Chapter Ten

Ryder

Neve grips my hand tightly as we sit outside the head teacher's office. It took me a while to convince her that she needed to be honest about her situation with Finn because she needed a record of the shit he's been doing, in case he does try and take Harlee.

The door swings open and Sissy, or Sarah as she's known to others, pops her head out. Her smile freezes the second she lays her eyes on me and her expression changes to one of shock. I stand, pulling Neve with me. "Hey Sassy," I say with a smile. "Long time."

"Ryder," she murmurs to herself, like she can't quite believe her eyes. She's just how I remember her, only sterner looking. Her red hair is pinned up in a tight bun and her green eyes aren't as bright as they used to be.

She steps to one side and we go into the office. She points to the two vacant seats and we sit. She goes around to her side and lowers graciously into her seat. "What can I do for you?" she asks, not making eye contact with me. A part of me thought she'd be happier to see me, but right now she looks annoyed.

"It's about what Harlee told the teacher yesterday," says Neve.

Sassy opens a paper file. "About her father hitting her?"

"Yes."

"I thought this was cleared up last night?" she asks, fixing Neve with a stern glare.

"I lied," says Neve and Sassy frowns. "I was scared and Finn made me call and lie."

"Miss Lawerance, are you saying it wasn't exaggerated?" Her tone is clipped and Neve reddens with embarrassment.

"Come on Sass," I mutter, "It was hard for her to come here today and say all this," I tell her.

She finally brings her eyes to me. "My name is Miss Hind." I feel the frostiness and smirk. "What is your relation to the child exactly, Ethan?" she adds, quirking a brow.

I sigh and feel Neve's eyes on me. I hadn't told her my real name, until this moment I hadn't thought to. No one uses it but Sassy. "I'm here to support Neve."

"What a good Samaritan," she mutters, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "So, Mrs Lawerence. Are you telling me Harlee wasn't lying and her father did in fact hit her?"

Neve nods, "Yes. I have spoken to him and told him he's not allowed to do that again."

"Does it happen often?"

Neve shakes her head. "No. That was the first time."

"That he struck Harlee," I add in, and Neve lets go of my hand. "You have to be honest," I remind her.

"Should I be concerned that Harlee is in danger?" Sarah asks.

"No," I confirm. "Not anymore."

"She sees her father at the weekends, but I think this has taught him a lesson, he won't hit her again," says Neve.

"Because he won't be having contact alone," I add.

Neves eyes burn into the side of my head. We hadn't discussed it but it's a sensible move. He can't be trusted with her alone. "And you're getting a court order on that, are you?" Sassy asks, making notes in the file.

"It'll be enforced," I confirm and Sassy sighs, looking up to me again.

"By law?" she repeats.

I smirk. "You know how this works, Sass," I say, winking.

She doesn't appreciate it and instead, lays her pen down. "No, I don't. Please explain."

"Look, we can do this, Sassy, we can. I will listen while you yell at me and list all the reasons you hate my guts. But let's not do it right now."

"In front of your new girlfriend?" she asks.

I didn't expect this to be an issue, I'd heard she'd moved on and was now happy with some banking guy. "We're here to talk about Harlee."

"I can leave," says Neve, standing.

"No, you don't need to," I say, groaning at the shit show this is turning into. "Come on, Sassy, I thought I could rely on you to be professional here."

It's a low blow and she scoffs angrily. "Fuck you, Ethan." Neve walks to the door and before I can protest, Sassy adds, "When were you going to tell me you were out?"

"I'm here, telling you," I snap. "Neve, wait . . ." I add.

"Don't you think I deserve a little more respect than you showing up to my office with your new bit of arse?"

Neve leaves, closing the door hard behind her. "Great," I mutter. "Thanks for that."

"What did you expect, a welcoming hug?" Sassy snaps.

"Yes, actually. Haven't you moved on?" I snap. "Isn't that what your last letter said?"

"You refused to see me," she yells angrily. "Was I supposed to just sit around waiting?"

"Yes," I growl. "Yes because you were my ol' lady and that's what you were supposed to do."

She takes a calming breath, staring down at her hands. "Yeah well, I got tired of waiting."

