“Do you know what he’s coming for?”

“None of my business. He just said he’d be over to see you.” There was nothing more to say. Gunny Moss was stern faced and made little eye contact. I knew even if he knew anything, he wasn’t about to share it with me.

We pulled up to the barracks building, and I hurried to my room, hoping that I could change out of my cammies before Hedlund got there. To my surprise, he was waiting for me when I arrived, standing outside and talking to the Staff Sergeant on duty.

I walked up and saluted him. “Captain Hedlund.”

“Sergeant Cruz. I need to speak with you.” He turned to the Staff Sergeant and waved him off, then followed me to my room.

My heart was pounding with each step I took. I wasn’t sure if he were coming with a bag of shit to throw at my feet, or if he were ready to lift me from my misery finally. Whatever it was, I wanted him to hurry up and get it out because the longer he held it in and my masochistic mind began fielding various scenarios, the more agitated I became. When I reached the door and turned the knob, my hands were slick with sweat, forcing me to grip tighter on the knob in order to get it open.

“You can take a seat, Captain,” I said, pulling out the lone desk chair in the room.

“This won’t take long. I spoke to First Sergeant O’Hara and asked why you were being held on barracks restriction since we know that you are not a risk to leave the area. He said you were labeled as a predator on students, and he needed to make sure to keep you away from the students in the schoolhouse.”

If I had to hear that motherfucking word one more time, I thought I would rip someone’s fucking head off.

“I asked that he lift the barracks restriction, and he declined my request. I asked that you be allowed visitors, to which he once again declined, so I headed straight for Sergeant Major Thomas’ office.”

“Does First Sergeant know that you had gone over his head?”

“Doesn’t matter. Once he’d declined both requests, my business with him was over. I spoke with Sergeant Major Thomas, and she felt it was best to bring Colonel Davis into the meeting. After speaking to them both, and explaining your side of the story—the meeting, the relationship, the subsequent fallout—they at least listened to what I had to say.”

“And?”

“And, they declined it.”

Fuck. I wasn’t sure why he was here if he were just coming to tell me that I was going to sit and rot exactly where I was currently sitting.

“But after going through your files, I saw that you currently receive a housing allowance. Having you sit in the barracks would revoke your BAH because you would no longer rate it. I took this bit of information back to them, and they found that to be an easy fix. You’d just lose BAH and become a barracks resident. After digging a bit more, I found that you own your house out in town, and therefore, need to keep your BAH in order to make your monthly mortgage payments. That coupled with the task of having to move your household goods into storage, finally got their attention. The Corps does not like default of any kind, and often reprimand Marines for failure to live up to their financial obligations, so setting you up for default would be irresponsible and unnecessary. They finally agreed to free you from barracks restriction.”

A boulder sized lump dislodged from my throat as I finally got some news worth listening to. I exhaled loudly and relaxed my shoulders. “So I am free to go now?”

“Yes, you are free to go now.”

“What about Cassie? Am I allowed to see her?”

“That restriction has been removed as well. I wouldn’t parade her around base though. They are still adamantly pushing for your court-martial and will see that as a slap in the face and push even harder.”

I couldn’t contain the joy inside of me. Captain Hedlund’s words were music to my ears. Not only was I no longer bound to this barracks cell, but I was no longer torn away from my reason for breathing. I couldn’t get Captain Hedlund out of my room quickly enough.

“Do you know where Cassie is staying? Or if she’s even out of the hospital?”

“She was discharged this morning and is in the student barracks. I’m unsure which room.”

“I’ll find out.”

He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it over to me. “Your cell phone.”

My mouth dropped. I wasn’t sure how he had managed to finagle it away from O’Hara, but I was over the fucking moon to see it. If I would have had this during my restriction, it would have given me a slice of sanity. This tiny fucking device would have kept me from tinkering with a full blown meltdown. It would have allowed me to hold tight to Cassie, even when I couldn’t physically touch her.

“It dawned on me that your phone had been taken away unlawfully, so I was able to get it back. Whatever First Sergeant O’Hara and his people were able to pull from it is inadmissible in court, and Major Godinez is well aware of that.”

