“You’re wrong about him,” I said firmly, folding my hands in my lap and fighting to keep calm. Getting worked up when he already was wouldn’t help me. “I’ve gotten to know him, and—”
“And nothing.” I’d never seen so much rage swimming around his hazel eyes. “If he was a good guy, he would never have gone after you to mess with me. Can’t you see that’s all he’s doing?”
“It’s not what he’s doing.” Regardless of the fire Dad’s eyes were spitting at me, I kept mine on them. Eye contact meant a lot to my dad, and this was not the time to shy away from him. “He didn’t even know who I was at first. Our relationship has nothing to do with getting back at you.”
“Your relationship?” he barked, squeezing his eyes shut and giving his head a firm shake. “No, I won’t have this, Sofia. He is not the guy for you.”
“Maybe he is,” I countered. The control I had on my calm was slipping. I knew Dad didn’t like Lincoln, but this was ridiculous. “He very well could be the guy for me. I know his heart, and it’s a good one.”
“No, it’s not,” he argued vehemently, a throbbing vein popping up on his forehead. “Lincoln Dobbs only cares about Lincoln Dobbs. If there’s even a heart left in that body, it’s not one that will ever belong to anyone else.”
“How do you know? Have you ever asked him? Have you ever bothered to even try and have a proper conversation with the guy?”
His shoulders tensed. “You have no idea what I’ve tried with that guy. He’s dangerous, Sofia. If you knew what he had done just weeks ago, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Have you even talked to him about what happened?” I shoved the table back and stood up. “I’m willing to bet you haven’t.”
“Because he doesn’t even care enough about it to talk to me,” he practically yelled, throwing his hands out to his sides. “The man doesn’t even have enough fucks to give about his career or his teammates to have an honest conversation with me. What makes you think he cares about you?”
“I don’t think he cares about me. I know it.” I narrowed my eyes at my father for possibly the first time in my life. “If he’s not talking to you, it’s because you haven’t given him the chance to. At least not a fair chance.”
Dad took a step back from the table, thrusting his chin in the air. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. He is not the man for you, and that’s final.”
“That’s final?” I scoffed. “I’m sorry, Daddy, but you don’t get to make that decision for me. I’m an adult. I make decisions for me.”
“I don’t give a shit that you’re an adult. You’re my daughter, and no daughter of mine will be involved with that piece of garbage. Hurt is the only thing that will come from this. Nothing else.”
“Maybe it is,” I conceded but kept my eyes on him and my voice firm. “Maybe he’ll hurt me or maybe I’ll hurt him. It’s not impossible that it will happen, but it’s also not impossible that we won’t hurt each other. We’ll only know by seeing this thing through, and that’s exactly what I intend on doing.”
“Over my dead body.” Each word was punctuated with a pause and a deep breath. A challenging gleam entered his eyes, and he pointed his finger at my chest. “You might legally be an adult, but you’re still my little girl. It’s my job to protect you, Sofia. That is exactly what I’m going to do.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Dad was already storming out of the kitchen. His bedroom door slammed a second later, and I huffed out an angry breath.
Well, that didn’t go well. I shook my head as I sat back down, unable to believe that only minutes ago I was happier than I could remember being in a long, long time.
All the joy that had been bubbling in my heart had fizzled out and had been replaced with the acidity of fear and the heaviness of anger. I knew Lincoln could take care of himself, and I also knew that Dad couldn’t exactly discharge him dishonorably purely for dating me, but I was still afraid of the repercussions for Lincoln now that Dad knew about us.
The anger? Well, Dad was being entirely unreasonable about my relationship with Lincoln. Sure, they didn’t like one another, but that didn’t mean he could forbid me from seeing someone or treat me like a child.
It wasn’t the first time he’d played the “you’ll always be my little girl” card, but it was the first time that he’d done so in a way that was condescending and demeaning. Maybe I didn’t understand and wouldn’t until I was a parent myself, but being his little girl didn’t give him the right to dictate who I loved. It couldn’t.
Lincoln and I might still be new, but I truly believed that if he and Dad could only get to know each other, they could learn to get along. There was already mutual respect. They simply needed to have a conversation about why Lincoln hadn’t taken any of the opportunities for advancement that he’d had.
If I really thought about it, it wasn’t that different from my own situation. I’d been offered fast-tracking several times, but I’d never even seriously considered it. No matter how much of an honor it was to be considered, it just hadn’t felt right to me.
Dad had never pressured me about it. Why he apparently held Lincoln to a higher standard than he held me, I didn’t know. He hated Lincoln for doing essentially the same thing as me.
When I heard heavy boots stomping on the stairs, I looked up to see Dad dressed in his full military uniform.
I frowned. “Where are you going and why are you all dressed up?”
“I’m going to work,” he said. “I can’t talk to you about your relationship, but there are other things I could be doing.”
Unease tied my stomach up in knots, but Dad left and slammed the door behind him before I could put my finger on why. Whatever he was going to go do, I doubted it would end well for Lincoln and me.
