Going Overboard Read online

  Riptide Publishing

  PO Box 1537

  Burnsville, NC 28714

  www.riptidepublishing.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All person(s) depicted on the cover are model(s) used for illustrative purposes only.

  Going Overboard

  Copyright © 2018 by L.A. Witt

  Cover art: L.C. Chase, lcchase.com/design.htm

  Editor: Chris Muldoon

  Layout: L.C. Chase, lcchase.com/design.htm

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher, and where permitted by law. Reviewers may quote brief passages in a review. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Riptide Publishing at the mailing address above, at Riptidepublishing.com, or at [email protected].

  ISBN: 978-1-62649-700-9

  First edition

  February, 2018

  Also available in paperback:

  ISBN: 978-1-62649-701-6

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  Second-class petty officers Dalton Taylor and Chris Ingram have been best friends since coxswain’s school. Now they’re stationed together in the Harbor Patrol Unit of NAS Adams. They’re content as friends, but secretly, they both ache for more. Neither makes a move, though; while Dalton is out and proud, Chris is closeted—even from his best friend.

  Then another coxswain’s negligence nearly drowns Dalton. After a taste of how easily they could lose each other, neither man can keep his feelings hidden anymore, and it turns out love and sex come easy when you’re falling for your best friend.

  Things aren’t just heating up between the friends-turned-lovers, though. The Navy is investigating the accident, and the Harbor Patrol chief isn’t going to let his star coxswain go down for dereliction of duty, even if saving him means throwing Dalton under the bus.

  As the threats and gaslighting pile up, Chris and Dalton need each other more than ever—as shipmates, friends, and lovers. But if their chief prevails, the only way they can save their careers is to let each other go.

  About Going Overboard

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Also by L.A. Witt

  About the Author

  More like this

  “You know, with as much money as the Navy spent to send your ass to coxswain’s school,” MA3 Rhodes said as she put on her police belt, “you’d think someone would actually let you drive the boat once in a while.”

  “No shit.” I scowled and slung the M4 rifle over my shoulder. “As long as Chief Lasby’s golden boy is running our section, though . . .”

  She frowned but said nothing. What was there to say? Chief Lasby played favorites, Chief Lasby ran Harbor Patrol, and Chief Lasby thought MA1 Anderson was the Second Coming. The fact that Anderson was only a basic coxswain and I’d graduated Level II coxswain’s school at the top of my class and could drive that fucking boat in my sleep didn’t mean a goddamned thing, because the dirt bag was our lead petty officer. And the only reason he was our LPO was because he outranked us all, which was because Chief Lasby had given him a glowing eval he totally hadn’t deserved. Not that I was bitter.

  Thanks to the extra chevron on Anderson’s uniform and how deeply his nose was planted between Lasby’s ass cheeks, he got to call the shots when we went out on patrol. And his call was . . . he drove while I carried the gun.

  I adjusted the sidearm strap around my thigh. “Think we’ll at least get the Metal Shark up and running soon so we don’t have to bring the rifle anymore?”

  Rhodes snorted with laughter. “Senior Chief Curtis has been after Port Ops for months to fix that stupid boat. At this rate, we’re going to break the little boat too, and then we’ll have to . . . I don’t know. Patrol the harbor in a kayak or something.”

  “Don’t even joke about that,” I groaned. These days, there wasn’t much I’d put past our command.

  I gazed out the Harbor Patrol Unit building’s second-story window at the boats below. The wind was brutal today, rattling the windows and even the walls of the mostly concrete building. The usually calm water of the harbor was rough as hell, waves slamming into the seawall and tossing our boats hard against the pier.

  In the slip closest to shore was the Metal Shark—the biggest, most capable vessel we had. I loved that type of boat. They could turn on a dime, they hauled ass, and they were pretty stable even in rough waters. Unfortunately, ours had been out of commission for . . . hell, no one even knew anymore. I’d been here almost a year, and I was pretty sure I’d only seen that bad boy leave the pier twice.

  With that boat still waiting for repairs, and the larger fast boat on reserve in case of emergency—and because it was too expensive to operate on a daily basis—we were stuck with the piece-of-shit smaller craft, which was currently out on patrol. It was tiny, rickety, and didn’t steer for shit. It could haul ass, which was good, but it didn’t maneuver nearly as cleanly as the Metal Shark. And that was in calm waters.

  The best part? It was a small craft that couldn’t support a mounted machine gun like the Metal Shark. Since we had to have at least one large weapon when we patrolled, we had to go with the next best thing—the hand-carried M4 currently hanging off my shoulders. All eight-plus pounds of it. On top of the heavy vest. And the trauma plates. And my loaded sidearm. And my boots. And my police belt. I didn’t know why they even bothered having inflators in our vests. Didn’t seem like they’d really help when we were weighed down like fucking anchors.

