She sniffled a couple of times, trying to blink away newly formed tears.

“What is a fucking shock to me is that someone, or a few someone’s around us, opened their fucking mouths and gave away quite a bit.”

“You think it was Dalton?”

“I don’t know who the fuck it was. It could have been him—“

“Or it could have been Castillo or Jensen,” she quickly threw in, trying to take the heat off of her friend. I wasn’t convinced. I wasn’t sure of anyone and their motives anymore.

“Look, we don’t know anything, Alex. I highly doubt Dalton would have given more away.”

I rubbed my hands over my head, feeling the growing frustration beginning to overcome me, and I was not about to lose my shit in this hospital room where she was supposed to be resting.

I took her hand in mine, hoping the warmth of her skin would make me remember that, right now she was my only focus.

“And hey, at least I don’t have to go to North Carolina,” she said, smiling her bright and vibrant smile.

“I know. I’m fucking over the moon about that. I guess something good came out of all of this bullshit.”

“Yeah, something.”

“I know something else that would be even better.”

“What’s that,” she asked, looking absolutely confused.

“If you’d marry me.”

Her mouth dropped and her breath hitched. I smiled at her, feeling like I had just hit the lottery. There was no reason to be separated. She was who I wanted, what I needed, and quickly into our relationship or not, I wanted her.

“Yesterday did a few things to me. It showed me that I could have lost you, and since I didn’t, I don’t want to go another day without having you as mine in every way that I can imagine.”

“But Alex, we’ve only been together a short time.” She stopped, running her hand over her face and sighing loudly. “We’ll just be another military couple, getting married on a whim—“

“We will never be just another fucking military couple. You mean more to me than any woman that I have ever been with. You’ve opened my eyes and brought the human side back into my robotic soul. You’ve showed me what it’s like to love and love with all you’ve got, and I know, for a short time or a lifetime, that you are exactly who I want carrying around my last name.”

Another tear dropped from her eye as her lips formed into a coy smile.

“You need to know that through this entire ordeal I tried to fight you off, but I couldn’t do it. And if it were just about the fucking, I would have let you go a long time ago. I couldn’t get you out of my system, no matter how extreme I tried to go. You’re everything I have ever wanted, Cassie Bennett, my Blondie, mi mariposa. The road is going to be rough from here on out, but I want you riding the bumps with me.”

Her hand went to her chest as she let the tears fall. I leaned in and kissed them away, hoping she would grant me permission to make her utterly and completely mine.

“I love you so much, Alex. I just—“

“You don’t have to answer me right now. I just want you thinking about it.”

A knock came on the door and the nurse walked in, carrying a tray full of meds.

“Here you go, Pfc. Bennett. There is a sleeping pill in here, so you will be out in no time.”

Cassie took the pills and washed them down with water. I turned and smiled at the nurse, urging her back out of the room. She got the clue, hurrying back out to her station. When she was out, I turned back to Cassie, trying to figure out what was running through her mind.

“What about the investigation?” she asked. I could tell she was stuffed with worry, and I was too, but I wasn’t about to let it kill this moment for us.

“Fuck that investigation. They can rip everything away from me, take me clear down to Private, and it wouldn’t mean shit to me as long as I’ve got you by my side.”

“This is exactly what I didn’t want. I didn’t want you having to choose between everything you’ve worked so hard for and me. I didn’t want to be the one to ruin everything for you.”

Listening to her blame herself was beginning to claw away at me. Her words were eagle-like talons ripping into my flesh, slowing pulling my skin down, exposing the inside and dousing it with acid. Nothing that had happened between us was any of her fault, and I was not about to let her take responsibility for any of it.

“Let me remind you that I am the superior in this situation and that I pursued you. Nowhere in this equation do I see you ruining anything for me. I made a conscious choice, and I don’t fucking regret it, but it’ll break me in half if I can’t have you—all of you.”

Just as she was about to speak, the door swung open, no courtesy knock whatsoever, and a woman walked in. She looked tired and rundown, and her foul aroma of cigarette smoke nearly knocked me off of my feet. She didn’t look too old, but her face was filled with wrinkles, and the long, scraggly blonde hair covering her head didn’t help her look. Her eyes struck Cassie, pinning her full of mockery and repulsion. My guard dog senses came alive, wanting this woman to leave because her presence had obviously disturbed Cassie. She moved further into the room, smiling a wicked smile that sent chills down my back.

