Shady: Ops Warriors MC

by Harley McRide

  “I know what was sent, and yeah they applied for it but it was not legal. The paperwork would never stand up in a court of law. If we had the actual application Reyes and your mother sent in, it says that your father signed his parental rights away. Because your father didn’t die until you were five, a year after Reyes married your mother and adopted you,” Creed explained and Shady leaned back in her chair and was stunned.

  “What?” she whispered.

  Fish turned the computer further, so Shady and the guys could all see what was on the screen. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the pictures of her when she was a baby. Her mother and a man she had never seen were together, holding her, and they looked happy. The man had blond hair and blue eyes much like her own. The pictures ranged from infant to toddler until suddenly the man disappeared and there were only pictures of her mother looking extremely unhappy. Only a few though, and then Reyes and Dom were there.

  “Who is that man?” she whispered and then cleared her throat and spoke louder, “I have never seen him before, my mother never showed me these pictures that I remember.”

  “That is your biological father, who yes, passed away, he died from a car accident.” Fish cleared his throat. “It was under suspicious circumstances, the file is still open.”

  “What do you mean suspicious?” Cajun growled.

  Creed leaned forward and said, “He was a perfectly healthy man. No issues, no problems. Then he had a heart attack. The coroner couldn’t find one good reason why he had a heart attack so he tested further; there was a trace of a drug they couldn’t identify. Because of that they labeled it suspicious.”

  Shady frowned and looked at Slider and Cajun then back at the computer. “I don’t get it.”

  “What don’t you get?” Fish said.

  “Why would they kill him? I mean anyone? Mom was gone apparently, she left him for some reason,” Shady said. She knew they were trying to tell her something, but she wasn’t sure how it pertained to what was going on right now. She also didn’t get why the fuck they were bringing this up now? It wasn’t making sense to her.

  Creed, Fork, and Fish looked at each other, and they shifted uncomfortably. It had to be the first time it looked like they didn’t want to tell her something, which made her nervous. They told her crappy news all the time without blinking, about the mine, the club, Bitches, why was this different.

  “Spit it out, guys,” she said impatiently.

  “Fuck, Shay,” Fork said slowly and finally he is the one who told her what she needed to hear.

  “Your father’s name was Richard Styles,” Fork started and she nodded. “He wasn’t your run of the mill dude off the street, Shay. His father was one of the richest men in the world before he died. Owned oil, I mean a fuck of a lot of oil. Your father took over the business when his father died. The business has always been in the family, four generations of Styles have run the company. Your father was an only child. Your mother left your father, but we have no indication of when or why. Suddenly you were gone. Your mom never filed for divorce or separation. No pre-nup was signed, and your father was very clear in his will who the company was going to if he passed away. Your mother was to receive a stipend until she passed away but the bulk of his estate was left to his only child, you.”

  Shady sucked in a breath and looked at the screen again. At least she now knew where her blue eyes came from, they were just like her father's. Her dark hair and skin that looked sun kissed came from her mother but Angela had had green eyes. She looked back to the men. She had no idea what to say about this turn of events. First, she hadn’t even known her father, but for some reason the thought of him being alive when she thought he was dead made her feel ill. Second, it also made her more than a little pissed off to think that her mother had somehow thought it was okay to not tell her about her father. The rage was beginning to build and it sky rocketed at Creed's next words.

  “From what we could try to piece together, Reyes knows about the will. He knew that you were set to inherit a large sum of money when the trust, which was set up, expired. We are looking into why your mother truly left your father. Some people have actually questioned the timing of him leaving. Also, your father said your mother was very happy and content and then suddenly disappeared. There was no fight or huge issue at the time of her disappearance,” Creed said and Shady narrowed her eyes, because she saw something else in them, something she knew she was so not going to like.

  Fork took over the explanation again. “Honey,” he said, drawing her eyes to him and she turned and braced herself for the blow she knew was coming. “We had the investigators send out their trackers. Reyes is holed up in a small town just over the border in Mexico. He has been keeping a low profile, but a man who likes the creature comforts like he does couldn’t stay completely hidden for long. The thing is, your mom hasn't been seen for over a year.”

  Shady nodded. “I know, I have been trying to search for her as well. When I ran away, and they sold the house where I grew up, they all disappeared. I haven’t been able to trace them at all.”

  “Not thinking good though, Shay,” Fork said and she nodded. Neither was she, but she didn’t have time to think how she felt about this whole thing. It was a lot of information to process.

  “You said the trust was set to expire, what does that mean,” Cajun asked.

  Fish nodded and then turned to the computer. “It is run by lawyers right now, has been since Shady’s father died. Within the last few weeks, they were contacted by Reyes’s attorneys. When I called and explain who I was, they seemed to be relieved that what they had been told was not the truth.”

  “What were they told?” Shady asked and stiffened.

  “They were told that you were engaged to be married to Reyes and the date was set for your marriage the day before your thirtieth birthday,” Creed said slowly.

  “And what does that do to the will?” Slider asked.

  “There is a stipulation in there if the beneficiary, or Samantha Marie Styles, was married at the time of her thirtieth birthday when the full trust became hers, the husband would receive a stipend like all of the spouses, and in addition they would be on the board of trustees for the company. Any heirs would automatically be added to the family trust,” Fish said.

