I had never been so thrilled to be at Lieutenant Stanton’s door.
I knocked sharply.
“Now’s not a good time,” came the terse response.
“Sir, I need you to open the door.”
Other voices murmured inside the office. Familiar ones, though quiet enough I couldn’t immediately place them.
“Sir, please open the door or I’ll open it.”
The men on the other side laughed.
“I’m in a meeting, MA2.” He sounded so damned condescending, I could almost feel him rolling his eyes and gesturing at the door as if to say, Can you believe this?
Beside me, Alejandro grumbled something. Kim shifted her weight—I could only imagine how this situation made her feel.
And I wasn’t interested in dragging it out any longer.
I turned the knob and stepped into the room. Senior Chief Brighton and Chief Wolcott were sitting in front of his desk, but I didn’t hesitate. “Lieutenant Stanton, I need you to stand up, turn around, and put your hands behind your head.”
“I beg your pardon?” Stanton laughed, and he didn’t move.
“What in the world is this about?” Senior Chief asked. “This is—”
“Lieutenant Stanton.” I held up the cuffs. “Turn around. Put your hands behind your head.”
He looked past me. “MA1, what the hell are—” His eyes narrowed. “You’re behind all of this, aren’t you, MA3?”
“I’m not going to ask again,” I said coolly. “Turn around—”
He snorted. “I don’t take orders from second-class petty officers.”
A sharp metallic thunk turned my head, and I glanced back to see that Alejandro had taken out and extended his baton. He held it by his leg, opening and closing his fingers menacingly. “She’s not going to ask you again, Sir, and neither am I.”
Stanton was about to speak, but Senior Chief beat him to it. “Uh, Sir, why don’t you cooperate, and we’ll see if this can’t be sorted out peacefully?” He shot Alejandro a Won’t we? look.
I took a step toward Stanton. He glared at me but then cursed under his breath and turned around.
“Hands behind your head, Sir.”
“MA2, we’ve talked about—”
“Hands behind your head now, Sir.”
He pushed out a huff of breath but wisely laced his fingers behind his head. I grabbed his arm, brought it down to the small of his back, and closed the first cuff around his wrist.
And Stanton lost his shit.
He jerked away from me and spun around. His fist came out of nowhere, connecting with my face and sending me back a step.
Everyone else in the room lunged forward—whether to restrain me or him, I couldn’t be sure—but I was faster. I shoved Stanton back against the wall hard enough to make him grunt. While he was still off-balance, I spun him around, slammed him chest first into the wall, and twisted his arm behind him.
“You done?” I growled in his ear.
“Fuck you,” he snarled, just loud enough for me and no one else.
I twisted his arm harder, driving another grunt out of him. “That’s not exactly conduct becoming an officer and a gentleman, is it?”
He swore and struggled between my body and the wall, but I just cranked his arm harder.
“You really want to add resisting arrest to your—”
His heel connected with my shin, and in the split second that I was startled, he tried to jerk his arm free, but I gripped it tighter, twisted it harder, and shoved him against the wall again. Before he could recover from that, I jerked him back toward me and kicked his knee out from under him. He went down. I went with him. His kneecap cracked loudly on the hard floor, and he cried out in pain as I shoved him forward onto his face.
I put my knee between his shoulder blades and leaned over him. “Are we done here, Sir?”
He didn’t speak, but he also didn’t struggle. He touched his forehead to the floor, and I could feel the fight leaving him. He’d been a cop during his enlisted days—he knew as well as I did that he’d lose if he tried anything now.
I jerked his other arm back and cuffed it. As I helped him to his feet, I recited his Miranda rights. “You’re under arrest for Article 120, sexual assault. Article—”
“Sexual assault?” He glared at Kim. “Oh, spare me. You’d have given it up sooner or later, you fucking whore.”
Everyone in the room froze. Chief and Senior Chief glanced at each other.
“Come on, asshole.” Alejandro grabbed Stanton’s arm. To me, he said, “You two meet me in my office.” Then he started toward the door with Stanton. “Lieutenant Joel Stanton, you are under arrest for violations of Article 133 of the Military Rules of Evidence, unlawful command influence and coercion. Article 120 of the UCMJ, sexual assault. Article 120 again, assault on a police officer. Article 134, adultery . . .”
As they disappeared down the hall, through the gauntlet of wide-eyed MAs who’d gathered, Alejandro was still reading off charges.
Kim released a breath and sagged against the wall, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back. I stepped closer and touched her shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She blinked a few times and looked up at me. “What about you? How’s your—” She gestured at her mouth.
I dabbed at mine and came away with a bit of blood but nothing alarming. “I’ll be all right.” I nodded in the direction he’d gone. “I don’t think he’ll feel so great in the morning.”
“Sucks to be him.” She rubbed her forehead. “I can’t decide if I’m relieved or scared shitless of what’s going to happen next.”
“Whatever happens, you know you’ve got my support. And MA1’s.”
“I know.” She smiled up at me. “Thank you.”
I returned the smile and hugged her gently.
Behind us, Senior Chief cleared his throat. “MA3 Lockhoff, why don’t you take MA2 Marion over to medical and have that looked at?” He shifted uncomfortably. “While you’re there, I’ll send someone up to get statements from both of you. I’d . . . like to make sure this is all properly documented.”
We both nodded and murmured, “Yes, Senior Chief.”
Reese hesitated. “Could you let MA1 Gutiérrez know we’ll come to his office when we get back? He wanted us to wait for him.”
