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Eric realized
he would be questioned by so many as to whether he had done such a dirty, dark thing. However, having a man he had looked up to for years question his morals and whether he could even consider assaulting a woman had him wanting to throw the phone against the wall. “Admiral, I hope you know me better than that. Yes, it’s bullshit! I would never do anything like that.”

He could hear something in the admiral’s voice on the other end of the line, and he wasn’t sure what it was, but he also knew he was so tired that he could read anything into a situation that wasn’t there.

“I’m sorry, Eric, but I had to ask,” he replied. Eric could hear tapping on the other end. “I’ve been questioning this, though. Why didn’t you call me before I got it?”

“Actually, Admiral, believe it or not, none of us knew. This blindsided me. Since that scheming bitch fabricated the entire accusation…” Eric had to bite his tongue before he continued, because he
was headed off track. “She didn’t follow proper channels in filing the report. Joe was the first to get it, and he got it from your assistant.”

The deep voice growled on the other end. “Are you telling me she did an end run around her commanding officer, sending it directly to the top?”

“I’m afraid so, Admiral.”

“Why, that fucking little bitch! And this Petty Officer Jennifer Hampton who filed it for her, what’s that all about?”

“I can’t believe any of this, Admiral, so it makes no sense why Hampton would do that. Admiral, what do you know about her past postings? Any trouble there with former commanding officers or other sailors? I mean, something like this…”

“Eric, you’re grasping, and there will be an investigation. Don’t go poking your head into her past and do something that will blow up in your face. I don’t think I need to tell you that there is more focus right now on women’s rights in the military. The media is all over any abuse, especially assault on women.” The Admiral paused before continuing, his tone sympathetic. “Eric, I’ll do what I can to help, but I
gotta tell you, if the media gets a hold of this, shit’s going to hit the fan. You of every male have been quite vocal in your low opinion of women, saying they’ve no place in the Navy. The rest of us have learned to find a way to deal with them, checking our mouths before we say something really stupid or what we’re really thinking. You haven’t, and I’ve warned you on more than one occasion to find a way to deal with it, to stop getting in every female sailor’s face and telling them they should be bed warmers for their husbands.”

“Are you saying I asked for this?” Eric fumbled in the top drawer and grabbed the bottle of Tylenol. He popped off the lid with his thumb and dumped a couple pills in his mouth straight from the bottle.

“Oh, don’t be an ass, Eric. That’s not what I’m saying. What she’s done is reprehensible. What you’ve done with your mouth has made you an easy target. What I want to know from you is what really happened.”

Eric dug his fingers into his scalp. “She disregarded protocol, refused to acknowledge me as her commanding officer. I dismissed her abruptly. I believe I was too easy on her. I realized I can be quite abrupt,
but, having said that, the attitude and the situation in sickbay at the time warranted the dismissal. With all due respect, Admiral, I am concerned more by her complete disregard for my authority as captain of this ship. Look where we are, for God’s sake. I mean, how did she get it to you…?” Eric stopped cold midsentence as it hit him, the security breach. How had she been able to get it off this ship without anyone knowing? God, what the hell was happening on his ship?

“Eric, you have a ship to run, and when your people are sending information off your ship without anyone knowing, I’d say that you have a major security breach. All those involved need to be taken to task.”

“You’re absolutely right, Admiral. I’ll lock it up tight.”

“
Listen, is there any way to disprove this claim of hers quickly and easily, any witnesses? Or were you truly alone with her, like she said? Because I got to tell you, that’s about as bad as it gets.”

Sighing heavily, he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “There were no witnesses, no one. There was someone there, but they were asleep at the time.”

“You know, Eric, unofficially, I’ll do everything to block this thing, but between you and me, it’s going to be real tough to squelch an official investigation. It’s gone too far. I’ll find out who else has it. If she sent a copy here, where else did she send it? Unfortunately, you and I both know what that means.”

He answered for the admiral, the pain lingering in his voice. “Yeah, I
know, suspension of duties.” Eric felt as if he had swallowed his heart, finally admitting aloud what he’d already known could happen.

“Is Joe investigating on your end?”

Eric nodded. As he did, his throat was so thick he couldn’t speak for a moment. “Yeah, he’s already begun speaking with the crew.”

“Okay. Well, I want to talk to him. In the meantime, make sure you’re never alone with the girl, got it?”

Just hearing the admiral have to tell him to stay away from her, as if he was already guilty, scraped away at the ache, which was so much like a festering scab that he almost flinched. “Don’t worry. I have no desire to be alone with her.”

Eric set the phone back in its cradle and then leaned back into his chair, feeling as if all the starch had gone out of his limbs. It was defeat that was nipping at his backside, and he didn’t like it one bit. He was damn tired, and his head ached, so he leaned back, propping his feet up on his desk and closing his eyes for just a minute, just until the unrelenting pounding went away.

The pounding on the door startled him. Jerking his feet off the desk, he slammed them on the floor and had to blink a couple times to shake off the cobwebs in his head. Glancing at his watch, he was shocked to realize he’d fallen asleep for nearly three hours. He swiped his hand over his rough, whiskered face, which he still hadn’t shaved, and barked, “Come in.”

The door popped open, and Joe stepped in. Eric knew he looked a mess, but Joe confirmed it as his open gaze showed his concern.

“You look like shit. Seriously, did I wake you?”

He rubbed the corners of his eyes, which scraped as if sand had blown into them. “What do you want? Sorry, Joe, I didn’t mean to snap.”

The Tylenol had done nothing to ease the pounding in the back of his head, so he grabbed the bottle and swallowed a couple more pills. He jumped when Joe appeared beside him, handing him a glass of water. He gestured his thanks and downed it, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “What’s up?” he asked, pressing his fingers firmly to his temples while trying to massage away the vicious pounding in his head.

