Capturing a Renegade's Heart

by Nicola Jane

  “What’s happening to us, what did that man mean, where’s my daughter?”

  “Fuck you Neve, I don’t owe you an explanation not after what you did to me.”

  “Quit your bitching, you’re still, here aren’t you?” she snapped angrily. Finn strolled towards the exit, his hands casually shoved into his pockets. “I told Ryder that he owed me a woman, what do you think I meant by that Neve?” He stopped by the steps and turned to face her. She pulled herself to stand. “Alice was mine. We were meant to be, and he ruined everything. She died in his fucking arms,” he growled, scrunching his fists into balls.

  “It was you,” gasped Neve, “You were the other man. You pushed her.”

  “Clever girl. It was all because of him. So now I’m taking you, I want him to suffer, to know what it feels like to lose the one person that you love more than anything. I was changing for her, I was going to be a better man.”

  “Don’t you think it was punishment enough, he went to prison for something you did. You killed her.”

  The distant look in Finn’s eyes disappeared and he focussed back to her. “It was an accident and he caused it. Now he’s determined to make my life hell, stealing my shipments, taking my clients, offering my girls work at his strip club. He brought this on so when you get to your new home with your new owner, think back to this and remember that he put you in that situation, he should have left me well alone.”

  “Finn, listen to what you’re saying. I am the mother of your child, are you really going to use me to prove a point to Ryder? What about Harlee?”

  “Harlee is fine. She’ll be happy with Mary.” Neve fell back down onto the bed, sucking in a sharp breath and pressing her hand to her stomach where a pain had formed. She wasn’t sure if she was going to vomit or scream but she pressed her lips together to stop it.

  “No Finn, no, please, please don’t take her away from me. You loved me once, how can you do this?”

  “I loved you and then you ruined it by having her. You should have kept things the way they were.”

  “Think about Alice, would she want this, want you to treat me like this when she wanted you to change and be a better man?”

  Finn stomped towards Neve causing her to crawl backwards on her bed until she hit the wall. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and waited for the blow, but it never came. “Don’t ever speak about her again,” he hissed, close to her face. “Now get dressed, we have to go in five minutes.” She watched his retreating back. Malia and Adelina rushed towards her and wrapped her in a group hug.

  “Oh Neve,” sighed Adelina, “Poor Neve.”

  “I’m fine,” sniffled Neve, “We have to be brave now. When we get a chance, we must run because they are going to sell us tonight to bad men. We can’t let them sell us.” Both girls nodded, stepping back so that Neve could pull on the short black dress that they all wore. “If you get the chance to go on your own then you must take it, don’t stop to help me or they will kill you. Just run, fast.” Adelina repeated the same to Malia who nodded, tears in her eyes.

  The door opened again, and Finn stood at the top, “Let’s go,” he snapped. The girls all took hands and Neve lead the way. They weren’t given shoes or underwear, just the black dresses. As they stepped out on to the gravel drive, Neve winced as the stones stabbed into her bare feet. The black SUV had darkened windows. They climbed into the back and the door slammed shut. The driver then got in to the front followed by Finn.

  “The doors are child locked so don’t get any ideas.”

  ***

  Ryder blew his breath into his cold hands. They hadn’t been here long, but it had begun to rain and the strong wind blowing from the River Thames made the air around then feel much colder than it was. He pulled on the black woollen hat that Griff handed to him. There was no sign of anything happening. They’d chosen a good hiding spot opposite the entrance to the docks. There were containers everywhere and Ryder felt calmer knowing that at least thirty of his brothers were also hidden amongst those containers, all armed and all waiting for his signal.

  Both brothers stilled as their ear pieces clicked to life. “Three Vehicles approaching.” Bear was playing lookout just outside the docks. Two minutes later, three Vehicles turned into the docks and took a right, slowly driving in convoy. They waited until they were out of sight before Griff tapped his shoulder and indicated for Ryder to follow him in that same direction. They weaved in and out of containers as silently as they could until they spotted the taillights on the third car slowing down upfront.

