Page 256

“Looks like a hell of a lot more than that. What the hell were you told about being on your best behavior?” the other man barked.

Carter smiled, lying through his teeth. “No worries, sir. Just got a little too drunk and forgot how my feet worked.”

The tic in the other man’s jaw was all he needed to know the Sergeant didn’t believe a word he was saying. Carter had no idea who the hell Reynolds had pissed off further up the chain that he was all but officially assigned to keep an eye on Carter, but he seriously hoped the crime had been worth the punishment.

“I think you’re full of shit, Grant,” Reynolds finally told him.

Carter shrugged, the only shift to his stiff posture. “If I’d got in trouble, you would’ve been the first to hear about it.”

Which was true, though the dark flash of annoyance on the Sergeant’s face told Carter that pointing it out wasn’t appreciated. Fact of the matter was, Carter had only been at Fort Dale a month, and he’d already found himself in trouble a few times in the city. Why he hadn’t simply been forbidden from going out, he didn’t know. Yet it was also true that any further trouble with the law would have immediately been passed to Reynolds.

“Get your ass to the medbay, Grant. Get patched up. And you better fucking hope they don’t find any proof you were fighting or your ass is mine.”

For a moment, Carter considered making a joke, although it would have beenfartoo easy. But if he wanted to have a chance in hell of being able to leave the fort again anytime soon, he knew he needed to keep his mouth shut.

“Get out of my face,” Reynolds barked before whirling away and marching off.

Carter’s lip twitched, but he kept the sneer from appearing. He wasn’t looking forward to a trip to the medbay, but it was probably better than having to put up with the Sergeant so soon after pissing him off. That it meant dealing with the perky blond twink that worked there again was the price he had to pay.

It took another ten minutes before he’d crossed the compound to the medbay. It was quiet. Rows of curtained spaces lined each side of the hallway. At the end was the office, and a shadow shifted before the blond man appeared, catching sight of Carter and stopping short. He was average height, with bright eyes. And if Carter wasn’t so annoyed by his very existence, he would admit the man had a nice face, sharp features softened by a slight fullness to the cheeks.

“Again?” he asked.

“Don’t start with me,” Carter snarled at him.

“Christ, how many grumpy people work at this place? I was seriously hoping you were like that the last couple of times because you were in trouble. Is this just your personality?”

A sigh could be heard before another man appeared from the office. This one was not blond, his hair almost as dark as Carter’s, though his eyes were a darker brown. Not quite as dark as Marco’s, and this man, while clearly not averse to the sun, did not have the rich brown tone to his skin that Marco had.

He stopped suddenly when he realized where his head was going.

“Troy, you’redatinga grumpy man. Why are you complaining?” the dark-haired man asked.

“Just because I’m sleeping with?—”

“And living with.”

“Just because I have one of my own and have to put up withyoursdoesn’t mean I want more of them!”

The dark-haired man rolled his eyes. “Go get your report done so I can have peace and quiet, please. And Sloane isn’t grumpy...as grumpy...anymore.”

“Sure, Dean, whatever you say,” Troy said with a knowing smirk.

Carter watched the blond go, shaking his head. “Does heeverstop talking?”

Dean turned toward him, amusement fading from his face. “So, what happened to your face?”

“I fell down drunk last night,” Carter said without a trace of irony.

Dean snorted. “Sure.”

Carter rolled his eyes. “Look, just do whatever your report says, maybe give me pills I’m not going to take and let me go. Sergeant Reynolds just wants me to admit to you guys that I got into a fight again so he can nail me to the wall…and he can go fuck himself.”

He knew he was growling, but that was fine with him. Carter didn’t need to be poked and prodded for ten minutes while some practically civilian medic tried to get him to come clean about what happened.

Dean cocked his head, smiling. “Aw, that’s cute. Your record did say you haven’t been off deployment for a while.”

“The fuck does that matter?” Carter asked, annoyed at his confusion.