“I spoke with Petey, and he filled me in on your conversation this morning. I followed up with Ernie Biggs and some of the other enlisted men. Well, none of them
like her. That pretty much sums it all up, even before this incident. A few even mentioned to me that they would want to teach her a lesson.”

Eric rolled his eyes but said nothing. He couldn’t condemn any of them, because the same thought had drifted through his own mind.

“I spoke with the admiral a short time ago. I wanted to let you know he agrees with me that Gail needs to be watched closely—you know, for her protection, of course,” Joe said.

Eric didn’t miss the sarcasm dripping from his voice. He turned his chair around to face him.

“Of course, she’ll be given the option of reassignment to headquarters with Vice Admiral James. If she refuses, she will be assigned a female guard who will shadow her. Again, this’ll be for her own protection.”

“Jesus, Joe, how do you come up with this stuff?
You’re one sly bastard. Remind me never to piss you off.” He felt better as he watched the devilish spark in Joe’s boyish, charming gaze. You couldn’t help but take him seriously if you didn’t know him well.

“I wanted to let you know first before I talk to her. As you’re probably aware, she’s going to lose it, maybe. She’ll definitely raise shit, but it’ll only backfire on her. You know how it is. We’re doing our best to make sure that she’s kept safe and protected, and that’s exactly how I’ll make sure it’s viewed.”

Eric noted the smugness in his tone. “Holy shit, Joe. I’m so glad you’re on my side.”

“Eric, go get some sleep. You really do look like shit. I’ll get Petey to defer anything dicey to me for a few hours. I need you to be well rested so we can fight this with a level head and not with your temper.”

Eric said nothing because it irritated the hell out of him that everyone had to remind him over and over to watch his step, as if he were a reckless loose cannon.

“We’ll beat this.” Joe signaled to the door, and his grin faded to the concern that Eric was tired of seeing on everyone’s face. “I’ll see you’re not disturbed.”

Eric just watched as his friend left, shutting the door behind him. He realized then that he had friends and they cared about him enough to go to bat for him, to do the damnedest creative things, and Joe would always have his back. That kind of trust and loyalty was something Eric would live and die for. But Joe was right: He needed sleep, and he was tired. If he could get his head to stop spinning and working overtime, creating problems and picturing all the what ifs and should haves, then he might be able to sleep for a bit. It was that constant droning in his head that had made him into who he was, though, and right now, as he groaned like an old man making his way to his bed, he collapsed, boots and all, and closed his eyes, but it was Abby’s kind, soft blue eyes—the color of some of the cleanest waters down south—that followed him into his dreams.

Larry escorted Gail to the wardroom. He could feel the fury pulse through him as he ground out his steps in a hurried pace, and he hoped she was finding it difficult to keep up. He pushed open the door and shot a look at one light-haired officer lingering over coffee. The officer took one look at
Larry and who was behind him, and, with a sharp incline of his head, he left, keeping an obvious distance from Gail.

When Larry faced Gail, looking down on the short, stubby woman who was far from a prized beauty, she stuck her stubborn chin up and crossed her arms, staring right back at him.

“I want to know right now why you would file a false accusation against the captain. What you did and how you went about it are absolutely reprehensible. Explain to me what happened, because you obviously misread something somewhere.”

“No, sir, everything that happened is in the report.” She said it in such a calm manner that he was, for a moment, stunned.

“Ah, yes, the report you filed and sent directly to the admiral. By the way, that was quite the end run. Who in the hell do you think you are to pull this? There are protocols, and you know quite clearly the chain of command. That report should have come to me. You were to come to me. How dare you forward the report directly to headquarters? Clasping his hands behind his back, he studied her and the hardness that transformed her face. Her hazy brown eyes stilling, she looked straight at him until a frosty sheen had her blinking.

“I felt it was necessary. Sorry to disappoint you, sir, but the charges are true, and everything that happened is in the report.” Her voice shook when she spoke.

Larry stepped closer and put his face inches from hers. Intimidation wasn’t something he did, but this woman was taking his emotions and the balance of right and wrong and tossing them right out the window. Maybe he could scare her into confessing. He considered it. “You and I both know that report was bullshit! Just what the hell are you trying to pull?”

She didn’t move a muscle; her control was amazing. Instead, she looked straight ahead at something over his shoulder, now refusing to meet his eyes. “My report stands, sir, and I will not be bullied or intimidated by you or any other officer on this ship into recanting my story. It’s the truth, and it really happened.” A smug righteousness, as if she’d managed to gain the upper hand, snuck into her voice.

It was so sudden that Larry actually took a step back. Her chin began to tremble and tears popped into her eyes, streaming down both her cheeks. The woman was absolutely appalling, as if she truly believed it. An amazing actor could pull this off, but so could an accomplished liar, a sociopath. He was reaching, studying her, trying to figure her out. Then he glanced around at the long table with the line of black chairs on both sides for the officers. The fact was that he was very much alone with her, and he shouldn’t have been.

“Until further notice, you will confine yourself to the supply room to complete a full inventory. You will not step foot into sickbay. Do I make myself clear?”

“You can’t do that, sir. You’re just getting back at me! I know this is a boy’s club, and you all lie and stick together.”

Larry felt his face heat and could feel the pulse of his blood pressure soaring. “You heard me, Carruthers. I gave you an order.” He let out a low sigh of frustration. “No more games. I want you to go report to the personnel office for reassignment pending the outcome of this investigation.”

As her mouth fell open, he waited, expecting her refusal. He hoped she would, because right now, his common sense and sound reasoning had taken a hike, and he was left with a fury that demanded he act and would only be satisfied if he could physically drag her down, consequences be dammed.