Page 160 of Alpha Awakened
Hazard frowned. Handle it? What did that mean? Unfortunately, he wasn’t going to get an answer right now. The MP took him to a small jail cell. Hazard stepped inside and the door closed behind him with a secureclank. Still in a daze at the whirlwind of the past ten minutes, Hazard sank down on the single hard bunk in his cell.
This was all his fault.
* * *
Tired but satisfied, Sam walked out of the debriefing. She’d reported everything she had on Cortez. If he had any more Vengeful Claw members waiting to start an uprising, that was for intelligence to figure out. Now, she was ready for a rare steak, a hot bath, and sleep.
In the midst of the people bustling back and forth in the hall, she spied Jax coming toward her. His face was passive, not giving anything away, but she detected the upset in his scent. Besides, she knew only trouble could have dragged him out of the barracks after the hell of that mission.
“What’s wrong, Corporal?” she asked when they reached each other.
He jerked his head to the side, indicating they should speak privately. Ortiz led the way to an empty room. They stepped inside and Jax closed the door.
“Ice and Hazard were taken into custody by the MPs.”
“For what?” She held up a hand stopping Jax before he could answer. “Actually, let me guess. Fraternization?”
“Yes.”
“Damnit,” she angrily swore. “I had a feeling this would happen but I hoped they wouldn’t do it right after we returned from taking down Cortez.”
“I’m sure they timed it that way on purpose,” Jax said.
“Undoubtedly.” She thought for a moment. “There are a lot of moves I need to make to get them out of this.”
Jax crossed his arms over his chest. “Whatever you do, I’ve got your back. Ice and Hazard are our teammates and I don’t want our pack broken up.”
“Good. We’ll show them a solid front. I’m going to go and talk to some people. See who we can get on our side.”
“Good luck.”
Sam nodded. They were all going to need it.
She went to Lieutenant Colonel Gibbs first. He already knew what had happened. Clearly pissed at the way the situation had been handled, he gave her the name of the officer who’d ordered her men arrested. A Lieutenant Colonel Lynn Kelly. After receiving Goodman’s guarantee of support, Sam went straight to Kelly’s office.
The office was of a size befitting her rank. The walls and shelves were filled with commendations and pictures of Kelly with important people. The colonel herself sat behind a large, gleaming wood desk. She wore camo fatigues with her rank pinned over her left breast. Her makeup was modestly applied, enhancing her strong features, and she had her thick, dark blonde hair pulled up in a tidy bun.
“Major Ortiz. I was expecting you.”
Sam got straight to business. “Then you know what I’m going to say.”
Kelly leaned back in her chair. “Do I?”
“Arresting Captain Anderson and Corporal Mitchell is a mistake.”
“I don’t see how. Those two flagrantly broke the rules. They will have to suffer the appropriate consequences for their actions.”
“And what would those consequences be exactly?”
“More than likely a period of time in jail, followed by reassignment to different units.”
“Like I said, this is a mistake. Ice and Hazard are not the first shifters of different ranks I’ve seen fall for each other in the military. Those soldiers left. Do you want to lose Ice and Hazard too? Because that’s what will happen. If you try to separate them, make them choose between each other and the Legion, they will choose each other. And they will leave.”
“I don’t believe that. They may have feelings for each other but they will reconsider when their careers are put on the chopping block.”
Ortiz shook her head. “With all due respect, ma’am. They don’t justhave feelingsfor each other. They’re mated. They’ve exchanged mating bites.”
“And they did so without prior authorization, which is also against regulations. That’s another mark against them. They’re supposed to be focused on serving their country. Instead, they’re caught up in unnecessary and distracting romantic entanglements.”