  “Wait, who is Samantha?” Shady frowned.

  “You, your name is not Francesca, we are assuming they changed it so you could not be traced. You were born Samantha Marie Styles,” Creed said firmly and Shady felt like her head was going to explode.

  “You have got to be fucking with me?” Shady yelled.

  “Not done, Shay, let us just get this shit out and then you can freak,” Creed ordered and Shady snapped her gaze to him and took a few deep breaths and then sat back down stiffly.

  “What else is there?” Slider asked.

  “The trust,” Fish said.

  “Lay it all out there,” Cajun said softly.

  “Shay, the trust is worth more than a hundred billion dollars. It's set to be transferred to your name in less than three weeks' time. The lawyers were fucking thrilled when they found out you were alive, because the shareholders had been freaking for some time about not finding you. They said they had searched for a long time, and until they received the letter out of the blue from Reyes, they had no clue where you were and if you were even alive. It would have made for a huge mess. Now that you are alive though, they have already begun the process of transferring the company. I think it is safe to say that Reyes had a hand in all of this; we just need to prove it. Legally, there is nothing he can do to actually claim your inheritance, but if they have you, they can control it,” Creed said.

  “Fuck,” Shady whispered as she tried to process what they were saying to her. It was like a fucking soap opera, her life had turned into a dramatic fucking tale that no one would ever fuckin' believe. What the hell was she supposed to do with this information?

  “Do I have any family at all left?” Shady asked.

 
Fork shook his head and looked at her with sadness, “No, honey, sorry.”

  Shady stood from the table suddenly and then began to pace. The guys watched her in silence, trying to give her the space she needed to at least process some of this. The only problem was they needed to brief the club about the turn of events. When Dom shot Shay, they all assumed they wanted her dead because of what she knew. Now it seemed they needed her alive right now, and their plan needed to change a little. Shady needed more protection than what they thought. She wasn’t going to be allowed to go off the compound at all until this shit was over. They couldn’t chance them kidnapping her. Not for the money, but because if Dom did succeed in kidnapping her, the guys knew that it would be bad.

  “Shay,” Creed said, stood, and walked to her and put his hands on her forearms in order to stop her pacing. “We need to talk about this, the guys aren’t gonna give two rat's asses about any of this, you know that. But it also brings a lot more of the picture in line. I mean, Dom and his father will stop at nothing to get to you. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen, for your sake.”

  Shady looked up at the man who saved her. Everything they just told her seemed so farfetched, she was Shady now, she was not Francesca or Samantha, she was just Shady. All of that other shit would wait; she needed to focus, because those bastards took everything from her. Her father, her mother, and now they were trying to take her freedom. Not fucking going to happen.

  “Not going to stop what we are planning,” Shady said gruffly.

  “I agree, I would not stop anything, but we need to make sure you are safe, and the only way we can do that is to keep you on the compound until further notice. All of the girls, we are locking you down. We bring Lola back here and you can do your thing in the shed again. Not ideal, but it will work. They only have three weeks, they are going to get desperate, which means anyone with you will be a target. The club is a mighty big fuckin' target. Every one of these men will stand behind you, you know this.”

  “Give me a few minutes,” Shady said and Creed nodded.

  “We will go get the guys, you have ten minutes,” Creed said and he nodded to Fish and Fork who stood and followed him out. Shady was staring at the floor and not moving. Slider and Cajun stood and came to her, surrounding her with their bodies and she leaned into Cajun who was in front of her.

  Her head fell to his chest and she just allowed herself to draw from their strength. This sucked, so many thoughts were running through her head. She knew Reyes was twisted, but damn.

  “Shay,” Cajun whispered into her hair and she looked up into his eyes and saw the compassion there, it was her undoing. Shady was not weepy, and she didn’t cry often, but fuck it all, she had cried more in the last month than in the last twelve years. It sucked.

  “My mother,” Shady said and Slider tightened his arms around her. “It doesn’t make sense, none of it. Why would she leave him and go right to Reyes. You saw the pictures, we were happy.”

  “I don’t know, baby,” Cajun whispered.

  “Motherfuckers took everything from me.” She continued, “What do I have left?”

  “You have us,” Slider whispered and Cajun looked at her with such an intensity Shady couldn’t move.

  “Not saying this again, babe,” Cajun said firmly and leaned down until they were nose to nose. “What we have started is not going away. I felt it the first time I saw you, and don’t tell me you didn’t. We have a connection; it will grow stronger every minute we are together. But damn it, you need to accept the fact we aren’t going anywhere. We are claiming you; no one is going to take you from us. I couldn’t stand it. Did you know that for the first time if five years I am sleeping through the night? Never before, I have always had nightmares, but you chase them away. I love you, babe.”

  Slider echoed Cajun, “I love you too.”

  Shady closed her eyes. She knew it and she felt the same way, she just didn’t want to admit it. Everyone she had ever loved had let her down, or at least that is what she thought. She couldn’t trust in love. But standing her in their arms, she wanted to. She needed to decide because seriously, she didn’t have the strength to keep fighting them. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and looked at Cajun and then turned her head and looked at Slider.

