Freedom to Ride (Ravens MC) Page 9

  “Oi,” she said, nudging him.

  “You don’t hear me complaining do you? In fact quite the opposite. Feel free to scream my name as loud as you want. Means I’m doing somethin’ right,” he said waggling his eyebrows, making her giggle.

  He rolled off her after sharing a passionate kiss and settled on his side, wrapping his arms around her and entwining their legs.

  “Let’s get some shut-eye. I’m done in.”

  “Good night honey. Thanks again for today.”

  “You’re welcome babe. Anything for you and Holly,” he said, kissing her tenderly before snuggling into her and falling asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

  A few hours later they were both woken by a knocking at the bedroom door and Ethan shouting.

  “Nate. Deanna. You need to get up. Something’s come up and we need to talk to you - now.”

  They jumped awake in confusion. “Alright mate. Just give us a few minutes,” Nate called to Ethan.

  “Does that mean there’s something wrong?” she asked worriedly.

  “I don’t know. Let’s go and see what he wants.”

  Quickly getting dressed they walked into the living room to see Cameron sat on the couch clutching a cup of tea, obviously waiting for them.

  “Good morning. I’m sorry I’ve come this early but I really need to talk to you,” Cameron addressed them both.

  Deanna smiled in greeting and quickly went into the kitchen to get drinks for both Nate and herself, noticing that it was just after six in the morning. Sitting beside Nate she handed him his brew as he smiled his thanks and turned towards Cameron with an anxious expression.

  “Did Holly have a good birthday yesterday?” Cameron said to Deanna.

  “Yes she did. It was a great day. But how did you know it was her birthday?”

  “Because of this,” Cameron said as he pulled something out of his pocket that looked like an envelope. As he held it up to Deanna so she could see it clearly, her heart froze when she saw the front. She would recognise that handwriting anywhere.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered, panicking as her whole body began to shake.

  “Deanna? What’s up babe? Shit. What the hell is going on?” Nate demanded, worried over Deanna’s reaction as he wrapped his arms around her trying to comfort her even though he had no idea why.

  “Here Nate. Open it,” Cameron said and handed the paper to him. As Nate looked down his stomach dropped when he saw the word “Holly” written on the envelope. Opening it he pulled out a birthday card and had a sudden bad feeling of what he’d find written inside.

  HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY HOLLY

  DEANNA - I’LL SEE YOU SOON

  He knew instinctively that this was from Deanna’s psycho ex.

  “How the fuck did you get this?” Nate asked, clenching his jaw as his hands began to shake in anger. Ethan walked over and took the card.

  “It doesn’t say who it’s from,” Ethan pointed out.

  “It’s from her bastard of an ex,” Nate growled as he got up and started pacing, trying to rein in his anger and panic, wondering how the hell he had found them.

  “Lee Walker turned up at the main Police headquarters in the city yesterday to file a missing persons report. As lead detective for the area he was passed to me and I interviewed him. Straight away I knew who he was and who he was looking for. I took his statement and told him I’d look into it. He withheld lots of details and was very sketchy. He stated a friend had spotted you in the Glasgow area and he believed you were suffering from post natal depression, so he was worried about your health and Holly’s welfare. However he refused to tell me who told him you were here and he lost his temper when I said I couldn’t give him any answers straight away. He told me he was staying in the area for a while.” Cameron paused, unsure how the next information would be taken.

  “But . . . there is something else you need to know that I don’t think you’re aware of. After I left here last time I looked into Lee Walker and found that he is actually known to the Police in England. A few years ago, before he was with you, he was arrested in Leeds for assaulting a woman. When I looked into the case I was stunned when I found this photo of the victim.”

  Cameron pulled a photo out of his pocket and held it up for them all to see. On looking at the face in the photo Deanna blanched. The woman was strikingly similar in appearance to Deanna, in that she had the same big red curly hair and green eyes. Deanna raised her eyes and looked to Cameron in dismay.

