Page 61 of Stone

He was right; I did, except now, I had to tell the girl I loved that every plan we’d dreamed up and every promise I’d made her was about to be blown sky high. Being a Marine mechanic wasn’t entirely safe, but being a Marine Infantry soldier was downright dangerous, especially when conflict was on the horizon.

For the first time, I felt a pang of discomfort because, yet again, I was about to move the goalposts of our relationship and do something I knew would affect my girl’s peace of mind.

A heavy weight settled in my gut as one question kept flicking through my psyche.

How much more would my girl take?

Chapter Fifteen

Elise

Duchess,

I love you so fucking much.

Maybe that’s the reason why, as I write this, my heart’s thudding out of my chest.

Hurting you means hurting myself, Leesy, and you’ll probably get pissed at me, so I’m just going to explain everything, and the chips can fall where they’re meant to.

My lieutenant approached me about becoming a Rifleman. He was impressed by my shooting range scores, so he suggested I join a battalion better suited to my skills. After a bit of soul-searching, I researched the MOS the lieutenant recommended and discovered that not many people get it. So, after thinking long and hard, and having a few conversations with Dad, I decided I may as well apply.

Things have happened at the speed of light, baby. It only took twenty-four hours before I was told I’d been accepted into a training program to become a shooter. My lieutenant told me the high-ups had been keeping an eye on me since boot camp. Can you believe it? I’ll be working with weaponry Dad could only dream of owning.

I understand it’s a far cry from auto mechanics, baby, but it’s an opportunity I can't turn down. They only take the best, soit’s a huge honor. Who would’ve thought a small-town guy from Wyoming would even be good enough for that shit?

Guess Dad taught me well.

I hope you’re okay with it, baby, because it’s happening regardless. I’m staying at Pendleton for training. After that, who knows? It will depend on what battalion wants me and where there’s space. However, with all the unrest in Kuwait, I think the government is bulking up its military resources just in case.

I know it’s not news you’ll like, but please don’t worry. Even if I went into auto mechanics, I could get deployed or sent to the frontlines if war ever broke out. Nothing’s really changed, Leesy—I’ll still be home when I said I would. Our plan hasn’t changed, baby.

I talked it over with my dad, and he gave me his blessing. Believe me, if what I was about to do was too dangerous, he’d have told me not to do it. Mom would beat his ass, and he knows it. It’ll be okay, Leesy. I trust my dad, and I know he’d never steer me wrong. It’s like he said to me—how could I say no when an opportunity like that falls in my lap?

I hope you’re okay with it, baby. I hate it when you’re mad at me (at least, I think I’d hate it if you ever were. You’ve never bitched me out yet).

Love you, baby. I’ll write again soon.

Yours always,

John.

The words on the page became a blur as moisture welled in my eyes. Halfway through reading John’s letter, my stomach had plummeted so forcefully that it felt like I’d be sick.

Raising a hand, I dug the heel of my palm into my eye, desperately trying to make sense of what John had done.

I looked around my room, unseeing. Rifleman? What the hell did that even mean? He was supposed to go in the Marines and do a job that would keep him relatively safe from harm while he built on his skills before coming home to me. My eyes lowered to the letter again, heated frustration clogging my throat as I read the words for a second time in disbelief.

It was a huge decision, and John hadn’t even discussed it with me. What did that say about us? Would it always be a case of John getting a crazy idea and not giving me a say in it? He was so matter-of-fact and blasé about it in his letter, and it made a sharp pain shoot through me because I would never be that way with him.

Every decision I made had John in mind. If a choice wasn’t conducive to our future, I wouldn’t choose it, because we were a team, and I wanted to show him that courtesy. Unfortunately, the same courtesy fluttered out the window when it came to John. He did whatever he wanted without giving me a thought, consequences be damned.

For a third time, I glanced down at the sheets of paper in my hand, lip curling as some words jumped out of the pages, almost burning my retinas.After thinking long and hard, and having a few conversations with Dad, I decided I may as well apply… Guess Dad taught me well… I talked it over with my dad, and he gave me his blessing… I trust my dad, and I know he’d never steer me wrong.

My chest heated, making my heart contract as a realization dawned.

He’ddone this. Bandit had enabled John to somehow justify this bullshit to himself without a care or a thought for me or what it could mean for us. Bandit had never warmed to me, and he didn’t think I could cope with the club life. He’d do anything to keep John in the fold, even by causing trouble.

Bandit knew I was on the edge, but he didn’t care. As far as he was concerned, women didn’t deserve the respect of being consulted about important stuff. Now, it seemed his attitude had rubbed off on John.

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