Page 135 of Promises in the Dark

And I was about to be out of my god damn mind.

My brows slammed together so hard I felt it in my skull. “Out of gas?” I echoed dumbfounded. “How in theabsolutefuckdid that happen?”

The soldier looked like he’d just swallowed a live grenade.

“It was stolen, sir,” he confessed, his eyes locked onto a point somewhere over my shoulder. “Someone siphoned it while we were distributing aid and helping the wounded.”

For a second, the words didn’t even compute—they seemed too absurd to be true considering all this fucking madness we were in, trying to tame with band-aids, blankets and good intentions wrapped in Kevlar vests and camo paint.

Raven stepped up, her arms crossed over her chest in a way that suggested she was two seconds away from throttlingsomeone with her bare hands if necessary—preferably whoever was responsible for this clusterfuck we were now neck-deep in because of their idiocy or negligence.

Or both.

“Are you fucking with us? How could no one have seen anything? We had people watching, didn’t we?”

The private swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing like it was trying to escape his throat.

“We were all busy, ma’am. There were kids crying, people needing medical attention. We couldn’t watch the vehicles every second.”

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my shit together. Here we were, a group of highly trained soldiers, brought to our knees by something as mundane as a fuel theft.

“Viper, get on the radio, see if we can’t get an airlift or a refueling team out here.”

“Already on it,” Viper said, heading towards the comms gear.

As he walked off to try and reach HQ, the rest of us just stood there in the fucking desert, thanks to some opportunistic sons of bitches who saw fit to screw us over.

We were stranded in the ass-end of nowhere, surrounded by locals who might or might not want us dead, with nightfall creeping up on us and the prospect of being sitting ducks for any hostile fucker with a hard-on for American targets.

Fucking fantastic.

I ran a hand over my stubbled chin, feeling the grit of the day’s sweat and dirt. “While Viper’s trying to get us some help, we need to figure out what to do. We can’t just sit here with our thumbs up our asses.”

Raven was pacing, kicking up little clouds of dust with each step. “We need to secure the perimeter, make sure we don’tend up with our backs blown out. We also need to keep an eye on the locals. Someone here knows something.”

The soldier who brought the news still stood there, looking like he wanted the ground to swallow him. “Should we set up a perimeter, sir?”

I nodded, resisting the urge to rip his head off. “Do it. And spread the word. We’re on high alert until we get this sorted.”

As he hurried off, Raven moved closer to me. “You think this was planned?”

“Feels like it,” I replied. “Someone knew we’d be distracted. They took advantage.”

Viper came back, shaking his head. “Radio’s dead. Either the signal’s blocked, or we’re out of range.”

“Great. Just fucking great,” I kicked at a stone, sending it skittering across the ground.

The sun was beating down on us like a damn drum, the kind that gets under your skin and rattles your last nerve. Sweat trickled down my spine, and I could feel the grit of the desert clinging to my face. The situation was a solid five category on the fuckery scale, and the heat was the least of our worries.

I gathered everyone around because if we didn’t get our shit together fast, we might as well slap targets on our backs and call it a day. They all looked at me, waiting for answers, questions practically buzzing around their heads like flies on a pile of shit. Same thought in everyone’s mind:

What now, boss?

I cleared my throat, feeling every grain of sand that was taken up residence there.

“Listen up,” I barked, my frustration bleeding into my voice. “We’re going to split into two groups. Group Alpha stays here to guard the vehicles and keep an eye on the locals.”

A murmur ran through the ranks, but I held up a hand to shut it down.

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