Chapter Five

Neve

"I don't want to go out, I want to watch a movie and enjoy a quiet glass of wine," I complain as Mya throws a bag containing a new dress, my way. She's insisting we go out but I know it'll only cause another argument with Finn and I'm really in no mood. He's been awful since our conversation about Ryder and every night when I call, he interrogates me to see if I've spoken to either of the biker brothers.

As if sensing why I'm so hesitant, Mya fixes me with a glare, "Stop letting him control you. He did that when you were together and now, he's doing it still. He's moved on and he expects you to stay home. Where is that woman that stood up to the big bad biker boss last weekend?"

"Ryder can't use my daughter as a pawn in his games, Finn can, and he does."

"Only if you let him. Come on Neve, please . Let your hair down and have some fun. It's just one night."

I end up agreeing, much to Mya's delight, and an hour later, we're in a wine bar waiting for our friends to join us. I drink three shots of Sambuca straight just to gain some confidence for the outfit Mya forced me to wear.

When the girls arrive, Liss greets me with a wide smile and kisses each cheek. "Neve it's so great to see you out for once." I've known Liss for almost as long as I have Mya. We all went to school together, but once we hit teenage years, Liss and I became enemies after she stole two of my boyfriends. For a while, we all stopped hanging out, but then Mya met Liss again when they both started working for the same firm and she was re-introduced to the group. We laugh about it now, but back then, I really hated her.

"Mya made me come," I say with a shrug.

"That's great Neve, so you didn't actually want to come?" Charleigh asks. She's the moodier of our group. Also, a single mother like me, only her ex left them high and dry the second he'd discovered Charleigh was pregnant. He doesn't bother to have contact with her or their son.

"Don't start Charleigh, of course she wants to be here," says Mollie, turning to me, "Don't you Neve?" Mollie is the peacekeeper of the group. She's quiet and sweet, a thinker, and someone that you can call upon if you need sensible advice.

"No actually I didn't, I wanted to enjoy a night home in my pyjamas and watch reruns of Sons of Anarchy," I say, "But, now I'm here with my girls, I'm glad," I add with a smile.

"Why watch Sons when you could have the real thing?" asks Mya with a raised eyebrow. All the girls turned to me with quizzical expressions. Since Finn, I've not shown interest in any man. I just don't need the drama.

"Thanks for that unhelpful comment, Mya, shall we get more drinks?" I ask, waving to get the barman's attention.

"Erm, no we should not. What is she talking about?" demands Charleigh.

"Nothing, we met some bikers, nothing to talk about," I say vaguely. I place an order for two bottles of wine.

"Oh please, that smug smile screams fuckery," laughs Mya taking one of the bottles and three glasses and making her way to the nearest table. I pay the barman, and then take the other bottle and glasses to where the girls are settling into chairs.

"So, continue," Liss urges eagerly, leaning forward while Mya pours the wine.

"She had sex with the head of the gang. They call him the president. He's hot. Mean. Moody. And did I mention H.O.T," Mya gossips.

"What," screeches Mollie horrified, "He's in a gang?"

"Not that sort of gang Molls, calm down," I say with a sigh, while patting her hand, "Mya is over selling it. A guy next door to me is in a motorcycle club . Most of the guys are ex-army and they have a place where they all get together so that they can still be part of a brotherhood."

"Well you seem to know a lot about them even though you say there is nothing to tell," smirks Liss.

"I googled it." I wink and she giggles.

"What was he in prison for?" asks Charleigh, "Is he safe to have around Harlee?"

"Jesus, I slept with the guy, we aren't getting married or anything. I have no idea why he was in prison, but I do know that I won't be seeing him again so you all just need to calm down and stop getting over excited. Besides Mya, didn't you spend the night at Griff's last weekend?"

All the girls turn to her and I give her a smug smile. She laughs. "Yeah but he's a total gent, nothing happened despite my efforts."

"Wow he resisted your charms?" teases Liss, with a laugh. Mya usually gets any man she wants, even the married ones.

I relax after finishing my second glass of wine, enough to get up and dance with the girls. I'm glad I decided to come out, because it feels good to be with the group of friends I've known for so long, I can't remember the last time I did this, especially with me and Charleigh both having childcare issues; it always makes plans more difficult to arrange. I haven't spoken to my parents since I told them I was marrying Finn. They'd never liked him and made it perfectly clear that they didn't approve of my choices. They live less than a twenty-minute walk away from my house, and I often think about reaching out to them. I know they'd love Harlee and would be more than happy to help me out when needed, but I guess I've become stubborn, and a part of me can't stand to let them know they were right.

I feel my mobile phone vibrate and I pull it from my bag, groaning when I see Finn's name. I wave my phone at Mya to indicate I have to take a call, before heading outside. "Is Harlee okay?" I ask, when I answer.

"Where are you?" he demands. I take a few more steps away from the bar, hoping it'll dim the background noise.

"Is Harlee still up? It's very late," I ask. The alcohol is making me braver and after our recent conversation, I'm determined to make him see that his behaviour isn't reasonable and he doesn't own me anymore.

