Blondie: She's in the shower. Haven't we trudged the ledge quite enough today?

Me: No. Get there! A taxi will pick you up.

I had to get her out of there.

My heart shattered into a thousand pieces, feeling like a sledgehammer had been taken to it from the moment I walked out of that room without Cassie's hand in mine. Deep inside, it felt like wolves had surrounded her, and I had left her there to fend for herself and she was failing miserably while they attacked, poached, and devoured her. Ruiz was only one person, but the eeriness of her tone sent an arctic chill over my bones, leaving me fearful of what she was capable of with someone less hardened than me.

Cassie didn't answer my text, so I parked in the parking lot of the movie theater, hidden under a few trees so as not to arouse suspicion when the taxi came to pick her up.

My mind was everywhere in that moment, searching for reasoning to the madness that I had so willfully thrust myself into. Normally, pussy was pussy. It was nothing to get excited about, lose my head about, or possibly destroy my career over.

But something here was different. Something here was worth all of the turmoil and so much more.

How my life had taken such a detour in a very short week was beyond me. Since I had joined the Corps, my life had been carefully planned out. I followed and enforced all rules, never skimping over or cutting corners to get things done. The Corps instilled honor, commitment, and courage into me, but somehow I had lost that. I had lost my ability to see things in the black and white that they used to be presented in. I had lost my way… and I couldn't be more relieved.

I felt a connection to her, all formality now leaving where she was concerned. Cassie was showing me that not everything comes in black and white, that our best laid plans don't always pan out and that sometimes you just have to take a leap because life isn't as unyielding as we would like for it to be.  I hadn't even fucked her yet and somehow she meant more to me than any other female I had explored every inch of. The scariest part about this whole scenario was that the feelings I felt for her weren't terrifying me. Since Evelyn, I had promised that no female would make their way to a special place with me, and yet here was Cassie in all of her vanilla scented glory, doing just that. The thought put a quaint smile on my face after such a horrendous morning.

Before long I saw her, strutting into the Subway and ordering some food to make her visit seem harmless. Just watching her from afar, her hair loose and long, not tied up in that stuffy bun, showcased the carefree spirit that I wanted all of. Waiting until she graduated wasn't an option because by then she could have orders halfway around the globe, stealing my chance to ever have something with her. I needed her now. I needed to feel her, to delight in her, to really explore all parts of her.

A few minutes after she sat down, the taxi pulled up, giving me the go ahead to leave. I raced off, trying to get home in time to hopefully fill Riley in before she got there.

Luckily, my house wasn't too far from base, and I got there in only twelve minutes. I jumped out, running into the house, looking for Riley. He was in his room, playing Xbox or some shit that took up too much of his time on a daily basis.

"Hey, man. We need to talk," I said, slightly out of breath from pure adrenaline filtering through every vein in my body.

He paused his game, turning to look at me with concern tightly held on his face.

"You look stressed, man. What's going on?"

I didn't answer him right away. My mind was drifting back to Cassie and what she could have possibly endured after I left the room. My stomach knotted with the visuals, making me want to kick my own ass even more.

"Alex--"

His call jerked me back into the here and now.

"Alright, Riley. I need you now more than ever," I started, knowing that as ridiculous as he could be, he was loyal, and right now, I needed it. He didn't say anything. Instead, he focused on me with sincerity and caution scouring his face as he awaited whatever was about to come out of my mouth. "Pfc. Cassie Bennett is on her way over here."

"What? Why?"

"Because," I stopped, running my hands over the back of my head while growing frustrated with myself for even allowing my dick and now my heart to get me to this point. "Because she and I have something and her bitch ass roommate found us."

"What the bejeebus, man? Are you fucking nuts?"

"A little bit, yes," I spit out, not wanting to deal with any questions at the moment.

"Okay, so you bring her here, and then what?"

"I don't know yet. I just needed to get her out of that barracks room for a bit. Are you sure Jensen went to Palm Springs?"

"Yeah. He sent me pics of his hot ass chick out on the green. She had some skimpy ass top and her tits, man--"

"Riley! I don't really want to hear about that right now."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. What do you need me to do?"

My mind had been so focused on Cassie and her bitch ass roommate that I hadn't even thought about what Riley could do in this situation. Thoughts raced through my mind, but nothing stuck out in particular since everything was moving much too fast. Finally, it hit me.

And Riley would be the perfect man for the job.

"I need you to dig. Dig through everything at your disposal on Ruiz. I need ammo in case this bitch tries to go to war with us."

"You got it, man. But why is she so hell bent on destroying you?"

"Coyotes, the night of my selection celebration, she spotted me and had her ass all over me, but then Cassie came up and I was fucking gone.  Stupid as shit since I didn't even know either of them, but yeah, she must have been pissed because I've noticed her taking little jabs at Cassie ever since."

"Bitches. Catty little bitches. I'm so glad to be a dude."

I swooped over to him, landing just before him and grabbing him by his t-shirt.

"Don't ever call her a bitch," I barked, feeling like the insult against Cassie was a direct insult on me.

"Not her, man. Ruiz." Fear went off in his eyes in that moment, causing me to let go and back away from him. My feelings for Cassie were deeper that I had originally thought.

"Sorry. I don't know what came over me."

He fixed his shirt then stood upright, craning his neck to look at me, but I wouldn't let him. I was too ashamed of what I had become in his eyes, but also much too proud to have my heart land in the hands of such of incredibly amazing woman.

"Dude, you really have feelings for this chick, don’t you?"

I looked up at him, silence filling the space, but my facial expression doing all of the speaking necessary for him to get his answer.

"Shit, man. This isn't just another fuck and duck for you. You have feelings."

"Riley, shut the fuck up."

He flashed me a smile then patted me on the shoulder.

"I'm happy for you, man. You haven't been like this since Evelyn, so it's nice to see it. Even if it is a jail sentence waiting to happen." Laughter erupted from him, spurring me to do the same. In all of his silliness, he always had a way of being so profound. He was refreshing in every sense of the way that I was not. He was my polar opposite, but more so than that, he was loyal. And right now, I was going to need all of the loyalty that I could get.

"Enough sentiments, asshole. I'm going to jump in the shower before she gets here. If you're still here, let her in. If not, leave the door unlocked." I ripped my shirt over my head, turning to walk to my own bedroom.