Satan’s Fury MC - Memphis

by Wilder, L.

  “Okay.” She smiled brightly, making me wonder if she’d been effected by Gunner’s flirting. “I’ll be here waiting.”

  I watched my sweet, frustrated brother as he rode Requiem out of the ring and into the stables. Hoping I might be able to help him out, I looked over to Gunner and said, “I’m sure Hunter could use some help with Requiem. Do you mind giving him a hand?”

  “I’m sure he can handle it.” I just stood there staring at him and eventually he got the hint. With a defeated sigh, he said, “But I’ll go make sure.”

  “Thank you, Gunner. I appreciate it.” I turned and gave Dad another quick hug, then said, “I better go see if I can help out in the kitchen.”

  As I started towards the house, he told me, “Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”

  “You know I will.”

  Over the past couple of weeks, I’d gotten a chance to meet all of the brothers and their ol’ ladies, and it was easy to see why Murphy loved them the way he did. Each of them had their own strong personality traits, especially the men. Blaze was very personable, but he clearly liked things done his way. Shadow was quiet and protective, especially of Alex. And Riggs was unquestionably smart and could do things with computers that would blow your mind. It was hard to believe that so many alpha-males could live under one roof without killing one another, but I think it helped that they had such awesome counterparts. When I walked into the kitchen, Kenadee was taking a pie out of the oven, and it smelled like heaven. “Oh, my. That smells incredible.”

  “I wish I could take the credit, but this one is Reece’s.” As she placed it on the counter, she looked over to Reece and asked, “Did you just bring the one?”

  “No. There’s another one in the fridge if we need it.”

  “You know we’re going to need it, especially with T-Bone around.”

  She giggled as she replied, “You’re not kidding. The man’s like a garbage disposal!”

  Alex came up beside me and said, “This place is incredible, Riley. I would’ve loved growing up on a farm like this.”

  “I love it, too, but it does have its downsides.”

  “Oh, really? Like what?”

  “Like getting up at the crack of dawn to feed the horses. Cleaning out the stalls. Taking care of a sick mare in the middle of an ice storm. Rounding up horses in the rain.” I shrugged. “It’s just part of being out on the farm.”

  “I’d be okay with everything except getting up at the crack of dawn,” Alex replied with a grimace.

  “That would be bad, but I think cleaning out the horse stalls might be worse.” Reece looked down at her son sitting in his high chair as she continued, “I’ve changed enough diapers to know that wouldn’t be any fun.”

  “So, what about living with Murphy? How’s that going?” Kenadee asked. “I’m sure it’s been an adjustment.”

  “It’d definitely been an adjustment. I didn’t realize how loud it was in the city until I moved there, but it’s nice to be so close to school and Murphy …” my mind drifted back to the night before when we’d made love by the fire, and I couldn’t help but smile, “… he’s been wonderful.”

  “You’re lucky. Murphy is one of the good ones.” Reece looked down at her son as she said, “He looks out for the people he cares about, almost to a fault, and he’s absolutely wonderful with Tate. You should’ve seen them together at the cabin. It was a sight to see.”

  “I hate that I missed that.”

  Before I could continue, Alex moved over to the window and said, “Hey, y’all might wanna take a look at this.”

  Reece, Kenadee, and I rushed over to see what she was talking about, and I was surprised to see that Hunter was with Gunner, and they were leading Starlight out to the training ring. “What are they doing?”

  “I’m not sure, but it looks like Gunner might be planning to take his first ride,” Reece replied with a giggle. “He’s been talking about giving it a try all week.”

  “Oh, man. I’ve gotta see this,” Alex announced as she raced to the door.

  Reece quickly grabbed Tate before we all followed Alex outside, and by the time we made it out to the training ring, all of the brothers had gathered around to watch the show. Hunter brought Starlight to the middle of the ring, and he was talking to Gunner when I rushed over to them. “Hunter, what do you think you are doing?”

