We had a great time out on the lake. There was no talk of the Army or college. It was just a day of enjoying each other’s company under the sun with a few beers and good music. When it came time to call it a day, we loaded up and headed back to the house. Before going home, Mia wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. Damn. Just like I knew it would—her body felt fucking incredible next to mine.
With her mouth close to my ear, she whispered, “I’m going to miss you, Thatch.”
“Gonna miss you, too.”
“Promise me you’ll write.”
“As often as I can.”
“Good.” She gave me another tight squeeze, her voice trembling like she’d started to cry. “Take care of yourself and come home safe.”
“You know I will.”
She wouldn’t even look at me as she turned and ran to her house. The next morning, I got up early to see Mia off to college, but she was already gone. I hated that I didn’t have a chance to give her a final goodbye, but fortunately, I didn’t have much time to dwell on it. The following day I was off to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for basic training.
It was only six weeks, but it was fucking hell. Thankfully, I had Mia’s letters to help me see it through. She sent one every fucking day. She’d tell me all about her day at MTSU, and I’d keep my promise and write her about my experiences at Fort Jackson.
It seemed I’d barely blinked before I was packing up my shit and moving to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. AIT was an entirely different beast. I felt like I could actually breathe for the first time in six weeks and talk to Mia and my family on the phone.
I wasn’t shy about admitting that I missed her. Hell, I mentioned it all the fucking time, and she did the same with me. I wanted nothing more than to see her, take her in my arms, and finally confess exactly how much she meant to me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen—at least, not any time soon.
I was stationed too far away for my weekend passes to do me any fucking good. Mia and Camden both had classes of their own, and neither could really afford to fly out to Oklahoma for such a short visit.
I tried not to let it get to me, but fuck, I went from seeing and talking to Mia all the time to not seeing her at all, and that shit was hard. I missed her. Hell, I even missed Camden, and that was saying something. I continued to write, but Mia’s letters and calls became less and less frequent, and when they did come, they weren’t as personal or heartfelt as they used to be. She was pulling away.
By the time the forty weeks of AIT were finally over, and graduation was done, I was more than ready to get home. I thought it would give me a chance to see her and fix the distance that settled between us. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Upon my arrival, Mom and Dad were more than ready to celebrate my arrival. Mia and Camden, on the other hand, were not. In fact, they weren’t there at all.
They both called with some lame excuses of papers that were due, sorority mixers, and other dumb shit that didn’t seem nearly as important as my being home for the first time in almost a year. I decided to let it ride, thinking that maybe they’d find a way to get home before I left.
They didn’t.
I wasn’t stupid.
I knew something was up with them.
I just hated that I was being deployed to Haiti without having the chance to talk to Mia. It just didn’t seem right. Luckily, I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
The second my unit landed in Haiti, my life descended into utter chaos and remained that way for months.
But my world stopped turning the second I got her letter.
Consumed with dread, I held it in my hands for over an hour, just staring at the damn thing. I knew in my gut that everything would change as soon as I read what was inside.
Eventually, I forced myself to rip open the envelope and pulled out the letter.
I was right.
I’d lost her.
The only woman I’d ever loved—the only woman I would ever love—was engaged to my brother.
I was hurt, angry, and everything in between. I second-guessed every decision I’d ever made up until that point. Deep down, I knew it was a waste of time and energy. There was no going back. It was done.
Mia had made her choice.
It wasn’t me.
End of story.
1
VIPER
“I know we haven’t been able to find much on him, but I got a bad feeling about the guy.” I looked down at the file of information Menace had gathered on Drake Coburn. “I think we need to do some more digging.”
“Okay, but what kind of ‘bad feeling’ are we dealing with here?”
“The kind that makes me think this whole thing with him and Kiersten isn’t done.”
“Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think ya got anything to worry about, Prez,” Menace tried to reassure me. “This Drake asshole and his crew have been six feet under for weeks now.”
“Yeah, but something’s just not adding up.”
“What exactly is buggin’ ya?”
I shook my head and sighed. “It’s the whole Coburn thing. He was small-time. Barely had enough pot to support his own habit, much less make him a fucking profit, so what the fuck was up with all the goddamn guns in the barn?”
“Maybe he was planning to use them to take over the Manor?”
“Okay, then why didn’t he and his boys bring them on the night of the attack?”
The Sinners had recently gone into business with Kiersten. She’d developed a pure line of weed and offered us a partnership we simply couldn’t refuse. At the time, we were unaware that she’d drawn the attention of Drake Coburn, nor did we know he’d made plans to attack the Manor. Otherwise, we would’ve dealt with him long before he ever stepped foot on the grounds. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and now, we were stuck trying to figure out if there was more to this Drake Coburn fella than any of us realized.
Menace considered my question, then gave me a nod. “I see your point. I’ll do some more digging and figure out what the hell was up with the guns.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear.”
With that, Menace stood and walked out of my office, closing the door behind him. I knew there was a possibility that I was overthinking the guns Widow and Hawk had found in Drake’s barn, but it was my job as the club’s president to keep my boys safe. In order to do that, I had to follow my gut, and it was telling me something was up with those fucking guns.
We had another big run coming up with our North Carolina chapter, so I put a call into their president, Dax. As expected, everything was set to go as planned, and I was pleased to hear that he and his brothers were happy with Kiersten’s product. I wasn’t surprised that it was selling well. We also had no issues moving it; in fact, folks were clamoring after it. As far as I was concerned, that was always a good thing.
Once I hung up with him, I spent some time going over some club paperwork and then headed home. I was just about ready to call it a night when my phone started ringing. I looked down at the screen and was surprised to see Rebecca’s name. It was after eleven, and she generally didn’t call that late, so I quickly answered, “You okay?”