Shady: Ops Warriors MC

by Harley McRide

  “Sure you did,” Harmony whispered. “Every girl wants to have a slumber party.”

  “I grabbed the ice cream and a spoon right before I heard the voices. I should have just run back upstairs, but for some reason I didn’t. I went to see what people were doing up in the middle of the night. I mean hell, everyone retired to their rooms at eight like clockwork, so I was curious.” Shady closed her eyes and began to shake. “Fucking bastard was teaching his son how to bring a woman to heel. I swear those were his exact words 'bring her to heel'. I couldn’t figure out what I was looking at to begin with. My stepfather and my stepbrother standing in the dining room, right at the table we ate at every single fucking night. They each had something in their hands but I couldn’t tell what it was. Then they moved and I saw. I saw the young girl tied to the table. Spread-eagled and stretched, she was crying, trying to move, but she couldn’t. I couldn’t move either, I was frozen in the small little cubby I was hiding in and couldn’t move, or look away. Then I saw it, Dominic and his father held little knives. They began to tell her stuff, sick and twisted stuff they wanted her to do, and she cried harder. Every time she cried, they cut her. A little on the leg, the arm, her breast. On and on, telling her she belonged to them, and they had rules. Then they untied her, I thought it was over but no, they were just beginning. I stood there for three hours watching, the things they made her do made me sick, and Dominic was calling her my name. "Francesca, get on your knees," he said and she cried, he hit her and then pushed her down. "Francesca, touch my cock," she cried and they hit her again and then cut her. By the time it was over, she was a bloody mess. They were laughing, talking about how I would be tougher to train, how they had to make sure they hid the bruises and the cuts. Then my stepfather told Dom they were done, and said it was his honor to have the kill. I was stunned, I mean, I knew in my head the girl was never going to be allowed to live, she would have talked, hell, any normal person would have talked. Dom held her hair, laughed, and then cut her throat. I must have made a noise because he turned, and looked right at me. I saw the blood splatters on his face. He was smiling, even though I had caught them. He smiled and then licked his lips. I ran. He followed, becoming the first night he came to my room. After that, it was a game, my stepfather thought Dom was a genius, bringing in a girl to torture in front of me, making sure I knew exactly what I was supposed to do, and then Dom would kill her, take me to my room and make me do things.”

  Harmony was silent and listened as she told them about each one of them, the guys listened even though they wanted to leave, find the bastard and kill him. First doing the same thing he did to those girls to him as he cried. Fucking asshole, Shady was oblivious to the anger swirling in the room. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts. Why now, she was a tough bitch, she could deal with anything, but this shit, she was fucking falling apart and she knew it. How was she ever going to put the pieces back together? How would her brothers and sisters ever look at her without pity in their eyes? Poor abused Shady, she is fucked in the head, which is what they would all think, she knew it.

  She had to leave. She couldn’t stay here. They knew now, and they would never look at her the same again. The things she had done, the things she had seen. All of it, made her the fucked up person she was, no one would ever want to take that shit on, hell, she didn’t even want to take it on, and she lived it.

  “Shay,” she heard Slider say softly and after a few minutes, she finally turned. They were gone, everyone but Slider and Cajun, of course they were, they were disgusted.

  “I will pack my bags,” Shady said with no emotion.

  “Huh?” Cajun said with a confused tone.

  “I will pack my bags. I will be out of here in a few hours. Creed figured I am too much of a liability and told you to escort me out,” Shady said and tried to stand. Slider stood in front of her and blocked her from standing up.

  “What the fuck are you talking about? Creed and the others left to give you some space, duh,” Slider said.

  “I can’t stay here. They don’t need this,” Shady said without emotion.

  “Why? Shit, I am pretty sure we have all seen worse shit than this, babe. Hell, I was a fucking prisoner for a month, I saw some really sick shit,” Cajun said.

