Anyone want a sneaky peek at 'Retribution' - Book #2 in The Lone Riders MC Series? I'm working on this as we speak, getting it ready for an early 2015 release, but, I thought some of you might like to check out the first few pages... just to get a taste of what's to come as the ride continues... But please remember, this is still very much a rough first draft, and is as yet unedited... but see what you think...
One
The wind whistled around Mia’s face and she pulled her scarf further up over
her chin. It didn’t do a great deal to shield her from the biting cold, but it
helped. A bit.
Sitting down on a bench overlooking an angry North Sea,
she clasped her hands together between her knees, staring out at the waves as
they whipped high into the darkening sky. The sound they were making verged on
terrifying, if you closed your eyes and listened. Like a low, deep, tortured
moan that reached its crescendo as the water hit the shore with a brutal
flourish.
Standing up, Mia dug her hands into the pockets of her jacket, her eyes
still staring straight ahead. There was a part of her that found the sight of that
cold, dark sea and those crashing waves inviting. Peaceful, in a warped, twisted
kind of way. But maybe that was the kind of peace she was looking for. The kind
she needed.
Closing her eyes she took a long, deep breath, exhaling slowly, scrunching
her fists up inside her pockets, her fingers digging into the palms of her
hands. But the pain was nothing. She’d felt worse. She’d let worse be inflicted
upon her. Despite everything.
Pulling her right hand out of her pocket she looked down at the fresh bruising
on her knuckles. It was harder to make out in the fading light and she drew her
hand closer, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the colours that were slowly starting
to show themselves – the dark gray, the deep orange, the almost blue-tinged
edges that were beginning to form. Who knew bruises could be so beautiful?
She’d just never realised…
Balling her hand back into a fist she cocked her head as she watched the
nature of those bruises change; how they stretched, the colours merging in a
whole different way. It was mesmerizing to watch. Until the loud crashing of
another wave on to the deserted beach below shook her out of her almost
trance-like state, and she quickly shoved her hand back into her pocket,
wincing slightly as her bruised knuckles hit the keys lying in there.
She should be getting back. She had nowhere else to go anyway. Even grabbing
this fleeting moment of freedom had been dangerous, so she couldn’t stay here.
Not for much longer. She should never have left in the first place.
Turning and walking back over to the bike she stopped for a second, pulling
her hand back out of her pocket, letting her fingers run slowly over the cool
chrome; the black leather. It seemed such an easy option, to climb on to that
bike and just ride. To get as far away from here as she could. Such an easy
option…
***
Charlie Hart sat back in his chair, flinging his feet up on to the desk, a
heavy sigh racking his whole body.
‘Can I have a word, boss?’
Charlie looked at the tall, well-built man standing in the doorway, his short,
dark-blonde hair covered by a red and white bandana, his rough face sporting an
even rougher beard. ‘What do you want, Lennie?’
‘You seen Mia?’
‘No. She isn’t here,’ Charlie sighed, sitting up and pushing both hands
through his greying hair. ‘I haven’t seen her all night.’ He stood up, digging his
hands into his pockets as he walked over to Lennie. ‘Mia’s a big girl now. She can look after herself. She doesn’t need you checking up on her
twenty-four-seven.’ The dried blood on Lennie’s left hand didn’t escape Charlie’s
notice. ‘So why don’t you back off for a little while, huh? Give her a bit of
space.’
Lennie fixed Charlie with a look that the older man had no problem matching.
‘Go home.’ Charlie had handled men like Lennie Rose before. He knew them
well; the way they worked. ‘Did you hear me, Lennie? I said, go home.’
‘Yeah. Yeah, I heard you.’
‘Then get out of here. Go on.’
Lennie reluctantly turned and left. Charlie watched him go, stepping out
into the corridor, waiting until he heard the roar of Lennie’s bike leaving the
compound before he gave the signal; a short, sharp whistle.
Mia emerged from the shadows, two large wooden cupboards affording her the
cover she’d needed until Lennie had gone.
‘This still going on?’ Charlie asked, sitting on the edge of the oversized
desk that dominated the whole room.
‘You know as well as I do that if I leave him, he’ll find me, Charlie.’
‘He doesn’t deserve you.’
‘No, he doesn’t. But he’s got me. And he’s still here, for Christ’s sake…’
‘What do you want me to do, Mia?’
‘Get rid of him! He’s dangerous. If he can do this to me, what the hell is
he capable of with others?’
Charlie folded his arms, bowing his head. Mia narrowed her eyes as she
looked at him.