Chapter 31
Lincoln
“You’re being called in for a meeting with the officers, Dobbs,” the assistant on the base told me.
“Sure. When?” Tension tightened my muscles. If I was being called in so soon, it couldn’t be good news. It was possible I was being called in for questioning, but my gut told me that wasn’t what it was about.
“Right away,” he said urgently, more than a hint of nervousness in his tone. “The officers are already gathering. The sooner you can get here, the better.”
My mouth dried up, but I nodded. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I’ll let them know. Thank you.” He hung up without another word, and the line went dead.
Over the years, I’d learned to trust my gut. Ignoring it when we got called for that last mission was what had gotten us into the deepest mess we’d ever been in. I wouldn’t ignore it again, and it was blaring a goddamn alarm at me as I put on my uniform.
Before I left the room, I gave myself a long look in the mirror. This could be the last time I got to wear the uniform. If it was, I wanted to remember every detail about what it felt like to be in it.
The material was rough but soft from use and thousands of washes. I felt the material against my skin, but it wasn’t uncomfortable or restricting.
Being in it felt right, like my world was off its axis when the uniform was just hanging in my closet. It had been a long time since I’d paid attention to how I felt in this uniform, since I’d really given much thought to the honor it was to wear it.
Exhaling before I turned around, I took a final mental picture before leaving the house. This wasn’t going to be a good meeting, but I still had a duty to attend it.
Besides, not going was the worst thing I could do.
When I walked into the officers’ chambers, Charles was sitting there waiting for me. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see he was in a particularly pissy mood, and he looked at me with even more disdain than usual.
The lieutenant commander frowned at Charles, then motioned for me to sit after I’d saluted them. “All right. Thank you to everyone for joining us on such short notice. Cantor, why don’t you tell us why w
e’ve been summoned here?”
He gritted his jaw. Unless it was my imagination, the man actually looked annoyed for having to be there.
Charles glowered at me with so much hatred I could almost taste it. The level of contempt was new, even from him.
“Where have you been, Dobbs?” he asked, folding his thick arms over his chest.
The officers sat behind a giant wooden desk, their leather-covered chairs wedged in tightly behind it. Blinds had been drawn over the windows, and a fluorescent light hummed quietly overhead.
The atmosphere in the stark white room was tense.
I glanced at the four officers sitting with Charles. All of them seemed as confused as I was.
“I’ve been at my place. Why?” I wasn’t trying to be obstructive or disrespectful. I just didn’t understand why he needed to know where I’d been.
“What about before that?” he snapped. “Where were you, say, yesterday?”
“Yesterday was the fourth of July. I was in the city celebrating. I don’t understand why that’s relevant.”
“I will decide what is relevant,” Charles said.
The other officers’ expressions turned quizzical. Even the lieutenant commander gave Charles a strange look, but he didn’t interrupt.
When he nodded at me to continue, I shrugged. “I’ve already answered the question. I was in the city. I wasn’t near the base or on a mission if that’s what this is about.”
Charles ground his teeth together. “Were you on the beach yesterday, Dobbs?”
“Why would that matter?” one of the superior officers asked, but it became clear to me in that moment what was going on.
Charles knew I’d been with Sofia. That had to be what was going on. “Yes, I was on the beach.”
There was no point in lying about it. It was quite obvious he already knew, but I also didn’t want to lie about it.
“My personal life is private, sir,” I said. “Why have I been called in because I went to the beach on the fourth of July?”
“That’s a good question,” another man murmured, but Charles either hadn’t heard him or just ignored him.
“Nothing about your life is personal or private at the moment,” he replied. His words drew more frowns and confused looks from his peers. “You’re under investigation for a series of very serious transgressions. Everything you do, everyone you see, and everywhere you go can be questioned for purposes of establishing whether you should be discharged or not.”
“With all due respect, sir, I—”
Charles cut me off with a wave of his hand. “Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to.”
I nodded my understanding, but my eyes narrowed to slits when they met his. The man was hellbent on destroying my career. Finding out about my relationship with his daughter had obviously just moved up the timeline.
Even so, I couldn’t find so much as a thread of regret inside for getting involved with her. Charles had been gunning for me for a long time. He would have eventually done whatever he was about to do anyway.
Sofia had become non-negotiable to me at some point. I would walk through fire for that girl. Facing a possible firing squad wasn’t going to scare me away from her.
“You were on the beach with my daughter, were you not?” Charles asked.
A round of surprised grunts filled the air, but still, no one intervened. I looked him right in the eyes and nodded once. “Yes, I was.”
Malice crept into his gaze, but the others behind the desk were too busy staring wide-eyed at me to notice it. His lips pressed into a thin line. “You’ve also been to the hospital here at the base, have you not?”
“Yes, sir,” I admitted, feeling unease tighten my gut. “I went twice to check up on Eden Phillips.”
“You are aware that you were not permitted on the base during your suspension?” he asked, but he already knew the answer.
