“She can’t be too far ahead,” Krew said as he riffled through his bag, pulled out a hoodie, and slipped it on.
“Maybe two hours ahead of us since we had to wait for the damn rental car,” I hissed, though I appreciated the soft leather and comfortable seat under my ass. Krew probably did too, with the way I’d pounded his ass this morning.
“So, we’re doing this?” The statement came out more of a question.
I glanced over at Krew, who was looking at me with a mix of anger and trepidation, before I returned my attention to the highway. But I knew what he was asking. “We are. He’s not getting away with it, K. By my hand or yours—it doesn’t matter, he’s going to die for what he did to Regi.”
He let out a long breath. “I know.”
His tentative resignation was pissing me the fuck off. “It doesn’t sound like you do. K, your douche bag of a brother raped our girl. He took what wasn’t given. Teke ripped my family apart—and before you say anything, you and Regi were always my family. My life—your life—Regi’s life, they were all crushed to dust because of what that bastard did.”
“I know—damn it—I know.” Krew rubbed a bandaged hand on his forehead in frustration. “I just thought jail would be better, since he could suffer long term.”
“Do you believe that?” I snapped, but regretted it immediately. “Sorry.”
Krew leaned his head against the window, and a pained resolve raced across his face.
In that moment, I took in his appearance. The dark circles under his eyes and the sallowness of his skin. Even with the blond stubble coming out on his scalp, which matched the scruff along his jawline, Krew was still beautiful to me.
“Deck, how come you never looked for me—I know I asked this question before but you never answered. I promise I won’t be mad.”
I met his eyes, and I had to give him the truth. Many truths, if I was honest with myself. And if I wanted Krew to open up, I had to do the same. With a calming breath, I told him.
“By the time I got a chance, my life was a mess. I was nearly court-martialed for punching one of my drill instructors. Granger was a fucktard, and he got off on picking on me and one other guy from my unit. From day one, he was in my face and in Jeromy’s.”
“This Granger was a bully,” Krew confirmed.
“That asshole did everything he could to get us kicked out. One night I had enough,” I admitted with a chuckle.
“Did you try to report him to his superiors?”
I chuckled at Krew’s question. “I did talk to my other drill instructor. That asshole told me rats don’t belong in the Marines. So, I kept my mouth shut and put up with Granger’s abuse.”
“What was your breaking point?”
Krew knew me well enough to know that it would have been only a matter of time before I blew my shit. “It was three weeks before we were to graduate from boot camp. It was past midnight, and my unit was asleep as usual. That bastard woke Jeromy and me up and ordered us outside. It had been raining all day and was cold as hell, but he refused us clothes. We had to go out in our underwear and t-shirts. Anyway, he made us do calisthenics for a while—which wouldn’t have been horrible, except he turned to Jeromy and told him to strip naked and stroke his dick.”
“Jesus,” Krew growled. “I hoped you punched that motherfucker hard.”
I sliced a wicked smile Krew’s way. “I broke the bastard’s nose in two places.”
Krew winced but a smile crested his face. “He deserved the pain.”
“And more.”
“So, what happened next?”
“I guess Jeromy paused a little too long for Granger’s liking and he kicked at Jeromy’s legs out from under him and he dropped to the ground. Then Granger proceeded to kick his face. I stopped him before he did any more damage. When Granger turned and swung at me, but I caught his swing and knocked him on his ass. He kept getting up. Finally, he took another swing at me and I countered and punched his face.”
“Why did you get arrested?” Krew asked, red-faced with anger. “You were only defending your friend and yourself.”
“Jeromy wasn’t my friend.” No, he was so much more, but I couldn’t tell Krew that—not yet anyway.
“Sounds like he was special to you,” Krew admitted.
I couldn’t look at Krew, because he might see just how true his words were.
“Jeromy was such a small guy that it wouldn’t take much before he was seriously injured. We were taught to look out for each other—to rely on each other, especially when we were out in the field. Anyway, I got caught mid-act, punching Granger, when the military police arrived.”