‘Yeah. You know what he’s capable of, don’t you, Charlie? And yet you keep
him here. So how can I walk away, huh?’
Charlie looked up, his arms still folded, his expression calm. Stoic, even.
‘I can’t just banish him, sweetheart.’
Mia couldn’t stop the small, slightly hysterical laugh from escaping. ‘Under
what kind of biker code are we operating now, huh? You know, this club, this
chapter, especially, was supposed to be one of the safest now. One of the most
settled, most organised out of all of them. There’s no threat here, not
anymore. Not like there used to be. None of that underlying tension others have
experienced. You have the dream chapter, Charlie. And after everything it’s
been through in the past…’ Mia stopped talking, well aware that it was this
club that had caused the deaths of her parents. Caught in the crossfire of a
gun battle between the Lone Riders and a rival MC from London, they’d both been killed outright,
dead at the scene. She’d been just days old. But as much as the club had been
responsible for the loss of her parents, it had also been responsible for
making sure she was looked after. And she’d been lucky in that respect, adopted
by another club member and his old lady. They’d been the best mum and dad Mia
could have asked for, and she’d loved them, so much. They were the only parents she’d
ever known, her birth parents having been taken from her before she’d even had
a chance to know who they were. But now her adoptive mum and dad were dead, too. Both of them
tragically killed by something the club couldn’t control – cancer. And with no siblings,
no aunts or uncles to fall back on, the only family Mia had now was the club. It
had been her safety for so long, but meeting Lennie Rose had changed that.
Marrying him had been the mistake that made sure that safety level had lessened
with each day that passed, and she’d just sat back and let that happen. She’d
been weak. And now the last remnants of anything resembling a family was slowly
slipping from her grasp.
‘I can’t just banish him, Mia,’ Charlie repeated, his voice as calm as his
expression.
‘But you were quite happy to see your own daughter banished from Paradise, weren’t you? Quite happy to see her leave somewhere she was happy,
leave behind people she loved.’
‘Lexi left Paradise for her own safety. And now, I’m sending you over there for yours.’
Mia frowned. ‘You’re banishing me?’
‘It’s not like that,’ Charlie sighed, pushing a hand through his hair again
as he stood up, walking over to the filing cabinet in the corner of the room.
‘But you can’t stay here, Mia. You have very little choice now.’ He opened the
top drawer, flicking through the papers stacked in there until he found what he
was looking for, pulling out a large manilla envelope. ‘Lennie won’t let you
go, that’s obvious. He isn’t the type to let you just walk away.’
Mia leaned back against the table, her head down, an almost defeated tone to
her voice. ‘I didn’t do anything wrong, Charlie. I mean, I didn’t even…’ She
stopped talking, closing her eyes for a second or two, aware of Charlie back
beside her now.
‘You didn’t even what, Mia?’ Charlie asked, placing a hand on her shoulder
and giving it a light squeeze. ‘You didn’t even fuck around behind his
back? Like Lexi did with Jesse?’
Mia looked up, her expression almost apologetic. ‘Charlie, I’m sorry, I
shouldn’t have said that.’
‘You didn’t say anything, sweetheart. I did.’
‘It’s what I meant.’ She threw her head back, letting out a long, frustrated
sigh that seemed to come from deep within her. ‘How the hell did I let this
happen?’
Charlie looked at her, this beautiful young woman with the tortured heart
and a life he felt he had a duty to protect. She’d been a part of this club
since the day she was born. He was responsible for making sure she stayed safe.
‘You weren’t to know, Mia. That Lennie would turn into the man he’s become.’
‘So I run and hide, is that it? I mean, how do I know he won’t find me in Paradise? How do I know someone won’t tell him I’m there,
or that he won’t just keep digging until he finds out where I am? I don’t want
to spend the rest of my life hiding, Charlie.’
‘I’ll make sure he doesn’t find you.’
‘And how are you gonna do that, huh? You know what he's capable of, how he can
manipulate people…’ She trailed off, because he’d manipulated her, hadn’t he?
To the point where she didn’t know who she was sometimes. He’d sucked the life
out of her, drained her of any human emotion until she was nothing but an empty
shell. And then the fear would return, and the anger. And the sheer, terrifying
knowledge that she was powerless to do anything about it. Because if she tried,
he would kill her. He’d threatened as much, and she believed every
stomach-turning word...
© Michelle Betham 2015
'Revolution' - Book #1 in The Lone Riders MC Series - is available to download now, from Amazon. And if you've got Kindle Unlimited, you can read it for FREE!
