“Stone, what are you up to?”
At the sound of Kyle’s voice, both men spun around to face him. Stone stuck both his hands in the pockets of his poopy suit.
“Sir, Petty Officer Roberts and I were going over the maintenance reports, sir.”
What a lying suck up, Kyle thought. He hadn’t liked Stone from the minute he’d reported on board. Oily was the word that came to mind. Young and dumb were two others.
“What’s in your pocket, Petty Officer Stone?” Kyle stood feet shoulder width apart, arms crossed over his chest blocking the exit.
Stone’s eyes stared him down. He swallowed once, twice, then blinked. “Nothing, sir.”
Kyle said nothing in response, glanced down, and back up, then held his hand out, palm up. Stone shifted from one foot to the other. Roberts hadn’t said a word, but he nudged Stone with his elbow and gave a slight nod toward Kyle. Good, at least one of them was thinking.
“It’s just my phone, sir.” Stone pulled his cell out and handed it to Kyle.
Kyle hit the button on the side, saw the locked screen and handed it back. Without saying a word, Stone unlocked the screen and gave the phone back.
“You know smart phones aren’t allowed in here. That alone could get you written up, taken to Captain’s mast.”
“Sir, I wasn’t filming the boat. I’d never do that.”
“Then tell me what were you showing Roberts.” Kyle continued to thumb through the different screens and apps.
“Tell him, Stone or I will.” Roberts’ tone was sharp. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes flared with anger. Kyle knew the signs and ordered Roberts to stand over on the other side of the room while he spoke with Stone. He really didn’t need a fight to break out on top of whatever this was.
Once Roberts was a safe distance away, Kyle turned back to Stone, his finger over the gallery app. “Last chance, Stone to come clean on your own.”
Stone shot a look toward Roberts and then focused on Kyle again. Once again he stared straight-ahead, not blinking, mouth drawn tight. “Sir, it’s a long deployment. I downloaded a few adult vids and I was offering to share them with Roberts.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle caught Roberts’ body freeze, heard the quick intake of breath and noted the lack of exhaling.
“For a price?” Kyle asked.
“Well, yeah,” Stone replied. “You know how it is, sir. We don’t make squat as an E-4. Got car payments to make, bills to pay, a girl back home who expects me to bring home presents from our port calls. Guys got make some extra scratch.”
He knew the pay sucked at Stone’s rate, but he also knew the guy didn’t have to pay for housing or food and he drove a car that even Kyle couldn’t afford and he’d been in for a hell of a lot longer than Stone. Kyle also didn’t throw his money away at the local strip club, which is probably where Stone got the video.
Still smartphones weren’t allowed in here for a reason and he just didn’t trust this guy. Every instinct Kyle had told him Stone lied through his teeth, not to mention the dead giveaways between him and Roberts. Something was on the phone that was going to get both men busted.
Kyle hit play on the file marked ‘video one’.
It opened with a woman in the shower. What do you know, the little shit told the truth. Kyle was about to hit the off button when the woman turned around, as she ran her soapy hands down her wet body he zeroed in on her face and saw red.
Nic.
Kyle grabbed Stone by the lapels of his poopy suit so fast the guy started sputtering as he slammed him against the bulkhead.
“You fucking piece of shit!”
“Sir.” Roberts grabbed his arm, got into his face. “You don’t want to do this. He’s not worth it.”
He locked eyes with Roberts. He wanted to tell him how wrong he was, how it would be worth whatever punishment the Navy sent his way to teach the scum in front of him a lesson, but his mouth couldn’t form the words. Stone had violated Nic, had broken the trust of one of their own, and Kyle was going to see that he paid.
“What the hell, Hutch?” Bryant’s voice cut through the red haze in his brain as his hands and Mace’s pulled him back, but Kyle didn’t let go.
“I don’t know how,” he said through gritted teeth, “but he’s got a video of Nic… Lieutenant Riley in the shower and he’s selling it to crewmembers.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Mace’s jaw drop, heard the whoosh of air expel as if someone had gut checked him.
