Ren - Shades of Grey

This chapter runs concurrently with Stolen. I have tried to show more of Ren's side of the story, what he was thinking and feeling.

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Ren was in the kitchen enjoying a cup of coffee, he had returned to the house several days earlier. He had arrived late at night to the sounds of Hawk mistreating his girlfriend and unable to stand by silently once again Ren had intervened and stopped the physical violence.

"Found something out in the shed you might be interested in." Brad told Ren as he walked into the kitchen.

"What is it?" Ren asked as he got to his feet.

"Come have a look for yourself." Brad said as he headed back outside.

Ren followed him shaking his head with a grin. Obviously Brad was excited over what he had found.

In the largest shed Brad had been sorting through discarded items and Ren looked at what he had uncovered in one back corner. A large trailer that could be attached to the back of a motorbike sat in the corner with a broken axle.

"It shouldn't take much to fix it up." Ren said studying the trailer.

The two men began discussing the repairs needed on the trailer and the best way to go about them. Ren had long finished his coffee before they ended their discussion and Brad had pulled the trailer out of the corner and into the middle of the floor.

"I'm going to go get myself a cold drink. I'll take your cup back if you like or you want to head back inside?" Brad offered.

"At the moment I've had all I can take of the whole situation with Hawk and Sky." Ren said with a deep sigh as he held the cup out.

"Be back shortly." Brad said as he took the cup and headed back towards the house.

Ren turned his attention back to the various things packed away in the back of the shed. With a little bit of exploring he found an old claw footed bathtub that had been retired to the shed for no obvious reason.

"Ren! Renegade! There's some real trouble brewing!" Brad exclaimed as he rushed into the shed.

"If Hawk is belting Sky again I'm gonna.."

"No, he's turned Seth loose on her." Brad said angrily.

"The bastard!" Ren swore and hurried from the shed to break into a run as he headed for the house.

Jake and Hawk were walking to their bikes as Ren neared the house. A chill of horror ran down Ren's back as he heard Sky start screaming and he grabbed Hawk by the front of his jacket pushing him backwards towards the house.

"Get in there and call Seth off her!" Ren ordered as Brad passed them.

"She belongs to me! I can do what I choose with her!" Hawk growled but Ren saw the fear in the younger man's face.

Realising Hawk wasn't about to co-operate Ren pushed him aside roughly and followed Brad quickly. He caught up with him outside the room Hawk, Jake and Sky had been using. Inside it he could hear Sky screaming with pain and terror, her voice high and desperate.

"The door's locked!" Brad exclaimed as he rattled the handle and tried to force the door open with his shoulder.

"Move!" Ren ordered.

Brad stepped aside and Ren kicked the door hard beside the keyhole. There was the sound of wood splintering and the door opened slightly before returning to where it had been. Ren dropped one shoulder and charged the door; he ignored the pain as the door refused to move more then an inch or two. Suddenly the door swung open under the strength of his pressure and he half staggered into the room.

Ren wasn't prepared for the sight of Seth moving between Sky's thighs while his friends held her legs wide apart. He felt his rage boil up inside of him and then his hands had hold of Seth and he pulled him off of Sky and the bed in one strong heave. Seth staggered to catch his balance as his feet touched the floor and then he crashed out the doorway backwards as Ren's fist met his face.

Ren saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned as Zane took a swing at him. He barely felt the fist that caught the side of his jaw and knocked his head to the side before he closed in on Zane with short cruel jabs that landed hard on the other mans ribs.

Ren was barely aware of his friends in the room or Brad at his side as he ordered Seth and his two friends from the room. They stopped and faced him in the lounge room with Jake and Hawk. The image of Sky pinned beneath Seth's large body was fresh in Ren's mind and the rage it had caused still boiled just below the surface.

"Get your stuff and get the hell away from here!" Ren ordered.

Seth pressed the back of one hand to the tender skin around one eye and glanced at the back when he took his hand away. He then slowly worked his jaw, which was stiff from the second punch Ren had landed.

"I'm not finished with that blonde, I'll leave when I've had my fill." Seth said aggressively as he eyed the smaller man.

"If you want to be able to walk away you'll leave now." Ren snarled as he rolled his shoulders and took a step towards Seth.

Seth backed up a step at the rage in Ren's eyes, he realised that Ren would resume his physical aggression without much provocation. An uneasy feeling that made the hair stand on end on the back of his head warned Seth that if he was in a fight with Ren in his present state he was sure to loose.

"We'll leave." Seth conceded.

"What the hell were you thinking turning them loose on Sky?" Ren demanded of Hawk.

There was silence for several moments.

"Damn you answer me! What the hell did you think you were doing? Or didn't you think!" Ren demanded of Hawk.

"She belongs to me! What I do with her is none of your god-damned business!" Hawk said angrily.

Ren fought to control his temper as Jake began arguing with Hawk.

"I am still waiting to hear why the hell you interfered. What was going on had nothing to do with you." Seth said to Ren.

"Anything that may bring the police down on us here sure as hell is my business!" Ren snapped.