  “Well I am sorry, but no one looks at you with pity. I don’t need anyone fucking looking at me with pity, like you are right now,” she yelled suddenly, pushed Slider back, and stood, waving her arm. “Don’t tell me you aren’t thinking I am a hot mess. Because seriously I am, and I am going to remain that way because it is who I am, a fucking mess.”

  Cajun laughed loudly and she turned and frowned at him. “Babe, are you fucking kidding me right now?” he said.

  Slider stepped back and shook his head. “Not going anywhere, Shay.”

  “Yes, I am,” she said.

  “No you are not,” Slider replied.

  “Yes, I AM!” Shay yelled.

  “Okay, let’s stop for a sec here, guys,” Cajun interrupted.

  “No, we are not stopping for a sec here,” Shady yelled.

  “Yeah we are,” Cajun said firmly.

  “Listen, you don’t know me, so I get that you think I am just, you know, overreacting. But I am not, I am not overreacting, I am leaving. I am gone,” Shady said calmly.

  “Because you think we are all looking at you in pity?” Cajun said.

  “Yep,” Shady said.

  “But we are not,” Cajuns said.

  “Yes you are,” Shady threw back at him.

  “No, we are not,” Slider said.

  Shady threw up her hands in the air and yelled, “This is fucking dumb, I can leave if I want to.”

  “You are not leaving,” Slider said firmly and Shady got ready to argue. “No, shut the fuck up.”

  “You did not just fucking tell me to shut up,” Shady roared.

  “Yeah, babe, I did,” Slider said. “Listen, not gonna play this shit out. You are not fucking leaving, no one cares if you are fucked up, we are all fucked up. You are staying. We are dealing.”

  “We are not dealing with a fucking thing, I am dealing with it,” Shady announced.

  “You can do this on your own, babe. I know I tried it, and yeah it happened a long time ago, and yeah it sucked, but you deal and you move on,” Cajun said firmly.

  “Listen, I don’t know you,” Shady said and turned to Slider.

  “We are trying to be fucking sensitive here,” Cajun yelled. “You are dealing with a lot of shit and so we are trying to fucking help.”

  “Who asked you?” Shady yelled.

  “No one, that is the point,” Slider argued. “You got shit to deal with, and we are fucking helping. So pull your head outta your ass and just fucking let us be sensitive for a goddamn minute.”

  “Fine, be sensitive,” Shady yelled and folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot and waited.

  “You know you are making this fucking difficult,” Cajun sighed.

  “Me? I wanted to leave. I am pretty sure you all are the ones who are making this difficult,” Shady argued.

  “You would seriously leave your family and disappear when all they want to do is help you?” Slider demanded.

  “I was not going to disappear. I was going to leave to keep my family safe,” Shady lied.

  “Bullshit,” Cajun said. “I know. I did the same thing.”

  She turned and looked at him, “You don’t know me.”

  He was sick to death of her saying that. He did know her, they were kindred spirits, damn it. So he lost his patience and stalked to her. When he was right in her face, he whispered, “I know you because we are alike. I know what it is like to have dreams you can’t escape. Dreams that are so fucking real it is like you are right back where you do not want to be. I know you because I have the same fucking shield built up. The one you have to have so no one can see the twisted shit going on in your head because there is no way they would ever understand. The same shield that stops you from actually g
etting close to someone because they will disappoint you when they find out the truth about you. That you have a black serpent in your stomach that consumes you daily with the sick shit that runs through your head when you see someone who reminds you of someone, or you smell something that triggers a memory, that no matter how many times you try to push it back it strikes. I know you because that is what happens to me every fuckin' day. I know you because I have the same demons trying to push through my soul and take over. And finally, I know you because every single time I get reminded of something so awful and twisted and someone sees the ugly break through—I run.”

  Shady was staring into his eyes and saw he meant exactly what he said. He was not bullshitting her, telling her it would be okay and patting her on the back. He was raw, he was exposing himself, and he was doing it for her. Someone he barely knew, yet he was showing his secret.