“I can’t thank you enough, Captain.”

“Don’t thank me. Thank an overzealous First Sergeant O’Hara for jumping the gun on this. There is still plenty that they have to take to court-martial, but at least this is one less piece of ammunition.”

I took the phone from his hand, then gave a firm, and appreciative handshake. What started out as just another day that I was hoping to soon forget, had turned into one of the best days that I’d had in quite some time.

“You are free to go, Sergeant. You need to report to work tomorrow, but you will need to come and see me first.”

“Okay, sir.” I couldn’t get him out fast enough.

“See you in the morning, Sergeant.”

I nodded my head, then turned and walked out. My phone felt like it was burning in my hands. When I powered it up, there was about ten percent battery left—just enough to make a quick call to Cassie.

I pressed the call button for her name waited, impatiently for her to answer. It rang a few times and my anxiety began to build. What if her phone had been confiscated as well? Just when my mind began wandering again, she answered.

“Alex!” Her voice was soft but anxious.

The sound of it was all I needed. My name coming from her mouth—her soft, melodic voice—gripped me and pulled me away from the cesspool that I had been wallowing in for what felt like an eternity.

“Blondie…”

“Oh my gosh, Alex. Where are you? How did you get your phone back?”

“None of that matters. Where are you? I need to see you.”

“Students barracks A in room one-zero-three.”

“Don’t move. I’m on my way.” I was out the door before I even finished speaking. “Hey, Cassie…”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I hung up and tucked the phone into my pocket as I took off down the walkway that led to the student barracks. When Cassie’s door came into view, my heart beat so loudly that I could hear it against my ear drums.

I finally reached the door and gave three quick knocks, the wait for her to open the door killing me with every passing second. When she opened the door, all of my anxiety faded away. Her face was still bruised, and her wrists were still bandaged, but she was fucking perfect. I lunged for her, throwing my arms over her shoulders and pulling her tightly against me. The feel of her warm body up against mine gave me a sense of calm that had been noticeably absent since we’d been pulled apart. The feel of her skin against my hands, the scent of that cock twitching vanilla fragrance hitting my nostrils, took me back to the first time I had ever held her in my arms. Only this time, I knew I had her, and I knew that we weren’t in the wrong for it either.

“Alex…” she cried as tears trickled down her cheeks.

I held firmly to her as I walked us into the room, kicking the door shut on the way in. I softly kissed her lips, then pressed firmer, erasing all separation from us. She kissed me back, the hunger and need luring me even further. My hand glided up her head, as I tasted every inch of the beautiful mouth that I had been missing for much too long.

She slightly opened her mouth, giving me just enough to slide my tongue inside. Our tongues touching, swirling, shot off an explosion of rockets inside of me. As our kiss ended, Cassie sniffled a few times, trying to fight back tears.

“Shhh, Blondie. I’m here beautiful. I’m here.”

“How did you get here? Should I be worried?”

“No, Captain Hedlund is a damn good lawyer and got some things straightened out for me. I’m free to go home.”

She stepped back, her face lighting up like she’d hit the lottery. “So the court shit…all of that is over with?”

“Well, no. He isn’t that good.”

Her delight quickly turned into confusion.

“He got my phone back because apparently it had been confiscated illegally. And he got me off restriction thanks to our standing as a couple.”

“But you’re still getting court-martialed?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

Cassie started to pace, running her hands through her long blonde hair. “I don’t understand him. Why can’t O’Hara just leave us the hell alone?”

“We did break a long standing rule, Blondie. We knew what was at stake when we did it.”

She stopped pacing and turned to me, staring me intently in the eyes. “So you’re okay with them court-martialing you and destroying our careers?”

“I never said that.”

“Then what are you saying?”

She was frustrated and seemingly exasperated. I didn’t want to add to it, but I wasn’t going to sugar coat shit either.

“Cassie, I knew what was on the line when I decided that I just had to have you. I don’t care that O’Hara is pressing for court-martial. What I do mind is how personal he is making it. Like I’ve fucked his daughter or something.”