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“Yeah, that came across crystal clear. It was also crystal clear that both you and Captain Hale had the commander’s six, one hundred percent.”

Kostya nodded.

“Simon didn’t always play by the rules, and he sometimes stepped on some toes. He could play politics well if he felt so inclined, but sometimes he just didn’t give a shit.”

“Okay….”

“He had a baby sister, eight years younger than him. He helped his mom raise her. Five months ago, she was killed in a murder/suicide deal with her husband. His sister never once called the cops on her husband—no restraining order, no sick days with bruises, no nothing. But Simon lost it. He’s positive he should have seen it.”

“Any kids?” Ryker asked.

“No kids,” Kostya answered.

“That’s a blessing.”

“So Commander Clark just tried to quit the Navy, wanted to blow up his entire career, his pension, he didn’t give a shit if he got dishonorably discharged or anything. Some folks that he’d crossed paths with were taking this as an opportunity to make things worse for him, maybe say that he didn’t play by the rules, and needed charges pressed against him.”

“Motherfucker! Who? I can shut that shit down,” Gideon bit out.

“Whoa, there. Anyway, Captain Hale had one of the really good Navy docs evaluate Simon’s file after he left town. Turned out that our Commander was discharged due to a PTSD disability.”

Ryker relaxed. He looked over at Gideon and saw that he had too.

“It’s nice when the right thing actually happens, isn’t it?” Kostya asked.

“Bet Simon is pissed as fuck,” Ryker chuckled.

Gideon sneezed.

“That would be my take,” Kostya agreed.

“Where is he?” Gideon asked.

“Mason Gault, the lieutenant of Midnight Delta, told him about Jasper Creek, Tennessee. Somebody found him a place to rent for a little bit. It’s in the back end of nowhere,” Kostya explained.

“Sounds perfect,” Ryker said as Gideon sneezed again.

Kostya stood up. Now, let’s get you and your roses out of here before I have to send Gideon home for medical reasons.

After Ryker got home and put his roses on the coffee table in the middle of his living room, he took a picture of them and then sent a text to Carmen with the pic attached. He grabbed a beer, settled down on his leather sofa, and called Amy.

He was disappointed when it went to voicemail. But he left a message thanking her for the roses and for her to please call him. Then he picked up the book by Carl Hiaasen that his brother had sent him. He liked it because it was laugh-out-loud funny.

Three hours later, he realized that Amy hadn’t called him back, which was not like her at all. He tried calling her again, but it still went straight to voicemail. This time he dialed the restaurant.

“Thank you for calling Midnight. How can I help you?”

“Marcus, is that you?” Ryker asked.

“Yeah, who’s this?”

“Ryker McQueen, Amy Linden’s fiancé.”

“Well, hot damn! You two made it official?! That’s great news!”

“Yeah. Well. Thank you. I was just wondering if you could track Amy down and see if you could have her call me.”

“Aw, f—I mean, oh goodness. Didn’t she call you?” he whispered. “She’s down at the station pressing charges. Her mama came and took one of those free e-scooters and smashed it through one of our windows. Got glass everywhere. Even in people’s food. It’s been a hot mess. Amy was a trooper. I couldn’t believe that crazy lady was her mama.”