The bell rang again.
“Are you going to answer that?” Her father yelled. “I’m watching my show. Can’t stand that racket!”
Gabby groaned and walked to the door if for no other reason than to put a stop to this and to humor her father.
“What is it?” Gabby asked closing the door behind her and stepping onto the porch. The midday sun was bright and hurt her eyes until they adjusted.
“I had to speak with you,” Logan said. “Just hear me out. I only want a minute of your time and then I’ll leave you alone.”
Gabby sighed. “Ok. What?”
“I don’t know what came over me that night. I’ve never felt like that before. I’ve never done anything like that before. I just wanted to protect you and when I saw that drunken jerk acting like that and getting in my face. I saw nothing but red. I barely even remember doing it. It was like I was outside myself watching a stranger do this.”
Gabby sighed and looked up at Logan. As much as she wanted to trust him she did not know if she could. Almost as if he could sense that she was about to shut the, he started talking again.
“I started to see a therapist,” he blurted.
“You did?” Gabby asked. She was surprised that he was admitting it to her.
“I did,” Logan replied. “And it has been helping. The doctor is helping me find different ways to focus my anger, and how to eventually stop it.”
“Well that’s a good thing,” Gabby replied. She was glad that he had had realized what he did was wrong and that he was doing something to fix it.
“I just wanted you to know that I am sorry. I would never hurt you Gabby. I hope you know that. You have always been the one person that has been able to calm me down. And I hope you will come back to work. You are amazing at what you do and the company needs you. I need you too, but if you are through with us then I understand.”
Gabby felt tears stinging her eyes. She tried to shake them away, but the emotions were flowing too strongly. How did she ever end up in this situation? She loved Logan. No matter how wrong what he did was, she could tell that he was truly sorry and she loved him. What he did was done out of love for her. Maybe she could help him get control over his temper. She knew that she could.
She needed Logan and watching him there on her porch, being with him she knew that she needed him more than he would ever know.
“I love you so much,” Gabby said. She fell against his chest and he held her in his arms cuddling her. It felt so good to be in his arms again. It had been only three days but it felt like six months.
Logan kissed her soft little kisses on her mouth and then morphing into something deeper.
“Oh, I love you too,” Logan said.
They held each other for several minutes. Logan’s lips were getting more persistent, the engines of lust being revved up in both of their bodies. Gabby was addicted to Logan. She had barely been able to focus on anything but him the past few days. It was too long. She had to have him.
“I have an idea,” Gabby said.
She opened the door and peeked into the living room. Sure enough, her father was asleep in his easy chair. His pills always put him to sleep like clockwork.
Gabby smiled back at Logan and held her fingers to her lips. She then tip toed every so quietly down the hall dragging Logan’s hand behind her to her bedroom.
Once inside she turned on the stereo to drown out the noise of their union.
And what a noise they made.
Epilogue
Six Months Later
Gabby waited for the final notes of “Happy Birthday” and blew out the candles on the huge piece of double chocolate fudge cake that Logan had ordered for her as part of her birthday surprise at Le Chateau de Myren. It was a new restaurant that neither of them had yet to try and Logan decided it would be the perfect place for Gabby’s birthday dinner.
As usual he was right.
The food was excellent. It was a mix of Italian, French, a bit of Mexican, and even some American food. The placed kind of did it all.
And the best part was that Logan had booked an excellent violinist to stand near their table and play quietly for them. It was the most romantic birthday she’d ever had.
And it was even more perfect that she got to spend it with the man she loved.
As she bit into the chocolate cake she felt the sensation of the heavens rolling up and down the whole of her being. It was almost erotic.
“Wow, that is paradise!” Gabby said.
“I’ll bet it is,” Logan replied. He reached over with his fork to try a bite and Gabby fork blocked him with her own.
“No. There will be no sharing of the chocolate tonight,” Gabby teased.
“That is so not cool,” Logan replied. “I like it when you have the perfect combination of wine and chocolate in your system.”
“Oh, so you want me drunk and fat?” Gabby asked.
“I want you however you want to be,” Logan replied. “You are perfect in my eyes forever.”
Gabby leaned over and kissed him.
“You are so getting lucky tonight,” She whispered.
Logan smiled. “I know.”
“Oh, confident, now are we?” Gabby asked.
“I’m pretty confident. I’m pretty confident about a lot of things.”
“I can tell that.”
“Well, I’m pretty confident about something else in particular,” Logan said.
Gabby gave him a peculiar look.
“What are you up to now?” She asked.
“Oh, what makes you think I’m up to something?” Logan smiled.
“Because I know you,” Gabby said. “Now out with it. What’s going on?”
“I tell you nothing is---“Logan started as he bumped his napkin and it fell to the floor just out of reach.
He laughed and climbed out of his chair to get it.
“Wow, you are actually getting your own dropped napkin? That’s a first,” she teased. “I’m making you act not rich. I love it!”
Logan laughed and grabbed the napkin. A small box fell out of it just then.
Gabby noticed it too.
“Wow, look at that,” Logan said playing along.
