Page 75 of Promises in the Dark

“You’re all familiar with the situation in that region, right?” Captain droned on, his gaze bouncing between us like a ping-pong ball. “Well, this mission is our chance to make a difference. You’ll be working with a team of soldiers to set up field hospitals and distribute aid.”

I was trying to process his words, but all I could think about is how much I wanted to tear that bastard apart.

“You’ll be leaving in a week. Lieutenant,” he added, addressing me directly, “you’ll need to train the medical staff that will be joining.”

Fuck. My. Life.

My face dropped. Training an abusive ex-boyfriend and a pretty doctor who I just so happened to have the hots for.

Perfect combo.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered under my breath.

The captain raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. Even though I knew he heard me.

“Sir,” I began, trying not to lose my shit entirely, “I’m not comfortable with the idea of training them both. It’s a conflict of interest, and I don’t want any bullshit drama messing up my work.”

Captain scoffed. “You’re a professional, Rogue. You’ll handle it.”

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood, trying not to tell him to go fuck himself right there.

Dr. Douchebag, with his smarmy grin and beady eyes, chuckled and said, “What’s the problem, pretty boy? Can’t handle a little competition?”

This sarcastic comment just reeked of asshole and I felt my blood boiling. I’ve seen my fair share of shit on the battlefield, but this fucking quack took the cake. His attitude pissed me off, and I could see Red looking scared as hell, her hands shaking like leaves in a damn earthquake.

“I’ll fucking show you competition,” I growled, my teeth grinding together.

The captain, looking like he was about to burst a blood vessel, slammed his fist on the table. “That’s enough!” he yelled. “The decision is final. Lieutenant, you’re gonna train them, and you’re gonna do it like a professional. Or else.”

Now, Red was looking at me like I just sprouted a third eye, and Dickhead’s got that smug look on his face like he has just been validated.

I seethed, my teeth clenched so hard I was sure I was gonna break a few. “Fine,” I growled through gritted teeth.

Red let out a sigh of relief that could’ve put out a fire and with a dismissive wave of his hand, the captain signaled theend of the meeting. As we walked out of the office, I heard him mutter something about ‘keeping things civil.’

Yeah, right.

Out in the hallway, I tried to shake off the tension, take a deep breath.

“Well, that was fun,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

The point was to be playful, but holy shit, if Red was throwing daggers with her eyes before, her glare was now at level ten.

“Yeah, it was ablast,” she said, her voice flat, defeated. Made me want to punch something even harder. Better than the silence, though.

But of course, Dr. Asshat just couldn’t let anything slide without being a colossal prick about it. He scoffed, rolling his eyes like he was some high and mighty piece of shit.

“Oh yeah, real barrel of laughs, training with you,” he taunted.

I felt my blood boil so hot it was a wonder it didn’t explode out of me. Without another word, I lunged forward, my fist connecting with his smug face before he even had a chance to react. Blood spurted from his nose like a fucking faucet, and he stumbled back, cursing and trying to get his bearings.

“You wanna see what I’m capable of, you fucking piece of shit?”

Red gasped, looking like she was about to melt into the floor, which sucked, because I actually felt kinda bad for her, being stuck with her ex all the time. But Dr. Asshat just smirked and decided to open his mouth again.

“Aren’t you the comedian?” he sneered, the blood streaming down his face only seeming to fuel his arrogance. “What are you gonna do, tough guy?” he continued, that smug-ass grin plastered on his face like it was glued there. “Throw a tantrum like a little bitch?”

And just like that, we were back to square one, with no real resolution in sight.

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