Freedom to Ride (Ravens MC) (10 page)

“
Morning Alice. Do you mind watching her? I’ll get her breakfast and then I need to jump in the shower before Nate gets back.”

“
Sure love. We’ll have lots of fun today, won’t we sweetie,” Alice said to a cooing Holly.

Deanna left the room for a quick shower, choosing her clothes carefully as Alice had mentioned that Nate was taking her for a proper bike ride. He
’d taken her around the local area before but they planned to go for a longer ride now the weather had improved.

She was pulling on a pair of black jeans when she heard the bedroom door open. As she stood there in just her black bra and jeans she turned to see Nate leaning in the doorway with a sexy grin as he watched her.

“Do we really have to go out? We could just stay in and have mummy and daddy time,” Nate said, prowling towards her.

“
Sorry Nate. You promised me today and I’m raring to go. What’s that you’ve got hidden behind your back?”

“
Ah, you mean this? This is for today. For you,” he said as he handed her a wrapped package.

Deanna was thrilled as she opened it to reveal a gorgeous black leather riding jacket with lots of buckles and silver zips. Smiling broadly she reached up and grabbed his hair bringing him down for a thank you kiss.

“Thanks Nate. I love it. Does this mean we’re going for a ride?”

“
Aye we are. Be ready in five. I can’t wait to see you on the back of my bike wearin’ that,” he said as he gripped her behind, excitement shining from his eyes.

She sighed as his hands squeezed harder.
“I can’t wait either. I’ve been looking forward to this for ages. Let me finish getting ready and I’ll be out.” She tried to pull away, but he held her close and glanced down at her bra.

“
You look so sexy like this,” he said as he ran his finger down her chest. “Maybe later you could just wear this bra, thong and leather jacket. That would be so fuckin’ hot,” his eyes heating at the idea.

“
If you’re a good boy I might just do that. If you’re really good I might let you do that thing you want to do in the bedroom,” she replied, winking at him as she sashayed away, causing him to growl. She loved his growl.

“
I’ll hold you to that babe.” Smirking he left the room to let her finish getting ready.

Deanna finished dressing, zipping her new jacket over her jumper and pulling on knee length black boots. As she looked in the mirror she felt unsure of herself as this was the first time she
’d dressed properly in biker gear, but she saw the genuine happiness shining in her eyes. With a nod to herself she left the room to say goodbye to Holly and Alice. 

As Deanna closed the front door behind her she turned when she heard the roar of Nate
’s bike as he started the engine. She was immediately aroused when she spotted him straddling his bike, waiting for her.

Nate
’s motorbike was a gigantic deafening machine that he’d personally customised for his height and size. It had the raven MC insignia’s painted on the tank and a Saltire flag on the back. Nate’s bike was actually famous as it had featured in a few popular motor magazines and was the one that got the most attention when parked outside the garage, also being the fastest bike in the MC. With him dressed completely in black, lounging on his massive bike, his hulking dark presence made him quite an intimidating sight. Deanna was ecstatic he was all hers.

As she walked closer she could see the heat in his eyes as he took in her outfit.

“I knew we should have stayed in. How the hell am I supposed to be good with you dressed like that? I’m gonna be hard all day with you wrapped around me. Come here.” He grabbed her face and kissed her passionately, his tongue tangling with hers.

Nate pulled away breathing hard, grumbling under his breath making Deanna laugh, but he winked as he grabbed her helmet off the handlebars and turned to her. He placed it on her head, fastening the clip under her chin. His smile lit up his face as he ran his thumb down her cheek, before trailing it down and then slapping her soundly on her behind, making her squeal.

“Climb on babe,” he said with a wolfish smile as he pulled on his own helmet.

She climbed on behind him and his hands reached back to grab her thighs and pull her closer forward. As she circled her arms around his waist she felt a rumble of approval run through his chest. He gave her hands a squeeze before taking the handlebars and they rocketed down the street.

Deanna closed her eyes with joy at the feel of the thunderous bike as it vibrated under her, arms wrapped around the man she loved, and knew it was going to be a brilliant day.

She felt totally safe with Nate and tried to forget about her past life with Lee, unfortunately underestimating his desire for revenge
.

About fucking time. That pathetic whining cow just managed to get away before getting the exact location of the bitch Deanna. At least he knew the area where she was hiding.

He
’d quickly got on the road to follow the daft cow’s car as she sped towards the Scottish border, so stupid that she hadn’t even checked to see if anyone followed.

He was getting close to the bitch that escaped, hoping to get his hands on her soon. Thoughts of what he would do when he found her filled him with pleasure.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Nate and Deanna were curled up on the couch watching TV, Holly tucked up fast asleep in her cot. Some of their friends had just left after a fun night of drinking.

They were a little surprised to hear a knock at the door so late and Nate got up to answer it to find Ethan standing on the doorstep with a tight expression.

“Hey. What you doin’ here?” Nate asked, but before Ethan could answer he saw a woman cowering behind his brother. He hardly recognised her due to the mass of bruising covering her face.

“
Vanessa. What the hell happened to you? Why are you here?” Nate didn’t really like Vanessa but he was still concerned to see the woman so beaten.

“
Nate, can we come in? You remember Cameron Neilson, don’t you? He’s a detective with Strathclyde Polis,” Ethan introduced as a man appeared who Nate immediately recognised and they shook hands like old friends.

Deanna, worried over why they were here so late, came to stand at Nate
’s side. She wasn’t too happy seeing Vanessa again either but she did feel some sympathy towards her, knowing from past experience the pain she must be in.

Nate introduced Deanna to Cameron as Ethan came forward and engulfed her in a big hug.