  Slider came up behind her, stood, and whispered in her ear, “I ran away because I couldn't deal with a relationship. I convinced myself there was no way I was good enough for you. I didn’t think you would want me as fucked up as I am. I don’t care anymore. There is something here," sweeping his arm out, including the three of them in his meaning, "I can feel it, Cajun can feel it, you can feel it. Don’t lie, because we know and we have every intention on actually seeing this through.”

  Shady could not pull her eyes from Cajun’s, they were captivating, and even though she was raw from the emotion, she wasn't going to deny the attraction. It would be pointless.

  “It will not work,” Shady whispered.

  “Yes it will,” Cajun said softly. “You know why? Because you put three broken souls together they can make a whole, and that would be enough for all of us. You know and I know that we have no chance at being even remotely whole unless we find people who know us. You have to take the chance.”

  Shady closed her eyes, she couldn’t, there was too much up in the air, too much unsettled so she shook her head and then moved out from in between them and put her arms around herself, closing her off.

  “It won’t work and I need to get some rest. Don’t worry, I'm not going to run away tonight,” Shady said brusquely.

  Both men sighed and then walked to the door. She turned her back so she didn’t have to watch them leave when all she wanted was to have them stay with her. She needed someone, she needed to feel a connection but damn it, it sucked, the only ones she wanted to connect to just walked right out the door. Shit.

  Chapter Eight

  The next morning didn’t dawn so much as just begin. It was dreary, which completely fit all of their moods. Shady and the girls were practicing their sets at the club, while the guys were trying to plan the raid that was to take place in three days.

  They didn’t know where the hell Dominic Reyes III was at. But they did know where Lola was and they were ready to find her and make her pay, the bitch. The Warrior Bitches were going to deal with Lola, Creed and Fork already asked them, and tonight they were having their first official meeting to discuss what they were going to do. The Ops had voted and they were official, a female only chapter of the Warriors.

  First, they had to vote in their president and leadership, which was going to be easy because they had a small membership right now. It consisted of Shady, Freedom, Harmony, Rain, Bob, Treat, and Nike, they were the members, and they would all be in some way or another part of the leadership because they were the originals. They had already talked about it. They needed a President, a Vice, a Secretary, and a Treasurer; they would not need an SGT of Arms or Enforcers because they had the Warriors. Finally, the remaining women would be their Road Captains. Then they would begin to acquire Prospects, but for now, they were okay.

  Shady looked around the room and wiped off the sweat she had worked up while dancing. The only ones in the bar were the women and Cajun. She turned and walked back into the changing room and paused. The new chick, Sahara, was changing. She hadn't had much of a chance to get to know the new woman, the only thing she did know was she had a sad story 'cause Raven refused to talk about it. She was pretty and not on drugs, that is all that mattered to Shady.

  “Hey,” Shady said to Sahara when the woman was done getting ready.

  “Hey,” Sahara smiled at Shady hesitantly. Shit, she reminded her of fucking Free the first day she walked into Bitches.

  “You ready for tonight?” Shady asked, it was the woman’s first night on the stage.

  “Yeah, I think so,” Sahara said with a grimaced. “A little nervous I am gonna trip and fall or completely screw up but hey, whatever.”

  Shady chuckled and shook her head. “They will never notice unless you fall in their lap. Just make sure that if someone gets handsy you let the guys know. We don’t put up with that shit.”

  “Thanks,” Sahara said and then walked to the door. “I appreciate everything you know, the guys do. Just so you know.”

  Shady looked at her with a confused look, she had no idea what the hell the woman was talking about, and truthfully, she didn’t care. She didn’t need to take on other people's shit right now; she had more than enough of her own to deal with. Shady nodded and turned to her locker and opened it, as she heard the door close she saw a small package on the edge.

