Shady: MC Romance (4 page)

Slider nodded and then looked at his friend. “Yeah it was, but more on my side than Shady’s. The last thing she said to me was the next time I was in town to think of her as dead.”

“Ouch,” Cajun said and took a drink, then leaned back. “So what are you going to do?”

“Fuck, who knows. Things could go either way with Shady,” Slider said grimly.

“Yeah, well chicks are too much trouble you ask me,” Cajun replied and then raised his glass to swallow the rest of the Crown just as the door to the clubhouse slammed open. He turned and the sight before him and froze, shit, she was perfection. Cajun felt Slider jerk a little when he turned as well and that's when he heard his friend say, “Shady,” causing him to frown. What? This was the woman they were talking about?

Cajun turned fully around and stared, she was short, and voluptuous. Long raven black hair tied back in some leather thing. But it was her startling features, big blue eyes, sun kissed, round classically beautiful face that made him hard as fuck. Or it was her leather-clad figure. Shit, she was in full riding gear, chaps, jacket, gloves, and she had all the right curves. Damn it, he was drooling.

Her eyes snapped to Slider and she frowned, then turned ignoring them both and walked down the hall toward the church meeting room. Slider jumped from his chair and followed, Cajun on his heels, curious about what was going on. The air in the clubhouse changed the moment she walked in the door, and apparently, everyone felt it. The whores wouldn’t make eye contact and the Prospects were instantly tense.

Chapter
Three

The ride had helped, Shady felt like her mind was clear for the first time in a long time. She was back, compartmentalized that shit, and now she was ready to deal. No one would know inside she was torn, she was a mess, they would never know because she wouldn’t show them. She had done it once, and even though she trusted the Warriors, she would never allow anyone to see her vulnerable like she had when she was younger. Not going to fucking happen. But when she walked into the clubhouse and saw Slider sitting there everything she planned to say to the club went right out the fucking window. What the fuck?

If she could have walked back out of the clubhouse she would have, she seriously didn’t need that shit right now. Fuck, he would never know how close he came to seeing the real Shady. She had been tempted when they were together; it had been like nothing she had ever known. Even though they had made rules, Shady still had felt something for the man. She didn’t know if it was love, she didn't really know what love was. Sure, she knew the emotion, and probably felt it for the club, but in her eyes, it was loyalty not love. She would never allow herself to become that dependent on anyone again.

Ignoring the only man who made a crack in her shield, Shady walked to the meeting room. She knew that was where they were, especially after the other night. Creed and Fork were there, they saw it, and she knew they were going to try to deal with it for her. Well, after her ride, Shady knew what she had to do, and it didn’t involve letting the guys deal with her shit. She was ready to finally deal with it herself.

As she reached the room, she saw the young Prospect, Tiny, standing guard. Of course, he was called Tiny because he was fucking huge and would never be referred to as small in anyone's opinion. So far, she had not had a chance to talk to the man but from what she had seen, she liked him. That is until he stepped in her way and prevented her from going into the meeting room.

“Private,” the large man grumbled at her and she looked up at him.

“Tiny, all due respect,” Shady said quietly, “they are talking about me, and I need to be in there, ask Creed.”

“Can’t ask, you should know the rules. No phones, no interruptions unless it is an emergency,” Tiny sighed.

“Yeah, well this is an emergency,” Shady said firmly.

Tiny looked over her head to the men she knew were walking down the hallway; she could hear their footsteps. One of them was Slider; she could feel the intense stare on her back as they neared.

“Don’t,” Shady said without turning around.

“Shay,” Slider said and she turned and glared at him.

“Don’t,” Shady ground out before turning back to Tiny without even looking at the man with Slider, although she can feel the heat from his intense stare. It was weird, from only the brief glance she saw in the main room, she could feel his presence as well as Sliders, and they were both humming with frustration. “You knock or I do, Tiny.”

The large man shook his head, then folded his arms across his chest and said, “Sorry, babe, no can do, orders are orders.”

