Colonel Thompson stared Captain Hedlund deeply in his eyes. I had been so wrapped up in the fraternizing charges that I had completely forgotten about the assault charges. This one, regardless of said guilt or innocence was something I was willing to fall hard for. As far as I was concerned, I had failed Cassie when I allowed Riley to talk me out of finishing that perverted motherfucker off. He was still breathing, and that alone gave me the will to withstand whatever they were hoping to throw my way. I hated that waste of fucking space with every inch of me, and given the opportunity, I’d finish him off without a spec of guilt from my conscience.

“Since the assault charges were attached to the charges of Fraternization, I have no choice but to throw them out as well. Sergeant Cruz’s actions and implications have no bearing on such decision.”

This was another blessing that I wasn’t sure I truly deserved. Deep in my gut, I felt that I would be tried and found guilty for the assault on Allen, a punishment that I was all too willing to take, but somehow the heavens had opened up and dropped rays of mercy on me instead of a conviction. A wry smile spread across my face. Cassie looked as if life had been breathed into her once again, her golden skin now glowing as she finally allowed her lips to curl at the ends. After everything that had happened in our favor today, I was instantly hit with the realization that we were the only part of this puzzle that not come out of this debacle unscathed.

We were splintered, both of us still in love with the other, but unsure how to proceed. Cassie rejecting marriage stung worse than a repeated fucking wasp attack, and I questioned what she felt she had for me.

My thoughts were broken by the loud pound on the table from First Sergeant O’Hara. Those beady eyes were trained on Colonel Thompson, his face red as a beet while he fumed on the inside, but he knew better than to say anything. Major Godinez worked to calm him down, knowing a contempt charge was on the horizon should he lose his cool again.

Satisfaction fluttered inside of me. O’Hara had treated me like a criminal from the onset. He’d had a chance to be lenient, to handle matters in house; instead, he’d jumped the gun and tried to nail me as hard as he could, and all of his overzealous bullshit blew up in his face.

Was I guilty of the charges? Yes.

Did his lust for consequences and conviction do him in and allow me to walk free? Fuck, yes!

I turned to look in his direction; those lifeless, beady eyes of his settled on me and I winked, further enraging him.

Colonel Thompson gave the instructions—Cassie and I should execute orders immediately, and both counsels would need to see him in his chambers to close out the case. The sound of the gavel finally allowed my excitement to explode, and I turned to Captain Hedlund, vigorously shaking his hand and smiling. Cassie stood behind him, smiling but otherwise quiet. There was an absence of emotion in her face, which puzzled me. We had just beat charges that we were both damn near sure would ruin everything we had worked to build, and yet she stood there looking indifferent.

Captain Hedlund turned to Cassie and shook her hand, then walked away to meet Major Godinez and head back to Colonel Thompson’s chambers. I reached out for Cassie and took her in my arms, resting my face in the crook of her neck as she wrapped her arms around mine.

“We did it, Blondie, we did it. We beat this shit.”

I didn’t want to let her go. That intoxicatingly delicious vanilla smell that I had come to expect from her had wrapped me up and held me hostage. There was no better feeling than being in Cassie’s arms.

“I know, I know,” she whispered. Her body tensed a little, instinctively making me pull back to check on her. “What’s next, Alex? We got away with this, but now what?”

“What’s next is you two assholes move on from my command. In my nineteen years of service, I have never been more disgusted to share the title of Marine with any other Devil Dogs than the sorry ass excuse for what is standing before me,” First Sergeant O’Hara grumbled. Fury littered his face, making Cassie tense up again.

“We’ll be glad to move on, First Sergeant.”

O’Hara stared me down, then turned his intimidating look over to Cassie, who seemingly found it in her to reciprocate his stare. He finally turned his vengeful glare on me.

“Head over to the Admin office and pick up your fucking orders, Bennett. And I want you out of my staff office ASAP, you fucking understand me?”

I wanted so badly to ignore this prick standing in front of me, but we were still in our military environment, and he required a certain level of respect. I smiled at him, knowing it would get under his skin before answering, “Yes, First Sergeant. It would give me pleasure.”

