Page 25 of What I Should Have Done

Rounding a corner of tents, the sound of a voice I recognized slithered into my ears.

“Oh, come on, Squib, what’s the fucking harm?”

Reyes.

“It’ll be just like old times, you know, like back at sniper school?” he said. I slunk around a tent, remaining in the shadows as four outlines met my eyes. Three men standing around a single female—Scottie.

“Like back at sniper school? You mean where you all thought it was hilarious to cut up my clothes? My uniform? Or steal my shit?” she immediately snapped back.

The one standing across from her leaned his head back and chuckled. I assumed it was Reyes. “It was all in good fun. You know that,” he replied. Yep, Reyes. That son of a bitch wouldn’t leave her alone.

“Good fun? Why the hell are you here anyway?”

“Come back to my tent, Squib. I’ll show you what a real man can do. I can’t believe it’s taken us this long to get to this point,” Reyes said and stepped forward.

Frustration rushed through my bones. Why, I wasn’t sure, since it wasn’t like she was anything more than another teammate, but still. The overwhelming urge to step in and make sure she was fine propelled me forward from my spot against another tent.

“Where is he?” I called out, and walked right between the two guys standing behind Scottie.

Reyes raised a brow, clearly not dressed for taking an overnight shift. “Where’s who?” He crossed his arms, attempting to bolster his status, but it did nothing except annoy me further. I had to piss and here they were, delaying that.

“This ‘real’ fucking man? ’Cause all I see here are three pussies and Scottie. So, again, where’s this real man?” I snarled, narrowing my gaze at Reyes. Through my peripherals, I caught sight of Scottie’s intense glare. Shit, bad move on my part, clearly.

Reyes glanced at his two buddies and inhaled deeply. “How pathetic. Can’t even take care of yourself now, eh, Squib?” He nodded at his two companions and they disappeared within a matter of seconds.

As I shook my head, happy they were gone, a fist slammed into my arm, sending a reverberation down my bones. “What in the actual hell was that? I was fine!” Scottie snapped, placing both hands against my chest and shoving hard.

She was strong, but I was planted firmly on the ground, and it didn’t even cause my body to sway. Her mouth snapped open as she realized how little of an effect it had on me.

“I was just passing through,” I casually answered, my belly swirling warm with the sight of her right here in front of me.

“Passing through? I can handle my own fucking conversations, thank you very much!” she hissed, stepping closer to me.

“Clearly.” I stared down at her, unperturbed.

“Oh, fuck you!”

“You’re fucking welcome,” I growled and closed the distance between us, nearly flush with her figure so I was towering over her.

Fire roared from her gaze. “Excuse me?”

“I said, ‘you’re fucking welcome,’” I repeated, and her brows lowered over her eyes.

“You misogynistic shithead,” she snarled, anger turning her cheeks red.

Shadows darkened on her face as my brows creased. “What the hell does that have to do with anything that I just said?”

She shook her head. “I don’t need you to rescue me.”

“I wasn’t rescuing you?” Confusion tingled beneath my skin. Three against one wasn’t exactly a fair fight, especially when throwing a punch or two wasn’t allowed.

She crossed her arms, the anger in her twisting her features taut. “You think joking about shit like this is funny? You’ll never get what it’s like going from one man’s world into another. You stepping in makes me, as a woman, look weak. Like I need a man to protect me.”

“I’m not joking—”

“I was the top of my class, Blondie.” Her lip curled with a snarl. “I graduated as the best sniper, and they still treated me like I was beneath them all because I am a woman. I don’t need that from you or anyone else on the team, either,” she explained, clenching her fists tightly.

“Wait, you think that’s how I see you? You think that you being a woman is why I stepped in like I did?” I asked, taking a deep breath to clear my head.

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