Page 96 of The Fake Date (Brides of Beaufort 4)

My gaze devoured her beauty, pulling it in and letting it calm the raging sea inside me. “I think we’ll last forever.”

“Devereux.” A man’s voice caused us to spring apart.

I looked toward the hospital doors and recognized my CO coming toward me with a purposeful stride. “Sir.”

“He’s out of surgery, and he’s going to be fine,” he said, putting a heavy hand on my shoulder. “His family’s with him now, and they probably won’t allow visitors in the ICU. You can get cleaned up, then head back to the range.”

Relief washed away the remaining darkness around my heart, and I nodded in acknowledgement. “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

Lyndi and I watched until he disappeared into the hospital again, then she turned to me with eyes as wide as saucers. “Wow, right back to work? Afterthat?”

“The machine has to keep moving.”

“Right. Well, um, what about the guy who shot him?”

And just like that, the darkness returned. “He’s already in the brig while they work out the next steps. Zac’s been keeping me updated since he’s military police, and I guess he’s looking at an Article 134. It’s a punishment, but we’ll have to see what happens after the court-martial if it comes to that. It’s up to the CO.”

“Yikes.”

“I didn’t ask if I’d be in trouble, too, but I guess since he’s sending me back to the range, I’m not.”

Her face scrunched up in confusion. “Why would you be in trouble?”

“Because it happened on my watch.”

“Weren’t there other people there? It can’t all fall on you.”

I took a deep breath and looked around the parking lot, then shook my head. “I guess it’s not. Trust me, if it all fell on me, I’d be in a cell right next to him.”

“Okay. So, the kid who got hurt is going to be okay, you’re not in trouble, and the guy who did it is going to be dealt with appropriately. So, take a second and relax. It’s all going to be fine, just like I said.”

I knew she was being serious, but she still shook me and smiled like she needed me to smile too, so I did my best. But it felt a little flat, even to me.

She sighed. “Do you want me to get everyone together later? Maybe we can all hang at Zac and Layla’s?”

“I’m okay, don’t worry about me. I promise I won’t sit around and mope and blame myself.”

“I know you won’t,” she said, putting her arm around me and leading me toward the parking lot. “But I meant to celebrate your package getting approved.”

“Are you going to sit in the corner and read the whole time?”

“Maybe.”

“Good. Because you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.”