Page 105 of Promises in the Dark

What the fuck did she want? And more importantly, how the fuck was I supposed to deal with her without giving away the fact that Red was here?

Chapter 29

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Spotting a pair of pants tossed over the back of a chair, I lunged for them, pulling them on with a speed that would’ve put a cheetah to shame.

As I swung the door open, I was fucking blindsided by the sight of Raven standing there with a look that screamed ‘don’t fuck with me’ and an attitude to match.

Her hair was shaved on one side, the other side spilling down in dark curls cascading down the other in this edgy, ‘I-don’t-give-a-fuck’ way.

She had this intensity in her eyes that could make even the toughest motherfucker piss their pants. But despite all that, there was something about her that always rubbed me the wrong way.

I knew for a while that she had a crush on me, that much was fucking obvious, but I’d never felt the same way. Not even close. She looked at me like I was some prize to be won, but no matter how many hints she dropped or how hard she tried, I just couldn’t bring myself to see her in that way.

Nor did I want to.

And there she was, standing in my doorway with that look on her face as if she was about to confess her undying love for me.

I forced out a gruff ‘Raven’ making it clear that I wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries.

She looked me up and down, her gaze taking its sweet time, like she was inspecting every inch of me.

I usually wouldn’t give a shit about a woman seeing me half-naked. Hell, I’d fucking encourage it—I knew I looked good, my muscles rippling and my body honed to perfection from years of training and trauma. I wasn’t some prude who onlywanted to beseen by Red, but for some reason, in this moment, that was exactly how I felt. Uncomfortable.

What the fuck did she do to me?

As Raven watched me, I didn’t feel proud. I felt exposed, like she was seeing parts of me that I only wanted Red to fucking see.

I braced myself for the onslaught, already dreading the awkward conversation that was about to fucking ensue.

And I was not prepared.

Raven launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around me in a hug that I definitely did not fucking ask for. I stood there stiff as a board, feeling like a trapped animal as she squeezed the life out of me. It wasn’t welcome, and it sure as hell wasn’t mutual.

“It’s good to see you, asshole,” she chirped, her voice all fucking sunshine and rainbows.

I gritted my teeth, trying to find the words to tell her to back the fuck off without being a total asshole. “Didn’t know you got back from the mission,” I grunted as I attempted to peel her off me.

I didn’t squirm, although my skin crawled at the unwanted contact. Raven backed off, her face going red with embarrassment as she stammered out an apology.

“Shit, sorry,” she mumbled, her eyes darting away from mine like she’d just realized how fucking awkward she’d made it. “I forgot that you don’t like to be touched like that.”

Yeah, no fucking shit.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and just gave her a nod.

“Yeah, well, you remembered now,” I grumbled, feeling the awkwardness settle over us like a cloud.

I let out a heavy sigh, steeling myself for the inevitable conversation that was about to follow. I racked my brain for a way to steer it in a direction that might actually benefit me.

Sure, Raven was a pain in my ass most of the time, but she was also a Special Forces Operator, which meant she had access to all sorts of intel that might just come in handy for my own investigation.

Might as well try to extract some information out about her mission. Who knows, maybe it would be mildly interesting.

“So, how was the mission?” I prompted, knowing very little about it. “Herat, right?”

Raven’s face lit up with a fervor only soldiers get when they’re talking about the kill. "Yeah," she said, her voice gaining momentum. “We were dropped into the middle of nowhere. Our objective was to track down this terrorist cell that had been operating out of some remote village in the mountains."

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