A gym bag was thrust into the room and then there she was, Pfc. Ruiz, strolling in, her eyes bulging at the site of me. Her lips instantly formed into a tight pout like she was plotting something that very instant. My blood began to boil. I knew that this girl would be up to no good and that whatever was about to come out of her mouth was probably going to be something that would take the restraints of a saint to hold me back from her.

"Well…well…well. What have we here?" she asked, her lips curving into a sinister grin.

There was no way in hell she was going to know that her presence affected me in the slightest little bit. No way.

"I thought something was going on between the two of you. I just didn't think you'd be stupid enough to do anything here on base."

"You don't know shit," I hissed, matching her cold and calculating gaze. We stood glaring at one another like an old fashioned staring contest. Neither of us wanted to blink and yield to the other, thus handing over the upper hand.

I sure as shit wasn't going to let this P.F.C., get under my skin and intimidate me. She could throw every accusation under the sun at me, and I'd fend them off like a warrior in battle, moving along and waiting for the next obstacle to come my way.

"Angelica, whatever you think you know, you couldn't be more wrong," Bennett managed to sputter out, her voice frail and mousey. Looking at her signified her fear in what stood before us, so I took the initiative to calm her down, showing her that there was nothing to be worried about.

"You don't need to convince anyone of anything, Blondie--"

"Blondie?" Ruiz laughed, a sick, stomach turning, knot inducing laugh. The devil himself would have flinched at the tone of her laugh. "Nothing is going on, but you have pet names? And a cute one, might I add?"

I glided over to her, feeling weightless in my moment of wrath and partial despair. I was beyond pissed off and overly annoyed with her games and was ready to squash whatever she had in mind like a fucking bug that served no purpose in my world.

"You better watch yourself and presumptions about an NCO and your instructor at that. False accusations can land you in a shitstorm of trouble, and don't think that, for one second, I wouldn't turn your life upside down for trying to destroy mine." My voice grew lower and gruffer with every word spoken, but the more I had to say, the more infuriated I became.

"And another thing, do you think your overnight absence won't be reported as UA because it can and more than likely will." Moving even closer, I leaned in close enough to touch her ear with my lips, working diligently to avoid doing so since that was an intimate move I often made with Cassie, and didn't want to spoil with the toxic flair that this chick passed off. "You fuck with me or her, and I'll fuck you, and not in the way that you want me to." Taking a few steps back, I stared her in the face and twisted my lips into a sardonic smile before striding out of the room without so much as a glance back.

That. Killed. Me.

While I wanted the satisfaction of seeing fear spread over her, I also wanted to take Cassie with me and get her out of the clutches of that evil that was in her midst. I was damn near certain that I had sealed her mouth as far as Cassie and I were concerned, but I couldn't be sure that Ruiz wouldn't try and make Cassie's life a living fucking nightmare. As I angrily stomped out of the barracks and down the stairs, I grew nauseous with the thought of her having to endure any undue stress thanks to my actions.

Thoughts of what to do next raced through my mind as I jogged out to my truck, finally settling on the one thing I didn't want to do, but knew I had to do-- I pulled out my cell phone and called Riley.

He answered on the second ring.

"What up, dickwad? You only had duty, not an all-night bingefest, so drive your own self home."

"Shut the fuck up, Riley. I'm in a bind, and I need you to hear me out. Is Jensen home?"

He went quiet for a second, picking up the intensity in my tone.

"Um, no. He went golfing this morning in Palm Springs with that Asian chick from Coyotes."

"Sweet. I'm on my way home. I need you to get ready to come to base to do a job for me.”

"Oh, shit. This sounds serious."

"It is. I'll be home in a bit. Be ready, please."

"Will do, man. I feel all covert right now. Hurry home, this is too cool." His goofy ass chuckle bellowed out. This dude couldn't be serious if you begged him to.

"Riley…"

"Yeah?"

"Shut the fuck up and be ready, please."

He laughed hard.

