Page 21 of Soldier, Tailor, Spy

She rolled her eyes and started for her office. “Yeah-yeah. Come on.”

Guilt ate at his gut and heart. God, he’d been such a mean, spiteful bastard. No one at the base deserved his ire. Once they were inside her office, she closed the door behind him and took a seat at her desk. She folded her hands, staring at him in expectancy. Jake took a seat across from her and cleared his throat. “First, I owe you an apology, Rae. I allowed my fears and guilt and anger to rule my mouth and my brain. I said some really hurtful, shitty things to you. I should have never done that, and I am sorry.”

She sat back; her gaze tracking him, as if trying to gauge whether he was telling the truth. “I accept your apology.” Relief surged through him. “Now, what can I do for you?”

He swallowed hard and nodded. “I know we might never be on the level of being friends, so I am asking this question, not as a curious ex-husband, but as a medical professional being questioned for an investigation.”

Rae tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “Okay. Well, go on, spit it out. You have me on tenterhooks, O’Malley.”

“Right,” he agreed. “So, last night while talking with Ginger about her relationship with Oscar—”

“That’s not awkward,” Rae quipped.

Jake chuckled. “Tell me about it. Anyway, she told me how she got pregnant with Declan and for the life of me—her too—I, more so we, can’t understand how it happened.”

“Well, Jake. When two people love each other very much,” Rae teased.

He flipped her off, laughing at the absurdity of the statement. “Asshole. I know that much, but when I tell you the specifics, you’re going to be confused as fuck.” He cleared his throat. “I guess I should back up a little and explain things better.” Jake told her about Fawn and why they’d decided to not have more kids. He told her about Ginger going on birth control and no issues with accidents. “Here’s where it gets interesting, Doc. Ginger was still on her birth control and Oscar wore condoms when they had sex. The fact she got pregnant with Declan is a miracle, because we never used condoms, and she didn’t get pregnant.”

Rae stared at him. She opened her mouth and closed it before exhaling and trying again. “Birth control and condoms are never one hundred percent effective, alone or together. Considering, though, the length of their relationship and the information you’ve given me about yours and Ginger’s marriage, it’s not adding up.”

He thought the same. The questions had swirled in his mind all night. Add in the bit of information Kiyoshi gave them about Oscar leaving. Well, those questions had unease settling in his stomach like a lead weight. “Here’s the other bit. Oscar was also planning on leaving, hence how we all ended up here.”

Rae scrubbed her brow. “Why does this hole keep getting deeper?” She sighed. “Is Ginger absolutely sure Oscar always used condoms?”

Jake nodded. “She was pretty adamant about that.”

“Okay,” Rae sat forward, narrowing her eyes. “I need you to promise me you’ll keep your cool. Number one, because of your stitches and number two, I don’t need you flying off the handle and reverting to the sullen asshole you were.”

“Okay,” he replied, taken aback by her request. “I won’t cause a scene.”

“Highly doubt that, but here goes,” Rae muttered. “I believe one of two things occurred. Either Oscar stealthed her—that’s when a man, during sex, takes off the condom and finishes inside his partner. Or, he purposely put holes in his condom to make it fail. Both of which can be considered rape in the state of Virginia, because it crosses the consent/non-consent threshold of the law.”

Jake saw red. The urge to dig Oscar up and kill him again flowed through Jake. The bastard raped Ginger. She’d been right the whole time. In Jake’s opinion, Oscar set her up, forcing her to stay with him as a cover. Jake clenched his jaw hard enough to crack a few molars before blowing out a tense breath. “You have more you want to tell me, don’t you?”

Rae gave him a sad nod. “Now, those two alone up the chances of Ginger getting pregnant, but we still have the birth control to contend with. Is there a way you can get me a sample of her pills? I need to test them.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think she has anything to be honest. Our luck, it burned in the fire.”

Rae snapped a curse. “Find out who her doctor is, and I’ll make the call.”

“I can try,” he stated. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m not sure, or well, I don’t want to say, because it’s a suspicion considering the rest of what’s going on, so give me time to do my investigating. In the meantime, her to come see me. Tell her it’s for a checkup everyone is supposed to have when they enter the base. I’ll run a full blood panel to check her levels.”

Jake scrubbed his face. “Sure. I’ll try. Though you might have an easier time getting her to come see you along with obtaining her birth control information.”

“True.” Rae nibbled on her bottom lip. “Never mind then. I’ll take care of this part and send my results to you and Asher only. I think you and Ginger were on to something, and I don’t think we’re going to like the results.”

He had a suspicion Rae was right.Damn you, Oscar. What the fuck have you done to my wife?

Jake left Ginger at the entrance of the medical wing as she stepped into the office, confused by Rae’s invitation. It’d been three days since Jake had been to see her, though according to Fawn, he kept in contact with her. Maybe he was learning boundaries after all. Not that she wanted them. She was a jumbled bag of emotions. Jake had and would always be the love of her life. She settled with Oscar and now her life had been turned upside down.

In the end, she didn’t know what she wanted or if she should have any desires. The fact she didn’t mourn Oscar should have been a red flag for her. The intimate conversation she had with Jake showed how much distrust and misgivings she had in the relationship. Now, heading to Rae’s office, those suspicions came roaring to the forefront of her mind. She’d be remiss to admit to herself and Rae, a part of her wanted to run away and never be found.

She knocked on the door to Rae’s office and waited. Fawn and Declan were with Bexley again, in her apartment, hanging out. Jake was working with Asher, and she... She was lost without her work, something she’d spent years cultivating and improving.

“Hey, you made it.” Rae’s warm greeting did nothing to push back against the chill creeping in on her. “Come on in. Let’s talk first.”

---