“On Private Allen. From everything I have heard, your attack was unwarranted. The firewatch was already engaged in a struggle with him, and you or Sergeant Riley could have easily restrained him, but you took it a step further, and now the guy is lying in a hospital bed struggling to heal.”

“With all due respect, First Sergeant, he had attacked a female. He was very close to raping her—”

“And you saw fit to protect that female in an unacceptable way.” He walked over and stopped directly in front of me. “If you weren’t fucking her, I highly doubt you would have reacted that way.”

The snarl of his words put me on attack mode. The pent-up aggression was ready to be released, and I was finding it hard to continue holding it in. “Are you married, First Sergeant?” I asked, seemingly baffling him.

His eyebrows scrunched tightly as he studied me. “That’s none of your fucking business, Cruz.”

“Well, First Sergeant, I’m asking because Cassie is my fiancé now. I didn’t fuck some random student for shits and giggles. I fell in love with her, and nothing you can do to me is going to hurt me because Allen did all the hurt that could be done and I still have her.” I looked down at his hand that clearly showed the sign that he was, in fact, married. “So as a married man, you know that you’d do anything to protect the woman you love.”

He swallowed hard, and I could tell I had gotten to him. He moved even closer to me, his face embedded with a deep scowl.

“You’ve lost your fucking mind. You better remember who you are speaking to, Cruz. This shit isn’t about me.”

“I’m speaking on my behalf, First Sergeant.”

“You don’t have a goddamned thing to say!” he yelled. “You’ve tricked some stupid Pfc. into marrying you, for what? BAH? Extra money? What?”

“Because I fucking love her, that’s why!” My words came out passion-filled and strong. I was no longer going to allow him to tear down what Cassie and I had. If he didn’t like it, too bad, but having him stand before me and try to minimize what she had done for me wasn’t going to fucking fly any longer. “These rules are put in place for a reason, and I know that, but I can’t help that I fell in love with her, and I’ll be damned if a rule gets in the way of that.”

The room grew silent as only our breaths filled the space. He was staring with anger in those beady eyes, and I was reciprocating it. I was done pretending that anything he could do to me was going to send me begging for mercy. There wasn’t shit he could do to me that would break what Cassie and I had, and it was time he knew it.

“I have an impeccable service record, and if this is my only blemish, then I guess my record is still damn near perfect. With all due respect, First Sergeant O’Hara, Cassie Bennett and I broke the rules. It wasn’t intentional, but it was meant to happen and I don’t regret it. So go ahead and do whatever you have to do to me to make me your example, but I’m telling you right now, I love her, and I won’t apologize for it.”

His eyes widened ever so slightly as if I had thawed the iciness inside of him. He cleared his throat, then stepped back. “Staff Sergeant Mitchell!”

The door opened, and Mitchell came walking in. “Yes, First Sergeant.”

“I need you in here.” He stepped over to his desk, then pulled out a couple of papers. “Sergeant Cruz, you are being charged with fraternization and assault. You have the right to remain silent. Any statement you make may be used as evidence against you in a trial by court-martial. You have the right to consult with legal counsel. This legal counsel may be a civilian lawyer retained by you at your own expense, a military lawyer appointed to act as your counsel without cost to you, or both. Do you understand these charges and your rights?”

“Yes, First Sergeant.” The low rumble of my voice shook my core. Anger brewed with every passing second.

“Here is your formal charge sheet, laying out the charges against you and stating that you have been informed and that you understand. I’ll need you to sign here.” He laid the paper down on the desk and sat his name engraved pen down next to it.

A firestorm grew inside of me. I knew what I was getting myself into when I embarked on my pursuit of Cassie, but now that shit was hitting the fan, and O’Hara—a man who I’d previously held so much respect for—had turned into such a supreme jackass. I signed the document, then angrily dropped the pen, and stepped back.

“You will be held on barracks restriction pending court-martial where you will be watched over and escorted by a Staff NCO at all times. I can’t trust the NCOs because it seems you have their blind allegiance to you. Do you see what you have done to my company?”

I didn’t respond. There was nothing else for me to say.

“You will report to Gunny Chavez once you are done with legal. You will no longer be used in an instructor billet, and you are to stay away from Pfc. Bennett. Do you understand that?”

I nodded my head, leaving out the courtesy of a verbal answer.

“Now get the fuck out of my office. Staff Sergeant Mitchell will escort you to legal where your counsel will instruct you on what is next for you.”

He turned and walked back to his desk, plopping down in the chair and picking up the phone. I turned and walked out, with Mitchell by my side. He looked me over, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth pulled into a tight line, no doubt wondering how I was able to remain so calm after the ass chewing that I had just received, but I walked to the car and waited for him to get in and take me over to base legal. O’Hara, whether he’d wanted to admit to it or not, knew he couldn’t intimidate me. I could tell that I had him rattled with my admission about Cassie, and to see the shock spread across his face put a level of satisfaction inside of me that had me feeling triumphant.

A quick drive across the base and we were in front of the base legal office. Mitchell got out of the car with me and walked me into the office, almost like a child being dropped off at school. This part of my punishment was beginning to piss me off.

“Staff Sergeant Mitchell, I’m not going anywhere. You don’t need to walk me everywhere I have to go.”

“I know, Sergeant, but I’m under orders.”