Senior Chief nodded. “I’ll do that.”
“Thank you, Senior Chief.”
By the time Kim and I came back from medical, every MA on Okinawa must have known. There were usually a few of the guys hanging around the precinct, but there were at least fifteen this time.
As we walked in, they made room, and I kept my focus straight ahead. None of them said a word.
A few feet from Alejandro’s door, Kim paused. “Damn it, pregnant girl’s gotta pee. I’ll be right back.”
I laughed. “Go ahead. I’ll meet you in here.”
She went one way, and I went the other. Alejandro was waiting in his office, and as soon as I walked in, he said, “How’s your lip?”
I played at it with my tongue. “It’ll heal. Looks a lot worse than it is.”
“That’s good. Looked like he hit you pretty hard.”
I shrugged. “His mistake.”
Alejandro chuckled.
“I’m guessing he wasn’t happy about being booked?”
“Jesus, no.” Alejandro whistled. “I’ve seen drunk Marines who were less belligerent.”
“If I’d had another minute or so with him, I probably could’ve made him cry like that drunk lance corporal we brought in last month.”
Alejandro laughed. “Well, when we told him his wife had been contacted and the CO was on his way down, he turned white. I’ll bet he’ll cry once they get here.”
“Pity I won’t get to see that.”
“Eh, you probably wouldn’t want to.”
“Probably not.”
He studied me for a moment. “I, uh, after everything you and Lockhoff told me today, I can see why you were so upset with me last time we talked.”
“I wasn’t being fair. You didn’t know.”
“I didn’t, but . . .” He sighed. “I could’ve done more for her.”
“You got her out of this office.” I managed a smile, albeit a lopsided one since the side of my mouth hurt like hell. “And when it came down to it, you believed her. That’s the important part.”
“I still feel like an ass. But . . . thanks. For trusting me even after you thought you couldn’t.”
“We had to. You were the only person we had left.”
He swallowed hard. “I hope that’s not the only reason.”
“No. No, I guess it wasn’t.”
“And, uh, if I had known . . .”
“I know. I would’ve told you, but . . .” I shook my head. “She didn’t want to report it yet and I—”
“I don’t just mean about her. Why didn’t you ever tell me what happened to you?”
I avoided his eyes. “I never told anyone. Aside from Kim, I mean.”
He pulled me into a tight embrace. “I am so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” I exhaled and hugged him, relieved that I had my friend back. “You know it’s not.”
“Still.” He released me and looked me in the eye. “You can trust me. As your friend and your LPO.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Kim appeared in the doorway. She glanced back and forth between us. “Am I, uh, interrupting?”
“Not at all.” Alejandro gestured for her to come in. As she closed the door behind her, he said, “Do you two need to add anything? To your statements?”
We both shook our heads.
Kim shifted her weight. “I don’t have anything to add, but . . . what happens next?” She waved a hand. “I mean, I know how investigations work. But I’m kind of afraid he’s going to . . .”
“Use his influence and connections to weasel out of this?” Alejandro asked.
“Yeah. Exactly.”
“Well, between resisting arrest, assaulting MA2 Marion, and that little comment he made on the way out the door, all with multiple witnesses?” Alejandro shook his head. “That motherfucker is done.”
“Thank God,” Kim breathed and leaned against the wall. “Fuck.” She wiped at her eyes, and I embraced her.
“Hey. You okay?”
She nodded and sniffed as she hugged me back. “Just . . . can’t believe it’s over.”
I stroked her hair. Of course, it wasn’t completely over—the investigation and trial would be hell—but she’d finally dropped the hammer and reported Stanton. He wasn’t merrily going about his life while she lost sleep over the secret she’d been coerced into keeping. It was a huge weight off my shoulders; I could only imagine how much had been lifted off hers.
Alejandro cleared his throat. “There’s just a bit more paperwork before you go. Since Reese is the arresting officer . . . Well, you know the drill. Once that’s all squared away, why don’t the two of you take the rest of the day off?”
Kim smirked. “I’m technically already off.”
“Well pin a rose on your nose.” I elbowed her playfully. “Some of us are still on shift for a couple of hours.”
Alejandro laughed. “You know what? Just come in first thing in the morning, and we’ll wrap everything up. I’ll get Navy Legal and JAG on the horn and make sure you’ve got all the support you need for the investigation.”
Kim drew back from me and smiled at him. “Thank you, MA1.”
He put up his hands. “Hey, don’t thank me. You two are the ones who had the brass balls to take Stanton down, even after he threatened you. All I did was call the CO.”
“Still,” I said. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “Don’t mention it. And if anyone gives either of you shit about this investigation, come straight to me. Understood?”
“Understood,” we said in unison.
He dismissed us, and we didn’t wait around. We left his office and walked out of the freezing-cold precinct into the heavy tropical heat.
Kim put her cover back on and took a long, deep breath through her nose. “God, I am so glad that part’s over.”
“Me too. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“You want to grab a cigarette before we go?”
I glanced at the smoke pit, and . . . nothing. Not even the slightest pull.
“No. I smoke when I’m stressed.” I smiled at her. “But right now, I feel pretty damned good.”
“Funny how that works.” She slipped her hand into mine. “What do you say we go change out of our uniforms, find a beach somewhere, and just chill for the afternoon?”
“That’s a fucking awesome idea.” I squeezed her hand and, with my other, pulled my car keys from my pocket. “Let’s go.”