He grabbed the box and held it up to Gabby.
She was starting to get the picture. The look on her face said it all as tears came to her eyes, her hands clamped over her gaping mouth, and a small squeal escaped her.
Logan opened the lid of the box to reveal a huge diamond engagement ring.
He swallowed and took a deep breath. This was harder than he thought it would be.
“Gabby Greene, you are the love of my life. I want to be by your side for all time and I could never picture a day of my life where you aren’t right there. You are everything to me. Will you be my wife?”
Logan batted his eyes to keep the tears from falling but it was not working. He hated crying but right then he said to hell with it and let the tears fall.
“Yes!” Gabby shouted. “Yes, I will marry you!”
Logan put the ring on her finger and leapt to his feet. He swooped Gabby up in his arms and swung her around kissing her and holding her.
The restaurant erupted in applause.
“I love you Gabby,” he whispered. “Always and forever.”
THE END
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Gunner (The Bad Disciples MC #1)
by Savannah Ryla
Chapter 1
Gunner
I could feel the stickiness of sweat pasted to my forehead, dripping in fat drops down my temples. We had been trained to resist the urge to wipe sweat off our faces, unless it was hindering our vision. Just that little motion was a distraction, a split-second action between life and death.
Instead, I adjusted the angle on my Savage 110. Perfec
t. Click. We all heard the zing as the bullet cracked the rock open. The men behind me cheered.
I’d picked this spot for our training exercise because it was secluded, and just like the rest of Afghanistan’s terrain, there was sand everywhere and the sun was blazing down on us with a vengeance.
“Too easy,” it was Jenson’s voice behind me and I turned to him and smirked. I was the company commander, but I was also one of my men. In action, I was back to being their commander again and orders were obeyed. That was our way of life.
“Are you going to make a diary entry tonight about how Alton made you feel bad? How he hurt your feelings by hitting all the targets?” I laughed and slid down the surface of the boulder I was crouched behind. The metal ID tags tinkled around my neck and Jenson shook his head. Some of the others chuckled.
Jenson had always been competitive, which was a healthy trait to have in the Army; as long as you weren’t putting someone else’s life in danger in the process.
“Take up your position O’Dowd,” I said and he switched places with me behind the boulder.
I stood beside Jenson as I watched O’Dowd aim and hit the target, another rock. We cheered for him too and I passed him a high-five. Four others went after him, and my conviction in my company was re-affirmed. I’d trained them well. We were all high performing soldiers, and we never missed our target.
My bullet-proof vest felt heavy on my chest as I stood and watched the men shoot. Our guards were down today, although my sniper rifle was always cocked and ready to shoot at a second’s notice. Our re-con from the previous two days of this spot gave us a good enough estimation that this place would make a good place for a training exercise. It was off base, but not far off to where we were on our enemies land. Besides, my men hadn’t been off base for over ten days now, we all needed a change of pace. And in the middle of war, shooting practice was the only kind of fun we could get.
How long was it since I had an ice-cream? That was a strange thought to have at that moment, but I had it nonetheless. I wasn’t even an ice-cream kinda guy! But the desert was making my mind swim and I could hear an electrical buzz in my ear as I blinked furiously against the harsh blinding rays of the sun. The sweat was sliding down my cheeks. Drip. Drip. Drip. The white noise cleared when I sensed the others looking at me.
“What’s the score Sarge?” Sanders had said. I wasn’t keeping count. I was thinking about ice-cream.
“Doesn’t matter. Isn’t it your go Jenson? Or are you pussying out because of hurt feelings?” I thumped Jenson’s back as he scowled. Some of the others were chuckling again.
“I was waiting for you to come out of your day dreams,” Jenson said and flipped himself in front of me. “Wanna bet?” he added and I watched as he started walking backwards.
“Bet what?” I said, still grinning as I watched him cross the boulder we were all shooting from.
“See that rock?” he said and pointed far out in the distance. With my brows crossed, I looked through the viewfinder of my rifle till I’d located the rock he was talking about. With a grin on my face, I lowered my rifle and looked Jenson in the eye.
“Yeah, you’re on,” I said and he nodded his head. This was going to be an easy win. I knew my men’s strengths and weaknesses, and as competitive as Jenson was, there was no way he was going to shoot that rock.
“I bet you ten grand,” Jenson said and I laughed.
“Ten grand and a pack of cigarettes,” I called out to him as he continued to walk backwards. He had already gone a few yards further away from us. He gave me a mock salute, before flipping around and taking a few more steps. I was still laughing at his impending obvious loss of the bet when the telltale sound of a metal click rang out. Loud and clear and metallic.
The smile dropped from my face. I knew exactly what that sound was. Jenson had stepped on a land mine. The white noise in my ears became louder as I screamed.
“Don’t fucking move!” I yelled and I hadn’t even realized that my feet were carrying me forward. I was running towards Jenson in reflex.
