Freedom to Ride (Ravens MC) (12 page)

Each of the members and their families had brought presents for Holly as well as Nate and his family, so the amount of gifts she received was extraordinary. Deanna had no idea where they would all go, but she was very grateful for their generosity.

The only dark cloud that concerned them was the possible repercussions following Vanessa’s antics. Megan had been furious and was desperate to get her hands on her. Most of the members couldn’t accept that someone who was previously linked to the club could do something so stupid. Deanna hoped that Vanessa didn’t show her face around the MC again, unsure of what some of them might say or do, but she was thankful to have such protective and loyal - and sometimes scary - friends.

“
You awake babe?” Nate rumbled. She lifted her head blinking sleepily as he ran his fingers through her messy curls.

“
Unfortunately. God I’m knackered. I had no idea a child’s birthday party was so exhausting,” she said yawning.

Nate smiled.
“Aye, it was. Bloody good day though. It was great having everyone together. Haven’t done that in a while.”

“
Yes it was. Thanks Nate.”

“
For what?”

“
Everything. But the main reason is for letting me turn your manly clubhouse into a little girls pink princess castle.”

Nate grumbled.
“The lads won’t let me live it down for lettin’ you do that. They took the piss out of me saying I should start wearin’ a crown to the club table. Bastards.”

Deanna couldn
’t help but snort with laughter as Nate turned to her in pretend outrage and started to tickle her, making her squeal.

“
You two. Keep it down in there or I’ll come in and join you,” Ethan yelled banging on their door as he passed, staggering towards his own room after just leaving the party. Most of the families had gone home but the celebration was still going as the heavier drinkers stayed behind to have their own party – any excuse.

Ethan
’s comment made Deanna laugh harder as Nate pinned her down and stared at her intently.

“
What is it?” she asked softly, confused by his sudden serious expression.

“
I love you so much Deanna. You’ve changed everything since coming into my life. Will you move into my room with me? Holly can have her own room as she’s gonna need it with all the new toys she got today.”

Even though they were actually living together in the same house, Nate asking for this made their relationship feel like a more permanent commitment and Deanna was thrilled.

“I’d love that. Plus it has its benefits. I won’t have to keep quiet anymore when you know we . . .” she trailed off suggestively, and he raised an eyebrow.

“
Hate to tell you babe but it doesn’t matter where we go, you can’t keep quiet during sex. I’m just too good.”

“
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 1
ST
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.

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 thought 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.