after she’d mentioned we’d be living here. I needed to do some research so I understood what I was getting myself into. Thanks to her I’m absolutely addicted.” Her comment made Nate laugh.

  “You like bikers then, Deanna?”

  “Hmm . . . now I do,” she replied, peeking at him from the corner of her eye and biting her lip, making him smile.

  His expression turned serious. “If you ever want to talk about things, I’m here. I’m a good listener. I can see your injuries have mostly healed, and I hope to hell that bruise has gone from your back. Can’t believe what that fucker had to do to leave such a mark. If I ever get my hands on him I’ll make sure to put exactly the same bruise on his face,” he said, still angry. He’d never get the image of her bruised body out of his mind.

  “He’d deserve it too.” Deanna chewed nervously on her lip. She finally decided to open up to Nate as he’d been a good friend to her since they’d arrived.

  “My situation wasn’t as bad as some other people’s. Thankfully I saw sense and got out of the relationship after he’d beaten me twice . ,” she said, but Nate interrupted her.

  “Once is too many Deanna.”

  “I know. But there are women who stay for years, too frightened to leave. It was months after Holly was born that he started drinking and losing his temper, which would make him attack me. After the second beating I decided I had to get out before it got worse. I knew it would. Lee’s anger terrified me. The things he’d say . . ,” she paused, swallowing thickly as she remembered his harsh insults.

  “Like what Deanna?�
�� he encouraged, knowing she was recalling some horrific memories.

  “He insulted me every day to make me feel inferior. At first he just called me a bitch, but it was his words when he attacked that scared me the most. He threatened that one day I’d piss him off so much that he’d slice me into pieces. When Lee assaulted me I noticed he . . ,” she couldn’t say the words, feeling ashamed and embarrassed.

  “Deanna. You can tell me anythin’.”

  “He. . . erm . . . he became aroused when he beat me. I realised that hitting me brought him pleasure.” She knew her cheeks were red and she buried her face in her hands.

  “Shit, Deanna. The fucker is obviously sick in the head.” He wanted to comfort her but was unsure how she would react.

  She got herself under control and continued. “I knew there was something seriously wrong with him and I couldn’t stay any longer. I worried constantly what would happen to me, but more importantly to Holly. The final days before we left were terrifying. I tried to ignore him whenever he was in the house but he’d follow me. He’d grab me and push me up against the wall by my throat. When he saw I was afraid he’d let me go. It was like he was fuelled by my fear and it made him feel powerful.” Deanna paused. “I hope to hell he just forgets about us. We’re moving on and starting a new life here.”

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that Deanna. Nobody deserves that. I hope the bastard gets what’s comin’ to him. But it’s great having you and Holly here.”

  Deanna noticed that as they’d talked she had unconsciously shifted sideways to look at Nate, their legs pressing together as they looked into each other eyes.

  “Thank you Nate. I really mean it. I’m so grateful for what you’ve all done,” she said, her lip trembling with emotion.