She turned her head slightly and looked at the young Prospect before her. He hadn’t been here long enough to know her, or what she was capable of when pushed. Serious as fuck, today was not a day she could be pushed any farther. Her patience was just not where it usually was, okay, her patience was never where is should be but that wasn’t the point.

Like a fucking viper she struck, her fingers bent perfectly so when they hit Tiny’s throat, she didn’t kill him, she only stunned his ability to catch a breath for a few moments. She heard, “Oh fuck,” from behind her, but ignored it.

Shady shook her head, patted the Prospect on the back gently, and stepped around him. “Sorry, Tiny, should have listened to the stories, they were totally true.” She opened the door to the meeting room and stepped in right when Creed apparently was going to call the meeting. Well, she had something to say before that happened.

“Creed,” Shady said quietly and lifted her head high, refusing to look at any of the other men who she was sure had a look of pity in their eyes.

“Shady, what do you need?” Creed said slowly. “You know you aren’t supposed to be in here.”

“Yeah well, since you are making decisions about
my
life, then I have a right to be here,” Shady said and walked to the front of the room. She heard Slider and the other guy walk in behind her and Slider whispered to Creed what she had done to the Prospect.

“Shady,” Creed said with a warning tone.

“No, Creed, I have something to say,” Shady said firmly, then Creed reluctantly nodded, and waved at her to say what she had to say.

She turned and noticed Slider and the other man leaning against the wall, she really didn’t want to say this in front of Slider, but she had no choice, damn it, he was here.

The last time she saw him was the day he left, he told her he was no good for her, plus he didn’t do relationships and needed to move on. Staying in place for too long apparently was not his thing. She thought she could change his mind; it was the last time she asked a man for anything.

“I know that Creed and Fork have told you about my childhood. I get that it would be upsetting…” she said slowly and then Shark, one of the guys who ran the Bitches Club, slammed his hand down on the table and stood. She was close with him, but not intimate, she had only been intimate with a handful of men while with the Warriors, some would call her a slut, others called her fucking lucky as shit. Shark was one of the good guys, well, all the guys in the club were. When she came to the Warriors, she was screwed up, like, more than she was right now. She wasn’t ashamed of the fact she was messed up, her life had been hell, but she was ashamed of how she dealt with it. Thankfully, the guys at the club recognized something in her. Shark was one of the first men she met in the club, and had become her big brother, her protector, and she loved him. Seeing his face filled with rage made her want to cry, something she hadn’t done in a long time.

“Upsetting?” Shark yelled and Shady jumped. “Yeah, Shay, it was fucking upsetting. So upsetting, I am pretty sure that none of us are going to lose any sleep when we bury the motherfucker six feet under.”

“Shark…” Shady whispered and her friend shook his head, then walked to her.

“No, Shay, this is happening,” Shark whispered.

“Bobby,” she said, using his real name. She knew that would break through. “I need to say this.”

“No you really don’t,” he said with a cracked voice. She looked into his eyes and knew they had heard some of what Creed and Fork witnessed.

“Bobby,” Shady whispered to her friend. She reached up, put her hand to his face, and sighed. “I really do, this is not your problem.”

Bobby closed his eyes and then when he opened them he glared at her and said, “Shay, this is our problem and you know it. If I had known what that fucker did to you—”

She interrupted him, “You didn’t because I didn’t want to share, it was something I needed to bury. Please, you have to know how hard this is for me. But I am not the scared little girl who ran away from home anymore. You and the other guys helped me get past that. You have built me up so much you will never know how much I love you all for it. However, a long time ago I made myself a promise, if I got the chance and was strong enough, I was going to make that fucker pay, and that is exactly what I need to do.”

“Fine, say what you have to but it doesn’t change the facts. No one hurts one of our family and fucking walks away unscathed, and knowing he has been free for as long as he has burns, it burns deep. Fucker should have been taken out a long fucking time ago, no one and I mean no one deserves that shit, honey,” Shark said quietly.

