Page 139 of Promises in the Dark

She grasped it firmly, and I hauled her up, perhaps a bit too forcefully. She stumbled into my chest, and for a split second, I felt the softness of her body against mine.Fuck.Definitely not the time, Rogue.

Shoving all that bullshit aside, I scanned the wreckage. The acrid stench of burning fuel and melted rubber made my nose curl as smoke poured off what was left of the vehicle.

“Pyro!” I called out, my voice rough as I tried to get a read on the situation.

“I’m good!” he shouted back from somewhere behind me, but I could barely make out where he was through the smoke and haze.

The heat from the explosion was still thick in the air, making it hard to breathe.

That’s when I saw them—moving out of the village like shadows in the dust. Armed to the teeth, rifles slung over their shoulders, closing in on us. They weren’t moving fast, but they sure as hell weren’t taking their time either. I counted a dozen, maybe more. This wasn’t just some random group of assholes. They knew we were here, and they were coming for blood.

“Shit,” I hissed, my grip on Red’s arm tightening instinctively. “We’ve got company.”

My pulse ramped up, but my body went into autopilot. I turned to the rest of the team. “Incoming!” I yelled, trying to rally the guys.

Pyro and Viper were already in motion, pulling out their weapons, but I knew we were in deep shit. Outnumbered, outgunned, and they had us pinned down like rats.

“Red, stay behind me,” I growled, pulling her close and pushing her toward some cover—an old wall, barely standing, but better than nothing.

She resisted for half a second, her usual stubborn shit, but one look from me shut her up.

The first shot cracked through the air, snapping me out of my daze. I dove to the ground, the bullet whizzing past me, way too fucking close. Everything went from bad to worse in a heartbeat. My team scattered, trying to find any kind of cover they could. But it wasn’t enough—there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

Gunfire erupted from all sides, the sharp pop of AKs lighting up the village like fucking fireworks. I ducked behind a pile of rubble, yanking out my gun and returning fire, but it was like trying to piss out a forest fire.

“They’re fucking everywhere!” Pyro shouted, crouched down behind an old, rusted-out vehicle, firing off a few rounds.

I saw one of those bastards drop, but another two just took his place, moving in fast.

We were being boxed in.

Movement behind me. I turned just in time to see one of them charging at me, and I didn’t think—just reacted. I stood up, swinging my rifle like a bat, smashing it into his face. His nose crunched like stepping on a beer can, blood pouring down his chin. But the fucker didn’t stay down. He came at me again, and I tackled him, driving him into the ground, fists flying.

It was dirty, violent, and it feltdamngood. My knuckles cracked against his face, over and over, blood splattering across the dirt. I didn’t stop until he was limp beneath me, his body twitching as I pushed myself off him.

But there wasn’t any time to enjoy it. Another fucker came at me, and this time, he was swinging a knife. I dodged, barely missing the blade, and slammed my fist into his gut. He grunted, but he didn’t go down. I followed up with an elbow to his face, feeling the impact in my bones, and he dropped like a sack of bricks. I kicked the knife out of his reach, but it didn’t matter—there were more coming.

“Fuck!” I shouted, wiping the sweat and dirt from my brow.

The heat, the gunfire, the chaos—it was all blending together, turning into one big blur of noise and violence. My team was still fighting, but we were getting overrun. We were fucked.

Red was crouched behind the wall, wide-eyed, but to her credit, she wasn’t losing her shit. I had to give her that much. She knew how to keep it together when it mattered.

“Stay down!” I barked at her, but I wasn’t sure if she even heard me over the gunfire.

I couldn’t keep an eye on her and fight at the same time, and that made my blood boil even more.

Another one came at me—this guy was bigger, nastier. He had a gun, but he was too close to use it. I ducked under his swing, grabbed his wrist, and twisted it hard until I heard the snap. He howled in pain, dropping his weapon, and I slammed my knee into his gut, then shoved him into the ground. I didn’t have time to finish him off before I was hit from the side, a heavy body slamming into mine and sending me sprawling.

I rolled, fighting for control, feeling the weight of someone on top of me. He had his hands around my throat,squeezing, but I managed to get my arm up, pushing his face away, trying to break his grip. My vision blurred for a second, my lungs burning as I gasped for air.

With a desperate swing, I smashed my fist into his temple, and his grip loosened enough for me to throw him off.

I scrambled up, grabbed my rifle, ready to finish him off, but Viper beat me to it—clean shot, right to the head.

“Thanks,” I grunted, out of breath.

“No problem,” he replied, reloading his gun.

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