“Jenson stay where you fucking are!” I yelled again and I saw the color drain from his face. I was getting closer to him, but then he moved a foot. Jenson was stepping off the land mine…
My body bolted up in bed and the sweat was real. I was covered in it. My back was sticking to the cool bedsheets. My heart was thumping hard in my chest. The panic was real. I could feel it coursing through my veins. It was all real. I could taste the sand in my mouth. The screams of my men. My yelling. Jenson’s deathly white face. Did I see a hint of a smile? Was I imagining it? Did he smile when he realized what was going to happen in the next second?
I jumped off the bed, grabbed the bedsheets tightly in my two fists and I jerked it off. I could hear the deep guttural growl that was rising up in my throat.
I didn’t get there in time. I didn’t run fast enough. I shouldn’t have allowed him to walk that far. I should have made better decisions. He was gone and it was all my fault. I needed to break something. Something had to break. Without thinking, I ripped the bed sheet in my hand, right through the middle.
***
I was on the ground; my cheek pressing against the warm wooden floor of my bedroom. The ripped up bed sheet was lying in a crumpled ball beside me. There was no way I was going to be able to get any sleep tonight.
This was a recurring nightmare, and not a week went by that I didn’t have them at least twice…even three times…sometimes every night till I stayed awake all day and night, walking around like a zombie, surviving on shots of espresso. Only thing was that it wasn’t just a nightmare. This had actually happened. I’d lost one of my men.
I was the only one to blame. I was responsible for my men and I got carried away. Jenson had always been a brazen motherfucker, and I should have known to not let him take it too far. And now he was dead and I was left knowing that I was responsible for his death. If only I could have got to him in time. If only I’d been able to run fast enough.
Enduring sleepless nights, waking up in cold sweats…was a small price to pay for the loss of his life. I was willing to do much more. I was ready for any kind of redemption that life had planned for me. I didn’t think I deserved any ounce of happiness anymore.
I heard my phone buzz on the bedside table above me, and I reached for it in the dark.
Glock was calling again. Fucking Glock. We’d been buddies since I could remember but this guy just never took a hint. I didn’t want to talk to him, or talk to anyone for that matter. I needed to be left alone and repent for the loss of Jenson’s life.
Ever since I got back from the tour, Glock had been calling me nonstop. I tried everything, from switching off my phone, turning it to silent…nothing worked. It was always ringing and Glock was leaving me a dozen voicemails a day, pleading and then threatening me to answer his call. I knew what he wanted. He wanted me to come by the Bad Disciples MC Bar, and I just didn’t have the mind space for that shit. I had my own problems to deal with and my family’s Motorcycle Club wasn’t one of them.
It was supposed to be some sort of a family tradition, and I knew the expectations they had for me. My dad was one of the guys who founded the club back in the early seventies. Now that he was gone, and my older brother Bryce was gone too…there was no reason for me to associate with the MC any longer.
I cut the call and flung the phone on the bed, far away from me. It was 2AM. I had to at least try and get some sleep. I couldn’t even remember the last time that I’d slept a full night.
The phone started to ring again.
Growling and cursing under my breath, I got up and picked the phone off the bed. It was Glock again, obviously, and I muttered a few more curses. We’d been best friends…we were still best friends, since we were in kindergarten. He probably didn’t understand why I was shutting him out.
“It’s 2AM, Glock!” I grunted into the phone when I answered.
“Gunner! Jeez man. You’re a hard guy to get a hold
of,” Glock was in a club, I could hear the sounds of thumping music in the background and his voice was louder than it needed to be.
“What do you want, Glock?” I said.
“No hugs? No love for your main man? Where have you been?” I heard him say, and I got up to pace the floor of the room.
“I’ve been here. At home. Where else am I supposed to be?” I growled and ran a hand over my dark brown hair. I could feel that it had grown a little. I wasn’t expected to get military buzz cuts anymore, now that I had been honorably discharged.
“Anyway, Axel wants to see you,” Glock said and I scrunched up my face in confusion. Axel was the new President of the Club, he’d taken over the position ever since dad died.
“Why does Axel want to speak to me? How does he even know that I’m back?” I said and Glock was laughing.
“Everyone knows your back man. Did you think you were going to hide under a rock forever? Get your ass down here,” Glock replied and I took in a deep breath of resignation. I was in no mood to make conversation with a group of people. I needed to get rid of the voices in my head first.
“I don’t think I’m going to go,” I said and Glock had stopped laughing by then.
“What are you talking about? If Axel asks to see you, you go see him. That’s what your dad would have expected too,” he said and even though I knew he was right and he was making complete sense, I had to grip the bed posts with my hand…my knuckles turned white. I was good at taking orders. I was trained to take orders from a young age. However, right now I was at a breaking point.
“Fine. Whatever. Tell him I’ll stop by,” I told him and Glock seemed half satisfied with my answer.
“Like soon,” he urged me.
“Yeah, soon. Night Glock,” I said and cut the call before he could say anything else. Flinging the phone back on the bed, I sat down on the floor again. At least now maybe Glock would stop calling me constantly and my phone would stop ringing. One factor less to affect my lack of sleep.
Glock (The Bad Disciples MC Book 4) Page 37