“Orders,” I grumbled, then removed my cover and walked into the building. The office was quiet; only a few Marines and their wives were inside awaiting the processing of their Power of Attorney papers. A red-headed Lance Corporal stood at the front desk, signing everyone in as they entered the building. I signed in then took a seat, looking around at everyone and picturing me and Cassie in here one day for the same thing.

“Sergeant Cruz,” the Lance Corporal called out, waking me from my thoughts.

“Right here.”

Mitchell stayed put in his seat, thankfully. I was beginning to worry that the guy would follow me to take a piss.

“I’m Lance Corporal Nelson. I just need you to fill out these forms, and then Captain Hedlund will be out shortly to take you.”

She slid a clipboard in front of me. I signed the forms then slid it back to her, and without saying another word, she took the forms and walked to the back offices. If I could get out of here and into a work environment, that would be the best thing for me. I didn’t want to go over every detail of my charges. I just wanted my mind occupied to keep it from wandering back to Cassie and settling on the worst.

“Sergeant Cruz, I’m Captain Hedlund. Come on back.”

I turned at the sound of his voice, then followed the short man back to his office. It was decked out in Marine Corps paraphernalia, his college degrees, and what looked like college football pictures.

“So, you understand why you are here today?” he asked, taking his seat.

“Yes, sir.”

“Since you are being charged with assault and fraternizing, my job is simply to minimize the damage and save your career. The fraternizing, from what I have been briefed on, is out in the open and confirmed by you. The assault…well, there are a few ways we can handle that.”

“Sir, as I told First Sergeant O’Hara this morning, I’m not afraid of what will become of me and the fraternizing charge. She wasn’t just some student who I slept with. I love her, so the assault charge is stemming from that.”

He stared at me then swallowed hard. I guess I had placed him in a pickle, but it worked because he dropped the formalities and sat back in his chair.

“The rules are the rules, Sergeant. We all know them, and it is our duty to follow them. Now, with that being said, the fact that you and Pfc. Bennett have something more, could work in your favor. It could play on the judge’s human side, even for a second, and I fully intend to use that. I will tell you this, though. First Sergeant O’Hara is out for blood. He is a scorned man, and he wants the gauntlet dropped on you. Major Godinez will be trying your case, and he has a ninety-two percent success rate. I’m going to need everything I can get to try and combat that.”

I wasn’t sure what he wanted—the deed had been done, and the dirty laundry had been aired. It was unclear how he would fight for me because a blind man could see I was guilty of what they were charging me with, but nonetheless, I listened to what he had to say.

“When did you first come into contact with Pfc. Bennett?”

“It was at a bar on the Friday before I picked up my new class.”

“So you did not know that she was to be a student of yours?”

“No, sir.”

“What happened between you two that night?”

“We danced for a while, that dance turned into a kiss, and probably would have turned into more if I hadn’t had to leave.”

He studied me for a minute. “So, just to be clear, have you actually slept with Pfc. Bennett?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And when did that first occur?”

“It was once she was my student.”

He blew out a breath. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but I wasn’t about to lie about it. There was no need.

“And this was a consenting encounter?”

“Yes, sir, and I think you should know that Cassie is now my fiancé. Like I said, this isn’t some fly by night sexual encounter because I just wanted to sleep with a student. This girl is going to be my wife.”

Captain Hedlund seemed placated by my words, nodding his head, putting me at ease. “Okay. I’m going to ask that the no contact order be lifted. I see no need in banning you since you are not the predator that First Sergeant O’Hara has painted you to be.”

There was that word again… predator. It burned my ears just listening to it. I hated the fact that, with one little word, my entire being was set ablaze. It was a derogatory word if I’d ever heard one, and it certainly didn’t fucking fit me.

“I’d appreciate that, sir. Can you tell me how she’s doing?”

“I understand she’ll be released from the hospital within the next couple of days. She is still attached to the schoolhouse, awaiting orders to a unit here on this base. She’s needed for the investigation into the assault against her.”

I nodded my head, feeling so much better after hearing that she was okay.

“I’m going to try and salvage as much of your career as I possibly can. From everything I’ve seen in your records, you are an exemplary Marine, and I am going to do my best at keeping it that way.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You can head into work now. I’ll call you if there is anything I need to discuss with you.”

“You’ll have to call the duty, sir. I don’t have my phone.”

“Where is your phone?”

“It was taken away from me.”

“Hmm…All right, I’ll contact the duty if I need to speak to you this evening.”

I stood and shook his hand, then turned and walked out of his office to my awaiting babysitter.

++++

Staff Sergeant Mitchell took me to the schoolhouse, where a sudden rush of unease washed over me. The fact that First Sergeant O’Hara, a man I found to be pathetic in his own right, would be lurking around, was unsettling. I also didn’t feel like answering the shit ton of questions that I was sure would be heaved at me. This was probably the last place that I wanted to be.

I walked into the instructor lounge and found Gunny Chavez inside. He looked up from his morning coffee and newspaper reading, and motioned for me to come and take a seat with him.

“Good morning, Sergeant Cruz. How are you this morning?”

“I’m all right, Gunny.”

“Good to hear. I don’t think this comes as any surprise to you, but you will no longer be instructing. First Sergeant O’Hara had you removed from my instructor docket, so I will be placing you in Admin until all of this is settled.”