The veins in his neck began to bulge, and his breathing picked up. He’d just had his ego ripped away from him, then stomped on, so there was no telling what he was capable of at the moment. Before he jumped off the deep end, he turned on his heel and angrily marched out of the courtroom.

I turned back to Cassie, who hadn’t moved or said a word during the standoff. She had relaxed, but there was still something amiss with her. Something I couldn’t quite figure out.

“What’s wrong, Blondie?”

Her eyes opened. “Are you fucking stupid? Alex, we’ve beat the fraternization charges, but your family hates me, and you broke up with me. Now you’re acting like everything is fine. What is wrong with you?”

“My family doesn’t fucking hate you, Cassie. And I did not break up with you. I believe that was the other way around.”

“Really?” she shrieked. Now I could see hints of anger flaring up inside of her. “I told you I didn’t think it was best to get married right now. I never said anything about not wanting to be with you. That was your doing. It’s all or nothing with you, with no regard for anyone else. You ripped my heart out when you walked out on me, Alex, and you didn’t even fucking care about how I felt.”

She was right. I had done everything she had just said. I just didn’t see any other way to move forward after being rejected in the worst way possible. I ran my hand over my face and exhaled harshly. Before I could make out any sort of explanation, she was right back at me, tearing into my ass, and not holding back.

“You’ve done some incredible things to me, and then you have done some incredibly fucked up things to me. I forgave you once for fucking me over, but this…this feels so much worse. I love you, Alex. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone, but I think you did me a favor when you walked out on me. You made me see that you are indeed a selfish prick who has to have things done his way. Well, relationships and especially marriages require compromise, and I’m glad that I see you have no fucking clue about the meaning of the word before I let you slip a ring on my finger.”

Air escaped me, and I found it hard to breathe. One of the things that I adored about Cassie was the fact that she was firecracker and didn’t take any shit, but in this moment, I wish she didn’t possess those qualities. Her words whooped my ass and left me hurting more so than any physical pain ever could. She was hurt, upset, and I had made it that way. I had put this wall up between us, and I knew I stood the possibility of losing her for good. The thought was worse than being convicted in that courtroom today.

“Cassie—“

“I need to get going. I want out of this fucking unit, and I need my orders to make that happen.”

Without another word, she turned and walked out of the courtroom, leaving me feeling like I had just lost everything important to me. Taking a seat on the chair in front of me, I let my head rest on the table while I thought long and hard about what I had done, and how the fuck I would fix it.

If I could fix it.

++++

I didn’t head straight for the Admin office. After I’d left the courtroom, I’d had to walk—to think and figure out what the fuck I had allowed myself to do in my moment of temporary insanity. I had to be insane if I thought letting Cassie go was the best option for me. I had successfully backed her into a corner, and she wasn’t giving in. I had fucked up…royally.

When I just couldn’t walk anymore, I found myself at my instructor office. It had been a while since I’d been there, and knowing that I was about to enter and leave for the last time sent a wave of melancholy over me. I hadn’t wanted to become an instructor, but I’d relished the opportunity, fallen in love with it, and taken pride in it. It was who I was, but now it was just an after-thought.

I took out my key and unlocked the door, then turned the knob and walked in. My eyes instantly met with Jensen. He was reading through roll sheets, probably preparing for his next class of students arriving within the next few days. Awkwardness didn’t begin to describe the feeling of the room. Our friendship had crumbled during my relationship with Cassie. We had fought, said some pretty fucked up shit to one another, and were barely on speaking terms. I didn’t know how to approach him, so rather than try, I just avoided him and pretended he wasn’t there.

There were a few boxes sitting on my desk, and I took the liberty of throwing things inside of them, trying to hurry up and get the hell out before any problems could arise.

“I thought you had court today,” Jensen asked, no emotion whatsoever in his voice.

I turned to look at him, holding a stone face as he sat glaring at me. “I did, and it’s over,” I coldly answered.