Page 147 of Promises in the Dark

Fuck, I didn’t know why it got to me, but it did. For a split second, I let myself enjoy it.

I forced my attention back on the path ahead. The village felt empty, like the locals had all vanished into thin air. Only the occasional rustle of fabric or the distant chatter of children reminded me that people still lived here. But they were scared—probably of us, but definitely of the bastards who had just been running the show.

When we got to the mosque, it was as dilapidated as it had looked from afar. The walls were crumbling, the roof sagging in places, but it would have to do. At least it was cover.

“This’ll have to do,” I muttered under my breath, more to myself than anyone else.

I turned to the woman and nodded. “Thanks. You’ve done enough.”

She gave a slight bow and retreated into the shadows of the building, disappearing just as quietly as she’d come.

The place wasn’t much, just five small rooms, probably used for storage or whatever passed for sleeping quarters around here. But it had walls, a roof, and most importantly, it was defensible.

Looking around, I felt the weight of responsibility settle even heavier on my shoulders. We needed a plan. Fast. I motioned for everyone to haul their asses over.

“Listen up,” I said quietly. “We’re securing the area. Two people on watchalways, and we’re rotating shifts. I want someone on the roof, and another patrolling the perimeter. Eyes on every approach, especially that main road. Someone so much as blinks wrong, I wanna know about it. Got it?”

Raven, standing off to my left, crossed her arms and gave a curt nod. “I’ll take the first watch.”

“I’ll join you,” Viper added, already reaching for his rifle like he couldn’t wait to get out of here and back into action.

I still didn’t trust him, not fully. There’d been too many things lately that didn’t add up, and he was at the center of it. Something about him was off.

I gave Raven a look, wordless, telling her to keep an eye on the bastard. She gave me a subtle nod in return. No need for words between us. We’d been through too much for that.

“Good,” I said, meeting their eyes. “Stay sharp, both of you. We don’t know who else might be out there. Could be locals, could be insurgents. Either way, I don’t want any surprises.”

They nodded and slipped away, heading for the staircase that led up to the roof. I watched them go, feeling a small sliver of relief knowing we had eyes on the place. But the relief didn’t last long. It never fucking does.

I turned back to the others. “The rest of you, find a corner and crash. We don’t know how long we’ll be holed up here, so take whatever sleep you can get.”

Everyone nodded, too tired to argue. They shuffled off in different directions, looking for whatever corner they could collapse in.

I scanned the room, my gaze landing on Red. Before I could even open my mouth, she slipped away without a word—no thanks, no acknowledgment, just fucking gone.

My jaw clenched, fists tightening at my sides, but I didn’t chase her. There wasn’t a point. She knew what I thought already, and right now, we had bigger problems than whatever the hell was going on between us.

I found a small room in the back, if you could even call it a room. Four crumbling walls and a ratty mattress thrown on the floor. The only other piece of furniture was a small desk, covered in dust. I wasn’t expecting the Ritz, but damn, this was bleak. I sat on the edge of the desk, the wood creaking under my weight, and let out a long breath, trying to clear my head.

I dropped my gear and took a seat on the edge of the desk, the wood creaking under my weight. My eyes landed on a small prayer book lying on the corner of the desk, the pages worn and yellowed with age.

It wasn’t in English. I couldn’t read a damn word, but I opened it anyway, flipping through the delicate pages, not really sure why. Maybe I was looking for some kind of answer, something to make sense of all this shit. But if God existed, he clearly didn’t give a fuck about us.

That much was clear. We were here, in the middle of this war-torn hellhole, trying to survive, and every day felt like a battle we were barely winning. The bastard we just killed, the traitor who’d sold us out… none of it made sense.

Someone had tipped off the insurgents, and we’d walked right into their trap. But who? Viper? Someone else? The pieces weren’t fitting together, and it was pissing me off.

But one thing was for sure—our captain knew. He fucking knew he was sending us to die, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that son of a bitch was in on the whole thing.

I lit a cigarette, the smoke filling the room as I took a long drag. The exhaustion was creeping up on me, but sleep wasn’t coming anytime soon. My brain was still spinning, trying to piece together the puzzle.

Fuck, I’d kill for a drink right now. But I pushed the thought aside. I had to stay sharp, even if every part of me was begging to just… stop.

A knock on the door dragged me out of my head.

“Come in,” I grunted, not bothering to move.

The door creaked open, and there she was—Red, standing in the doorway. Her eyes were tired, her face smudged with dirt and sweat, but she still had that stubborn look on her face. The one that always drove me crazy.

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