Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Chapter 15

"Yo, Reid, I gotta ask you something."

Samuel moved his gaze from the blade grazing his cheek to Ben sitting on his cot. "Serg, I've told you a million times. You just know. Rephrasing the question won't change the answer."

"It's not about Tessa." A heavy frown brought Ben's thick brows together. "But what's up with you, Colonel Grumpy?"

Samuel rinsed the razor in the bowl of cold water between his knees and shook his head. "Nothing."

Everything.

Two weeks of Rivers' constant presence were coming to an end. One week before he got to be with Cheryl. Both prospects were fucking him up with a mix of anticipation and trepidation.

He dabbed a towel on his wet, smooth skin, glancing up at Ben, who sat on his cot in his camo trousers and olive t-shirt.

"What do you wanna know?"

Ben's eyes darted around Samuel's face as if propelling his brain to find the right words. "How often does Leah visit Rivers?"

Samuel scoffed. He'd take Ben's rambling about Tessa every day over this. "Dude, don't put me in the middle this."

Ben licked his lip over a smirk that was anything but charming. "That often, uh?" His head dropped, and he rubbed the shaven scalp before looking at Samuel again. "Twice, three times a week? Does she spend the night?"

"Knock it off, man." Samuel tossed the mirror in his footlocker, the landing a tad too hard.

Ben's mouth lifted in a slow smile that turned more devilish with each second. "Why so loyal?"

Samuel's stomach dropped. Although his reserve had nothing to do with loyalty, Ben's words hit straight to the paranoid spot of his brain that had kept him safe in the shadows for ten years. He stood and buckled his shoulders, towering over Ben when he took a step closer.

"I'm not Mason's secretary. I don't keep track of who goes in and out. And gossip is for high school queens, and I'm not a queen, either. You wanna get the 411? Ask Rivers or your sister."

Ben's chuckled exploded with a scoff. "Chill, man. It was just a simple question."

Except, the intent behind it wasn't innocent; that much was clear. Still, people like Ben made terrible enemies, so Samuel shrugged and with that, his shoulders and tone softened. "You've known Rivers for a hundred years. Talk to him."

Ben rose to his feet, snatching the jacket of his camo from the cot. "If either of them told the truth, I wouldn't be asking you." He got to work on the buttons, but something deeper than focus writhed his face.

Why was Ben so obsessed with Leah and Rivers together? If he was so protective of her, and weary of the men she dated, then Rivers made the perfect candidate.

"How are you so sure they're lying?"

Ben's ebony eyes flicked up, studying him from under another frown. "Because Leah is in love with him and she'd do anything to protect him."

"Protect him?" The question leaked as a reflex. When the words settled in Samuel's brain, the rest of the sentence acquired meaning.

Had Leah told Ben about her feelings? If so, it was obvious Rivers didn't know. But none of those questions found an answer in the silence that became heavier with each second Ben refused to break his gaze.

Just as Samuel was about to walk off that sticky discussion, Ben spoke.

"I've known Rivers for ten years, on and off, and he's a solid friend. On a battlefield, I'd trust him with my life. But he can be scum." He stepped closer and his minty breath invaded Samuel's nose. "Now, he's free to run around and play his games as much as he wants. I'm not gonna stand in his way. But there are rules, Reid. If I find out he's pulling tricks with my sister, and that he took advantage of her in any way, I will make him pay."