“Well, put it aside for a second. We need to talk.”

Sincerity framed her face, but I didn’t give a shit. She was toxic to me, and after everything she’d done to Cassie, I couldn’t look at her the same. I didn’t hold an ounce of respect for her. I hated even being around her.

“Sorry, Leti. I can’t,” I replied, then got into my truck and peeled out. In my rearview, I could see her standing there, fuming. Her hand was on her hip as she slouched a little to the side. This bitch wouldn’t take the hint if it slapped her upside her face a few times. I didn’t need any more negative attention flying my way, so I bit the bullet and moved on.

Lunch went by much too quickly, as did the rest of the work day. Castillo kept her distance. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the cold reception I had given her earlier, or if she was truly busy, but whatever it was, I was thankful for it.

I walked out to my truck, finding Cassie leaning against it. She looked tired, worn out, and melancholy.

“What’s the matter, babe?” I asked as I approached.

She looked up and gave a half-hearted smile. “Nothing, hey, I’m going to stay in my barracks room tonight.”

“Why? Are they doing room checks?”

“I don’t know, but O’Hara is a dick and I just don’t want any more nonsense. I’m still attached to his command, you know.”

I didn’t like the sound of this. I didn’t know what that prick had said to her throughout the course of the day, but whatever it was, it had her noticeably rattled. “Get in the truck. We’ll talk about this at the house.”

“Alex! Did you hear me?”

“Yes, I did, Cassie, but I don’t want to talk about it here. Let’s go back to the house, and I’ll bring you back later.”

She complied, hopping into the truck and removing her cover. Even with the sweat sticking to her forehead just below where the cover sat, she was still so fucking gorgeous to me.

We took off, passing through the gates of the base and out into the sparse, open desert landscape. The air conditioning blew cold and hard, encapsulating us in an arctic box which felt a million times better than the roasting heat barreling down outside.

“What happened today?” I asked her, growing uncomfortable with her silence.

“O’Hara had me doing stupid bitch work for him all day. He told me that I still had the opportunity to free myself from all of this if I wanted it but that my time was running out since the pre-trial hearing was set for Monday.”

“Fucking prick. I can’t believe he’s pushing this hard.”

“You knew?”

“I just found out this morning from Captain Hedlund. Speaking of which…did you see him today?”

“Yes.” She rubbed her forehead then sighed. “I didn’t get my lunch with Dalton because he came and saw me. I guess he’s representing the both of us.”

“He’s a good guy, Cassie. We’re in good hands.”

She shook her head then turned and looked out the window. Her unease with everything was beginning to put me on pins and needles. She had a hard time with all of this and I saw no immediate way to help calm her fears, thus putting fear into my own heart.

“Cassie…this sounds like the end of the world, but it isn’t.”

“That’s not true, Alex. I joined the Corps because I wanted to make something of myself. I wanted to show my crazy ass mother that I could do more than she ever thought I was capable of, and here I am floundering. Being taken down before I’ve even had a chance to spread my wings and fly.”

Her face was shrouded in anger. Was she pissed that she had met me? I didn’t want to know the fucking answer to that because if she had said yes, it would have absolutely killed me.

“And to top off this bullshit, my mom won’t stop calling me. Apparently, she’s still here in Twentynine.”

“What? Why?”

“Beats me. She’s left me like five voicemails asking me to come and see her, but I don’t want to see her. She’s going to do nothing but spit bullshit my way, and I’m done with that. I’m done taking it.”

“You’re not going to take it. If anyone is going to see her, it’s going to be me. After what I saw of her in that hospital room, I don’t ever want you alone with her again.”

She nodded her head, agreeing with me. Knowing that Emmalyn Bennett was still in the vicinity sent chills down my spine. The woman was toxicity to the highest degree, dipped in venom, waiting to attack. The reason behind her phone calls to Cassie was unknown, but she was unwelcomed. I didn’t want Cassie having to deal with her when she was already having a hard enough time with everything else going on. I sure as fuck didn’t want to entertain her, but if her getting her ass chewed was the best way to send her packing, I guess it would just have to be done.

