Page 129 of Promises in the Dark

My ears perked up at that. “You think he sold us out to our CO?”

“No,” she replied quickly. “Captain left right after our talk on a secret mission, or whatever bullcrap he spews out of hismouth every time he wants us to do his dirty work. And I know for sure Viper can’t contact him. None of us can.”

I rubbed my temples as a headache began forming behind them. The room seemed to spin around me as her words sunk in like lead weights in water.

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’ve been digging around, Rogue. I have my ways of getting information. And from what I’ve found out, our Captain has got some kind of secure comms device that only he can access. It’s not linked to our usual channels, and even we don’t have the clearance to reach him directly.”

I frowned, not convinced yet. “So, what’s got you spooked?” I pressed, needing her to get to the point.

She snagged the bottle from my hand and leaned against the bar counter, taking a sip before answering me directly.

“Well, it’s too fucking coincidental to ignore that every time we’ve had a mission fail or lost men in the field...” She paused for emphasis before adding quietly, “Viper wasn’t there.”

I took the bottle from her, downing another shot, finally seeing the picture she was painting. I thought about it, the pattern becoming clearer. It was true—Viper had been MIA[5] during every failed operation we’d been on recently.

“You’re saying he’s been dodging our failed ops?” I asked, passing her the bottle.

Raven nodded, taking another swig of whiskey before slamming the bottle down with a loud clink that made my head pound even harder.

“Looks like it,” she agreed.

This was getting uglier by the minute.

“Keep digging,” I rasped out finally, my throat dry from too much whiskey and not enough truth. “See what else you canfind out about Viper’s involvement. And if you find anything, you come straight to me.”

Raven’s smile reappeared, this time infused with satisfaction instead of seduction. “You got it, boss.”

I waved my hand dismissively at her. “Now get the hell out,” I added as an afterthought.

She saluted me with two fingers before turning to leave. “Oh,” she threw over her shoulder as she walked away, “and maybe try staying sober for once?”

I raised my middle finger at the closed door before reaching for the bottle again. Yeah, like that was gonna fucking happen.

The hangover was a bitch, but I had shit to do.

“My decision is final.”

I found Red in the med bay early the next morning, packing supplies for the mission like nothing was about to change. I knew what I was about to do was selfish as fuck, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t about to lose her like I’d lost everyone else. I had to make sure she stayed put.

I was done with losing people.

She didn’t even look up, continuing to pack. “It’s not your call, Rogue.”

“It is now,” I said evenly, not wanting to get into a back-and-forth with her. “You’re not going on this mission.”

She shot me a look that could’ve burned through steel as she set down the pack she’d been holding. “You’re not my superior,” she countered, standing her ground.

I smiled thinly. “Your superior is dead,” I reminded her, moving closer.

Yeah, that got her attention. She flinched at the mention of Dr. Dickhead but recovered quickly.

“Even so, Captain Collins didn’t inform me not to go.”

“Well, the Captain’s not fucking here to say otherwise now, is he?” I said, trying to sound firm but feeling like a dictator. “And as team leader—”

“You’re not leading the medical team,” she interrupted hotly.

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