  “I love you guys too.”

  “Well fucking finally,” Cajun said with relief.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “That is seriously fucked up,” Shark said when Creed and Fish had laid it all out for them. The men in the room all were in agreement. They had not reacted strangely to the fact that Shady was the heir to a billion dollar company; they had not acted strangely to any of the news. They knew her, she was Shady to them, and no matter what, she was their family. They had all claimed her.

  “Lola’s appointment is in three hours. We need to change our course and bring her here. We know the Diablos are watching so we need a diversion to get her in here without too much hassle. Then we will deal, I don’t have to tell you all with this much money at stake, they are not going to go down without a fight. They are going to try to take us all with them,” Creed said and the guys nodded.

  “Yeah, well they don’t know what the Warriors are capable of when pressed against the wall,” Easy said.

  “The guys from Cali will be here in the morning. We have all the houses ready. We will have the manpower and the firepower to take these fuckers on when the chapters arrive,” Fork said confidently.

  “What about the Savages?” Harmony asked.

  “What about them?” Creed said, turning his head and looking at his woman.

  “We may have a plan for Dom, but the old man needs dealt with and fast,” Harmony said and Creed and Fork looked at each other.

  “How far is the town in Mexico?” Cajun asked.

  “Two days,” Creed said. “I will call Tonto, we need to plan to take them out at the same time.”

  “Shay’s birthday,” Freedom piped up.

  “Huh?” Poke said.

  “The goal, we should plan on taking them out on Shay’s birthday. It seems like it would be a good day,” Freedom grinned.

  Creed looked around the room and then his gaze came back to Shady who was frowning. “Gives us about three weeks to plan this shit. We get a lock on Dom, and confirm senior is in Mexico, we plan.”

  “Get ready to rain some pain down on these guys,” Easy said and stood.

  *****

  The girls were waiting, the Warriors rode out more than an hour ago to find and capture Lola. Now, they sat waiting on pins and needles. Shady was sitting in the corner silently. Since the meeting had wrapped up and the guys left, she had been quiet, only answering questions when they were directed at her.

  Freedom was beginning to get worried. They knew a lot of crap had been thrown recently at Shady. Most people would be hysterical by now with all of the information. She pulled Harmony to the corner.

  “Think we should go over and see if she wants to talk?” Freedom asked.

  “Free, seriously?” Harmony laughed and looked at her best friend. “If Shay wants to talk, she comes to you. Because that is the way we are, we don’t get nosy and get into each other's business.”

  Freedom frowned at her friend. “Do you think maybe that is part of the problem, we are waiting for her to come to us and seriously, do you not get that she didn’t come to any of you for years with her past. Honey, I hate to say this, but sometimes you suck as a friend.”

  Harmony looked at Freedom with a hurt expression. “I do?”

  “Yeah,” Freedom sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. “We need to work on your chick skills. You have the whole I-am-gonna-kick-your-ass-because-you-hurt-my-friend thing down pat. But when it comes to the whole girls' night and shit, you kinda suck. I mean you need to be worried she is going to flip the fuck out and go on a killing rampage.”

  “Hey,” Harmony said, looking slightly offended. “I don’t do the girly shit, you know that. All those feelings, they are just a waste of
time. Just fucking kill the bastards and get it over with. They don’t deserve to be alive anyway. Shit, if she wanted to go on the warpath I would be right next to her.”

  Freedom rolled her eyes. “I am trying to be nice here. We need to think of Shady’s feelings and right now, she looks like she needs someone to talk to. She needs to work it out with friends. We are her best friends and we are standing here watching her. Not acceptable.”

  “Damn, we have been hanging with the guys for too long,” Harmony said and looked at her friend. "Oh my God, they have turned me into an unfeeling bitch. I need to fuckin' go and get my nails done, or something like that.”

  Freedom rolled her eyes, “Drama much.”

  Harmony shrugged, “It always makes Shady laugh.”

  “Yeah well, let’s go and see if she is up to talking,” Freedom said.

  “You whores know I can hear every single word you are saying,” Shady snorted. “I don’t know what the hell to even say about all the shit that is rolling through my head.” Her two friends sat down at the table with her.

  “I know, honey,” Harmony said and took her hand. “You have a lot to process, I mean finding out about your father would take like a butt load of therapy to deal with, and honest to God, I am pretty sure they are not going to give you enough time for that. The lawyers in charge of the trust have already been calling and I am pretty sure when the time gets closer they are going to be bugging you. I mean it is a huge undertaking.”

  Shady nodded and looked at her two friends, “I have no clue what to do. I mean, my father left me in charge of some company that I have never heard of. I am pissed about my mother; I have no idea what the hell to think. The guys think she is dead, I don’t know how to feel about it, mostly because of the shit she knew was happening to me, and she just sat back and let it happen. I mean, why did she leave my father in the first place? None of this makes sense. It is all swirling around in my mind and I am not sure what the hell to think about any of it. I am still in shock about knowing my father was alive for so long, I mean, I could have been with him. A lot of ‘what if’s’ going on in my head.”