Read Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) for Free Online

resented her being there, but they sure didn’t want to do her job. The job of a U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist was something most service people wouldn’t even consider, but Laura had always wanted to be an EOD specialist. She’d gotten interested in explosives when her dad’s department had gotten themselves a bomb squad. The counties around theirs had all pooled their money to start the unit. Since their county was centrally located, they chose her dad’s department to house it, and with him being the sheriff of their county, she’d been able to see up close and first-hand how the bomb squad worked.
    When she graduated from high school, she hadn’t been interested in college; she went straight into the Navy to train as an EOD Specialist. It had been hard; the men didn’t want her there. They had no choice but to allow her to do her job, but they didn’t have to accept her. In fact, they made her day-to-day life hell, but she was tough and managed anyway. Then she’d been deployed to Bosnia. It was her dream come true, if she could just hang on.
    She spent the afternoon checking in equipment for one of the infantry divisions, then went to the mess hall and ate what only passed for food. Dinner was meatloaf and mashed potatoes, which looked and tasted suspiciously like the chicken fried steak and mac and cheese they’d had the night before. After dinner, she showered and climbed into her bunk to read the book Brian had loaned her. It was kind of nice to have her own sleeping quarters; she loved the privacy after being around the men all day.
    She could hear the music from the big hall down the way – the poker games were in full swing. Then she heard something else, something closer and quieter, but still audible. She turned on her battery-powered ceiling light and called out, “Hello?”
    Her door opened and Brewster, a private she recognized from one of the infantry divisions, came into her quarters.
    “Hey, Brewster! Can I help you with something?” Laura asked him.
    “I dunno – maybe.” Brewster walked closer to her. As he crossed the room, the door opened again and two more men walked in. She’d seen them around, but she didn’t know their names. After they’d made it through the door, two more men walked in, two she’d never seen before but also probably from an infantry division. “What are you reading?” He reached over and took the book.
    “I borrowed it from Brian.” Something felt wrong, and she started to get nervous. “I think you need to leave. You really shouldn’t be here,” she said forcefully, hoping they’d just go.
    “The lady thinks we need to leave,” she heard a voice say and, through the group of five men, a sixth man walked in and right up to her. Her heart froze.
    Sergeant Wagner stood in the front of the group, a menacing grin on his face. “But we don’t want to leave, EOD Specialist Billings. We’d like to have a party, but we don’t have any girls to dance with. Do you like to dance?” he asked her, leering.
    “Please leave. I really don’t want any of you here.” She tried to sound brave even though she was terrified.
    “She doesn’t want us here, guys. What do you think of that?” Wagner asked.
    “I think we should make her glad we came,” one of the men said.
    Wagner walked right up to Laura and grabbed her arm – hard. “I think you’re right, Taylor. I think she’ll be glad by the time we’re finished.” With that, Wagner pushed Laura back onto her bunk and told two of the men, “Hold her arms. I’m first!”
    Laura started to struggle and tried to scream, but one of the men put his hand over her mouth while Wagner fished around under her bed, found a pair of her underwear, and stuffed them in her mouth. He pushed her tank up until her breasts were exposed, and squeezed both of them hard. Some of the men laughed. After he’d stripped her underwear off, he told two more of the guys, “Hold her ankles. I don’t want