“You could say that,” I said. “Remember that favor I owed Peter for letting us go get the Alpines? He called it in. He was sure if I kissed him I’d remember my feelings for him. He didn’t care that Zeke was standing right there.”

Trex turned, walking the other way. “I’ll kill that motherfu—”

I grabbed his arm and yanked him back. “Zeke knew the circumstances. It was just an excuse. He was going to dump me anyway. That’s why he went out and drank himself into oblivion. Peter being there was a convenient way to pick a fight. After the kiss, Zeke wanted to throw a punch but realized he couldn’t. That was all he needed to walk away. He wouldn’t return any of my calls or texts yesterday.” I swallowed. “It’s over.”

“Damn it, Nomes. C’mere.” He tried to hug me, put I pushed him away. “Not here.”

“What can I do?”

“Not mention it at work? I’m struggling to keep it together here.”

He nodded. “Copy that. Let’s check the end and hassle the new guys. Deep Echo transition was today.”

“Aw, man. I kind of liked those assholes.”

“Well, now we have new assholes.”

The metal grid beneath our feet echoed with each step until we were stopped by the huge blast door that led to Deep Echo. The same alarm chirped, but a different guard spoke through the speaker. I could see through the glass that he seemed anxious; fidgeting and blinking his eyes a lot.

“Step back, Mr. Trexler,” he said.

Trex made a face. “It’s just Trexler.”

“Step away from the door, Trexler. You have ten seconds.”

“What’s your name?” Trex asked.

He hesitated. “Gibbs.”

“Gibbs,” I said, nodding. “What kind of name is that for a soldier?”

“Five seconds,” he said, clearly at the end of his patience.

“Have a great nine months, asshole,” I said, smiling and waving as we walked away.

“Hey. Hey!” the guard said through the speaker.

We turned.

“I’ve heard about you. I’m not Lieutenant Dean. I’ll hog tie your asses and throw you in the brig. I don’t care if you’re main house’s head of security.”

Trex smiled. “I’d like to see you try.”

We kept walking, staying silent until we were outside of earshot.

“He’s Navy or Marines,” Trex said. “Air Force and Army call holding a stockade, not the brig.”

I nodded once. “Caught that.”

“I’m thinking the next nine months at the blast door won’t be as fun as it used to be,” Trex said.