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Marshall snorted. “Yeah, you are. But first, you’re going to shower and change. And then Dean is going to drive you over there.”

“I don’t?—”

“And Private King is with him. She’s been given leave too and spent the day with Marco. She wants to see you,” Marshall told him.

“I…” his head spun, but he nodded. “Okay.”

Marshall brought his hand down on Carter’s shoulder and squeezed. “And I know it’s not worth much, but I’m sorry. I was wrong about you, and that’s my damn fault. I’m glad to have you as a part of this base, and I’ll be glad to have you around if you should stick with Marco. We need a few more people in this stupid, crazy family we have.”

Family. Now, there was a word he wasn’t ready for.

But Marco? Oh God, he was ready for Marco.

MARCO

Marco thought if he made any more passes across his apartment, he would wear a groove in the floor. From the moment he woke up that morning to a text from Sloane telling him General Winter was going to do the preliminary hearing, Marco had been unable to do anything.

He’d tried to clean but found himself swabbing the same spot repeatedly. Watching mindless TV hadn’t helped. He’d just stared at the screen and seen nothing. Marco had tried cooking, but after the fifth burned egg, he’d given up and forced some toast down, telling himself it was all he was going to manage.

They had done everything they could. And he still fretted endlessly over everything. Jessica King had done her damndest to make sure General Winter knewexactlywhat happened, and Sloane said he’d spoken up as a character witness. When Sloane texted him to say he was going to deliver Carter for the hearing, Marco thought he might actually have a nervous breakdown.

And then, an hour later, the text he’d hoped for.

Free and clear. Going to make him wash up. Dean and Jessica are going to bring him over.

That had been almost an hour ago, and Marco was constantly checking his phone. Sometimes fear gripped him, and he wasafraid Sloane would text him that he was mistaken, and Carter was going to a real hearing and would probably be locked up for years. Or he would find out an accident had happened, that he might lose one of his best friends, his new friend, and the man he was pretty sure he was falling in love with.

He bounced between worry, fear and telling himself there was nothing to worry about. His nerves were stretched tight, and he had to fight the urge to stand on the front porch.

His phone buzzed, and Marco practically leaped over the table to get to it. The message was from Dean.

We’re coming around the corner. Be there in two.

Marco dropped his phone and vaulted over the table to dart toward the door, ignoring his shoes as he burst into the hallway. Hurrying out the front door, he stopped as he reached the top steps, spotting Dean’s car parking against the curb only twenty feet away. His legs stuttered, and he almost tangled his feet around one another, spilling him to the sidewalk when the passenger-side door opened.

Carter stepped out, wearing a loose pair of jeans and a form-fitting olive shirt. He squinted against the sunlight, which caught him in the face as he closed the door. Dean was getting out on the other side, and Jessica was getting out from the back seat.

But it was Carter alone he had eyes for as he stumbled to the sidewalk.

The sharp movement caught Carter’s attention, and their eyes locked. Marco’s heart tripped, and his breath caught in his throat.

And then Cartersmiled.

It felt like he grew wings when he flung himself forward, bare feet slapping against the sidewalk. He leaped, and Carter’s arms wrapped around him. And there was that smell of clean soap and something that reminded Marco of old forests. Carter’s breath was hot as he buried his face against Marco’s neck.

He was warm. He was strong. He wasthere.

“Never again,” Marco heard himself babbling. “Not again, you can’t.”

“I’m sorry,” Carter whispered fiercely against his neck. “I’m so sorry, Marco. I never meant any of this.”

“I know,” Marco told him, and he did.

It was just who Carter was. Marco would never fault him for standing up for what was right, even if it meant putting himself in the line of fire. He was brave and fierce, to the point of being impulsive and more than a little foolhardy. But he was good, and he was strong.

Carter shifted his head away, and for a moment, Marco thought about protesting. And then his lips were on his, and every protest died in his throat with a little whine. It was Carter, he was there, and Marco was going to make sure he knew he was wanted and had a place.

Marco put their foreheads together, taking a deep breath to steady himself. Carter’s eyes were so bright, the gold glittering in the sunlight as he hungrily stared into Marco’s.