Chapter Fifteen

Ryder

Neve reaches for the pillow and buries her face into it, groaning as I ram into her at a punishing rate. We've spent most of the night like this, wrapped up in one another, and still it's not enough. Arguing with her puts me on edge, I hate the thought of her being upset because of me so maybe this urge is to prove to us both, that we're good together.

I come, growling as the tension leaves me. If I haven't put a baby in her belly by the end of the week, I'll be shocked. I fall beside her and she rolls into my side placing her hand on my clammy chest. "You didn't use protection again," she whispers sleepily.

"Your point?" I ask, grinning.

"I'll get the morning after pill and enquire about getting the pill or something."

I take her hand in mine, entwining our fingers. "That won't be needed."

"Don't you think it's a little soon to be having a baby?" she asks, laughing.

"Nope, I keep telling you that I'm yours and you're mine, what part of that don't you get?"

"We had our first major argument today, Ryder. We practically spilt up."

"We definitely didn't split up, I just let you cool down for a few hours."

"Still, it's a huge commitment."

"Don't you want more kids?" I ask.

She thinks over my words. "Yeah, I've always wanted more. And I guess Harlee is at a nice age now, but we haven't been together long enough. I don't fancy being a single mum to two kids."

"You'll never be single again. Look, If it happens, then it happens. It's Gods wish."

She laughs, tapping my chest playfully. "No, it's us not taking precautions. We're being irresponsible, that's nothing to do with God."

"It's how they did things in the olden days," I say, shrugging. "Stop overthinking it."

"Yeah when women stayed home with ten kids and the men worked in the coal pits. Times have changed."

I roll onto my side and tuck her hair away from her face. "The thought of you pregnant with my kid makes me happy, and ten kids would be amazing."

She laughs again, "Not a chance, Ryder. I will not have ten little Ryders running around in this world, think of the poor women. It's our duty to the world not to produce too many Ryders."

I grin, slapping her backside. "So cheeky."

Somewhere in my dream like state I hear glass breaking. I feel Neve nudging me and then she hisses my name in a desperate whisper. I open one eye. "Huh?"

"I heard a noise," she whispers.

I roll onto my back and check the time. It's four in the morning. I can't hear anything but I throw my legs over the bed and slip my jeans on. I reach into my boot and pull out my knife.

"Stay here," I whisper.

I step out into the hall and listen again. The lights are out and there's no sign of torches or any sounds coming from anywhere. I move carefully, making sure to stay back against the wall. I low thud has me freezing and suddenly, a ginger cat runs past me, confusing me for a second. Neve's never mentioned a cat before. "Ryder, you came?" Harlee stands in her doorway rubbing her eyes sleepily.

I glance back at the stairs where the cat ran, before tucking my knife in my back pocket before scooping Harlee into my arms and going back into her room. "What are you doing up baby girl"? I whisper. "Let's get you back to bed." I make a mental note to ask Neve about the cat.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" she asks as I tuck her in.

"Of course," I promise.

Harlee's expression changes from happy to horrified, in a split second. Then a sharp pain radiates through my skull and the last thing I hear is Harlee screaming and my eyes close.

Neve

I dive up from the bed the second I hear Harlee scream. I'd dressed while Ryder had gone off to check and as I rush towards her room, with my heart thudding in my chest, I call out for Ryder.

I freeze at the sight of Finn holding our daughter who is sobbing uncontrollably, desperately trying to get free. My eyes fall to Ryder and I gasp out loud as I take in his lifeless body. He's bleeding from his head and the crimson fluid surrounds him, soaking into the pink fluffy carpet.

"I told you I was coming, Princess," Finn sneers.

"Give Harlee to me." I hold out my shaking arms, desperately reaching for her but he pulls her tighter into his chest.

"I'm going to tell you exactly what's going to happen next, Neve. If you give me any trouble, I'll take off her fingers one by one, is that clear?" I nod, not daring to argue. A large man appears behind me and I shrink away as Finn passes Harlee to him. She screams and I force a reassuring smile.

"It's okay baby, everything is going to be okay just calm down."

"There's a car waiting for us downstairs. You do anything stupid and I won't hesitate to carry out my threat," says Finn.

"Please, Finn, let me take Harlee. She's upset and if you take her out in this state, the neighbours will hear. Let me carry her and I can keep her calm."

Finn nods his head once and the large man hands Harlee to me. I sigh in relief, squeezing her tight, and pushing her face into the crook of my neck so she doesn't have to look at Ryder anymore. "Shhh," I soothe. "You're okay, mummy's got you."

The large man leads the way and I follow with Finn trailing behind. I pray that for once, Griff is home. I mean, it's unlikely seeing as he's been talking of selling the place. Since he came out to the club, he doesn't need to hide away anymore.

I stare at his house as I slide into the waiting car, but his lights are all out, dashing my hopes. I place Harlee into the child seat and secure her, taking a hold of her hand and gently rubbing it. Finn slides in beside me, gripping my knee. "Good girl," he praises.