  “Nothing,” he answered innocently. “Gunner said he wanted to take a ride, so I’m just helping him out.”

  Knowing he was just trying to get back at Gunner for flirting with his girl, I gave him a warning look and said, “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

  “The man wants to ride. Who am I to stop him?” Hunter pushed.

  “Don’t worry, Riley. I’ve been watching Travis and your brother for weeks now.” Sounding way too confident, he looked up at Starlight and said, “I’m good.”

  “Maybe so, but I don’t think Starlight is the right horse for you to ride your first time, Gunner. She has a habit of—”

  “Don’t worry, Riley. I know what I’m doing.” As he started to put his foot, in the stirrup, he looked to me and said, “I just put my foot in this stirrup thing, pull myself up, give her a little nudge, and use the strap things to steer. Nothing to it.”

  “It’s a little more complicated than that, Gunner.” I liked Gunner. He was sweet with a boyish charm, but at times he thought he was invincible. Hoping that I could change his mind before he did something he’d regret, I suggested, “Maybe you should try one of the older horses first … one that’s a little easier to ride.”

  With that, Gunner placed his foot in one of the stirrups and lifted himself up onto the saddle. It was clear from his expression that he felt quite pleased with himself. “See, I didn’t do so bad, now did I?”

  “You did great.” As I reached for the reins, I asked, “How about I lead you around the ring a couple of times … just until you feel comfortable?”

  He glanced back at his brothers, and when he saw that they were all watching, he shook his head. “Thanks, Riley, but I’ve got this. You’ll see.”

  “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  He gave her a little nudge with his heel, and to my surprise, she started around the ring without any issue. In fact, she seemed perfectly content as Gunner took hold of the reins and led her around the ring. When they went by me, he looked over and smiled. “I think I was meant to be a cowboy.”

  “Give her a little gas,” T-Bone goaded from the fence.

  Taking the bait, Gunner nudged Starlight in the side with his heel, and as instructed, she started to pick up the pace. I couldn’t believe it. Starlight must have taken a liking to Gunner. I’d thought that Hunter’s plan was backfiring, when all of the sudden, Gunner nudged her again, only harder this time. At first she complied, but just as he was making it around the ring for the third time, she let out a grunt, letting me know that she’d had enough. I started towards them, hoping to stop her before she reacted, but it was too late. She lifted up on her hind legs and sent Gunner sailing. His arms flailed through the air until he hit the dirt with a hard thud. He fell back with his body sprawled out, making me worry that he’d really been hurt. We were all completely silent as we stood there waiting for a sign that he was okay, and thankfully, after several seconds of uncertainty, we finally got one. Gunner sat up, shook his head in utter disgust, and then pulled himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. Once the guys were certain that he was okay, they started heckling him. “Way to go, cowboy!”

  Hunter went over to him and took a hold of Starlight’s reins. As he led her out of the ring, Gunner shouted, “You knew she was going to do that shit, didn’t you?”

  “Yep!”

  “Um-hmm. You got one coming, Nichols.”

  Hunter smiled as he replied, “I’m sure I do, but it was totally worth it.”

  The guys were razzing Gunner pretty hard, but their teasing quickly stopped when Moose announced that the food was re
ady. The girls and I put all the food out on the picnic tables, and everyone sat down to eat. My heart fluttered when Murphy settled in next to me and slipped his arm around me, kissing me on the temple. I leaned into him and smiled as Gus stood up to say the blessing. As soon as he was done, everyone started to fill their plates. We sat there for hours, eating and talking, and as I looked around at all of Lincoln’s brothers and their families, I realized that Murphy’s family was quickly becoming an important part of my life. With their help, I was making new memories at the farm, good ones too, and I looked forward to all the memories yet to come.

