“Yes, First Sergeant.”

“Good to go.”

I turned for the door, affixing my cover to my head before striding out of his office, down the hall, and around the corner to mine. When I got inside, I quickly took out my phone and texted Cassie, forewarning her that she would more than likely be called in to speak again.

Me: Just a quick FYI, First Sergeant O’Hara will probably be calling you in again. Tell him exactly what you told me and nothing more.

Me: Oh, and good morning, Blondie.

I didn’t get a reply right away. I sat my phone down on the desk and placed my head in my hands, wishing that none of this shit had happened and that it would hopefully blow over quickly. The door squealed. I looked up, and my eyes met with Jensen’s—cold and empty. He walked further in, sitting down at his desk and not bothering to say a word to me. The longer I allowed the silence to fester, the more agitated I grew, so I finally stood, walking over to where he sat and said what was on my mind.

“I need to know why you like Allen so much.”

He looked up at me. “Why don’t you like him? He’s just like you and me, Alex. He’s young and motivated. He wants to do well, and he loves the Corps. That was us when we were in his shoes.”

“I was never like Allen,” I snarled, taking offense to the comparison.

“Sure you were. You just can’t see it now because you have your dick stuck up inside of his competition.”

He was taunting me, and if everything that had happened recently wasn’t stirring such a shit storm, I probably would have decked him.

“I just know you better not be trying any underhanded shit where Pfc. Bennett is concerned. You don’t like what I’m doing, that’s your fucking problem. But she is off limits.”

“I wouldn’t stoop that low, Alex. I’m not you.” He grabbed something from his desk drawer then stood and stalked over to the door, turning around to look at me with his hand on the door knob. “Be honest with yourself. If you weren’t fucking Allen’s target, none of this would be that big of a deal.”

“Fuck you,” I growled, feeling self-control slowly slip away from me. My phone buzzed on the desk, and I reached over to retrieve it.

“Your girl?” he asked, smirking as stood there staring at me. “You go ahead and take care of that while I get shit ready for our students who need their instructors to prepare them for their final exams.”

He turned and walked out of the office, leaving me there to fester in my own shit. A tiny part of me felt like he was right; that at some point, I probably was Allen. I was young and motivated, only I hadn’t preyed on females the way he did.

Or had I?

Was my way the same thing, just done in a different manner? I hated my guilty conscience because it made me re-evaluate myself. It made me look in the mirror and stare at my glaring flaws. It made me see how far I had strayed.

I stared down at the text from Cassie, finally allowing a smile to creep across my face.

Cassie: I’m ready. And good morning to you too, Sgt.

I put my phone away, hoping that what Cassie would have to tell First Sergeant would remove our Allen problem once and for all. Like him or not, the fact of the matter was that he was threatening and harassing Cassie, and whether Jensen liked it or not, I would break his fucking fingers one at a time to make sure she was protected.

I sat and thought, long and hard, about everything—Allen, Cassie, Ruiz, Castillo, Jensen, Riley. Good and bad was coming from all directions, intertwining all of us in one big, mangled mess. Friendships had grown while others had been severed. My heart grew and my mindset flipped. Through it all, I couldn’t find the desire to regret any of it. It all made me think, but not enough to feel remorseful.

Cassie Bennett had come into my life for a reason. And Camp Lejeune or not, I wasn’t about to let her go so easily. 

Chapter 30

Cassie

I went to class just like any other day.

Shock hit me as I stood in formation and saw Allen standing there. Were they not going to do anything about him? I’d been warned when I mentioned joining the Marine Corps that it was a boys club. If Allen got away with what he’d said to me, then I knew it to be true.

We walked into the classroom. Alex looking stellar and enticing as he always did. Jensen and Newsome updated us on our standings for the challenge, and to my surprise, the partner radio systems activity was factored in to our scores. I was still sitting in first place, but Allen had made up ground, and was trailing behind in a close second. I noticed the instructors making a concerted effort to keep us as far away from one another as possible. Even though I didn’t sit near him, they moved him even farther away, making sure that it would take an effort on our parts to get to each other, and even then, Alex would not allow that to happen.

I spent lunch with Dalton, Lane, and Hutchins. Both of them had received orders to Camp Pendleton, just different units. They were excited since they were now an unofficial couple. It was nice to see them so happy.

After lunch, Newsome escorted me down to First Sergeant O’Hara’s office. My stomach knotted up, even though I was well aware that I was in the right and had nothing to hide. Well, as far as the Allen situation was concerned. In other areas in my life I had plenty to hide, and it was always on the forefront of my mind.

Newsome walked with me, making awkward small talk, but really not having much to say. Just as we approached First Sergeant’s door, he turned to me and said, “You just need to tell him exactly what’s been going on. Don’t hide anything if you want your problem fixed. You understand that?”

“Yes, Sergeant,” I replied, feeling the weight of his words. I had more problems than he knew about, and even though he wasn’t referring to my other problem, my guilty conscience was playing tricks on me.

He knocked on the door, listened for the okay from First Sergeant O’Hara, then opened the door and led me in. I removed my cover from my head and nervously held it in my hands, feeling overly intimidated by the bull of a man that was First Sergeant O’Hara.

“Private First Class Bennett is here, First Sergeant.”

“Thank you, Sergeant Newsome. That’ll be all.”

Newsome nodded his head and walked out, leaving the door partially open. First Sergeant O’Hara signaled for me to take a seat.

“How are you this afternoon, Pfc. Bennett?”

“I’m doing well, First Sergeant.”

He sat up in his chair, his stocky frame filling the seat. His dark, beady eyes stared down on me as his face went tight. My stomach clenched, twisting and aching the longer I sat in his presence.

“I spoke to your lead instructor, Sergeant Cruz, and he seems to think there is more to the sexual harassment claims that transpired yesterday. You do understand that the Marine Corps is pushing hard to eradicate sexual harassment from our ranks, and while we cannot scrape it all away, we are taking claims very seriously, and will handle such occurrences with an iron fist.”

 He sat up in his seat even more, those dark eyes growing more and more threatening by the second. His arms rested on the desk, his hands intertwined with one another as he stared into my soul.

“We also take false accusations very seriously. I will not destroy a career without due diligence. So what I am about to ask you, you need to think long and hard about your answers. Do you understand me?” His voice was low and gruff, almost accusing.

“Yes, First Sergeant,” I said, putting on a show of confidence so as not to allow him the pleasure of knowing that his intimidating techniques were working on me. I had nothing to lie about, but he made it seem as if he could will a lie out of me.