  “The charges were dropped. Even though the woman involved was seriously injured she was too scared to testify against him. I’m sorry I had to tell you this. I will pass everything I have to Ethan for him and his team to investigate. We’ll keep you updated. I just came this morning to warn you,” Cameron glanced regretfully at Deanna, who was shaking uncontrollably.

  Nate bent and picked her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Thanking Cameron for his concern and nodding at Ethan who gave him a reassuring smile, he walked back into the bedroom and laid her on their bed, lying down next to her. Wrapping his arms tightly around Deanna he whispered comforting words in her ear as she sobbed pitifully into his chest.

  He had never felt so helpless.

  CHAPTER 14

  He laughed when he thought of the dickhead Scottish Police, they had no fucking clue on how to stop him. They would be of no help, he’d find her himself.

  He had finally found her location. It couldn’t be that hard to find where she was hiding in the city.

  All his plans would eventually happen. He just had to have patience. He was closing in.

  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

  Deanna stood staring at Nate’s bike, she absolutely loved it. Her mind wandered as she thought about the bike ride the members were planning up to Glencoe in a few weeks’ time, most of the men and their ‘old ladies’ accompanying them. She was so looking forward to it.

  The past few days had been really tense after Cameron’s visit to break the bad news that Lee had turned up in Glasgow.

  After Deanna had recovered from the shock of discovering Lee was so close by, Nate had sat her down and asked that he be allowed to tell the rest of the club about her ex so that everyone could keep an eye out for him. She had been unsure at first as she got on so well with the lads she didn’t want them to see her as weak and pathetic. Nate had growled at her insisting she was anything but weak. He explained that they needed to know what had happened so they could protect both her and Holly properly. Deanna was fearful but tried putting on a brave face that Nate saw straight through.

  Eventually, after much persuasion, Nate had called an impromptu club meeting for all members, also including Ethan, Megan and Alice. They were all family and cared about Deanna and Holly.

  Throughout the meeting she had held Nate’s and Alice’s hands, both gripping her fiercely, secretly scared they could lose her. Before Cameron left the previous morning he’d handed Ethan a mug-shot of Lee so they could all recognise him if he dared to come around. Deanna didn’t look as she didn’t need to be reminded of what he looked like.

  The whole club had been mad as hell after hearing what she’d been through, most of the men devising cruel and terrifying forms of punishment for her ex. This had cheered her up knowing she had such fierce protectors for both herself and Holly.

  Only a couple of hours ago she had received a welcome surprise, a phone call from Cameron who explained that Lee had returned to the station, but stated that he wasn’t taking the report any further. Lee told Cameron that he was returning to England and would look into things from there. After checking to see that he had indeed returned down South, Ethan’s operative and Cameron assured Deanna that they would continue to keep an eye on Lee’s movements.

  After the call Deanna finally gave herself the kick up the backside she needed and decided that Lee wouldn’t stop her living her new life to the full. As she made her way to the garage to work she passed Nate’s bike and patted it lovingly. She secretly though
t that she loved it almost as much as she loved Nate, the thought making her chuckle.

  Over the next few weeks business at the garage became really hectic. It was now the start of summer and the amount of tourists and customers visiting either the garage or MC clubhouse was non-stop.

  All the members and Deanna worked long hours to cope with the workload. Thankfully Alice brought Holly over to spend time with her in the office, setting up a playpen in the corner. Deanna missed spending time with her daughter and was thankful to Alice as she brought over food for everyone when they worked long into the evenings.

  She also came to fully understand exactly what Ethan’s work entailed at McKnights and the club members’ involvement in the security business. Ethan was a qualified instructor training individuals for the security industry – these included bouncers for nightclubs, night watchmen and bodyguards.

  He had a varied mix of people working for him which included fully licensed PI’s, ex forces and retired policemen. As some of the MC members were trained in similar fields they were able to offer their help. Ethan also had computer experts working for him who handled relevant queries, and were often hired by companies with concerns about the security of their internet servers and networks.