“Are you sure?” Mace asked.
“Yeah. I caught him in the act.”
“No, are you sure it’s her?” Bryant clarified.
Stone started shaking his head. “I swear, man. It’s not Lieutenant Riley. I downloaded that video off the net weeks before we left. Not my fault the chick looks like her. The WEPS is mistaken.”
“Hutch?” Mace looked him square on.
Kyle turned to meet his friend’s questioning gaze. “I saw the video, enough to know it was filmed in a submarine shower and the woman’s face was that of Lieutenant Nic Riley. Vice Admiral Riley’s daughter.” He threw that last part on while looking at Stone and Roberts.
“SUBLANT?” Roberts stepped back, ran his hands over his head and held them at the back of his head. “Shit, Stone you are one dumb motherfu... I knew she was some bigwig’s daughter, but I hadn’t really paid any attention to who.”
“Hutch.” Mace brought his attention back to him. “Look, I believe you and I know you must feel right now.”
“No, you really don’t.”
He wanted to rip Stone’s head off. Shove him in the torpedo tube and shoot him out to sea. He was a lowlife sexual predator and some slick dick of a defense lawyer would probably get him off with a slap of the wrist.
Every time Kyle tried to let go, his fingers clutched the material tighter. This scum had seen Nic naked, had violated her trust and privacy. He couldn’t even imagine what Nic’s reaction would be, or how she would feel, but Kyle was willing to risk the consequences to see that Stone met with justice.
Mace got in his face.
“Look. I get it. You want to pound his face into the bulkhead. You want to teach him a lesson and I’m not going to disagree and say he doesn’t deserve it either. But you do this, and I let you, we’ll both end up in the brig next to him.”
Slowly Kyle released his hold on Stone. Mace had a point. Getting himself in trouble wouldn’t help Nic. He needed to pull it together and play it by the book so that not only Stone, but also every idiot who saw the video would pay for their betrayal.
Chapter Seven
“Sit,” the XO ordered. His normal easygoing manner sounded more like the captain’s gruff I’m-too-tired-for-this-bullshit tone. “If this isn’t a cluster fuck, I don’t know what is.” He dropped into the chair opposite of Kyle and blew out a breath.
“You know I’ve seen some messed up stuff in my time. Sailors sleeping with shipmates’ wives, stealing, smuggling contraband on board, drugs. I’ve heard pretty much every excuse there is for the stupid shit people do.” The XO—Chris—slouched back in his chair, crossed his feet and got comfy. “Did I ever tell you about the idiot who swallowed a joint? Someone put it out in his beer bottle. Said he couldn’t spit the beer out. He was driving his car and it was raining. Stupid. This though… it’s beyond stupid.”
Kyle let out a small chuckle. At least the stupid guy didn’t hurt anyone else. This? Recording someone without their knowledge wasn’t showing a lack of brain cells, it showed a lack of a moral compass. If he didn’t laugh at the one guy to let off some steam he’d probably stalk out of the XO’s stateroom, find Petty Officer Scumbucket and beat the shit out of him. The really funny part? Never before had Kyle been the type to get into fights. Something about Nic brought out the caveman in him.
“Did Stone confess?” Kyle asked.
“Not at first. I talked to Roberts and then Smitty before him. Roberts hadn�
��t seen the video before today. Smitty told him about it, but didn’t show it to him. I guess that’s something. Roberts didn’t put it together and realize it was Riley. He’s only seen her a few times coming and going to chow. Smitty knew. He tried to deny it, but that guy can’t lie to save his life.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes while his words circulated through Kyle’s brain. Smitty and Roberts surprised him. Both were good guys, excellent sailors and had come across as having working brains.
“Who else has it or has seen it?”
“According to Stone, once the captain got him to talk, only the three of them, but I don’t buy it. I think he had help. He admits he sold the video to Smitty and planned to sell it to others. The captain has already signed off on the written warrant and the COB and Havers are conducting a berth-by-berth search. Everyone’s electronics will be checked—enlisted, chief, officer. No exceptions.”