  Crouching down they waited as the vehicle doors opened. Two security men in dark clothing stepped out first and opened the doors on a container. They reached into one of the vehicles and dragged a female from the back. She was struggling and fighting against them. Ryder went to move forward but Griff placed a hand on his chest, stilling him. He shook his head, “Wait,” he mouthed.

  The guard slapped the girl hard and she screamed. He held her arms behind her back, “Gag the stupid bitch,” he growled, and the other guard stepped forward and proceeded to wrap material around the girl’s face. A second girl stepped from the vehicle, dressed the same as the second but neither looked familiar. It was the third that had Ryder sucking in a breath. Griff pulled his face covering over his nose and Ryder did the same, both crouching into position. By now other men had stepped out into the rain. Some holding umbrellas over others, Ryder assumed these were the ones looking to buy the women, their security ensuring they didn’t get wet. The girls were led towards the container, the first pushed inside.

  Neve saw her opportunity. Adelina was being difficult, fighting against the man holding her. The other security man stepped in to help, leaving Neve and Malia to follow. Neve squeezed Malia’s hand and used her eyes to indicate that she should get ready. She glanced back, Finn was shaking hands with other men, all smiling and greeting each other enthusiastically. She spotted the large man from earlier standing amongst them.

  Neve gave Malia’s hand a small tug and then she turned and ran. Shouting rang out all around them, she felt a hand brush against her and new someone was hot on her trail, but she didn’t dare look back to see and then she slipped, unable to grip anything solid now that the rain had turned the ground into a slippery muddy mess. She hit the ground hard and mud splattered everywhere. She heard laughter as Malia tripped over her, also falling and landing rigid beside Neve. “Shit, shit, shit,” she screamed out in frustration. Finn stood over her, laughing so hard he could hardly get a hold of her. He gripped a hand in her hair and pulled her to her knees. The click of a gun surprised her just as much as Finn, he froze in a bent over position and looked up into the barrel of Ryders gun.

  “Get your hand off my ol’ lady,” he growled, his voice low and menacing. Finn smiled and then released Neve’s hair, taking her throat instead and wrenching her to her feet. He pulled her against his body and pulled a knife from his back pocket. It all happened so fast that Neve didn’t understand what was happening until she felt the blade pressed against her throat.

  “Good evening Ryder, how nice of you to join us.”

  “I wouldn’t do anything stupid if I was you Finn, look around.” Finn hesitated before glancing to his side. Men in dark clothing had surrounded them. Finn knew instantly that he was outnumbered. “Now, let my ol’ lady go.”

  “You’re making a huge mistake Ryder.”

  “Bigger than not killing you the last time I had the chance? I should have chased you down instead of comforting Alice, I should have slit your damn throat.”

  “But you didn’t. Do you know what she told me, what she said before I pushed her?” When Ryder didn’t respond, Finn laughed. “She told me she was pregnant with your fucking kid, pregnant by a scumbag.”

  “She was pregnant?” gasped Ryder. That hadn’t been in any of the reports, Sassy hadn’t said anything either.

  “She came to tell me it was over, she was leaving me now that you and her were out in the open. Stupid bitch, there was
no way I was letting her leave me for you and then, even after all of that you go after my wife. You must like my cast offs.”

  Ryder let that sink in before smiling, “And then you framed me for killing her, knowing damn well you pushed her.”

  “Boo fucking who. You couldn’t just leave it could you. You had to come and try and ruin me. Well fuck you. Have this stupid whore, she’s useless to me anyway.” He shoved Neve towards Ryder and he caught her, gripping her tight to him.