We drive for at least half an hour before stopping at the metal gates of a large stately looking house. A man dressed in a suit approaches, opening the gates and we go through.

I get Harlee from her seat, she's fast asleep, probably worn out from all the crying. I follow Finn out of the car and up the stone steps leading to the large door, which opens as we approach. Another man in a suit stands patiently whilst we file in. Finn turns to him, "Dennis, is Mary still around?" The man nods whilst taking Finn's jacket. "Great, have her stay so she can meet my family."

"Very well, Mr Lawrence."

"I'm just going to show them to their room."

He takes the winding staircase, knowing I'll follow. I stare after him in disbelief, he's acting like all this is normal, like he didn't just beat my boyfriend over the head. Tears threaten to fall again when I picture Ryder lying there lifeless.

We stop outside one of the rooms and Finn opens it with a key. He stands to one side, indicating for me to go in first which I do. I stare at the king-sized bed, the white cotton sheets look crisp and fresh and I fight the urge to slide under them and close my eyes in the hope this is all a bad dream. I turn towards the French doors and hope ignites inside, maybe once he's gone, I could climb out of those? He sees me staring and laughs before marching over to them and pushing on them. They don't budge. "They're locked, Neve, do you think I'm stupid?"

"What are you trying to achieve, Finn? I don't understand," I ask as I lay Harlee onto the bed and pull a blanket over her. She doesn't even stir and I pray that by the time she wakes, I've figured a way to get us out of here.

"I just want my family back together," he says with a smug grin.

"Why? You haven't wanted us for years. In fact, I don't think you want us at all, you just don't want anyone else to have us."

"If you hadn't have broken the rules, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"Rules?" I scoff, glancing at Harlee to make sure I haven't woken her. I step closer to him, glaring angrily, "You don't get to lay down the rules when you've left, Finn. That's not how the break-up works."

His smile fades and a darkness takes over his eyes as he grips me around the throat. I close my eyes and concentrate on breathing through my nose. I've learnt over the years that if I don't panic, I can get through this. "The rules were there for a reason, Neve. You belong to me." He shoves me back a step, releasing me. "Now," he says, more calmly this time whilst he straightens his shirt. "Let's meet my staff."

Staff. He has staff? When we were together, we spent all our time in the luxury apartment he owned in London. Now suddenly he has this huge house and fucking staff? I give Harlee one last glance before begrudgingly following him back downstairs.

We go into the kitchen and I almost gasp out loud at the size of it. The units are all white with a marble worktop. The fridge is enormous and right now, none of it's making any sense to me. An older looking lady is sitting at the table sipping a cup of something hot. "Mary, this is my wife, Neve." She smiles tightly, giving a slight nod in greeting.

"Separated," I add, arching a defiant brow.

Finn ignores me and continues, "Mary will bring your meals to your room. The only time you can leave the room is if I am with you."

I roll my eyes, "Are you kidding me? You want to keep me locked away with a five-year-old?"

"Think yourself lucky I've put you in a nice bedroom, and not downstairs," he retorts, pointing to a white door across the room.

I stare at the giant padlock on it. "What's downstairs?"

"Keep asking annoying questions and you'll find out."

Finn makes quick work of showing me the rest of downstairs. The grand living room, the dining room with a table that seats twenty guests. I want to point out that he doesn't have twenty people that would want to willingly sit down to dinner with him, but I stay quiet. By the time he walks me back to the bedroom, I'm relieved to be getting away from him. The house tour was nothing more than a chance to show off, because clearly I won't get to spend time anywhere but in this room.

I wait for him to leave, locking the door, and then I climb into bed beside Harlee and allow myself to break down.

Ryder

I groan and roll onto my side. A searing pain rips through my head and I grip it, feeling my hair is matted. I glance around and see the dried blood around me, immediately sitting up and regretting the sudden move. The room spins and I groan, feeling my head again and running my fingers over the oozing cut. And then my memories hit me like a sledgehammer. Harlee screaming. The cat. And him, fucking Finn. "Neve," I call out, gripping on to Harlee's empty bed and pulling myself on to my knees. I know they're both gone. Of course they are. But I still shout her name again and again as I stand and hold onto the wall for support. I carefully make my way back to Neve's bedroom. It's empty, just like I expected.

I grab my mobile from the bedside cabinet and open the tracking app. It shows Neve's phone as being here, at the house. I growl in frustration. I dial Griff's number.

"Brother, where are you, yah dirty stop out," he answers.

"Griff, I need you," I mumble, sitting on the edge of the bed and gripping my head again. The pain is unbelievable and my vision blurs. "Neve has . . ." I can't think straight and I lie back, closing my eyes. "Brother, I-" And then everything goes black.

The sunrise blazed through the French doors. Not that it mattered, I'd laid here wide awake since Finn left me here. The constant worry over Ryder keeping me tossing and turning. What if he was dead? What if no one found him for days? Would Griff worry if he hadn't heard from either of us? Probably not right away because he'd be giving us time to sort our shit out.

Harlee's eyes suddenly shot open and she instantly began to cry. I snuggle against her, whispering comforting words.

