Chapter 38
Seth
S tunned wasn’t a good enough word to describe everyone’s reaction to finding out the money was real and, apparently, belonged to Regan. She turned to look at me, confusion and uncertainty was written on her face.
“I don’t understand.” She began. “Why would he put the account in my name?”
“I have an idea, but I’m going to keep it to myself for now,” Stella remarked, and her brothers gave her a weird look, showing their confusion.
Devlin was about to say something when a knock on the door drew everyone’s attention and James replied, “Come in.”
The door opened and Hawk and Rhys walked into the room. Rhys glanced around the room and looked at James. “Stop breaking into my stuff.”
“Stop making your codes so easy,” James returned.
“What’s going on?” Hawk asked as he moved around the table and took a seat next to Stella.
“Regan, why don’t you fill them in?” James suggested as he sat back with a smile on his face.
“Umm,” she began and stopped, unable to form her thoughts.
I took her hand in mine as Rhys walked up to the table and looked at Regan.
She couldn’t articulate what we just uncovered, so I did.
“This morning, Regan remembered something, and when she asked James to investigate it, well,” I spun the computer so Rhys could see it, “it looks like she was right all along.”
Rhys leaned over and read the screen before lifting his head in shock. His eyes were wide, his mouth was open, and he, like the rest, seemed to have trouble saying what it was.
“What?” Hawk asked.
Stella was the one to explain. “Sergey used to drill numbers into Regan’s head, and when she remembered one, it turns out he had almost thirty million dollars hidden.”
“Damn,” Hawk replied.
“That’s not the interesting part.” Stella reasoned, “Sergey put the account into Regan’s name and the passcode was his nickname for her.”
“Why?” Hawk asked as Regan shrugged.
“When I was with them, I thought they were a secret, and I refused to tell anyone what he made me remember. After, I thought it was some kind of twisted joke he’d played on me. And now, I . . . I don’t know what to believe,” Regan said.
“I believe Sergey put the money in your name for a reason,” Lucian began, “but I have no idea what his plan was.”
Regan looked across the table at Stella and asked, “Why do you think he did it?”
“You’re what, twenty-seven?” Regan nodded, so Stella continued. “And your mother never told you who your father was?” She shook her head, and I was starting to see where Stella was going with this.
“Before you say what I think you’re going to say, we need to be sure. Dropping that kind of news could be detrimental to her,” I reasoned.
Regan grew silent for a moment before she lifted her head and asked in a small voice, “Do you think Sergey was my father?”
“There’s a possibility,” Stella remarked. “I think before we jump to conclusions, a DNA test needs to be run.”
“We can use the same test we used on Waylon and Dick Pickens,” Rhys replied and reached his hand out to his sister.
“How . . . how could our mother have crossed paths with Sergey?” Regan asked Rhys.
It was James who offered an answer. “If, and it’s a big if, Sergey is your father, then my guess would be the house in the Flats.
Whorehouses were the bread and butter of the Syndicate, and if he was sampling the goods, then there is a chance.
That would put had your conception around the time Devlin was sent to Marco. ”
“I wouldn’t put it past him to visit one of the whorehouses while he was on the road,” Devlin remarked.
“How do we find out?” Regan asked.
James stood and remarked, “I’ll be right back.”
He left the room, and Regan began to ponder. “Do you think that’s why he wasn’t cruel to me? Or do you think he just saw me as someone who could keep his secrets?”
“You can go round and round in your mind, but until the test is run, I’d say try not to dwell on it. And if you are, you’ve got some pretty amazing siblings,” Devlin explained with a chuckle.
“If you are, that would make you and Hannah actual blood sisters,” Rhys added, and I offered him a small smile.
James returned with something inside a paper sleeve, and when he stopped next to me, he handed it to me. I turned it to see a long cotton swab inside with a small vile. The vile had liquid in it and I looked at James for instructions.
“Swab the inside of your cheek for one minute, put the tip into the vile, break the stick, and seal the vile. I’ll have it expedited, and we should have the results in two days,” James said.
Regan opened the package and began to rub the cotton stick inside her cheek. I looked at the group, specifically Stella, and asked, “Where was the house you went to when you handled Sergey?”
