Read Online Fragged: A BWWM Military Romance by Paige Notaro - Free Book Online

shit. And I’d had commanders of all colors overseas that took no shit. I couldn’t have done well if I didn’t start listening.
    In a way, the army had broken me down. Not completely. Not enough to make me forget the cause.
    But at least enough to allow last night.
    The pain in my leg was nothing compared to the scratch of that memory. I popped a pill to dull that more than anything else. The meds had led to this whole damn mess. The least they could do was help me forget.
    Forget the feel of that raw dark skin damp around mine. Forget the feel of her body lush in my arms. Forget the sound of me suckling her full lips like I needed them to live.
    I wanted to leave it all in the dust. But trying to forget just dredged it all up again. I’d have to drown it out by getting back to work.
    McPherson had a dedicated medical building, though it was only about the size of a stable and manned thinly. The medic on site had just a chevron to his rank.
    “Private Velez,” I said, reading his badge as I approached his desk. “I need you to clear me for duty.”
    “What’s the injury?” he said.
    He had an unlined face, slightly darker than a deep tan could reach. He was young, but looked severe as he gave me a one over.
    I rolled up my pant leg.
    He whistled at the bandage. “It looks deep.”
    “Deepest there is. A round went all the way through.”
    “Oh shit,” he said.
    “I’m fine. Sergeant is not convinced.”
    “Well, let’s take a look.”
    He led to an exam room, had me sit on a chair and began unwinding the bandage. I only felt it as a slight release of pressure.
    I looked down at his shorn black hair and the much lighter skin it speckled. This guy was Latino, no doubt. They came a little darker, a little lighter.
    Rosa might be on one end of the spectrum. Someone on the other side, I might not even notice wasn’t white. But his culture would be closer to Rosa’s than mine.
    It wasn’t the first time I’d had to notice that the lines between people didn’t cut so neatly, but I couldn’t ignore it now. I needed to know how deep I’d gone into enemy territory.
    The military lingo came naturally to me, but it didn’t sit right at all. My stomach turned just thinking through the words.
    What happened between me and Rosa was no war. It might have been a mistake, but there was no need to put it in such sharp terms.
    After all, she had been soft through and through.
    Velez released my leg and asked, “When did this happen?”
    “Two days ago.”
    “Sounds about right. They gave you something for the pain?”
    “Vicodin.”
    “Dosage?”
    I gave him the pill case from my pocket. He clicked his tongue and gave me a soft look.
    “Sorry, Corporal, I can’t clear you.”
    My mind turned dark. “I’m sitting at a desk in the armory, not training.”
    “Still, you’re in pain. You’re not going to maintain discipline under Vicodin. Which is fine. You should be taking it. You just need a couple more days to heal.”
    “Private Velez.” His name turned to acid on my lips. “I am asking you to clear me for duty.”
    He stood and looked at me with a face flat as the full moon. “I’m here to keep you healthy, Corporal, not be your friend.”
    I shoved off outside into the smothering heat. This fucking Mexican kid thought he knew my body better than I did. He could only dream of being in my skin. I hadn’t gotten a purple heart for being unable to act under duress.
    I’d hope to slink out of base, but Lilton chose the moment I was walking past his office to come out for a smoke. He gave me a grim smile.
    “What’s the status?” he asked.
    “Unfit for service.” There was no use in a naked lie.
    “Ah, it’s for the best, Black.” He took a draw of his cigarette. “Don’t worry, the US Army isn’t going anywhere. Head on downtown and find some place to watch pretty girls for a while. You’ve earned it, son.”
    Son.
    He clapped me on the back. I had the sudden urge to snap on him and unleash