I angrily pressed end on the call, skimming through and calling the local taxi service that we sometimes frequented when we hit all of the area bars.

 After the call, I shot a quick text to Cassie.

Me: Get out of that room and over to Subway ASAP. Don't let that bitch know where you're going.

She took a minute to respond, sending my anxiety level through the roof of my truck.

Blondie: She's in the shower. Haven't we trudged the ledge quite enough today?

Me: No. Get there! A taxi will pick you up.

I had to get her out of there.

My heart shattered into a thousand pieces, feeling like a sledgehammer had been taken to it from the moment I walked out of that room without Cassie's hand in mine. Deep inside, it felt like wolves had surrounded her, and I had left her there to fend for herself and she was failing miserably while they attacked, poached, and devoured her. Ruiz was only one person, but the eeriness of her tone sent an arctic chill over my bones, leaving me fearful of what she was capable of with someone less hardened than me.

Cassie didn't answer my text, so I parked in the parking lot of the movie theater, hidden under a few trees so as not to arouse suspicion when the taxi came to pick her up.

My mind was everywhere in that moment, searching for reasoning to the madness that I had so willfully thrust myself into. Normally, pussy was pussy. It was nothing to get excited about, lose my head about, or possibly destroy my career over.

But something here was different. Something here was worth all of the turmoil and so much more.

How my life had taken such a detour in a very short week was beyond me. Since I had joined the Corps, my life had been carefully planned out. I followed and enforced all rules, never skimping over or cutting corners to get things done. The Corps instilled honor, commitment, and courage into me, but somehow I had lost that. I had lost my ability to see things in the black and white that they used to be presented in. I had lost my way… and I couldn't be more relieved.

I felt a connection to her, all formality now leaving where she was concerned. Cassie was showing me that not everything comes in black and white, that our best laid plans don't always pan out and that sometimes you just have to take a leap because life isn't as unyielding as we would like for it to be.  I hadn't even fucked her yet and somehow she meant more to me than any other female I had explored every inch of. The scariest part about this whole scenario was that the feelings I felt for her weren't terrifying me. Since Evelyn, I had promised that no female would make their way to a special place with me, and yet here was Cassie in all of her vanilla scented glory, doing just that. The thought put a quaint smile on my face after such a horrendous morning.

Before long I saw her, strutting into the Subway and ordering some food to make her visit seem harmless. Just watching her from afar, her hair loose and long, not tied up in that stuffy bun, showcased the carefree spirit that I wanted all of. Waiting until she graduated wasn't an option because by then she could have orders halfway around the globe, stealing my chance to ever have something with her. I needed her now. I needed to feel her, to delight in her, to really explore all parts of her.

A few minutes after she sat down, the taxi pulled up, giving me the go ahead to leave. I raced off, trying to get home in time to hopefully fill Riley in before she got there.

Luckily, my house wasn't too far from base, and I got there in only twelve minutes. I jumped out, running into the house, looking for Riley. He was in his room, playing Xbox or some shit that took up too much of his time on a daily basis.

"Hey, man. We need to talk," I said, slightly out of breath from pure adrenaline filtering through every vein in my body.

He paused his game, turning to look at me with concern tightly held on his face.

"You look stressed, man. What's going on?"

I didn't answer him right away. My mind was drifting back to Cassie and what she could have possibly endured after I left the room. My stomach knotted with the visuals, making me want to kick my own ass even more.

"Alex--"

His call jerked me back into the here and now.

"Alright, Riley. I need you now more than ever," I started, knowing that as ridiculous as he could be, he was loyal, and right now, I needed it. He didn't say anything. Instead, he focused on me with sincerity and caution scouring his face as he awaited whatever was about to come out of my mouth. "Pfc. Cassie Bennett is on her way over here."

"What? Why?"

"Because," I stopped, running my hands over the back of my head while growing frustrated with myself for even allowing my dick and now my heart to get me to this point. "Because she and I have something and her bitch ass roommate found us."

"What the bejeebus, man? Are you fucking nuts?"