“I’ve got the address, but from what I saw online, the house burned down last year, so if you’re looking for the book Regan said she wrote everything down in, I don’t know if it’s still there.”
Regan removed the swab from her mouth and followed James’s instructions before handing the completed test back to him.
She turned and looked at the group as she explained, “The book wasn’t inside the house.
I knew it would be difficult to get inside the house after we left, so I triple bagged it and buried it in the back yard. ”
“Do you remember where?” I asked.
“To the inch,” she returned with a smile.
“Then we need to get the information so one of us can go and see if it survived,” Lucian remarked.
“Nope,” Regan stated, and Lucian snapped his gaze at her. “I bled for the contents of that book, so if anyone is going to retrieve it, it’ll be me.”
“And me,” I added. Looking at her, I asked, “When do you want to leave?”
“Tomorrow?” she asked back, only for James and Rhys to interrupt.
“It can wait,” Rhys stated.
James, at the same time, said, “You don’t have to do this.”
Regan stood, and I followed her lead, proud of my woman for taking what could have been distressing news and turning it into determination.
She looked at everyone, and when I glanced around, I could tell Stella was proud, Devlin and Lucian wanted to be in control, and James and Rhys wanted to shield Regan.
But she wasn’t broken, and she wasn’t fragile.
“Seth and I are going to find the book while you run the test. If it says what you think it will, then we need to sit down and decide what needs to happen with the money. If it doesn’t, then we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. No matter what, I’m not keeping his money.”
“Why?” Stella asked and stood from her chair.
“He was a bastard who made everyone’s life miserable.
Everyone but yours, Regan. He was kind and gentle with you.
He protected you, and if I hadn’t killed him, he may have been a good father to you.
No matter what, the money is yours. You said it—you bled for it, and you deserve to be compensated for your pain. ”
A few of them went to speak when Regan held her hand up, silencing them all as Stella retook her seat.
“I appreciate everyone wanting to make sure I don’t lose my shit again.
But,” she said, taking my hand into hers and looking up at me, “I’ve got someone who has my back, so from now on, I need you to back off and let me find my own way. ”
I glanced past her and saw James shake his head at Rhys before he took a seat, unsure of her request but apparently willing to honor it.
“Will you send me the address so I can get packed?” Regan asked Stella.
“I’ll text it now,” Stella remarked.
Regan walked up to Rhys and James, pulling them both into a hug. She spoke loud enough we could hear her. “I know you’re worried about me, but you don’t have to anymore. I’m going to be okay.”
They didn’t seem to believe her, but I knew she was telling the truth.
She was getting stronger every day, remembering things she used to keep pushed into the darkness of her mind, and with each new revelation, she seemed to be happier.
I promised the universe I was going to make sure she was happy for the rest of her life, and I remade that promise as we walked out of the war room and into the unknown.
WE PULLED INTO THE small town in Missouri just after midnight, and Regan was practically falling asleep as I turned into the parking lot of a motel and parked the car.
“Stay awake a little longer, baby, and I’ll get you into bed,” I said, and she nodded while yawning. “I’ll be back.”
Quickly, I got out of the SUV and walked into the lobby of the hotel. The woman behind the counter smiled and asked, “Can I help you?”
“I need a room for the night,” I explained, and for the next few minutes, we went through the check-in procedures.
She handed me a cardkey, explained where to park and how to get to the room, and smiled as I thanked her and walked away.
Regan was looking around from the passenger seat when I got back into the car, and as I pulled around to where our room was, she began to gather her stuff from the front seat and floorboard.
Carrying everything into the room as she walked beside me, I worried about how she was handling all of this.
We’d spoken some on the trip up here about how she was feeling, but all she could say was it was confusing.
I could understand how she would be on edge, but from outward appearances, she seemed calm.
“Do you want to get showered before bed?” I asked, and she shook her head as she sat on the end of the bed.
“I’ll take one in the morning. I just want to sleep.”
I helped her stand and pulled the covers back as she removed her pants, shoes, socks, shirt, and bra.
Crawling into bed, she looked up at me as she blinked rapidly, showing her exhaustion.
I sat down, slipped my shoes and socks off, pushed my pants down my ass and kicked them to the floor, then I pulled my shirt off and tossed it with the rest of the items.