“Is this something to do with the break-in we had a few days ago?” she asked Ethan, knowing he had investigated it.

“
Aye, it’s related. Why don’t we come in and explain what’s goin’ on.”

Nate gestured for the three of them to come in, Deanna offering drinks but they all declined as they took their seats. Nate immediately sat beside Deanna and took hold of her hand, a bad feeling troubling him. Deanna noticed Vanessa huddling nervously behind Ethan sitting on the opposite couch, her attitude confusing Deanna.

“Before we start. Nate you need to keep calm as Cameron explains why we’re here and don’t interrupt. Alright?” Ethan spoke directly to Nate making him scowl, not liking where this was going.

Deanna could sense his mood so she moved even closer to try and help keep him calm, Vanessa, noticing her gesture, gave her a cold look. Deanna tried to ignore her as Cameron started to explain.

“Ethan contacted me earlier today and asked me to meet him at his offices. I arrived to find him talking to Vanessa here, who was visibly upset and beaten. Ethan told me of how she received her injuries and it appears that it concerns you Deanna.” Cameron paused as he looked over at Deanna. She was shocked by his admission and noticed that Vanessa looked to be about to make a run for it.

“
Deanna. Vanessa has admitted that Lee Walker, your ex, did this to her,” Cameron explained.

“
What?” Deanna whispered, completely terrified that after all this time Lee had finally found them. She felt Nate tense in surprise at her side.

“
Deanna, he didn’t find her. She did a very stupid thing. She went looking for him,” Ethan answered as he scowled at Vanessa, annoyed by her but trying to remain professional.

“
What the fuck is goin’ on?” Nate growled. His anger towards Vanessa completely paralysing him with the possibility that her actions might have put Deanna and Holly in danger.

Cameron calmly continued, ignoring Nate
’s outburst. “Vanessa admitted to breaking into the office at the garage in order to find Deanna’s previous address. She told me that she was so angry with how you treated her that she wanted payback against the woman who’d destroyed her future. Not realising how dangerous the situation was, she drove to England to Lee’s address. He answered the door and she explained who she was and thought it was his right to know where his ex had taken his daughter. You have to remember she never saw your injuries Deanna when you first arrived. She didn’t know that you’d run from an abusive and dangerous man.” Cameron pointed out in Vanesssa’s defence. Deanna nodded in acceptance as Cameron continued.

“
Apparently he was so enraged when he heard you were happy with another man that he grabbed Vanessa, assaulted her and tried to drag her into the house. He demanded to know where you were. Thankfully they were interrupted by a passer-by and Vanessa was able to escape. She jumped in her car and came straight back here, deciding it was best to tell Ethan what had happened. She knew you had to be told but she was too scared to come and tell you directly,” Cameron finished.

There was absolute silence as Deanna and Nate tried to understand what was happening.

“What the fuck did you think you were doing?” Nate exploded. “Why did you think a woman would run so far from her ex and hide with her daughter?” He shot to his feet, struggling to contain his anger, Ethan quickly getting up to restrain his brother.

“
Do you know what you’ve done? That wanker made Deanna’s life a misery, beatin’ her and neglecting Holly.” Nate had a sudden panicked thought. “Did you tell him where they were?”

“
No, I didn’t. I did mention Scotland but that was all. I promise,” Vanessa whispered, tears rolling down her face.

Nate roared in anger, his hands gripping his hair desperately until he felt a hand touch his side. Looking down Nate saw Deanna
’s terrified face staring up at him. He immediately knelt in front of her and pulled her into a fierce hug as she cried softly into his neck.

“
Sshhh baby. I’m sorry I lost it. That prick will not find you and I sure as hell will not let him hurt you or Holly ever again,” he promised, gripping her face as his thumbs wiped her tears away.

“
I know you will. I just stupidly hoped that he’d forgotten about us by now. His reaction proves he hasn’t.”

Ethan interrupted.
“When Vanessa explained where she got Lee’s address I linked it back to the break in, as Deanna’s file was the only one that’d been touched.”

“
What?” Deanna said confused. Looking to Nate she saw a sheepish expression cross his face. He turned to glare at his brother as he had kept that bit of information from her.

“
What’s he talking about? You told me there had been a break-in but nothing stolen.”

“
I know. There wasn’t anything missing. The only thing we found was your file messed up. We didn’t think it had anything to do with that bastard so I didn’t want you to worry. I asked Ethan to look into it but he didn’t find anything. I put it to the back of my mind, until just now. I’m sorry,” he said, holding her tightly as he worried she might not forgive him.

“
I understand why you didn’t say anything at first but you should have told me. I don’t want you to feel that you have to keep things from me. Okay?”

“
I promise I won’t ever again.”

“
Thank you,” she said, gripping his face and planting a soft kiss on his lips before burying her face in his neck. He pulled her closer into his arms and releasing a sigh she opened her eyes and saw Ethan and Cameron looking on sympathetically. Vanessa however looked angry. She might regret her actions but she still hated Deanna.

“
Right,” Cameron interrupted. “Vanessa is refusing to press charges as she doesn’t want to get anymore involved. So I’ll need to take a statement from you Deanna, if you don’t mind, of your history with Lee. This is just a precaution in case he tries to find you. Vanessa you can leave, the officer waiting outside will take you home.”

Vanessa stood and walked to the door, but before she left she turned back and spoke directly to Deanna.

“I may not like you because you broke my heart taking Nate from me.” Nate snorted at her comment. “But I am sorry for what I did. No woman deserves to be treated like that,” she finished, walking out and closing the door before Deanna could respond.

“
Okay. Deanna, whenever you’re ready,” Cameron asked kindly as he took a notepad and pen out of his pocket.