I nodded anyway. “Yes, sir. However, I didn’t visit him in any official capacity. I merely wanted to check up on my friend.”
“Your friend who is recovering from injuries he sustained because of your petulance,” he remarked.
Red dots flew into my vision. My muscles stiffened, and my hands clenched into fists. “That is not correct, sir.”
“Did you hear any question there?” He cocked his head, still glaring at me. “There was no question. It’s simply a fact.”
“Now, Charles, we’re still investigating that matter,” another one of the officers said. “We haven’t even recorded Mr. Dobbs’ statement yet, nor have we had an opportunity to speak with Mr. Phillips.”
Charles cut his eyes to the side. “The investigation will continue, but under the circumstances, I believe Mr. Dobbs has proven that he can’t be trusted to stay out of it. Allowing him to move around freely jeopardizes the integrity of the evidence and the investigation.”
“Excuse me?” Shock ricocheted through my system. My eyebrows mashed together and my heart beat so fast it was just about thrumming.
An icy grin spread on Charles’ lips. “Statements have to be taken from all the soldiers who were involved. You’ve already attempted to tamper with Mr. Phillips’ evidence. You’ve even attempted to infiltrate my own home by using my daughter.”
“Charles, I don’t think that’s fair. We should—”
The officer was interrupted by a gleeful-looking Charles. “The decision has already been made. He’s going to the brig in Washington until the investigation is over.”
“That’s bullshit,” I burst out. “I haven’t attempted to tamper with any fucking evidence and I’m not trying to infiltrate your home.”
Was he insane?
“Sofia and I became friends. We’re also dating. Sort of anyway. She has nothing to do with the investigation and you have nothing to do with my relationship with her.” My insides twisted at the thought that she might buy into his rhetoric.
Charles’ borderline psychopathic grin spread wider. “A likely story. Your flagrant disregard of rules, including those relating to your suspension, makes you a danger while the investigation is pending. There is no telling what you will do next or who you will attempt to persuade with your warped version of events.”
“It’s not warped.” My fingernails dug into my palms, my breathing becoming shallower. “You don’t even have my version of events yet.”
His brows rose. “And whose fault is that, Dobbs? You were given an opportunity to place your version of events on record the last time we spoke. You chose not to do so. Now you will have to wait until we get to you.”
“In the meantime, you’re sending him to the brig?” The officer who spoke sounded resigned to the fact. “I don’t support this decision, Cantor.”
“It’s already done,” he barked, then motioned to a soldier standing just on the inside of the door. As I turned around in my seat, I saw his knuckle wrapping out two quick knocks.
Instantly, the door swung open, and two huge guys I didn’t know came into the room. One of them held a pair of handcuffs while the other focused on me.
“Don’t make this any worse for yourself, Dobbs,” Charles warned. “Go with them peacefully, and we won’t have to add yet another incident to the investigation.”
Rage simmered in my chest. It was so potent I could taste the bitterness of it at the back of my tongue.
I glanced at the officers beside him and saw their looks of bewilderment and disagreement, and I tamped down the urge to fight. If I lashed out at these two, Charles would probably throw a psychiatric evaluation into the mix.
Concepts like anger issues and highly volatile would be bounced around, and I’d be fucked. My best bet of getting out of this and possibly clinging to my career by a thread was by cooperating.
It wasn’t like I’d be in the brig for months. The investigation had to have been well on its way, and it was only a matter of time before they came for my side of the story.
If I had any hope of getting back to Sofia and Eden, I had to play along. No matter
how many creative ways I could come up with to end the fucking man watching on gleefully as I presented my wrists to the guards.
Chapter 32
Sofia
All around us, people laughed and drank. Haley and I sat at a table at our favorite beachside cafe with our feet in the sand and fruity cocktails in our hands.
Steam rose off the seafood platter between us, and the air was rich with the smell of garlic, spices, and fish being grilled on an open fire. The sun was high in the sky and humidity wrapped around me like a blanket.
It had all the makings of a good day, but my phone sat silent beside my plate. Just as silent as it had been for the better part of the week.
The only time there was any activity on it was when I got a message from Haley or an email alert from campus. My dad still wasn’t speaking to me, and apparently, neither was Lincoln.
I’d been trying to call him for days, but he hadn’t answered any of my calls. Even my messages remained unread. In fact, it was like he didn’t have his phone with him at all.
Worry licked at the edges of my mind, but I was probably just being paranoid. It was much more likely that he’d had some kind of showdown with my father and was now avoiding me while he cooled off.
“Have you talked to your dad about it?” Haley asked after swallowing a bite of her fried calamari. “Maybe he knows where Lincoln is or why he’s ghosting you.”
I shook my head, taking another sip of my cocktail. I knew from previous experience that the strawberry-flavored liquid was sweet and infused with the sharp bite of rum, but it was like my taste buds were broken.
“Dad won’t speak to me. He took off after our fight that day, was gone until after sunset, and has been out early every morning since. I’ve tried to ask him what’s going on at the base that requires him to be there all the damn time, but he just grunted and left.”
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