Shady felt her throat close from fighting the tears. She wouldn’t break down, she couldn’t, or they would not take her seriously. She could do this, she had too. Shady took a deep breath and then looked at her family, the men who saved her years ago and then looked back at Shark. He was waiting for her to answer so she did.

“I need this,” she repeated and when he opened his mouth to speak, she shook her head. “No, let me explain.”

Shark looked like he was fighting his natural reaction to tell her no, he would deal with it, all of them would she knew it in her soul, but that wasn’t what she needed. Shark let her hands go and nodded then stepped back and walked to his seat. She took another deep breath and then stepped forward, completely avoiding Slider and the other man who was standing there leaning against the wall trying to look like he was actually relaxed when he wasn’t, she could see the tension in his arms.

“Okay, guys, I am just gonna lay this shit out for you. I had a sucktaculous childhood; my mother married someone she thought she loved, and who would make a good life for us. Of course, her taste in men in this case sucked, hell, they always sucked. It took just one month for me to realize that something weird was going on in the house. Dominic Reyes II is the head of the family and rules with an iron fist. I was five when we moved in and twelve when fuckhead, Dom the III, decided he was going to make his move, teach me to be his woman. Not like I didn’t know it was coming, hell, he didn’t hide his interest, at least I didn’t think so. My mother on the other hand said Dom was just being a good brother, making sure I was taken care of, not stalking me and planning to make sure he knew every single move I made, no, he was a good boy not a complete psycho. But this is my shit, my problem. I get that he is involved in this clusterfuck we have going on with the Diablos and truthfully, not really surprised he is involved. I get you think if you take care of him you will take care of my problem and the club’s at the same time, but you are wrong. He is not the head of a damn thing. His father would never allow it. If you want the leader of this whole clusterfuck, then you need to look higher.”

Creed opened his mouth and Shady looked at him with a piercing gaze. The leader shook his head but allowed her to continue.

“Now, not gonna put all the details out there, 'cause truthfully, none of your business. I am fine, and I will solve my own problems, you need to focus on the club shit, I will take care of my stepbrother,” she finished.

The room was silent, finally Easy said clearly, “Shay, not gonna happen.”

She growled and looked at the large man, “Why, when you all had a problem we let you deal with it. I am asking for the same respect. If I need help, I know you guys are here for me, but this is something I
need
to do. I will give you any information I have with regards to my stepfather, and his business.”

“Fine, we appreciate it, but not the issue. The issue is that no one fucks with our club and you know it,” Creed said quietly. “We deal with this shit like a club. That is the way we have always done shit, you going off on your own when other shit is going down is not smart. We need to make a plan, use the Savages like they are offering, and finish this shit now. We take them all down at once. This has gotta stop, Shay. They could have picked anywhere in the fucking country to peddle their shit and they chose here. You know why and so do we. Now this shit has gotten ugly, and we are going to work our way through the fucking asshats who started this.”

Shady looked at her friends, her family, they were going to do what they wanted, she knew it when she came into the room, but she still had to try. With a sigh, she walked to the table and sat down.

“What do you want to know?” she asked firmly and waited.

*****

Shady spent a lot of time telling the club everything she knew and remembered about her stepfather. When she was done, she felt like she had been run through a wringer. It sucked. She walked out of the club meeting with her head bent staring at the floor as she went. She couldn’t meet any of their eyes right now, they had heard the worst of it, and several times over the last few hours the men had exploded in rage as she told them what exactly happened. She was still shocked about Slider's reaction. When she sat down so did he and Cajun. During their questioning she heard him growl at least five times, and she had ignored him.
Asshole
.

After a year, the pain of seeing him still burned through her. It pissed her off that she still had feelings for him, but during their time together Shady had known and felt he was good for her, that’s why she wanted him to stay but made it easy to let him go. She would have ruined him if he stayed, it’s what happens to those who spend time around toxic people, and she was toxic.