  Suddenly, the place was bathed in blue. Police cars surrounded them. “Armed Police! Drop your weapons,” shouted an officer. Each of them had a red dot trained on them. Neve clung to Ryder, sobbing into his chest. How was she ever going to find Harlee after all of this. “Siren, you have to step away from me,” whispered Ryder, gently kissing her on top of her head. She pressed harder into his chest and shook her head no. “Baby, they aren’t fucking about, they have guns, you have to step away.” He gently moved her away straight into the arms of a female officer who swept her away.

  Officers began to cuff men, the chief of police stood before Griff who reached into his pocket and handed him the recording device. “Well done,” he grinned, patting him on the back. “I’ll be in touch.”

  “I’m sure you will,” muttered Griff. He hadn’t wanted to call in the chief but it was an opportunity to get Finn for what he did to Alice and so they called the Chief and offered him the information with evidence in exchange for help with getting full parental rights for Neve as well as an injunction so that Finn could never contact Neve again without being arrested and locked up. He’d agreed because he’d been trying to pin shit on Finn for so long, hence the dinners and the golf days spent trying to get him on side, he was just waiting for him to slip up.

  “Where’s Neve?” asked Ryder and the Chief pointed to a police car near-by.

  “Ryder, you need to know that we found the house where Neve was kept. Harlee wasn’t there.” Ryder suspected as much. He approached the police car. Neve was holding the other girls and they were sobbing with relief. Neve spotted him and got out of the car.

  “Have they got Harlee?” she asked. He shook his head, his face solemn.

  “They’re working on it Siren. We’ll get her back.”

  “His house maid took her. Her name is Mary. She lost her own child. She looked after Finn when he was a kid.” Neve thought hard, trying to remember anything that could lead her to Mary.

  “Okay baby, okay. I’ll tell the chief. We’ll get her back I promise.”

  ***

  Ryder wrapped Neve in his leather jacket. The mud had dried to her skin, pulling it tight. She stepped from his car and looked at the lights illuminating the club house. It was deserted, most of the guys had headed to get breakfast straight from the docks, leaving Neve, Ryder, Griff, Malia and Adelina to go back and get cleaned up. The chief had been reluctant to let the girls go back with Ryder, they were here illegally, even if they didn’t get here by choice. Ryder promised to keep them safe until the police had contacted their families back in Albania.

  “Siren, go and get a shower. I’ll make you a hot drink. Griff will show the girls where to get showered and he’ll sort them some clothes.” Neve nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. Ryder was worried, she’d hardly spoken since they’d left the docks. He watched her go inside, Griff patted him on the back.

  “She’ll be okay man, she just wants her daughter back.” Ryder nodded, he knew that, but all kinds of things went through his mind. He had a thousand questions, the main one being, had anyone touched her. He’d kill anyone that had laid a finger on his woman.

  Neve got to the top of the stairs. She paused outside Ryder’s bedroom door and then slowly walked to the door of the room where Harlee had slept. She pushed it open, she needed to smell Harlee’s pillow or at least see if she’d left anything, even a stuffed toy. Her eyes widened at Sassy, fast asleep with a small boy huddled into her side. She stepped back, tears in her eyes.

  Ryder was behind her and she hit his rigid body, trying to get away from the scene before her. “Siren, it isn’t what it looks like,” he muttered.

  “It’s fine, it’s fine,” she repeated, swiping at her tears. She moved around him and went into his bedroom. She pulled the dress from her body and threw it towards the trash. Neve caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and gasped. Her body looked frail, she could see her rib bones and her once bronzed skin looked pale and bruised. Ryder stopped in the doorway, the sight of her halting him in shock.

  “Fuck,” he whispered aloud. She spun to face him, trying to cover herself the best she could. “Don’t,” he growled, moving towards her and pulling her hands from her body. “Don’t hide from me, you are beautiful, you’ll always be beautiful to me.”

  “I’m a mess,” she sobbed. “And why the fuck is Sassy in Harlee’s bed?”

  “I don’t know,” he sighed. He thought that Sassy would have left when he’d walked away from her earlier. She never was good at hearing the words no.

