by Ryan Michele
“We’re gonna have to decide whether to put her in a hospital or let her loose. With Gonzo gone, the only threat she has is to herself,” I told him.
He looked down at his boots. “Fuckin’ hate this.”
“Me, too, brother. Me, too.”
I’d sheltered Xander for so long, but I needed to let that go and let him help me. It killed me since that wasn’t my instinct. However, if I wanted him to be the man he was in this club, I needed to cut those strings and let him live.
“Gotta let her go,” Xander said decisively.
My brows rose in shock. “Really?”
“Yeah, she is who she is, Stiff. Can’t change that. What I can do is go in there”—he pointed to the building—“get a ring for my girl, marry her, and fuck her all the time.”
“Like you don’t do that already,” I teased.
“Fuck yeah, but it’ll look better with my ring on her hand.”
“Yeah, brother. Let’s get this shit done so I can get drunk and back to my woman.”
Xander came up, wrapped one arm around my shoulder, and slapped me on the back. “Love you, brother.”
“Love you, too.”
The End
Note from the Author:
Thank you so much for reading Conquering. I loved writing Stiff and Chelsea’s story. I hope you enjoyed reading it, as well.
Sorry, ladies, but Stiff has been claimed. Yes. When I wrote Challenged, author Chelsea Camaron claimed him before the ink was dry on the paper. Being the wonderful person I am, I gave Stiff to her. She might share, but I wouldn’t count too highly on it. In return, though, through a lot of persuasion, she gave me my man Trapper. You can read more about him in the book: In the Red: Devil’s Due MC Book One. You can read it, but remember, T is mine. I’m an only child, and sharing is hard.
I would love for you to leave a review on whichever channel you purchased your book on! Reviews help us authors tremendously, even just a couple of words.
Thank you for reading and remember to live in the moment.
—Ryan
Surprise BONUS
Hey, baby,
I’m lying in bed as I write you, thinking of nothing but you. I never knew how long seven months were until now. With each month that ticks by, I keep hoping I’ll be able to hear from you. I know you’re doing great things, and I hope you are getting these letters. I’m so proud of you yet miss you, love you, and can’t wait to hold you in my arms.
Love always and forever,
Gabriella
SHOTS FLEW OVER MY head so close the whizzing of the bullets stung my ears. Bombs exploded all around, making the desert an enormous dust cloud. The air was so dense it got into your eyes, making them rough as sandpaper. I needed to clean them out, but I didn’t have time.
Death never had a timeframe. It crept into every nook and cranny, just waiting for the perfect time to take you.
I pushed off the building, looking around the corner into more film. Blinking rapidly to unclog some of the haze, I saw the enemy wasn’t in sight. Then, using hand signals, I motioned to my Marine brothers, giving them the go sign. We each followed into step, our weapons at the ready and bodies humming with alertness.
We needed to get out of here, get to the safe location. As a RECON Marine, our mission to infiltrate a well-known enemy camp had been a bust. They’d started shooting at us as soon as we’d gotten into formation, which meant something or someone had tipped them off. Now, we needed to survive this mess.
Shots hit the dirt next to my feet. I jumped, moving to the right, the opposite way, and lifting my gun. Seeing the enemy, I aimed and fired, taking him out with one shot. My brothers then began their descent, taking out a row of attackers as we moved back.
“Fuck!” Carrington exclaimed as he fell to his knees, blood rushing out of his leg.
Dustfield, the team medic, kneeled down next to him, pulling out a strip of fabric and tying off Carrington’s leg. It would be the best he could do until we got to safety. After he was done, Dustfield helped Carrington to his feet while the rest of our team, including myself, gave them cover.
We moved quickly, shots ringing in every direction. Some were from us, some from them. The sound was almost like music if you found the screams of dying men melodic.
Head in the game.
I reached for the comm. button on my shoulder. “Team Whiskey Foxtrot Lima. We need a bird.”