"I'd appreciate you pulling some strings with the whole Harlee situation," I mutter.

"I'm sure you would but I don't do shit like that now, Ethan. I'm all above board and this is a safeguarding issue."

"I'm taking care of it. He won't be alone with the kid again, I promise."

She eyes me for a second. "Fine. I'll note what you've told me today for the record, but you have to make sure he isn't allowed to be alone with her again, even if that means taking him to court. Okay?"

I nod. "I appreciate it."

Neve

I don't bother to wait for Ryder. I'm angry and I don't even know why. Maybe I feel humiliated or maybe I just feel embarrassed. Why didn't he warm me he had a connection to Miss Hind. A deep connection. If she was his ol' lady, they were practically married, and in the eyes of the club, they were married. It just highlights all the things I still don't know about him. Like his fucking name. Why did I assume he was called Ryder? And why didn't he tell me otherwise? I growl out loud and a few passer-by, glance my way warily.

By the time I get home, Ryder is waiting for me outside. I ignore him and unlock the front door, he follows me in. "Well that was a shit show," I snap, tugging my coat off and throwing it on the side.

"You shouldn't have walked home alone. You should have waited outside."

"That's all you have to say?" I yell. "You take me to meet your ol' lady and all you care about is me walking home without you?"

"She's not my ol' lady."

"But she was, right, at some point she was."

"Before I got sent down," he says. "And I misjudged how much she hates me, I thought she'd be happier."

I scoff, "Then it's clearly been a while since you last saw her because she's always like that. A cold, sour faced bitch."

Ryder laughs, "You don't like her?"

"Nobody likes her, Ethan ," I say, arching a brow when I say his real name.

"I should have told you, I didn't think."

"Yah know what, I just need a minute," I say, pinching the bridge of my nose. "To process."

He moves closer, taking my hand and gently tugging me to him. "I'm sorry I didn't warn you and I'm sorry I didn't tell you my real name."

"You said Finn wasn't going to see Harlee alone again," I mutter.

"Do you really want him alone with her?"

"Of course not, but I don't get to decide that, Ryder. He's her dad, I can't just cut him out."

"He hit her. The school are taking it seriously. Sassy-"

"Miss Hind," I cut in childishly.

"Miss Hind," he corrects, "Is letting it rest on file but if he does anything else like this, it'll go to safeguarding."

"You should go," I mutter.

"Don't be mad over this, Neve," he says, sighing. "I'm trying to take care of you both."

"I'm her mother and I make those decisions, Ryder, or Ethan or whatever the fuck people call you," I snap. "Just give me some time to think it over."

He mutters something to himself, before storming out.

Ryder

She's upset, and I get it. But I promised to keep her and Harlee safe and I don't see why she's putting up a fight. I head over to Griff's, I want to keep an eye on Neve's place in case Finn should turn up unannounced.

I try the front door but it's locked. "Fuck sake," I mutter in irritation. Griff's bike is parked up on the driveway so I know he's here. I knock and wait for a few minutes but he doesn't answer so I head around the back. I've asked for a key numerous times, but he refuses to give me one. He likes his privacy which is the reason he decided to rent this place when I got out of prison. He'd spent the last few years as acting president and when I got out he told me he was renting his own space for a few months, being around the men twenty-four-seven had driven him mad. Personally, I like it at the club.

I try the back door and it opens, much to my relief. I head in, but he's not downstairs which makes me think he's probably balls deep in pussy. I grin to myself as I head up the stairs. I need a piss anyway, and I need to know if Mya is in his bed, wondering if her charms had finally paid off.

I stop outside his room to the sound of groans and laugh to myself as I kick the door open. "Taking the afternoon off . . ." I stare at the scene before me, my words hanging in the air.

Griff scrambles to grab a sheet but it's far too late to hide the fact he's fucking another guy. "Fuck, Ryder, how did you get in?" he snaps, wrapping the sheet around himself.

The man on the bed flops onto his back, his semi hard cock fully on show. "Hey, I'm Corey," he says with a small wave.