  Nate and Ethan worked together to ensure both the entire compound and house had top security measures in place. They actually installed motion detectors and upgraded the camera security system in the clubhouse, finishing with reinforcing the compound gates. Deanna had complained to Nate that all her problems were causing him so much stress and now financial loss, but he’d reassured her that it had needed doing for some time and benefited everyone, as the compound needed the best security system there was because of the value of the bikes stored there.

  Nate had become even more protective towards Deanna, the tension radiating off him as he felt useless trying to guard her against Lee when the situation was so volatile.

  This was proven one afternoon at the garage. Deanna had been sitting at her desk in the office when Logan knocked on the open door.

  “That dickhead is back to pick up his piece of crap bike. Have you got the invoice ready love?” Logan said. Deanna knew immediately who he was referring to.

  A couple of days before a young lad had come into the compound with a few of his buddies, riding in on a beat up old custom bike his daddy had bought him. His mates had followed driving a ridiculous boy racer car, the spoiler on the back of it would make a jumbo jet envious. He swaggered up to Nate, after seeing his President badge, and demanded he work on his bike. Nate had been patient and polite, even though Deanna’s temper had risen at the way the lad had spoken to him. The boys then all left in the car, its speakers blaring an annoying rave beat. Nate had turned to Deanna stood in the office doorway, smirked and rolled his eyes at their juvenile attitude.

  The lads were now back to pick up the bike and Deanna just knew they would cause trouble before leaving the compound.

  “Yeah, here it is. Do you think he’ll cause a problem?” she said to Logan.

  “Fuck I hope so. I’d love to see Nate knock the wee shite down a peg or two,” he smiled evilly.

  Deanna chuckled in return as she handed him the invoice and got up to watch from the window as Logan wandered over to the lad admiring the bike with his mates surrounding him. Deanna could tell that the boy thought he was the dogs bollocks, obviously acting like the big man in whatever piece of crap area he lived in, he had bully written all over him. Deanna shook her head at their behaviour.

  As Deanna sat back down at her desk she looked up when a shadow blocked the sunlight streaming through the open office door. She sighed inwardly when she saw it was the idiot.

  “Can I help you?” she said politely.

  “Aye darlin’. I need to pay for my bike and was told to come in here.”

  “That’s fine. If you could put your payment card in the machine and type in your pin code when asked,” she said as she showed him what to do, his eyes raking down her body, and she had the overwhelming urge to kick him.

  “Thanks,” Deanna said after he finally took his eyes off her to put in his code. She ripped the receipt from the machine and handed it to him.

  “Here you go. Thank you,” she said as she turned away and returned to her desk. She could sense him standing over her and just as she was about to lift her head in annoyance she heard Logan at the door.

  “Yo. Your bike’s ready when you are. Your mates are waitin’ for you.” Deanna didn’t lift her head as he hesitated before he left the office. Breathing a sigh of relief she glanced up and Logan winked at her from the doorway, obviously guessing she needed rescuing from the dickhead.

  When she looked back down at her desk she noticed the lad’s card still inside the payment machine. Mumbling in annoyance she picked up his card and walked outside to return it to him.

  “Excuse me,” she called and walked towards him as he stood with his friends. “You left your card inside,” she said as pleasantly as possible as she handed it to him.

  “Cheers darlin’. Do you fancy a ride on my bike?” he offered, not thinking she could possibly refuse him.

  “No thank you,” she replied as she turned to leave, but not before she saw his expression change from disbelief at her rejection to anger at showing him up in front of his friends.

  “Oi, biker whore. Don’t turn your back when I’m talkin’ to y . . ,” suddenly he cut off.