The crackle came through our ear pieces immediately. “Roger that, Whiskey Foxtrot Lima. ETA: eight minutes till Kilo Echo Charlie touches ground.”
We continued to move backward to get to the location the chopper was set to meet us, shooting for our lives.
Minutes that felt like hours later, a chopper could be heard in the distance—our ticket out of this dusty hell hole. We rushed toward the steady thump of the blades, somehow avoiding the bullets fired by the insurgents.
Seeing the helicopter, I wanted to feel joy and relief, but that would never come when you were in a war zone. I used the term safe very loosely. Nowhere out here was ever truly safe.
The whirl of the blades made the dust even worse, like a tornado trying to knock us down. We fought against the gusts while providing cover, the gunner on the chopper doing the same.
“Carrington,” was yelled, telling me he’d made it on.
“Dustfield.”
Then each name of the others was screamed through the noise as they each got on the chopper. Searing pain struck my shoulder, but I didn’t lose my stance, continuing to protect my brothers with my life.
“Fuck! Collins’s shot!” one of the men shouted as I kept my gun trained and shooting.
As the grenade came rolling toward me, I ordered, “Move! Fire in the hole!”
Just as I went to jump in the chopper, another bullet pierced the same shoulder, knocking me back just a bit and causing me to lose my footing.
One of my teammates grabbed me as the chopper went up, and everything exploded.
MY KNEES QUAKED as my stomach twisted in so many knots I swore I would puke at any moment. I even ran to the bathroom a few times, thinking the bile would come up and be expelled. So far, I’d been lucky with just the churning and nothing making an appearance.
I’d arrived at the airport early, afraid that I would somehow miss him coming off of the plane, that he would disappear for another twelve months, during which I would not get to have him in my arms. He was only supposed to be gone for seven, but then he was hurt and had to recover. I couldn’t do it another day. I would have done it for him, but part of me was dying inside from not being with him.
I tried my damnedest to stay strong while he’d been deployed, but there had been so many nights I cried myself to sleep. His safety became every prayer at night and every thought during the day. I made deals with God, the saints, and the apostles, hoping each word would go to whoever would bring Xander back to me.
I learned how to cope while he was gone, mostly staying busy. School kept me on my game, giving me structure and routine. Add in my job, and there wasn’t much time to think. For me, that was good. I’d even became handy, if you could believe it. I’d learned how to fix the toilet that kept running and never stopped. I made it stop. It took me several YouTube videos, but I finally did it.
Waiting became my life: waiting for a letter from him, waiting for a phone call, waiting for an email, waiting for any word at all. When I finally did hear something, it wasn’t from him. No, Xander’s brother, Stiff, called, telling me that he had been shot. The call should have been one of relief; instead, it became the most dreaded moment of my life. I kind of let loose on Stiff, but I was losing my shit. A woman could only be strong for so long.
The man I’d loved since high school—who I’d stood behind when he’d joined the Marines, who I’d kept vigil for when he’d had to go away for short periods—had been shot during this last long deployment. The worst part was I couldn’t visit him. They took Xander to a hospital in Germany then brought him back to the
states to Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda for recovery and to serve out the rest of his time in the Marines. I thought I could visit him once he came to the States, but instead, I talked to him over the phone.
Time stopped when I heard his voice for the first time in months. After so much worry, I tried my best not to cry. I knew he didn’t need that weight on his shoulders. But it was hard, and I broke, anyway. His voice was the best sound in the world. Just hearing him made so many things right in my world.
I wished it had been perfect, but something inside of Xander changed while he’d been deployed. He was different when we talked. The laugher didn’t come as easily as it once had. Neither did his jokes. A few times, he even barked at me like he gave orders to his men.
It hurt because he’d always been good about separating our life from the military. I sucked it up, however. I knew he’d been through a lot. I mean, hell, he’d been shot. That right there was huge. Therefore, I could handle a little attitude. For him, I would. I’d do just about anything.
“Hey, Gabby.” A deep voice came from my right, and I jumped.