  With a frown, Shady picked it up and turned it over. Who the hell was giving her shit? Probably one of the girls trying to make her feel better. She pulled open the small box and frowned. What the hell? A thumb drive? She walked out of the changing room and wandered to the office where Cajun was sitting, but now Slider was with him and they were talking about their schedule for the next few days. Shady ignored them and pulled a chair to the computer, she didn’t notice they had stopped talking and were watching her. She was focused on the thumb drive, it was a weird thing to give to someone, maybe it was a new soundtrack for her to dance to was her only thought.

  The computer was on and so she plugged in the drive and waited. When it booted up she saw it had only one video on it. She frowned and clicked on it. Then she froze, because what she saw was the shit that filled her nightmares.

  “Francesca?”

  She heard a much younger Dominic say. The screen was black until the body moved and then she saw herself as a young girl. Oh my God, the night she saw the first girl murdered, the first night he had come to her room.

  “Leave me alone,” the younger her had screamed and Shady started in surprise.

  “Fuck, turn it off,” Slider ordered as he grabbed the shaking Shady and pulled her back as Cajun pulled the drive right out of the computer without closing it out. “Shay?”

  She was staring at the blank screen; she didn’t even know what to say, her brain was just not functioning. Who would send her something like that? Fuck, she knew who, but how the hell did he get in into her locker?

  “Shay?” Slider said, shaking her a little. Her eyes went to Slider's and he sucked in his breath when he saw the empty gaze.

  “Yeah?” she said strangely calm.

  “Where the fuck did you get that?” Slider yelled.

  Cajun was on the phone speaking to someone from the clubhouse; she knew this because he said they were bringing all the girls back to the clubhouse to find out what the fuck was going on.

  “Don’t know, it was in my locker,” she said calmly.

  Cajun paused speaking to whoever he was talking to and listened. “When was the last time you were in your locker?” Slider asked.

  “Two days ago,” she answered with a shrug.

  Cajun went back to his phone call and Slider put his hands up to Shady’s face and made her look at him.

  “Baby, seriously, what the fuck?” Slider said.

  She knew what he was asking, why wasn’t she freaking out? Why wasn’t she crying? Shit, she didn’t know, she didn’t feel anything right then, all she could think of was what happened on the video after they turned it off. It was in bright vivid color in her head and it was playing over and over in her brain.

  “I am fine,” she said finally.
<
br />   “The fuck you are,” Cajuns said, hanging up his phone. “Tell us what you are thinking.”

  “That everyone is going to watch the video and know how disgusting I am,” she said without emotion.

  “Baby,” Slider whispered and she turned to look at him with tears in her eyes that she refused to let fall, she wasn’t weak, she was strong, and she was not going to let the motherfucker who sent this video get away with it. She was not afraid like she was when she was a child.

  “They are going to know,” she whispered and both men shook their heads.

  “No one will see this video,” Slider said firmly.

  “I swear to you, Shady,” Cajuns said. “This is not going to be seen by anyone.”

  She nodded and then took a deep breath. Finally it hit her, someone had sent her a fucking video of the first time she was abused as a child. Someone was fucking with her head and they were doing a fine job of it. She knew who that someone was, just refused to acknowledge it aloud. The rage that would consume her was just beginning. She knew it and needed to get the fuck out right now before it exploded.

  “I gotta ride,” she said briskly, stood, and looked at the two guys. “If you are coming then get ready, if not, stay the fuck out of my way because I need this.”

  Slider looked at her solemnly and nodded. Cajun just grabbed his gloves and walked out of the office, grabbing the flash drive at the same time and putting it in his pocket.

  None of them said a word, they only went out to the club floor. Three of the guys were already there as backup and one of them was Shark. Shady looked at him and shook her head when he looked like he was going to come to her.

  “Riding,” was the only thing anyone one said to the group and the three of them walked out of the club into the back parking lot. The weather had not gotten any better, in fact, it was worse. The clouds above them looked ominous and Shady didn’t care.