Freedom to Ride (Ravens MC) (4 page)

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.

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 showing 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.