  EPILOGUE

  Murphy

  Six Years Later

  Over the years, Riley and I had gone horseback riding a hundred times. While she loved riding the bike, it could never replace the feeling she had when she was on the back of a horse. I understood why she loved it like she did. There was something remarkable about being on the back of such a massive creature—feeling his power beneath you as he pounds his hooves into the dirt, and being so close to nature with the birds singing in the trees and the rush of water passing by in the stream. It was an incredible feeling, and the only thing that could make it better was being able to share it with Emma Grace, my beautiful, inquisitive three-year-old daughter. We’d only been riding for a few minutes, when she looked up at me and asked, “Why can’t Momma come?”

  “You know why.”

  “It’s not fair.” A pout fell upon her adorable face as she said, “I want Momma to come wit’ us.”

  “I know you do, but it won’t be long until she can ride with us again.”

  “And she can ride Belle?” she asked hopefully.

  “Yes, sweetheart.” Belle was Requiem’s first mare, and she was by far the most beautiful horse I’d ever laid my eyes on. Riley was hesitant to accept the horse as a gift from her father, thinking it would be too hard after what had happened to Anna Belle, but inevitably, Riley fell in love with her and decided to keep her. I looked down at Emma as I told her, “We’re almost to the bridge.”

  “Are we going to da’ water?” Excitement filled her voice as she told me, “I want to see the fishes.”

  “Yeah. We’re going to the water, but we can’t stay long. We need to get back and help Grandpa with the gate.”

  “Okay.” When we got up to the edge of the river, I led Belle a little farther up so Emma could have a good view of the water. “Closer, Daddy.”

  “We’re close enough.” I held on to her as she leaned closer, trying her best to spot a fish. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before a school of minnows came swimming up to the edge. I pointed towards the water as I asked her, “Do you see them?”

  “Yes! I see ’dem, Daddy!”

  I gave her a few minutes to watch the fish, before telling her, “We gotta go, but I’ll bring you back soon.”

  “Wit’ Momma?”

  “Yes, Emma.” I chuckled, “With Momma.”

  We rode back to the farm, and when we got to the stables, Riley was checking in on one of the two of the newest foals. She slowly waddled over to us and asked, “How was the ride?”

  “It was good.” I lifted Emma Grace and carefully lowered her down to the ground. As Riley reached for her hand, I got down off of Belle and started leading her into one of the empty stalls. “Emma Grace wasn’t happy about you not being there with us.”

  Riley looked down at her daughter as she said, “You know I would’ve come if I could.”

  “I know.” Emma Grace placed her hands on Riley’s full belly as she said, “My broder’ is coming soon.”

  “Yes, he is, and until he gets here, it isn’t safe for Momma to ride,” Riley explained.

  “Okay.” When she noticed Riley’s father sitting on the front porch, she shouted, “Pawpaw!”

  We both watched as she ran over and jumped into his arms. He gave her a big hug as he twirled her around in a circle, making her squeal with laughter. Riley’s lips curled into a smile, and just like the first time I laid eyes on her, she looked absolutely breathtaking. Unable to resist, I took a step towards her and placed my hands on her hips, pulling her to me. Her eyes locked on mine as I lowered my mouth to hers, kissing her long and hard, and when we finally came up for air, she gasped, “What was that for?”

  “Couldn’t help myself.” I placed my hand on her stomach as I asked, “How you feeling?”

  “Like I’m about to deliver a basketball,” she joked. “But I’m making it okay.”

  “Just a few more days.”

  “I know.” With love in her eyes, she looked down at my hand on her belly and said, “He’ll be here before we know it, and then we’ll really be in trouble.”

  “Nah, together we can make it through anything,” I assured her. “Even two toddlers.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “If I’m not, at least we’ll have each other.”

  “You know what?” Riley wound her arms around my neck. “I love you.”

  “And I love you too.” I lowered my mouth to hers and kissed her once more. “More than I ever imagined.”

  The End

  GUNNER

  Satan’s Fury MC – Memphis

  L Wilder

  August 19, 1994

  Gus,

  I’ve been lying here watching you sleep for hours, just thinking about the time we’ve shared together. This summer has been the best few months of my life. I can honestly say I’ve never been happier, and that’s all because of you. I love you, Gus. I love you with every fiber of my being. You mean so much to me, more than I thought possible. With you, I’ve learned how it feels to truly love and to be loved. That’s why this letter is so hard to write.