"If you must know it was a try before I buy," Seth said curtly.

Ren turned cold eyes on Hawk.

"Did you forget you gave me first chance to buy her?" Ren asked in an ominously quiet tone.

"You said you'd be interested in buying her, but I didn't promise anything." Hawk said darkly.

There was silence as Ren glared at Hawk. The younger man looked away first. He turned his attention to Sky and stalked over to where she sat huddled in the chair.

"Get up and go get clothes on!" He snapped.

"You've got the problem with me, don't start on her!" Ren warned in a dangerously soft voice.

Hawk grabbed Sky by the wrist and pulled her to her feet. She clutched a blanket against her chest one handed and was forced to follow Hawk as he dragged her from the room.

Ren watched Hawk drag Sky from the room then turned his attention back to the three men in front of him.

"I want you packed and gone within half an hour, I think I speak for everyone else on that." Ren said and there were murmurs of agreement from Brad and several others.

Seth, Zane and Roy headed towards the room where they had spent the night while Ren and Brad followed them to make sure they were packing.

Ren watched them for a few minutes before heading towards the room where Hawk was with Sky. Ren was determined to fix the problem of Hawk's treatment of Sky for once and for all.

Hawk was watching Sky angrily but turned his attention to Ren as he stopped in the doorway.

"Take her out to the lounge then we go outside and sort things out while she curls up on one of the chairs." Ren ordered.

"You heard him get to the lounge room!" Hawk snapped.

Ren saw Sky grimace with pain as she headed for the door; concerned for her he stopped her when she would have passed him. He tried to ignore it when she recoiled from him slightly.

"Are you okay Blondie?" Ren asked gently.

Sky didn't answer as she stood there woodenly. Finally Ren stepped aside and let her pass.

Ren paused in the doorway of the lounge room on his way past and looked in at Sky. She sat with her face averted from Brent and Matty who were the only others in the room.

"Matt, can you get Sky some paracetamol and a glass of water. Sky if you want anything else just let Matt know okay." Ren said then headed outside.

Hawk was waiting out the front of the house; he turned to face Ren angrily as he came out of the house.

"Sky belongs to me! I am getting sick of you butting in telling me how to treat her!" Hawk said angrily.

Ren grabbed Hawk by the front of his shirt and slammed him back against the front of the house. He moved so he was nearly nose-to-nose with the younger man.

"From here on I do not want to hear you yell at Sky! You will not hit her or miss treat her in any way! You will not take her against her will! Or I will break you into pieces! Got it?" Ren demanded. For a moment Ren thought Hawk might argue with him then he saw the fear Hawk was trying to hide.

"So we clear on that? Or do I have to show you that I will make you hurt every bit as much as you make her hurt?" Ren demanded.

"I hear what your saying." Hawk said grudgingly.

Ren released his hold on the younger man and stepped away from him. Ren turned and headed back inside, he passed Brad just inside the doorway and realised that his friend had been close at hand incase Jake had followed them outside. Ren halted in the kitchen and took the time to get himself a cold drink of water to give himself more time to calm down. He turned his head to watch Hawk walk through the room.

"Sky still in the lounge room?" Ren asked Brad after a few minutes.

"As far as I know." Brad replied and fell into step behind Ren as he headed for the lounge room. Brad knew Ren would want to reassure himself that Sky was okay.

Ren saw Sky glance his way as he entered the lounge room but she looked away quickly. He walked over towards her chair and she sent another frightened glance his way, he felt his anger start to rise again and forced it down as he squatted beside her chair. He reached out to take the thawed icepack away from her face and Sky cowered away from him as if he had hit her.

"Hey Blondie, Seth, Roy and Zane are leaving, they can't hurt you anymore," Ren told her softly.

"My name is not Blondie." Sky said faintly.

"No, your name isn't Blondie but you are a blonde." Ren teased her trying to tease her into a happier mood.

Sky didn't look his way. When he reached out a second time to brush her hair back she cowered away from him.

Ren withdrew his hand and stood up. Something stirred in his stomach leaving a sour taste in his mouth. He could almost feel her pain and terror.

"No one is going to hurt you." Ren said softly wanting to reassure her.

Sky turned her head to look at Ren, her glare scathing. "Who's gonna stop them? You? You didn't stop Wilson hurting me! And Seth hurt me! Who was stopping them!?" Sky demanded then turned her head away as tears welled in her eyes.

Ren took a ragged breath. He had failed her. She had been dependant on him and he had failed her. He turned away and left the room without saying a word.

Outside he stood watching as Seth, Zane and Roy packed their gear onto their bikes. He noticed Seth sent him several nasty looks but he didn't respond to them well aware that Roy and Zane would back any move Seth made.

Ren heard someone come out of the house and approach him as Seth, Zane and Roy started their bikes.

"Are you still interested in Sky?" Hawk asked as they watched the three men ride away from the house.

"Why the hell wouldn't I be?" Ren asked coldly as he turned his head to look at Hawk.

"I decided I should give you first chance to buy her. Jake and I are thinking of moving on and we want to travel light." Hawk said.