  Startled, Deanna turned back around and saw Nate stood behind the lad with his large hand wrapped in the back of the boy’s t-shirt as he held him off the ground, the lad’s feet kicking helplessly as he dangled. Deanna had to swallow her laugh as she saw the lad’s face turn red as he struggled to breathe.

  “Apologise to the lady,” Nate said, his deep voice full of rage.

  “Fuck you. I don’t apologise to a biker slag,” the idiot responded, trying to prove himself in front of his mates.

  Suddenly the lad was flying through the air as Nate pushed him forcefully into the side wall of the office, squashing his face into the glass window.

  “I said apologise. Before I put your fuckin’ head through the window.”

  “So . . . sorry miss,” the lad stammered sheepishly.

  “Apology accepted,” Deanna said, unsure of what else to say.

  “Now get the hell off Raven property. Take your piece of crap bike and eejit mates and don’t fuckin’ come back. This is our place and you don’t disrespect any of our old ladies. Especially mine,” Nate growled menacingly as he felt the lad trembling in his hands.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” the lad shrieked pathetically.

  Nate tightened his hand once more before dropping the lad to the floor. He looked up at Nate towering threateningly over him, the fierce expression on his face looking as if he was still contemplating murder. The lad scrambled to his bike and climbed on, struggling to keep hold of the handlebars as his hands were trembling so much. He tore out of the compound with his friends fast on his heels.

  Deanna watched the whole scene in shock and couldn’t believe it when the lad actually stuck his middle finger up when he was a safe distance away. She laughed at the gesture as she turned and wrapped her arms around Nate’s waist.

  “Thanks honey. Are you okay?” she said.

  “No. I really wanted to kill that wanker. No one ever disrespects you. You’re mine,” he said as he grabbed her hair and kissed her passionately in front of all the members and customers standing in the compound. Deanna heard yelling and whistles all around them but this didn’t bother Nate, he only stopped when they both needed to come up for air.

  Pulling back he gave her a devilish smile, turned and strolled casually away to get back to work. Deanna stood completely stunned until, shaking her head, she walked unsteadily back into the office.

  CHAPTER 15

  “Bloody hell that hurts,” Deanna complained.

  She was lying down in the club’s favourite tattoo parlour in the city centre, having Nate�
��s birthday present put onto her body, silently regretting it when she felt the needle.

  “Nearly done Deanna. It’s looking good,” said Archie the tattoo artist.

  A few minutes later he cleaned the tattoo and instructed her on how to look after it. She walked to the floor length mirror to admire his work. Smiling, she saw it was perfect.

  “I can’t wait to see Nate’s reaction. Makes me want to get one just to see Fraser’s face,” Megan, who’d come to offer her support, said as she admired Deanna’s tattoo.

  Deanna had been thinking about a birthday present for Nate when she remembered his reaction to her asking about getting a tattoo. She knew without a doubt what to get. It was a tattoo of a raven in flight just above her private area and below her belly button, the birds wings lifted up and wrapped around her belly button. She had wanted to get something important to Nate and thought the raven was ideal. The club was so important to him and now to her, it had saved her and Holly from a terrible future.

  As Archie wrapped the tattoo to protect it, her skin still bleeding, she was suddenly worried how she could hide it from Nate until his birthday the next day. His sex drive was unbelievable, often seeking her out through the day for a quickie and would usually only fall asleep after he got some loving. Not that she was complaining. She couldn’t get enough of him and loved how much of an animal he was and how he’d changed her whole attitude to, and enjoyment of, sex. Deanna just had to think of some way of keeping the tattoo a surprise until the next night. All of a sudden she had the answer.

  “Baby, how you feelin’ now?” Nate said to Deanna as he entered their bedroom. She quickly curled into a ball, pretending to groan and rub her head.

  “I’m feeling a little better, but my head is still killing me.”

  Although disappointed he was trying very hard to be understanding and sympathetic. Taking her feet in his hands he started massaging them. His hands were like magic and he often rubbed her shoulders and back after a heavy session of love making.