  I’ve done a lot of thinking over the past few weeks, and I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t matter how much I love you or you love me. It just isn’t enough. We’re from two different worlds, headed down two completely different paths, and if we stay together, we’re only going to end up destroying one another. I can’t bear for that to happen. I love you too much. It breaks my heart to say this to you, but I’m leaving Memphis. I am asking you to please respect my decision. Don’t try to find me. Don’t call me. Let me find a way to move on, and I will do the same for you. It’s the only way either of us will ever make it through this.

  This wasn’t an easy decision for me. In fact, it’s killing me to walk away from you, but deep down I know it’s the right thing to do. Please remember—I love you today, I loved you yesterday, and I will love you tomorrow and always. That will never change.

  Love,

  Samantha

  PROLOGUE

  When I joined the Marines, I didn’t have any preconceived notions about being in the military and going to war. I’d seen and heard enough to know it wasn’t going to be easy—far from it. It was one of the hardest, but greatest, things I’d ever done. I worked my ass off, fought for my country, and learned just how far I could be pushed without breaking. But it came at a price. Every waking moment I’d wondered if my time was about to run out, if I’d seen my last sunset or had lain my head down on my pack for the very last time. Even if I’d managed to survive long enough to see the sunrise the next morning, there’d been little consolation in knowing I’d just have to go through that same hell all over again.

  I thought I’d find peace once I was finally back in the States with my family and friends and able to sleep in my own bed or walk down the street without feeling like I was under a constant threat—but I’d been wrong. I never realized just how wrong until a shotgun wound forced me to go home.

  When I got off the plane, I found my mother waiting for me at the gate. As expected, she was alone and still wearing her green Food and More grocery smock. Her tired eyes filled with tears the second she spotted me walking in her direction. “Cade!” she called, rushing towards me with her arms opened wide.

  She was just about to reach for me when she suddenly stopped and looked down at my arm. After getting shot in the shoulder, I had to have recon
structive surgery, which meant wearing a sling for the next couple of months. “I’m okay, Mom.”

  She eased up on her tiptoes and carefully wrapped her arms around my neck, giving me one of her famous mom hugs. Damn. I was a grown man, and her hugs still got to me the same way they did when I was a kid. “I can’t tell you how good it is to see you, sweetheart.”

  “Good to see you too.”

  “I’ve been worried sick about you. Your father has too.”

  “I know.” I gave her a quick squeeze, then said, “I’m sorry I worried you.”

  “I’m just glad you’re home where we can take care of you.” She gave me a little pat as she stepped back and smiled. “Have to fatten you up a bit.”

  I was six-four and weighed about two hundred and forty pounds. Before I was shot, I worked out every day and knew what condition I was in. I glanced down at myself and told her, “I’m not exactly skin and bones here, Mom.”

  “Well, you look like you’ve lost weight to me … and you’re a little peeked.”

  “Yeah, well … you’d look a little peeked too if you’d just spent the last sixteen hours on an airplane.” Before she could respond, I added, “Let me grab my bag, and then we can get out of here.”

  As she followed me over to the baggage claim area, she explained, “Your father wanted to come tonight, but you know how he is around crowds. We both figured it would be easier if he just waited at the house for us.”

  My father was a brilliant man. There wasn’t a mathematical problem he couldn’t figure out, which made him one of the best accountants in town. But he’d always been a little different. He wasn’t a fan of crowds or loud noises. He’d fixate on things from historical facts to the changes in weather, obsessing on every detail, and he wasn’t exactly big on showing affection—except for when he was with my mother. He’d always been different with her—touching her, holding her hand, and even hugging her. I’d always hoped that some of that would rub off on me, but it never did. “It’s fine, Mom. I wasn’t expecting him to be here.”