Turning, I saw Stiff standing tall, intimidating, and covered in leather. Stiff road with a local biker club called the Vipers Creed. I’d spoken to him a few times since Xander left, but we weren’t close. We didn’t hate each other or anything, but I wouldn’t say we were friends, either. To be honest, he scared the ever loving shit out of me with his bald head and magnetic looks. Not just that, though. The overall power that radiated off him could bring anyone to their knees. Even as we stood in the airport, people stopped and stared at him, openly gawking. I couldn’t blame them. Stiff was a force to be reckoned with.
Stiff brought his arms around me, pulling me to his body in a tight hug, which I reciprocated.
“Hey, Stiff,” I replied quietly as he pulled away, eyeing me.
“No more tears. Our boy’s back.”
I swiped at my face, not wanting another tear. He was right, and I needed to get my shit together.
“Right. Is your mom coming?”
Stiff shrugged. “Probably not. She’s got a new piece, and even though her kid’s been at war, she more than likely can’t tear herself off his cock long enough to get here.”
I choked on a laugh as a woman with gray hair and a cane openly stared at Stiff, her mouth dropping to the floor at his language.
Instead of responding to it, Stiff said, “Hello, ma’am,” in the sweetest voice imaginable coming from this huge man.
The woman shook her head and walked off.
“You sure do have a way with the ladies,” I muttered, feeling the joy come back into my life for the first time in twelve months.
Stiff had a lot of Xander’s joking mannerisms. With him being older, I assumed Xander got it from him because I knew neither of them had a father growing up.
Stiff winked. “You have no idea.” He looked around. “Why are you here and not up there?” He pointed to the area where passengers were sitting and waiting for planes.
“Because of stupid laws. With all the shit that Xander was fighting for over there, we now have to wait over here to see him. Apparently, it is a security risk for us to be up there, and we have to have a ticket.” While grateful that I’d see my man today, I wanted to be right there when he got off the plane with my arms open for him to run into. Damn laws.
“All you need is a ticket?” Stiff asked, and I nodded. “Come on.” He pulled me to the ticket counter off to the right of the exit.
“Need two tickets,” Stiff said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet.
“Where to, sir?” the overly bubbly airline worker asked, eyeing Stiff with great appreciation.
I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t give a fuck, just need to get up there,” he told her, pointing to the seating area.
The woman’s smile faded, and she went on alert. “Why do you need to do that?” she asked, looking over to another agent who wasn’t paying attention. Great … She probably thought we were going to blow up the place or something.
I stepped in. “Ma’am, my boyfriend is coming home. He’s a Marine and was hurt overseas. We just want to get up there to meet him off the plane.”
Her demeanor instantly changed at my words, going from alert to almost soft.
“Do you have a copy of his orders?” she asked with a smile now gracing her face.
It was my turn for my stomach to fall. “No, I—”
“Hang on,” Stiff cut me off, reaching inside his leather vest then pulling out a manila envelope. “This is a bunch of shit I got while he was gone. I was gonna give it to him.” He opened up the envelope and began rifling through some papers. Then I pulled one out and handed it to the agent. She smiled wide.
“I just need your IDs, and you’re ready to go.”
“Just like that?” Stiff questioned.
“Yes, sir. A new law was passed that, as long as you give the airline the orders, family may go up and greet their service member upon arrival.” Her smile never faltered.
We were given a piece of paper to hand the guard at the gate. My cheeks hurt from smiling. This was perfect.
“Let’s go see my brother,” Stiff said, his smile making his face look not so scary.
Excited—no, ecstatic was more like it—we went through security where Stiff had to get a pat down and came out clean. I couldn’t lie and say I didn’t hold my breath the whole time, because I did. Thank God he’d left whatever he carried in that holster at home.
I bounced from foot to foot, unable to keep myself still as we waited outside his gate. We had fifteen minutes. While I had waited about a year, I swore these last fifteen minutes were going to kill me.