  “Did she jump in your bed too?” Neve was angry, not because of Sassy. She was tired and she wanted her baby in her arms. She wasn’t sure why she was sending all her hate Ryder’s way but now she’d started she couldn’t stop.

  “No Neve don’t be fucking ridiculous,” he sighed.

  “Why is she here then?” she screamed. “Why are they in my daughter’s bed?” She began to sob again, and Ryder reached for her.

  “Please baby, don’t do this. You’re tired. You need rest. I’ll explain everything and answer all your questions tomorrow. Go and wash so we can sleep.”

  “How can I sleep, without Harlee it’s impossible. What if Mary took her far away? I don’t know when she took her, they could have left the country. I hadn’t seen her for days.”

  “I don’t know Neve, I don’t know where she is or what she’s playing at taking someone else’s daughter or even being a part of Finn’s fucked up world but without rest you’ll be no good to Harlee when she comes home.” Ryder saw her relent. She sighed and then headed for the bathroom.

  Ryder went back to where Sassy slept and shook her arm hard until she woke. She gave him a sleepy smile. “Hey,” she whispered.

  “What the fuck are you doing here Sarah?” he hissed. She sat up looking confused by his aggression.

  “I told you I’d put Alfie to bed, I wasn’t going to wake him.”

  “You put him in Harlee’s bed,” snapped Ryder.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought your son would be priority over your girlfriends kid,” she snapped back.

  “I want you gone first thing. Harlee is missing and Neve came in here to see you in her daughters’ bed. I’ll be in touch about Alfie and if you start fucking me about with contact then I’ll take you to court. He’s my kid and I deserve the chance to get to know him away from you.” He stomped from the room leaving her to think about what he’d said. He’d tried to be nice, but it had gotten him nowhere.

  Neve was laying on the bed in one of his shirts. He smiled at the image, he’d been dreaming of it since she’d gone. “Were you hurt bad?” she mumbled, referring to his hit over the head.

  “I was in hospital for a few days. Bleed on the brain apparently.”

  “I thought you were dead when you didn’t come.”

  Ryder climbed onto the bed and shuffled close, leaving his clothes on even though they felt damp from the rain. He pulled her to lie in his arms, resting her head on his chest. He breathed in the scent of his shampoo on her hair.

  “Siren, we’ve been trying to find you. Griff’s spent hours making calls and plans to get you back to us.”

  “He took me to a big house. It was just out of London, I think. He had guards with guns and dogs patrolling.”

  “So, he locked you away?” He didn’t want to push her too much but while she seemed willing to talk, he had questions.

  “Not at first. I stole his mobile, but he caught me and then he locked me in a cellar. I didn’t see Harlee after that.” She
began to cry again. Ryder stroked her wet hair, occasionally twisting it around his finger.

  “I wanted to kill him tonight, but Griff talked sense into me. He pulled the guilt card about leaving you and Harlee if I went down for murder.”

  “Griff was right. I need you here.” Her eyes closed and it wasn’t long before her soft breaths tickled against my beard as she drifted to sleep.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Neve, Neve, wake up.” Ryder nudged her gently until she stretched out, groaning as her tight muscles protested. “Griff’s tracked Mary.”

  Neve shot up, untangling herself from the sheets and jumping from the bed. “What are we waiting for?”

  “I think you should stay here Siren, if Harlee isn’t with her it’s another setback and if she does have her, well that could end badly for Mary.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have told me you’d found her. Let’s go.” She began pulling in her clothes. Ryder sighed, he contemplated keeping it from Neve and just taking a drive out there and watching so that he could confirm if Mary still had the little girl but then he thought about how he would feel if something so huge was kept from him.

  It was an hour’s drive, just on the outskirts of London. The house looked abandoned, and it was in the middle of nowhere. No neighbours, no passing cars, just fields and the odd sheep. “Are you sure this is the place?” Ryder asked Griff.

  “Her cell was used at six this morning. It pinged up at this address.”

  “Let’s go take a look then.”