“You’ve seen it?” The XO nodded. “Obviously, Ronquillo and Havers so they’d know what to look for, plus me and the captain—”
“No. The skipper refused. Said if legal required him to view it, he would and not until then.”
Kyle slammed his palm down on the XO’s desk, jumped up and walked around to stand behind the chair. “Sorry, sir. That still makes at least seven of the crew who’ve viewed the video or at least part of it. Seven shipmates Lieutenant Riley will have to face knowing they’ve seen her during a very private moment. She’s not going to take it well and I can’t say I blame her.”
The XO leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and let his hands hang in a loose grasp in front of him. “She’s not the only one. There’s her father… and you.”
“Me?” Kyle rocked back on his heels. Crap. It was true that he and Nic had a past, but he’d feel this way if it had happened to any woman.
“During Stone’s interview he accused you of assaulting him after seeing the video. Said you acted like a jealous husband, not a shipmate.”
“Stone’s an idiot and doesn’t know the first thing about loyalty, friendship, or what it means to be part of a crew. Not to mention how to be a real man.”
The XO stood and walked over to him. With a hand clamped on his shoulder he looked him in the eye. “Hutch, you and I’ve served for the last three years together. What’s said here, right now, is just between us.”
Kyle nodded in agreement. The two of them had shared a few beers along the way, during port calls, over discussions about family and what comes after the Navy. He was more than just Kyle’s boss. He was a true friend.
“Stone’s a lowlife. We could shoot him out the torpedo tube and I wouldn’t have a problem with it. In his heart, the captain probably feels the same way. I’m not thinking too highly of Smitty either. Oh, I don’t begrudge the man for wanting a little adult entertainment, but when he saw the subject of that video he should have hightailed it to my office. Keeping his mouth shut, or rather being Stone’s mouthpiece? He’s no better, but we’ve got to do this by the books. Are you getting my drift?”
Kyle dropped his chin into his chest and looked back up. “Yeah, I get it Chris. Don’t go beating the crap out of either guy.”
“Trust me. They will see the inside of a jail cell. SUBLANT will make sure of that. I need you to let the COB and Havers handle this, stay away from the investigation, and I know she’s going to need a friend right now, but watch yourself with Riley.”
Holy shit. Somehow he knew. Probably freaking Bryant.
“What are you saying, sir?” Kyle took a step away, put the distance back in their relationship.
“Let’s not give Stone or his defense any ammunition to back up any more of his claims. Keep everything on the up and up. No lingering looks at chow time. No private discussions in her stateroom. No getting pissy when some other guy talks to her and no slamming any more crewmembers against the bulkhead.”
“Understood, sir.” Kyle turned to leave hesitating at the door. “Does she know yet?”
Chris blew out a breath and Kyle saw him drop back in his chair out of the corner of his eye. “The captain’s in with her now. Felt the news needed to come from him”
Without another word Kyle left and headed down the passage to his quarters, by way of the crew’s bunks. He didn’t plan to get involved, just see how things were progressing. He spotted Mace with a laptop, while the COB was going through a locker.
“I’m heading to the rack for some shut eye,” Kyle told him. “You need to check my laptop, you know the password.”
“Already done.” Mace didn’t look up from the screen.
Kyle stood waiting. The COB kept his head behind the metal door, presumably still digging through the crewmembers’ stuff, but there was no way it took that long to search the small space. He was giving Mace time to fill Kyle in.
Mace shut down the laptop and returned it to the bunk. “You know I can’t tell you anything.”
“And yet you will anyway, so just tell me now.”
Mace didn’t look at him; he kept his focus on the clipboard in his hand. “You’re determined to see my ass in a sling, aren’t you? Fine. The COB searched the officers’ quarters and came up with nothing. I took the goat locker, same thing. We’ll be down here for a while. So far, we’ve found the video on one other smart phone. No,” he said as Kyle opened his mouth. “I won’t tell you whose. Go. Get some sleep. You’re on duty in a few hours.”