"There was blood on the bed. How bad did Seth hurt her?" Ren asked suddenly wondering if Hawk was eager to get rid of her so he didn't have to take care of her injuries.

"There wasn't much blood so I didn't check." Hawk said defensively.

"The offer I made after Wilson got her still stands." Ren mentioned his previous offer to buy Sky nearly two weeks earlier.

Hawk nodded and held out his hand, Ren shook his hand.

"I can get the money to you tomorrow," Ren said.

"I'll meet you in town in the morning. We leave today. Sky can stay here." Hawk said then turned and headed inside.

Ren stood and listened to Hawk head inside. He knew that he would have a hard time with Sky for a while until she realised he was not about to hurt her every time he touched her.

Suddenly he remembered Jody. While he wanted Sky with an intensity that made his blood boil with desire. With Jody there was the calm companionship he found so irresistible. And the sex was good between them, boy it was good! Ren thought with a smile before he rubbed a hand over his face wondering what to do about his dilemma.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ren and Brad were headed for a town an hour and a half away from the house, Brad wanted to order in some part for the bike trailer he had found and was repairing.

It had been four days since Ren had made the deal with Hawk to buy Sky off of him. Ren had been trying in that time to show Sky that he was not like Hawk but so far he had made little progress. He had no intention of keeping her with him against her will if she still resisted his attempts at friendliness after a week or two. But he did hope that she would quickly realise he was totally unlike Hawk and would not hurt her. Today he planned to get a cheap mobile phone so he could let her call her parents as a surprise for her, maybe then she would start to realise he wasn't out to hurt her.

As he came to the turn off that would take him to the town that Jody lived in he slowed down and came to a stop, Brad passed him then turned around and came back to him. Ren turned his bike off as Brad took off his helmet; Brad got the message and turned his bike off as well.

"I really need to go talk to Jody and let her know I won't be seeing her anymore." Ren told Brad.

"Yeah, so you want me to look out for Sky tonight or will you be back late this arvo?" Brad asked.

"I'll be back tonight. Jody is a nice person and I'm not going to mess her around." Ren said.

"I had her pegged as one of the good ones." Brad told him.

Ren restarted his bike and took the turn towards the town where Jody lived while Brad headed the way they had been going originally.

As he rode his bike he couldn't help thinking about Jody, already he was very fond of her and attached to her but the need to be with Sky was just as strong. He knew that if he had been so inclined he would be able to have both women but it went against all he believed in to two-time them. He was sad to have to break off his relationship with Jody but he felt it was the only option at this time. He didn't know if things would work out with Sky or if she would even want to stay with him but he had to wait to see what the future held.

Ren had been riding towards Jody's home town for nearly half an hour when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, he slowed down but the phone stopped ringing before he had halted his bike. Deciding to travel a little further before he stopped and checked who the missed call was from he rode another five miles to a rest stop before he slowed his bike and stopped it.

He took his phone out and checked it, seeing Matty's number he frowned and decided to ring him back and see what was wrong.

The call was brief and when Ren hung up he got on his bike and quickly headed back the way he had came.

Brad was waiting at the turn off for him; Matty had managed to contact Brad believing that the two of them were travelling together.

"What are you planning on doing?" Brad asked as Ren stopped beside him.

"See if I can find her. Find out why she ran away." Ren said.

"Think you'll find she ran away for the same reason she did when she ran away from Hawk..." Brad told him.

"But I don't treat her the way he did!" Ren exclaimed.

"No mate, you don't. But she was never given the choice to go with Hawk of her own accord. Are you planning to keep her against her will?" Brad asked.

"Of course not! I been hoping she would realise I don't want to hurt her..." Ren started to explain to Brad.

"So as far as she knows you intend to keep her the same as Hawk kept her." Brad cut in.

Ren looked away as he realised what his friend said was probably true, after all he had not sat down with Sky and explained to her that he did not believe he owned her.

"Sitting here is not going to find her." Ren snapped angry with himself. He restarted his bike and sped off on the ride towards the house.

The ride back to the house seemed to take forever when in reality they made better time then when they had left. Brad had picked up a couple of valves for bike tyres as Matty had asked.

"Tell me what happened. How did she get the keys to the vehicle?" Ren demanded as Matty and Brent met him as he parked his bike outside the house.

"Well we aren't too sure how she got the keys but she was supposed to hanging out washing when she snuck off to the shed and got in the van. Then she took off before we could get to her and stop her." Matty explained.

"What are you going to do?" Brent asked.

"Well first off everyone packs up and gets the hell out of here. She knows names so we will probably all be in a heap of trouble when she gets to the cops. Unless I can find her first and straighten out a few things." Ren said as he glanced around the others.

Brad stood not far from Ren as they watched the other men head inside to pack and leave the area.

"Want some company while you try to find her?" Brad asked.

Ren turned his head and looked at his long time friend.

"I'd like to see Sky is safe and happy just as much as you do." Brad told him.

Ren considered Brad's remark for a few seconds before giving a curt knod and heading inside to pack his own gear.