“I’ve been better, but I’m okay,” I answered, trying my best not to sound down. If people were here to see me, I wanted them to see me being strong and vigilant, not as the broken and battered victim that sat before them.

“Well, that’s good to hear because there’s someone here to see you. And I wanted you to be okay before I just marched someone else in here.”

Riley turned for the door and opened it, leading the way for Angelica, who walked in, looking nervous.

“She was down in the lobby, so I brought her up here.”

Alex sat back in his seat, carefully watching her with low, hooded eyes as she walked in and placed a small bouquet of flowers on the swivel table next to me.

“I hope it’s okay that I came by. I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“It’s fine.” She looked as if there was so much more that she wanted to say. I squeezed Alex’s hand and quietly asked, “Will you give us some privacy?”

He looked at me, making sure that I was okay with this, then leaned over and softly kissed my lips, erasing any doubt that there was much more to us, and cementing it for everyone in the room. He gathered up Dalton and Riley, and the three of them walked out of the room.

Angelica wearily moved closer into the room, sitting down in a chair and smiling awkwardly at me.

“Thanks for coming to see me.” I had to break the awkward silence filling the air.

“I—I just felt awful after what happened last night. We haven’t seen eye to eye all of this time, and I’ll be honest, it was because I was a little jealous of you.” My eyes widened as she confirmed what I had been feeling all along. “I don’t like being second best—in anything. I was a bitch to you, and I was wrong. When I saw what went on last night, it put everything in perspective for me.”

I was a bit surprised but overall happy to see her sitting there. She’d walked out of the shower, dressed in nothing but a towel, and had hit Allen a few times, trying to get him off of me when the firewatch came in and finally removed him.

“I don’t even know what to say,” I replied, uncertain how to respond to her confession.

“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted to apologize. When I walked out and saw what was happening to you, I didn’t think of anything else except getting him off of you.” She stopped and looked into my eyes. “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy, Cassie.”

“I appreciate it, Angelica.”

“And then, I saw Sergeant Cruz go crazy on him, then scoop you up and nurture you. It was so beautiful. He didn’t give a shit that he was laying it all out on the line.” She stopped again, taking my hand and smiling. “I knew you two were an item, but I couldn’t exactly prove it. It’s out for the world now. But you know what? I saw the love he has for you. It’s amazing.”

I blushed and felt a little squirrelly inside. It was out in the open, and surprisingly, I felt so much better about it.

“I’m not going to stay forever. I just wanted you to know that I’m sorry for everything.” She let go of my hand and stood. “You take care. And good luck to you and Alex. First Sergeant O’Hara questioned me for a while last night.”

I swallowed the hard, suffocating lump in my throat. First Sergeant O’Hara was going to be digging, and as much as I was relieved to no longer be living in the shadows, I wasn’t sure how I would react to the imminent fallout. I put on a happy face anyway, not wanting to give away my apprehension.

“Thank you for coming by, Angelica. It means a lot.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy North Carolina.”

She turned and walked out the door, leaving me in a mess of emotions. I didn’t want to give North Carolina a second thought. I was just so glad to have escaped Allen— and have Alex out in the open— that my orders were more like an afterthought. I wasn’t ready to face that heinous reality. I felt like Alex and I had just made a great stride, and now my departure would be taking it all away.

She walked out without a second look back. I knew we were probably never going to be friends, and that was fine by me, but the fact that she came by meant something, so I took it for what it was worth.

Alex walked back in the room, but Dalton and Riley nowhere to be found. His walk was smooth…sexy…confident, but his face showed nothing but worry.

“What did she want?” he gruffly asked.

“Surprisingly, she wanted to apologize.” His eyebrows shot up, but he didn’t say anything. “She says First Sergeant O’Hara questioned her for a while last night. I’m wondering what all she told him.”

“I don’t give a fuck what she told him. I don’t care if she told him she found us fucking on your floor. I just don’t care anymore.”

“But there’s so much—“

“It doesn’t fucking matter, Cassie. I’m done hiding. If the Marine Corps wants to punish me for not being a fucking robot, then punish away. I love you, and I’m done hiding it.”

I reached for him, bringing him close to me so I could plant a kiss on his beautiful, yet oh so foul mouth. I kissed him, trying to go hard, but he wouldn’t let me. “Don’t rile me up because I can’t fuck you right now, and teasing me would just be cruel.”

I sucked my bottom lip and smiled as he pulled away. The words coming from that mouth, filthy or not, always did have a way of making me tingle.

“By the time you can, I’ll be on the opposite end of the country.”

“We’re not even thinking about that right now. We’re nursing you back to health. No more talk about orders.”

There was a knock on the door, and Riley came walking in.

“Hey. Just wanted to let you know that Dalton is in with First Sergeant O’Hara—again. He had him last night, and he has him now. He wasn’t around when all of this Allen mess started was he?”

I sat up in the bed, seeing the urgency on Riley’s face. Alex didn’t seem to care, but the reality of it all was making my stomach turn, and I couldn’t be as calm.

“No. We split off after the gym. He went to his room, and I went to mine.”

“Okay. Just wondering.”

“Riley. If First Sergeant uncovers anything, then we’ll deal with it,” Alex chimed in, standing and patting him on the shoulder. “I’m no longer concerned with what may be. It is what it is.”

Riley seemed to accept what Alex was saying and dropped it. They both sat down in the chairs, chattering about who knows what as I dug into my breakfast that was now lukewarm at best. It didn’t matter. I was hungry. After eating as much as I could, I laid back and fell asleep, feeling the medicine finally take hold.

When I woke, Alex was asleep in two chairs next to me, and Riley was gone. I looked at the clock on the wall, finding that it was well after noon. I leaned over and drank more water. It was freshly filled and had a nice, cool, feel going down my sandpaper throat. Soon I was out of water, and my throat didn’t feel better. I pressed the button for the nurse and asked for more when she poked her head in.

A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on the door, but instead of the nurse walking in, there stood First Sergeant O’Hara, dressed in uniform and looking like the bulldog that he was.

“How are you feeling, Pfc. Bennett?” he asked, his voice stiff and dry. His eyes surveyed the room, stopped on Alex, then swung back over to me.

“I’m doing okay,” I answered after clearing my throat.

Alex stirred, then woke and sat up in his seat, looking at First Sergeant with nothing in his eyes. They looked at one another, causing the room to collapse around me. It was so uncomfortable, yet neither wanted to relent.

“I wanted to come by and get your official statement on what happened last night with Private Allen. I spoke to the nursing staff and delayed my arrival for today in hopes that you could get a little more rest,” he said, after turning away from Alex.

I nodded my head, staring him dead in the face.