I glance at Griff for an explanation but he's staring at the ground. "Eric?" I almost whisper. The word feels tight in my throat but it gets his attention, probably because I never use it. "What the fucks going on?"

"I'm sorry," he mutters.

"Sorry?" I repeat. "I don't understand . . . you . . ." I glance back at Corey. "But you like . . . you're not . . ."

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this," mutters Griff.

"Find out what, Griff?" I snap. "Is this just fun or are you . . ."

"I am," he confirms.

I grip the doorframe, hardly believing what I just walked in on. My mind races trying to remember a time when Griff was with a woman. "You're what?" I ask, needing to hear the words.

"Ryder, please," he mumbles.

"Say the fucking words, Griff," I yell and he jumps at my tone.

"I'm gay," he grits the words out angrily. "I'm fucking gay."

I inhale sharply at his confession. I hadn't even suspected. I turn and leave, rushing back down the stairs with Griff yelling for me to wait and talk.

I break out into the fresh air and jump on my bike. I need space. From my brother. From my club and from Neve.

Neve

It's been almost a week since I asked Ryder to leave. Almost a week since I last saw him and almost a week since I last spoke with him. He's ignored my calls and the two text messages I've sent asking if he's okay. And now I'm officially worried, so I knock on Griff's door for answers.

He opens it and I take a step back. He's looking pale and tired. There are dark circles under his eyes and he's missing that annoying grin that's always plastered on his face. "I just wanted to check if everything was okay because I haven't heard from Ryder since Tuesday and it's now the weekend and he hasn't answered my calls." I feel my cheeks redden with embarrassment. I feel like a desperate idiot now I've said the words out loud.

He opens the door wider without a word and heads back inside. I follow to the kitchen where a topless blond guy is sitting drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. He doesn't look like a biker, and I haven't seen him with the guys before and when he looks up to see me, he smiles, only confirming my suspicions because the guys never smile . . . apart from Griff.

"Corey meet my neighbour, Neve," Griff mutters, sitting down at the table. He points to an empty chair and I sit too. "Ryder ain't mad at you," he adds, taking Corey's coffee and sipping it.

"We argued on Tuesday, I asked him to give me space," I confess.

"He's hit the road," he explains.

"What does that mean?"

"It means he's off radar."

"Until when?" I ask, wondering if he does this sort of thing regular.

Griff shrugs and then taking pity on me he adds, "It's not you he's running from. It's me. He found something out and this is his way of dealing with it."

"Or not," mutters Corey.

"So you've spoken to him?" I ask.

"No. He text me to say he's taking some time out."

I push down the hurt feeling his words cause me. The fact he's not even answered me, when I clearly pointed out I was worried, pisses me off. "Well, at least he's okay. Sorry to have bothered you," I say, rising to my feet.

"Why did you argue?" Griff asks.

"I met his ex, Sassy," I tell him.

He gives low whistle, "She's a cold bitch."

I nod in agreement. "I was jealous," I admit, "and I told him I needed space to clear my head. Stupid really," I mutter. Ryder was only trying to help but I was so pissed about the whole Sassy thing, I overreacted. "What did he find out about?" I ask.

Griff gives a small unamused laugh. "He caught me fucking Corey."

I stare back and forth between the pair, waiting for one of them to laugh like it's a joke but when they don't, I say, "Mya will be so relieved, she thought it was her."

Griff laughs, "I told her not to take it personally. If I was into women, she'd be first on my list."

"So Ryder just took off?" I ask, and the pain returns to Griff's face.

"I should have told him. There was no reason not to. The other guys in the club know. But with Ryder being inside, I just never found the right time to tell him. I even took this house so he wouldn't find out." He groans rubbing his tired face. "I fucked up. He hates secrets." He stands as I head for the door. "Look, I'll text him and tell him to call you. It's not fair for him to ghost you like this."

I open the front door, "God no, please don't do that. I don't want the pity text. Look Harlee is at her father's tonight. Why don't we get together and have a few drinks. There's no reason we can't get along just because your brother is an arse," I suggest. Griff looks like he needs a friend right now, one without balls and tattoos.

Griff nods. "I'd like that, Siren. Consider it a date."