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Even in the dim light of the fire, he could see her “duh” eye roll.
“Yeah, so here’s the thing. The mom was in a car accident and Joy went out to help her afterward. The police report says stepdaddy was driving the car and another car went over the line in the road at night as they were coming around a turn. Mom’s side of the car plowed into a tree and she wasn’t wearing a seat belt.”
Kaeden couldn’t help it. He winced at the description. He didn’t want to know what kind of damage the woman had sustained. It was probably a miracle she wasn’t dead.
Samantha didn’t stop there. “So, I’m not a cop, but there wasn’t a whole lot in the report. Her mom was seriously injured and will suffer for the rest of her life because of this but there’s not a whole lot of investigation happening. They have a really general description of a blue sedan. The stepdad said he swerved before the car hit them so there was no transferred paint or anything like that, but there’s also no mention of tire marks on the road or anything.”
“So the other driver was never found?”
Samantha shook her head. “Nope. No other witnesses. Nothing.”
Kaeden frowned. God, he wished he could get Joy to open up to him about this.
Samantha put her hand on his shoulder. “You should make sure she knows we’re here for her if she wants our help.”
Kaeden nodded, but he wasn’t sure he bought it. Sure, Samantha probably meant the words on some level, but really, why would they help Joy? They didn’t know her the way he did.
And he’d seen what people meant when they gave false platitudes and offers to stick by your side. When push came to shove, that shit just didn’t stick.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t ready to help Joy. He knew once his decision was made, he would stand by it. He’d be with her now through whatever was coming her way. And Samantha was right. He needed to let her know that.
“So, you know by now that I’m completely inappropriate and I have no boundaries, right?”
Kaeden didn’t love where this was headed. He kept his eyes on the fire, not on Samantha.
She plowed on. “Okay, good, right, so that’s covered. But here’s the thing. You’ve been part of us for awhile now, but you haven’t actually let yourself be part of us, you know?”
Nope. Definitely didn’t love it.
“Logan tried that too, when he came back from serving overseas. Thought he could keep his distance. It didn’t work for him.” She turned to Kaeden. “Though I have to give you props, you’ve really held out longer than he did. I mean, two years with us, Kaeden, and until this trip, you were really going strong.”
He looked her way. Until this trip? What the hell did she mean?
She grinned, leaning toward him. “You’re cracking. Not only with us but with Joy.”
Kaeden wanted to tell her that was bullshit. No, he actually wanted to walk away without saying anything.
He didn’t. He respected Samantha. He wouldn’t treat her that way.
When he didn’t respond, she didn’t seem to be bothered.
“So, here’s where we get to the really inappropriate part,” she said.
“Samantha,” he growled in warning. He might respect her but he really didn’t like where this was going.
“I know about your involvement in Alyssa Moore’s case.”
Kaeden felt all the air go out of him. He didn’t ask how Samantha knew. She could access anything she wanted to, pretty much. Her work for the FBI proved that.
“What do you think you know?” he asked instead, grinding the words out.
“I know you tried to help her. And I know you witnessed the attack, I can only guess how that would have affected you. The man was your platoon leader.”
Kaeden didn’t respond. Darryl Kelley had been more than that. He’d been a mentor, someone Kaeden looked up to in the Corps. In life. The day Kaeden walked in to see him assaulting one of the women under his command had destroyed so much. Everything. His faith in people. His belief in the Corps. In the brotherhood, the family he’d found among the men and women he served with.
“You stopped it,” Samantha said gently.
He had. He’d stopped the worst of it anyway. He’d escorted Alyssa to safety, kept her covered until he got her back to her quarters so no one would know her shirt had been torn off her and her pants had been undone.