  I shifted my attention out to the mouth of the harbor and beyond. The green water was churning violently, the swells making me a little queasy even from here. I wasn’t prone to seasickness, but I knew what seas like that could do to a boat. My nausea was nerves and nothing else.

  We shouldn’t be out on the boat. Not tonight.

  I shifted my attention to the sky. We had about an hour and a half of daylight left. Going out in this weather was dangerous enough. As our visibility fade
d with the sun, it would only get worse. Going out for night ops in these conditions, on that boat, was suicide. Plain and simple.

  But the powers that be insisted. After all, what better time for terrorists or something to infiltrate our harbor than while we were hiding from the elements?

  Rhodes appeared beside me, gazing out the window as she fussed with something on her belt. “You know, it’s actually a good thing you’re the gunner today.”

  I glared at her. “Why’s that?”

  “Because if I had the rifle, I’d probably club Anderson to death with it.” She nodded at the parking lot below us, where Anderson was having a cigarette with Chief Lasby.

  I turned away in disgust and pressed my back against the window. “One more year, and he’s not our problem anymore.”

  “Yeah.” She sniffed bitterly. “Assuming he doesn’t get an extension and stay here. And even when he transfers, we’re still stuck with Lasby.”

  I shot her another glare. “You are one gigantic ray of sunshine today, you know that?”

  She smiled brightly and patted my shoulder. “That’s me.”

  I couldn’t help chuckling even as I rolled my eyes. “Come on. The boat’s on its way back in.”

  We didn’t speak as we clomped down the stairs and went outside into the vicious wind. Being February, it was cold as balls even without the wind and sea spray, and it was just getting colder.

  “Holy shit.” I almost choked on the words as I walked. I’d been out here an hour ago, and damn but the wind hadn’t been this strong. We both had to shield our mouths and noses just to breathe. At the edge of the parking lot, the American and Navy flags were snapping and whipping in the wind, the chains pinging loudly against the poles. In this kind of weather, the flags shouldn’t have even gone up, but as with everything, it wasn’t my call to make. I just hoped neither of them broke off and wound up in the water. The seas were way too rough to try to rescue anything, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out who’d be the one leaning over the side to fish out the ruined flag while Tweedle Dipshit was at the helm.

  I shook myself and continued down to the pier. Up ahead, the boat was almost back to its slip, and I couldn’t help feeling a little better. My best friend was aboard right now, so we’d get a minute to cross paths while his crew turned over the boat to mine.

  I stopped near the slip and watched them battle the waves to park the boat. As the ass end swung around, I caught sight of him, and my heart did a little flip.

  There you are.

  MA2 Chris Ingram and I had been close since coxswain’s school, and I’d secretly had the worst crush on him. Not just because he was the sweetest guy I’d ever met, but because dear God, he was gorgeous. Our base hadn’t yet switched over to the new green camouflage, so we were still wearing blue, and I loved how it looked on him. Something about the color made his black skin look even darker and brought out the warm brown of his eyes. The cut of the uniform made his shoulders seem broader and his arms seem bigger. The rest of us looked like shit in these things, but trust him to look good even when his police belt masked his narrow hips, which I’d memorized a long time ago anyway.

  It didn’t hurt that he was built like a brick shithouse. He and I were about the same height—six one, give or take—but he was definitely bigger. And so, so hot. Especially with that black vest over the top of his camouflage and the laced-up black boots and—

  I tore my gaze away before someone busted me. Last thing I needed was Lasby catching wind that I was checking out another MA. I was out and everyone knew it, but it didn’t hurt to fly under Lasby’s radar as much as possible. He was one of those homophobes who wasn’t obvious about it, but wasn’t all that subtle either. A few comments here and there about marriage equality, DADT, and our senior chief’s recent wedding had been enough for me to read between the lines. Besides, Chris was straight. I didn’t need him to catch me ogling him and get uncomfortable.

  The boat was finally close enough to the pier, and Chris tossed me a line. Rhodes and I helped him and his crew tie the lines, and in a matter of minutes, it was secured. The crew disembarked, and they were all a little unsteady on their feet. None of them were new to being out on the water, either—Chris and MA3 Powers had better sea legs than I did. If they were that wobbly, I was fucked.

  Well, this is going to be a fun watch, isn’t it?

  I smirked despite my nerves. “You boys doin’ a little drinking out there?”

  “I wish.” Chris’s dark skin actually looked a tad green, and he eyed the pier like he was trying to find a spot to heave over the edge. “Man, those waves are no joke today.”

  “Great. And Mario Andretti over there is driving.” I motioned toward MA1 Anderson, who was sauntering down the pier.

  Chris’s eyes widened. “You’re shitting me. Again?”

  Sighing, I nodded. “Yeah. God help us all when he gets back from Level II school.”