"Harlee is in bed. Where are you, Neve?" He's persistent.

"Then why are you calling me, Finn?" I ask. "You only really need to call me about Harlee."

"Are you actually being serious right now?" he growls, and I know he's trying to stay calm.

"If you don't need anything for Harlee, I'm going to hang up. Good night Finn," I say, disconnecting the call. I stare at the phone for a few seconds and then a grin spreads across my face. I did it. I stood up to him. A passerby glances up as I do a little happy dance and I grin wider. "I did it," I tell him, and he frowns. People in London tend to keep themselves to themselves. I laugh. "I fucking did it and it feels good."

"Is the happy dance because you saw me?" I spin around to the sound of Griff's voice and my eyes land on his smirking face.

"What are you doing here, are you following me?"

He laughs. "Nope your friend text me and asked if we fancied joining you for a drink, we were in the area so…"

"We?" I repeat, praying to God he doesn't mean Ryder. My heart slams harder in my chest and my eyes dart around trying to spot him.

"Me, Saul, Knox and Ryder. We had a job just up the road," Griff replies. I zone out the second he says Ryder's name. He's here . The elation I felt minutes ago, has turned to anxiety. I'm not sure how to act around him and I wasn't prepared to see him when I'm so drunk. Fuck .

Griff takes me by the hand and leads me back into the bar, all the while, sickness bubbles away in my stomach while I repeat the mantra, I must not sleep with a gang leader. I must not sleep with a gang leader . . . again.

We find our friends all together, gathered snuggly around our table. They're all chatting like long lost friends and I roll my eyes, grabbing hold of Mya who was balanced on the edge of the seat. She yelps but I lead her away from the group before spinning to face her. "What the hell were you thinking inviting bikers on a girls night out?" I hiss.

Mya pouts like I'm overreacting. "I thought it'd be nice to have some male attention."

I narrow my eyes before waving my hands around the packed-out bar. "And none of these men would do?"

"Not compared to these guys I mean look at them, just their sheer size alone is hot. They walked in, and people actually turned to stare," she says, her words laced with excitement. "And they sat with us. I felt like a celebrity." She fans her face with her hand and fake swoons.

"I wish you'd have spoken to me first, I really want to avoid Ryder."

She narrows her eyes. "Why?" she asks. "I mean, look at him." And to my horror, she points at him.

I slap her hand back down to her side. "Why are you pointing," I cry, glaring at her like she's lost her mind. "He's going to think I made you invite them here. He'll think I'm some kind of stalker."

"Jeez, relax would yah," she says. "If you're not interested, just stay away from him."

I give a slight nod. "Yeah, you're right. I can just avoid him."

"Besides, Liss has you covered," she adds and I follow her line of sight back to the table where Liss is laughing hard at something Ryder is saying to her. There's a small lift of his lip too which annoys me. He never smiles at me. Liss leans closers and whispers in his ear. I roll my eyes in irritation. She never changes .

Ryder

Liss tucks her hair behind her ear in a polished move. She laughs at my comment, despite it not being funny. I smirk. She's like a female version of myself and I'm okay with that, it means a night of fun. Her hair is a dark brown and piled into some kind of messy bun on her head, it suits her. Her makeup's heavy, which makes her brown eyes look almost black. And she's sexy and sultry, the sort of girl I go for. She also knows what she's doing. Her tactics for reeling in the opposite sex are polished and refined. She asks all the right questions to make her seem like she's interested in me, without prying too much.

I've had years of practise at assessing people in prison, and I notice the way she keeps flicking her eyes over to Neve. Liss is jealous of her. Without a shadow of a doubt, she wants what Neve has. "Maybe you could take me for a ride sometime, I've never been on a motorbike before," she gushes with enthusiasm, bringing me back to the conversation.

"Sorry darlin' I don't put a lady on the back of my bike unless she belongs to me," I reply. I glance at Neve, she's staring down at her drink looking lost in thought. I can't deny my attraction to her is strong. She's not the sort I'd ever go for, although she's naturally beautiful, she's not full of lip filler or plastered in makeup and I like it. I like her.

"So, what would a girl need to do to belong to you?" asks Liss, flirtatiously.

"That's top secret, I'd have to have known you a lot longer than five minutes to disclose that," I reply with a wink.

Neve stands abruptly, "I need to dance," she announces to the table, even though everyone is in separate conversations and no one acknowledges her.

I smirk and as she goes to leave, I reach for her, taking her wrist gently and halting her. "Have I done somethin' to upset you?"

"I'm just trying not to offend you with my lack of respect again," she says, coldly.

I can't help but smile at her constant attitude. "You keep baiting me, you shouldn't." It's a veiled warning cos' I pray to the good Lord above she keeps up with her sassy mouth and bad attitude, fuck it turns me on.

"Whatever you say, Ryder," she mutters, pulling free and walking away.

Liss leans closer, placing her hand on my chest and smiling. "So where were we," she asks, and when I open my mouth to reply, she presses her red lips onto mine, flicking her tongue into my mouth in a bold move. Yep, she's definitely jealous of Neve.