“Calm the fuck down,” Stiff said, reclining in the black plastic chair, cool and calm as could be. How could he not be wound up with excitement? This was huge, and there he sat, stoic.
“No,” I answered, continuing my pacing in front of the window. Every emotion I’d ever felt flowed through my veins in a continuous loop. My hands sweat and heart thumped wildly.
When the plane touched down, my stomach dropped. When I waited and waited for him to come off the ramp, I panicked. A woman with a small child came into the airport, and my anxiety ratcheted up. Where was he?
Then Xander stepped off the ramp and into the airport, taking my breath away. Standing so tall, he had his hair cut sharply against his head, his facial bone structure a bit more pronounced. His piercing blue eyes scanned then locked on me.
Tears welled. I couldn’t hold back. I tried, but there was no use. I lurched myself at him, wrapping my arms around him and breathing him in.
He dropped whatever was in his hands and put his arms around me, kissing the top of my head as I let the tears flow. He was here … in my arms, holding me. Finally.
I INHALED MY GIRL, loving the feel of her in my arms. Damn, I’d missed her.
Her body shook as she cried, and I held her tighter. Seeing my brother out of the corner of my eye, I lifted my chin to his smile. He would wait.
There wasn’t one single night, day, or afternoon that I didn’t think of my Gabby: what she was doing, how she was getting along without me around, how her job was, her life, her anything. I’d missed so damn much, but I had a job to do.
While I didn’t complete the mission I was injured in, my brothers went back and got it done. Fuckers were taken out and the entire structure blown. While I hated that hell hole, I wanted to be back with my team, fighting for justice. Nevertheless, the doctors said I couldn’t fight.
I spent months in rehab and had surgery before that. Those assholes put two bullets in me, shattering part of my shoulder that needed to be rebuilt.
Not being in the action didn’t sit right. Sitting, feeling pain, and going through therapy sucked. Doing it without my girl made it worse.
I knew I was lucky. Some guys there lost limbs. One lost both his legs. Another had part of his face burned from an explosion. I had it good compared to
them, but my girl had always seen me as her hero. I couldn’t let her see me in so much pain, broken and weak. Therefore, I told her she couldn’t come to visit, which wasn’t entirely true. There were visiting times, but I couldn’t let my girl see me like that.
Did it make me a coward in some ways? Yes. Was it selfish as fuck? Yes. Regardless, it was what I needed to do.
Now, I got to hold my girl. It didn’t matter how I arrived here; it just mattered that she was in my arms.
“Shh …” I consoled when her tiny body shook harder. “I’ve got you, Gabby.”
She looked up at her name, her eyes rung with tears. “I missed you,” she said quietly.
I bent, sealing my lips to hers, missing the taste of her. She didn’t hesitate to kiss me back, and not until the applause came from the room did I pull away from her, searching the space. The noise jolted me into alert.
Hundreds of people stared at us, clapping their hands in recognition. I had on civilian clothes, but with one look at my carry-on, they must have put two and two together. Shit.
I nodded, saying “Thank you.” Overwhelming didn’t cut it; I never expected a thank you from civilians.
Unfortunately, as my eyes cased all the people, my body went on full military alert. Over in that hell hole, we never liked crowds, were warned away from them because of the possible danger there. Even being on American soil where it was supposed to be safe, I couldn’t turn that off. Therefore, I scanned, looking for potential threats. I’d be damned if I let anything happened to Gabby.
“Alright, get your tongue out of your girl and give your brother a hug,” Stiff said, coming up to my side.
I gave Gabby a brief touch of my lips. “Give me a sec.”
She nodded, wiping her face and nose.
Stiff opened his arms wide, and I went directly into them. Stiff was the only family I really had. Sure, we had a mother, but she was always too self-absorbed to pay much attention to us kids. As the oldest, Stiff took on the father role, being the man I could depend on for anything. He made sure we had food, clothes, even a fucking roof over our heads when our mother was evicted, which was often. Stiff had always been my rock.