  Chris snorted. “They’ll boot him out of there the minute he gets out on the water.”

  I held up my hand, my gloved fingers crossed.

  He didn’t laugh. Stepping closer, he lowered his voice. “I’m not kidding about those waves out there. And with as fast as he drives?” His lips pulled tight. “Don’t let him go out of the harbor.”

  “In this weather, only a complete idiot would try open seas.”

  “But you know how Anderson likes to do his outer-harbor sweeps.”

  “Fuck,” I muttered. “Well, hopefully even he’s not that dumb.”

  The quirk of Chris’s lips told me he was pretty sure Anderson really was that dumb. “Be careful out there.”

  “I will.”

  Our eyes locked just long enough to fuck with my pulse.

  Then he smiled, gave my arm a light squeeze, and headed up to the Harbor Patrol building.

  I watched him go, but only for a couple of seconds. I definitely didn’t need anyone in our unit—least of all Chris—catching on. What I wouldn’t have given, though, for a chance to put my hands on those shoulders, especially without the uniform in the way. But he didn’t need to know that. No one in our command did.

  I focused my attention on carefully boarding the wind-tossed boat, but part of my mind was still on Chris. I wished like hell I could go out on patrol with him more often, and not just so I could ogle him. He was a solid Sailor and a more than competent coxswain. We worked well together, maybe because we were both on the older end for our rank. Most people in our rate advanced to MA1—E-6—around the ten-year mark. We’d both been in fifteen years, and we were still MA2s. The last few advancement cycles had seen a lot of younger MA2s advancing while those of us who’d been in longer stagnated. Hence why we were both answering to MA1 Anderson—a cocky, ambitious kid who was great at kissing ass but not so great at doing his job.

  As younger guys advanced past us, Chris and I commiserated about being ordered around by kids who couldn’t find their own asses with a flashlight and an anatomy chart. At least he got to be at the helm once in a while.

  Joking and grumbling aside, we really did need to advance soon. Both of us. We had until our sixteen-year marks to make MA1, and if we didn’t, we could kiss our careers and retirements goodbye. Chris had been held back at his last few commands thanks to political and quite possibly racial bullshit. I didn’t have anyone to blame but myself. It had been ten years since my dumb ass had gone to Captain’s Mast and been summarily demoted a rank, and that incident was still following me around. At the end of the day, we each had two advancement cycles left to get promoted, or the Navy was done with us. No pressure.

  So, as I settled in on the boat, I reminded myself to spend a couple of hours studying tonight after I came off watch. The advancement exam was coming up fast, after all, and I was going to own that fucker if it killed me.

  Anderson and Rhodes came aboard, and after we’d pulled in the lines, Anderson steered the boat away from the pier.

  The second we were clear of the slip, the boat rocked hard
. Shit. The guys hadn’t been kidding—even inside the harbor, the water was rough. Bearable, though. It didn’t take me or Rhodes long to get our legs under us.

  Half an hour into our watch, Anderson called me into the cabin.

  Bracing myself against the metal frame and planting my feet wide on the deck for balance, I leaned in. “Yeah, boss?”

  He shifted in the coxswain’s chair, gripping the helm tightly in one hand while he gestured with the other toward the mouth of the harbor. “There’s a disabled vessel about a hundred yards past the gate.”

  I looked out, and there was definitely something out there. An indistinct shape that seemed to disappear between swells. Probably a boat, though I couldn’t fix my eyes on it enough to decide if it had lights or if those were just reflections from the half-moon or the base lights.

  “Call in the Coast Guard,” I shouted over the wind and the engines. “There’s no way this boat can handle those waves.”

  Anderson shook his head and throttled toward the open ocean. “We’ll be fine.”

  “Uh, no. MA1, I’m serious.” I gestured at the violently rolling seas. “Even if we can get to that vessel, there’s no way we can help them without—”

  “We’re going to help them, MA2.” He shot me a glare.

  I stared at him, jaw hanging open. “It’s too dangerous!”

  “And it’s too dangerous to just leave another vessel out there!” His glare hardened, and I could almost hear the accusation of insubordination.

  Gritting my teeth, I stepped out onto the deck and made my way to Rhodes, who was trying to keep her balance near the stern.

  “Hold on to something,” I grumbled. “We’re heading out into open water.”

  Her eyes were instantly huge. “Is he insane?”

  “Probably. He thinks we can do something about that.” I gestured at the possibly disabled boat.

  She looked past me and scowled. “Shit. What do we do?”

  I swallowed. So did she.

  She said something I couldn’t hear, then grabbed her radio to call for a fast-boat response to be on standby and to get the Coast Guard mobilized. While she did that, I went out to the bow to watch for debris or other vessels; with swells that big, we were liable to crash into something without even knowing what we’d hit. Hopefully if I saw something, Anderson would be smart enough—and fast enough—to avoid it.