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“You ever have dreams? I mean about the entire experience.”
I shook my head, lying my ass off as I’d gotten so good at doing. “You?”
“Sometimes. It’s funny. I keep going back to when you found Apollo. That’s the only thing that pulls me out of the pit.”
“Yeah, I hear you. I’m blessed to have him. I keep thinking about your face when I found him.”
Mustang laughed. “Scrawny thing. Remember how you used to steal food for him?”
I’d forgotten all about that. “You never told on me.”
“It was just extra food, dude. I fell in love with him too.”
A part of me continued to think Apollo would be better off with a family instead of a broken-down asshole. “I know you did.”
When he sat forward, I knew he had something else to talk to me about. He rolled the bottle from one hand to the other, taking several shallow breaths. “Look, you’re going to need to deal with having the grave dug up. You know that.”
Yeah, I did. I hadn’t been able to visit my tombstone, the grave where another soldier’s body had been laid to rest. I didn’t have what it took inside of me. That would make it too real and far too painful. “I’ll get around to it.”
“Well, the kid’s parents contacted the state department, and you know how it goes. They’re tired of waiting, even with the circumstances.”
I reared back, realizing what the hell was going on here. “Did Hawk put you up to this? Did he send you?”
Mustang never looked sheepish but on this day he did. “He thought I could break it to you better than he could.”
“Fuck that.” I finished off my beer, tossing it with a hard crack into the trash and grabbing another. This wasn’t going to be the night I gave up drinking. There was far too much on my mind, including the gorgeous raven-haired beauty.
“Hey. I’m sorry, man, but I honestly think it’ll be the best thing for you to do. My guess is that’s haunting you, which is causing you to have nightmares. And don’t try and tell me that you aren’t.”
“What are you, a shrink now too? First little Miss Chasity, now you? I’m over it.” I popped the top on the second, one, guzzling almost half. Nothing had been able to dull the pain and I doubted anything would in the near future, if ever.
Mustang rose to his feet, swaggering toward me. “Maybe that’s what you need.”
“The shrink or the bullshit?”
“Jesus, man. You’re luckier than a lot of Marines and you know it. You have your health, your beloved dog, and a nice little ranch. You need to try and move on. I think having his body exhumed will be one step closer to putting the past behind you.”
Bristling, I took two long strides, punching him in the jaw before I could stop myself. In doing so, the bottle smashed to the floor, the sound reverberating in my ears. Hissing, I wasn’t certain how the man would react.
Apollo lifted his head but didn’t bother barking. He’d seen me this way more than once.
Mustang rubbed his jaw, keeping his head turned away from the hard blow.
When he placed his beer on the table just as calmly as could be, I felt more like an asshole than I had before. I exhaled, realizing I’d just punched my best friend, and I deserved to have him walk out the door, slamming it in my face.
Mustang turned like he was going to leave then took a hard swing, catching me off guard.
My reaction was instant. I lunged toward him, issuing two brutal jabs. Then he got in two of his own before we both tumbled to the floor, scrapping like we’d done when we were younger.
Apollo stood over us, barking his head off.
We were both cursing, rolling over several times until I managed to wrap my hands around his throat. Then we both stopped. I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“You still fight like a girl,” he huffed as he struggled to move to a sitting position.
“You still don’t know how to throw a punch.” I couldn’t help but grin as I rubbed my jaw, pain bursting through my head.
“You want me to try again?”