With that Mace turned his back on him and joined the COB at the other end of the berthing area.
Damn.
Eight crewmembers had seen Nic in the shower. Seen her naked and he couldn’t even go to her and make sure she was all right.
* * *
Nic sat curled into a corner of her bed, gaze darting from one corner to the next around her room. She hadn’t slept last night after the CO destroyed her world. Instead she’d searched every nook, cranny, and compartment, checking for recording devices. Twice. They’d said the video was only of her in the shower, but who was to say there wasn’t more they hadn’t found?
Every time she’d closed her eyes and tried to sleep she’d open them again and search around the room, sure she’d heard a noise or saw a flash of light behind her closed lids. Around zero four hundred she’d given up the ruse, got dressed and slipped into the galley to make hot tea and grab something to eat before the crew showed up for chow. Both the drink and the muffin sat untouched on her desk, as did the burger and fries Chief Boone had sent down when she didn’t show at lunchtime.
About an hour ago the CO had stopped by to give her an update. Mace and the COB had completed their search, only finding the video in one other person’s possession. Petty Officer Tarasov had been Stone’s accomplice, his lookout man, letting him know when the coast was clear to film and when Nic headed to the shower. He was also a logistics specialists and one of her men.
Per regs the CO had filed the SITREP—situation report—and they’d been ordered back to Groton. Another boat was being sent to complete their mission. By now the full crew knew what had happened. Knew it was her fault they wouldn’t be making port in Scotland. She really hoped none of their wives or girlfriends had spent the money to meet them.
Some of them, at least eight by her count, knew what she looked like naked. Who else had seen the video?
Unless someone confessed or were ratted out, she’d never really know.
Fighting back tears, she uncurled and swung her legs over the edge of the bed as someone knocked on her door. Normally she kept it open during her wake hours, not wanting to close herself off from the crew.
But not today. Today, drifting alone on the high sea in a lifeboat sounded better than facing the crew.
The knock on the door came again. “Nic, you awake?”
Kyle. Could she face him? He’d seen it. She’d made the Captain tell her who exactly had viewed the video and why. He also told her Kyle came close to crossing a line in her defense.
She climbed of
f the bed and tried to smooth out the jumpsuit before quickly pulling her hair back into a ponytail and re-wrapping it into a knot.
“Come in.”
The door opened and he filled the entry without stepping into the room.
“Hey, how are you holding up?” His voice was soft, soothing and way too serious.
“Peachy keen, jelly bean.”
He rubbed the stubble along his jawline, looking like she’d thrown him a curveball. Maybe so, but how else did he expect her to answer his question? Cry on his shoulder? Confess she was too embarrassed to leave her room, to face the crew?
He glanced at her desk and then his cool slate gray eyes met hers.
“Guess I’d be peachy keen too if I were getting room service. Didn’t know that was available these days on the boat. Wonder what’s next. Laundry service?”
“If you wanted the easy life you should have joined the Air Force.”
“Maybe a state of the art gym or game room? Or private ba—” He shook his head. “Sorry.”
“Just say it, Kyle. It’s the giant pink elephant in the room. And from what I hear you have no reason to apologize. Actually, I should be thanking you.”
Kyle looked over his shoulder and back at her. “Stone was my guy. I should have kept a better eye on him.”
“Tarasov was mine, so if were playing the blame game, we’re both guilty then.”
“Nic...” He looked back over his shoulder.
“You know you can close the door. I’m not going to yell for help or anything.”
“Actually, no I can’t. XO’s orders. Stone’s making some noise. Look, I know none of us can really understand how this affects you. You know, get what’s going on in your head, but if you need to talk…”
She held up her hand to stop him. “I appreciate the offer and you stopping by, but you’re right. You don’t get it, none of you do and the last thing I need is the crew’s pity on top of everything else.”
Something cold and hot flashed in his eyes before he stepped fully into her room and shut the door. She lifted a questioning brow that he ignored.
Love Runs Deep Page 8