"I want to go home," she says between sniffles.

"Me too baby," I whisper.

"Will Daddy hurt us?" The words cause a lump in my throat, knowing she's terrified of her own father breaks me.

"No sweetie, daddy loves us," I lie. "I think he's just feeling unwell at the minute."

"That big man hurt Ryder."

"He did, I'm sure Ryder is fine though, he's really big and strong."

There's alight tap on the door, followed by the turning of the key and I push to sit up, praying it isn't Finn. Mary enters pushing a trolly. She glances up and her eyes fix on Harlee. "Sorry I didn't realise there was a child."

"This is Harlee," I tell her.

"I'll go grocery shopping later today. I'll bring you a pen and paper to write a list of what she likes."

"I'm allergic to fish," says Harlee, quietly.

"I'll make sure that you don't have any fish, Harlee," she says with a smile. It's the first one she's cracked and it lights up her face.

"Is Finn around this morning?" I ask.

"Yes, he said he'd be up after breakfast." She leaves and I head over to the trolley which is laden with food. I scoop some fresh chopped food into a bowl and give it to Harlee.

"I can eat in bed?" she asks, smiling.

I nod. "Yes. I don't even care if you get it on the sheets."

I watch as she scoffs down the fruit, followed by toast and then yoghurt. At least if she's eating, she's not too traumatised. I, on the other hand, can't touch a thing. I'm sick to my stomach with worry and stress, and all I can think about is how I'm going to get out of this mess.

Twenty minutes later, Finn appears looking fresh and relaxed. I want to punch him in his smug face as he takes a seat by the window. "Good morning my beautiful princesses. Did you sleep well?"

Harlee snuggles into my back, hiding from his sight. He narrows his eyes, "Harlee why are you hiding from me?"

"Are you for real?" I snap. "You scared her last night, she's terrified of her own father."

"Harlee, that was all mummy's fault," he says in a clipped tone. "She broke daddy's rules and I had every right to be angry about that."

"Don't you dare blame this on me," I hiss, feeling Harlee tense. I take a deep, calming breath. "I'd rather not talk about this in front of her."

Finn stands gracefully, going over to the bedside cabinet and taking out an iPad and headphones. He hands it to Harlee who grabs it gratefully, looking at me for permission. I nod, taking it from her briefly to put on her favourite cartoon. Once she's settled, he fixes me with a glare. "No more excuses." I picture diving at him, punching him over and over, wondering if Harlee is distracted enough not to notice me lose my shit. Instead I rolled my eyes in that way I know pisses him off. "Now, rules," he continues with a smirk. "Number one, you can't leave this house. There are guards everywhere, camera's everywhere and windows and doors will be kept locked. If you leave, the guards are instructed to shoot."

I laugh, wondering if he realises how stupid he sounds. "Shoot me? Like with an actual fucking gun, Finn. Do you realise how crazy this all sounds. This isn't a movie, we aren't in America where guns are carried. What kind of world are you living in where you think this is okay?"

"My world," he says with confidence.

I arch a brow. "Your world? Fine. Okay. So if I was to step outside with your five-year-old daughter in my arms, you're telling me your men will kill us?"

"Run outside with her and find out, Neve. I dare you."

I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I feel like I've woken in a different world. Why are you doing this to us, Finn?"

"You're my girls and you belong to me."

"So it's about power and possession. I don't belong to anyone. Not Ryder and certainly not you. You can't own another person, Finn, it's mental. All of this is mental."

"Of all the men in this fucking world you had to fall for that piece of shit. Just like fucking Alice! You have been fucking my enemy. He controls you and you let him so yes, he thinks he owns you, owns what's mine. You gave me no choice but to take you back."

I startle at the Alice comment, he's never mentioned her to me and it sounded so personal. "Ryder doesn't control me…"

"Since we broke up, Neve, we've spoken every single night. He comes a long and that stops. Of course he's controlled you, you're just too stupid to see it."

"Ryder was right, Finn, my life is none of your business. You left us. After that, you only had the right to ask about our daughter."

"Rule two," he continued, ignoring her comment, "If you attempt to break rule number one then Harlee will suffer."

I jump to my feet and he does the same, meeting me chest to chest. "Don't you dare threaten my daughter," I hiss.

Finn grins, running a finger down my cheek, using enough pressure to hurt. "She's our daughter, Neve."

I take a breath and a step back. If I goad him to hurt me, it leaves me weak and I have to be strong for Harlee. I have to get us out of here. I give him a pleading look, "Why can't you just let us go, Finn, and get on with your life?"

"I'll leave the iPad with you for Harlee, there's no internet, the movies are pre-downloaded so don't even think about trying to contact anyone on the outside. The sooner you accept this life the better. I'll leave the door unlocked so you can explore but remember what I said."

He leaves, keeping the door open a jar. I go over to the window and stare down at the high wall surrounding us. There's no way I can jump that, especially with a five-year old. And Finn wasn't lying, there are men walking around the grounds, some even have dogs. I sigh out loud. Fuck.