AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Four – Tank
I shouldn’t be listening, but being right outside Skyla’s room with the door open, I can’t help overhearing. Jensen was so furious that Trent had been allowed in the room with Skyla that he hadn’t even noticed me standing by the door, and I’m growing more fucking pissed with every moment the words from the room travel to me. As I listen to Courtney, the ER doctor on duty, who also happens to be one of Skyla’s best friends, explain why Trent reacted the way he had in the warehouse, and to Colonel Middleton taking the blame because it was his serum, all I can think about is how none of this would’ve happened if Jensen had taken backup with him to the warehouse. If I thought I was pissed off earlier, what I feel now is downright lethal, and just when I thought my night had taken a turn for the better.
“No! Listen to me,” Trent snaps. “Listen to my brother. I don’t know what they told you, but you need to take this seriously.” His voice grows louder the more he speaks. “Those bruises and cuts on her wrists are because I cable-tied them together. The bruise and gash on her face are because I hit her so hard, she fell and smashed her cheek against a metal bed frame. Her cheekbone is cracked, and I did that. I watched while they pushed her head underwater over and over again, and I felt nothing. So, no, you shouldn’t trust me. You should lock me far, far away.”
Jesus, I’d seen a lot of shit over the last eight years of being a marine, but this makes my stomach churn. How is Trent ever going to forgive himself for what he did to the love of his life? I know what it was like living with guilt, and it’s no party.
“Son,” Colonel Middleton speaks up, sounding exhausted. “You are not to blame for this. This is on me. The serum was mine.”
I scrub a hand over my face, trying to keep my rising anger in check. All this. All of it didn’t need to happen. But like a hamster on a wheel, my brain won’t stop turning over what happened. Yeah, I’m past livid about Jensen’s fuck up, but what would have happened if I’d just been thirty seconds faster? Everyone in there is blaming themselves, but the reality is I’m the one to blame.
I hear the colonel answer the phone, but I tune everything out. The more I hear, the more pissed I’ll feel. Everyone starts filing out, and Trent heads to the courtyard looking like he’d lost his soul, an MP hot on his heels. He’s so deep in shit he’s gonna need a snorkel to breathe.
Jensen comes over and stands in front of me. “Hey.”
“Morning, sir.”
It’s not quite morning, but it will be soon.
“Are you all right here for a little while longer? The colonel wants me in a debrief.”
My eyebrow shoots up. What Jensen is about to get isn’t a debrief. He’s likely going to get a new asshole torn, but I don’t say anything.
“I’m fine right here, sir.”
Jensen moves in a little closer, more centered, forcing me to meet his gaze. “What’s with the sir? The only time you call me that is when we’re in the field.”
I feel my jaw twitch as I fight not to say anything.
Jensen runs a hand over his face and sighs. “You’re obviously chewing on something. Spit it out.”
Yeah, best if that doesn’t happen. “If it’s all the same to you, sir, I’d rather not.”
Jensen’s nostrils flare, and I know he’s getting pissed. “Will you stop with the fucking sirs?”
I meet his gaze, glare for glare, and take in a few deep breaths. This is not the place to hash things out. “You don’t want me in buddy mode right now, J.”
“If you have something to say to me, then just say it.”
I unfold my arms and rub the back of my neck. Why the fuck won’t he just let this go? Jensen continues to glare at me, and I raise my hands in the air, letting them fall to my sides in frustration.
“Fine, you wanna fucking talk, let’s talk. You can start by telling me why the fuck you went to the warehouse without me. You should have fucking waited for me, J.”
Pain flashes over Jensen’s face so fast that I wonder if I imagined it. “There wasn’t time.”
“There’s always time for a plan.”
It’s his turn to throw his hands in the air. “You know what fuckers like Reed are capable of, Tank.”
“Half an hour, that’s all it would have been—another thirty minutes.”
“In that time, she could have been gone. Going alone was my only chance to save her.”
“Yeah?” I tilt my head as I once again fold my arms over my chest. “And how did rushing in all half-cocked go for you, J?” Maybe I’m not being entirely fair here, but I can’t just let this go.
Jensen takes another step forward, his hands balled into fists, but I stand my ground as my scowl deepens. Just as fast as Jensen got angry, I watch him deflate. He walks away, placing his hands on the wall, and hangs his head. “You’re right. I fucked up.”
I walk up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, you did. Now you just need to get your head out of your ass and into the game.” In this moment, I don’t know if it’s me or Jensen I’m talking to.