++++

Stepping into the house, I could hear the sound of the TV, but I couldn’t see anyone sitting down watching it. I stepped in, holding Cassie behind me, when Riley sat up on the couch and looked our way.

“Hey, Alex. Can we talk, man?”

I blew out a deep breath, then walked into the living room. “Yeah, in a minute.”

“No, right now, Alex. I thought long and hard about what happened last night with Nat and that shit really bothered me.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

He stood, almost frozen in place as I uttered two words he’d probably never heard me string together before. Cassie came walking up next to me.

“What?” Cassie asked, shock laced throughout her words.

“I’m fucking sorry. Don’t act like I’m speaking a fucking foreign language. I was wrong for going off on Nat like that.” I walked off into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water, needing to cool down.

“Alex, who did you talk to on the phone last night? Something has been up ever since then,” Cassie questioned, narrowing her eyes as she turned to me.

Riley walked around the couch and stood next to her, almost as if they were in a show of solidarity. I didn’t want to spill it, but the determination written all over Cassie’s aggravated face told me I really had no other choice.

“It was my mom.”

“So why would speaking to your mom rile you up so badly?” she asked, moving closer to the kitchen. Riley followed behind her.

I looked between the two of them, then downed the rest of the water. “Because it seems that not only was I a complete jackass to Nat, but she wasn’t the only person giving info to O’Hara.”

“Your mom ratted you out?” Riley asked, stunned.

“She didn’t fucking rat me out. She didn’t know. She said a man called the house and spoke to her and my grandma and was asking about Cassie. They didn’t know what it was for, and from the sounds of his questions, they thought that something had happened with me, so they told him what they knew.”

Cassie shut her eyes as she breathed loudly through her nose, and Riley just shook his head.

“That jackass is using people close to me to hang me fucking dry. And after speaking to my mom last night, I realized that she knew about this shit just as much as Nat did. I was fucking wrong for going off on her like that. I fucked up.”

“What the fuck, man? Now what?”

I looked to Riley, who stood consoling Cassie. “Now, I move forward to beat this motherfucker at his own game.”

“What does that mean?” Cassie asked, looking and sounding completely worn out.

“Now, baby. We get married now.”

“What?” she asked, shock taking over. “What did you say?”

“We’re already engaged, Cassie. The best thing for us to do now is to get married. It cuts some of the weight from O’Hara’s argument that I’m some dick who gets off by fucking my students. It also ties us, hopefully making it harder for the Marine Corps to separate us, and it cements us. I want you here. I don’t want you sleeping in some fucking barracks room, always looking over your shoulder for the next psycho to come your way. I want us to be Mr. and Mrs. Cruz, making a life right here together.”

Her face softened with my words. The goofy expression that had been a sense of comfort over the years with Riley was back as he stood looking proud as fuck. I didn’t give a shit if I looked or sounded soft in front of him—Cassie was my number one priority, and even though this probably was not the way she envisioned getting married, I wanted to marry her right away and be one with her.

“I don’t even know what to say, Alex.”

“Just say yes, again. This is our first step together, babe. A show of solidarity in the face of adversity.”

“Your grandmother…if she knows you’re in trouble because of me—”

“Cassie, I’m not caring about my grandmother right now. My focus is on you. Making you happy, and keeping you safe. I want to be your husband like fucking yesterday. Say the word and I’ll make it happen.”

She swallowed, then looked toward Riley who was grinning like a fucking loon. His smiles seemed to be permanently etched into his face, breaking me down while allowing a smile of my own to creep through.

“I’ll be your fucking witness. This shit is beautiful.”

Cassie looked to him again and finally smiled. “Okay, let’s do it.”

I picked her up and kissed her, swinging her around in a show of elation. She’d just made me the happiest fucking guy in the word. Kissing her felt like hitting the fucking jackpot. Her soft, moist lips pressed up against mine, reminded me that she would be mine, in every way that counted, and I couldn’t be happier with the thought of it all.

“Hey, man,” I said to Riley as we pulled apart. “I’d love for you to be my witness. It’s going to be quick. We need to be able to get in first thing this weekend.”

“Yeah, I’m there,” he answered.