“Well, well, well. Look at this here. I knew you’d find some fucking way to get yourself in some sort of trouble.”

I didn’t like her look, and now I wasn’t too keen on her tone.

“Who the fuck are you?” I asked, highly annoyed by the less than gracious entrance she made into the room.

“Who are you?” she asked, turning to me with contempt in her eyes.

Cassie rolled her eyes, then sighed.

“Alex, this is my mom, Emmalyn Bennett. Mom, this is my boyfriend, Alex.”

Confirmation that this was her mom soured my mood, making me want to grab Cassie and take her away from there.

“Hmmm. Was he the one that did this to you? You never did have any sort of fucking judgment.”

“You watch your mouth when you speak to her. I don’t know why you’re here, but if it’s only to cause problems, then it’s best you leave before I lose my fucking temper.” My clenched jaw made it easy for her to read that I wasn’t messing around.

Cassie sat in bed, mortified and not knowing what to say or do. I didn’t know her mom, but from everything I had heard, and from what I had just seen, I didn’t want her around.

And I was more than willing to be the one to remove her ass.

“What are you doing here?” Cassie finally asked. I didn’t care what her reasons were. I just wanted to see her turn and leave the same way that she came in.

“You got your ass beat so badly that you were in and out of consciousness. The hospital staff called me since I’m your next of kin.”

Hearing her say that was like a sledgehammer to the gut. Seeing this woman, Cassie’s decision maker in the event of anything ever going wrong, solidified my belief that her marrying me was for the best. I needed to rid this trash out of her life. I needed to make sure that her past didn’t come soiling our future.

We stood in a silent stalemate for a few minutes, my heart pounding, the sound beating against my eardrums. The horrendous information I had learned about Cassie’s mom wasn’t doing the real life image justice. This woman was repugnant in its truest form. She made my skin crawl, and her demeanor ignited an adverse reaction that I wasn’t even going to waste time trying to hide. This bitch was mean, cruel, and nasty. Her time tormenting Cassie was over. I stood and walked over in her direction when there was another knock on the door. Our chief instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Chavez, and the Company Gunny, Gunnery Sergeant Bokowski, marched in, looking stern faced and on a mission. Their attire alone told me they were there on official business.

“Sergeant Cruz?” they asked, looking in my direction.

“Yes. What is this about?”

They stood, surveying the room before finally focusing their attention back to me.

“Sergeant Cruz you are suspected of fraternization. By order of First Sergeant O’Hara, we are to escort you to his office where you will receive official charges.”

A piece of me wanted to shout how much of a pussy First Sergeant O’Hara was for sending his henchmen here to do his dirty work instead of detaining me on his own. He’d had me, and he’d had every opportunity to take me in. Instead, he chose to have my Chief Instructor and Company Gunny do it for him. The thought of his utter cowardice sent anger flaring through my nostrils as I stood, feeling like I could break through walls at the moment. The two Gunnery Sergeants stood, waiting for me to make my way over to them, but I didn’t.

 I had known this day would come, but I had no idea how it would play out, and this was the last way I could have imagined—Cassie lying in a hospital bed, her piece of shit mom in the room with her, and me being escorted out. It was a bad dream come to life. The walls had finally come crashing down.

Gunny Bokowski grew tired of waiting. “Right fucking now, Cruz!”

I looked back to Cassie who had tears falling from her eyes. I hated seeing her cry, and in the past day I had seen more tears fall from those gorgeous eyes than I had cared to see in all of my lifetime. Her hurt brought me hurt, and I hated it.

My eyes swung over to the living cancer stick, sitting there, satisfaction written all over her face. I could tell that the fact that I was being led out made her happy. It was heartbreaking for her daughter, and she seemed to thrive on that shit. I took a couple of slow and methodical steps over to where Chavez and Bokowski were standing, then looked back at Cassie, sadness written all over her face. I didn’t say a word as I allowed them to reign me in, but Cassie stopped crying long enough to yell out, “Yes, Alex. It’s a yes.”