Sophia Sasson - The Sergeant's Temptation

In that moment when the team was goading him, he’d been ready to step away, to take the guys’ ribbing, but then he’d looked at Alessa and the fervor in her eyes had lit him up. He’d wanted nothing more than to prove to himself and his team that he deserved to be their commander, and that Alessa was nothing more than a soldier to him. So he’d stepped into the pit, and he’d hurt her. Possibly badly. Under normal circumstances, a dislocated shoulder was not a permanent injury, but with the previous trauma she’d endured, what if he had effectively ended her career? His mouth soured. I’m supposed to put my unit’s needs before my own. What kind of leader will I be?

They took her to the community hospital on base. The emergency room wasn’t busy, and Alessa was whisked into the treatment area. Luke, Rodgers and Dan were firmly told to stay in the waiting room. Dan volunteered to go find coffee for the men.

“What was that all about?” Rodgers didn’t waste any time once Dan was out of earshot. When Ethan died, Rodgers had been the de facto unit commander. By rank, Dimples was the most senior, but Rodgers had been with the team the longest and so he had been the one to get the team back home after their mission literally blew up. He’d been the one to hold the team together while Colonel McBride jockeyed for position and the team’s future hung in the balance. If it hadn’t been for Rodgers, Luke wouldn’t have a team to command; he was the heart and soul of the unit. So Rodgers was not a person to lie to. He would see right through Luke, and Luke needed Rodgers on his side to help him keep the unit together.

“I didn’t want to fight her.”

“Because she’s a girl or because you have feelings for her?”

Luke bit the inside of his cheek. It isn’t because she’s a woman, and it isn’t because I have feelings for her. I don’t. I can’t.

“The colonel didn’t want me to hire her. That’s why I put her in logistics. I didn’t want her getting injured and the colonel asking questions about why she was training.” It was a partial truth.

“Don’t you have a high opinion of yourself? She was holding back with you, and vice versa.”

Luke had sensed that, too. He’d seen Alessa fight and she was rough and fast, but with him she’d been way too hesitant.

Rodgers leaned forward. “Neither of you can afford a scandal. Maybe we’re just seeing things between you and Parrino ’cause you’ve got a reputation and it makes for good gossip between men. But it almost feels like you two are hiding something.”

We are. Luke didn’t want to have this conversation, but he couldn’t have the team suspect Alessa was spying on them. One way or another, a unit member was involved in Ethan’s disappearance and Luke needed the guys to trust Alessa. It was almost better for them to believe the worst of him. “You’re right, I’ve been treating her differently. Maybe because she is a good-looking woman. But I promise you there is nothing romantic between us, nor will there be. I’ll make sure of it.”

Rodgers nodded. “Good.” Then he took a breath. “As much as it pains me to say this, if she’ll be a distraction, I suggest you take her off the team, or at least keep her stateside for the next mission. We can’t screw this one up again.”

Luke pressed his lips together but said nothing. Rodgers was right. If he couldn’t even complete a simple exercise with Alessa, how would they ever work well in the field? The unit was already fractured; he couldn’t make it more divided by favoring a member. Not to mention that Rodgers was right in saying Alessa could ill afford another rumor. Luke was well aware of his own reputation and if the colonel even caught whiff of what had happened in the pit today, he wouldn’t hesitate to use it against Luke.

“It won’t be a problem.” Luke said with more confidence than he felt. Dan returned with steaming cups of coffee and they all sat in silence.

It didn’t take long for the doctor to set Alessa’s shoulder. Luke didn’t trust her to heed the doctor’s warning, so he pulled the man aside to ask him what her prognosis was.

“She asked that I not discuss her medical issues with you,” the doctor said.

He was a short, bald man in his sixties and he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Luke towered over him but the man did not seem to notice.

“I know this is her third dislocation, and I’m asking as her commanding officer whether she’s fit for duty.”

“Her chart says she’s logistics. She needs to wear the rotator cuff brace for at least two weeks, so she’s fit for whatever work she can do with her left hand. No heavy lifting for six weeks.”

“Will she regain full use of that arm?”

“I don’t see why not, as long as she follows my directions. Though I warn you—as I warned her—that next time she may separate her shoulder entirely and in that case, there is no guarantee what kind of nerve damage she might have.” The doctor peered at Luke. “I suggest you keep her to light desk duty.” He was an army doctor and completely used to soldiers wanting to get back to physical activity as soon as possible. “No training,” he reiterated.

Alessa wouldn’t even look at him, and after asking how she was doing in a perfunctory way, Luke told Dan and Rodgers to take her back to her barracks to rest. He could walk back and use the time to clear his head.

“I’m fine. I need to go back and fix the travel issues you found earlier,” she insisted.

“The doctor said you need to rest for two weeks.”

“He said I need to keep the brace on for two weeks max. I am perfectly capable of using my left hand to operate a keyboard and mouse.”

“I’m ordering you to return to your barracks for the day,” he said firmly.

“With all due respect, sir, you’ve asked us to think and operate independently and to question orders if they don’t seem right. I disagree with yours right now.”

Luke didn’t miss the smirk on Rodgers’s face, nor the matching one on Dan’s.

“You are correct that that is how I want the unit to operate. However, in this circumstance, my order stands.”

She looked like she was going to say more but then thought better of it and responded with an unenthusiastic, “Yes, sir.”

He motioned to Dan to hand over the keys to the jeep they had borrowed. “On second thought, I’m going to drive you myself.” The guys could walk back or get another ride.

“Will you also tuck me in?”

“If I must,” he retorted.

Dan and Rodgers exchanged a glance and Luke glared at them. “Rodgers, get one of the guys to pick you and Dan up. I need you to round up the team. We’re going out for target practice. I’ll meet you there.”

Rodgers nodded, though disapproval was clear in the man’s eyes.

Alessa signed her discharge papers, then Luke held the door open for her as they exited the emergency room.

Once they reached the parking area, he watched her struggle to get into the car. Having the use of just one arm, and her non-dominant one at that, could not be easy. He extended his arm to help her but she ignored him, obviously unwilling to have any contact with him.

“I’m sorry,” he said turning to her as soon as they were seated.

“You should be,” she shot back while she fumbled with her seat belt. She glared at him. “This is all your fault.”

Meeting her gaze, he nodded solemnly. She had every right to blame him.

“I know. I am so sorry, I never should have fought you.” He reached over, pulled the seat belt and clicked it into place. She slapped his arm with her left hand.

“No, you should be sorry for not fighting me. What was that in the pit? You couldn’t decide whether you were going to let me win or force me to lose?”