Page 143 of Promises in the Dark

Red wasn’t far behind, right in the goddamn thick of it, hauling the wounded out of the line of fire. I could see that lookin her eyes—focused as hell—but it scared the living shit out of me. She was in the thick of it, right where she shouldn’t be. One wrong move, one stray bullet, and she’d be lying in the dirt next to these bastards.

“Red, fall back!” I yelled, but she didn’t listen. Of course she didn’t. Her green eyes were locked on some villager she was dragging out of the crossfire, like I wasn’t even there.

I forced myself to keep my eyes ahead, but my brain wasn’t getting the memo. Every damn gunshot that wasn’t one of ours, every body that hit the ground from the corner of my eye —my gut clenched, and I had to fight the urge to whip my head around and check if she was still standing.

My men needed me, goddammit. They were counting on me, and I couldn’t afford to fuck this up by letting my mind wander. Every second I wasn’t focused on keeping them alive was another second I was screwing them over.

But my blood was boiling, and I didn’t have time to deal with it. Another wave of these pieces of shit came charging from the edge of the village, rifles blazing like amateurs. We had to keep moving. I threw myself into the fray, ducking and weaving through the gunfire, my rifle kicking against my shoulder with every shot.

I was a soldier. A goddamn leader. Not some idiot with his head full of bullshit feelings at the worst possible time.

We were taking them down, one by one. The fear was spreading across their faces as they realized they’d walked right into a slaughter. Raven and the others had them pinned from above, and the rest of us tore through them like mad men.

But then I saw a flash of red and my heart fucking stalled. Red was darting between cover, no body armor, no gun, just that same stubborn look on her face as she tended to some wounded villager.

Jesus Christ, what the hell was she thinking? She wasn’t a soldier. She was a doctor. She shouldn’t even be here, but she was right in the middle of the goddamn warzone.

I forced my gaze back to the insurgents, fired another shot, hit my target.Keep your head on straight, Rogue. Don’t lose your shit now. But no matter how hard I tried to shake it, the worry gnawed at me. If something happened to her… if she got caught in the crossfire while I was standing here like an idiot, I’d never forgive myself.

“Focus, goddammit,” I muttered to myself, squeezing the trigger again and watching another piece of shit drop to the ground.

I couldn’t let myself get sucked into this spiral. I had to lead, had to fight. Red could take care of herself. She wasn’t my responsibility, not right now. Right now, my job was to make sure the rest of these men stayed alive.

I ducked behind cover, reloading my weapon, trying like hell to focus. But there she was again, moving out into the open, and this time I couldn’t stop myself. I glanced over, just for a second, to make sure she wasn’t doing something totally fucking suicidal.

My heart hammered in my chest as I watched her kneeling beside one of the locals, hands moving too fast, trying to stop the bleeding while the bullets whizzed past her head.

“Red, get the fuck down!” I shouted, my throat raw.

But she didn’t react, too goddamn focused on saving some stranger’s life to give a shit about her own.

Fucking red-headed lunatic.

I gritted my teeth, turning back to the fight. We needed to finish this, fast. And I needed to stop letting her screw with my head.

“Viper, on your six!” I called out, pointing toward an insurgent flanking him.

Viper spun, took the guy down with a clean shot, nodding in thanks before moving to his next target.

The insurgents were losing their shit—scrambling like cockroaches, some running, others desperately firing back. One of them rushed toward me, his rifle swinging wildly. I ducked under his pathetic swing, driving my fist into his gut, then finished him off with a shot to the head. His body crumpled, and I didn’t even stop to watch him fall.

I spotted the boss through the chaos, standing back, barking orders to his men in his guttural language. His face was twisted in rage, but there was something else there too—fear. He knew he was fucked. He thought he had us cornered, but now he was watching his men drop like flies.

“Cover me!” I shouted, pushing forward through the gunfire, making a beeline for him.

Pyro and Viper laid down suppressive fire, keeping the remaining insurgents pinned while I charged ahead. The boss saw me coming, and for a second, his eyes widened. He turned, trying to bolt, but I wasn’t going to let that bastard get away. Not this time.

Raven took out another insurgent from her high position, the guy dropping before he could even turn his gun on us. We were cutting them down, one by one, and it was glorious. But it wasn’t over yet.

I reached the boss just as he was trying to make his escape, grabbed him by his filthy shirt, and slammed him down to the ground. He grunted and before he could recover, I had my knee pressed into his chest, my rifle aimed right at his face.

“You’re not going anywhere,” I growled, breathing hard, my heart pounding in my ears.

I wanted to blow his fucking head off right then and there, but I held back. There was something else I needed first. Answers.

Around me, the battle was winding down. The last few insurgents were either dead or on the run, and the gunfire was fading to nothing. My guys were regrouping, catching their breath. But my focus was on this piece of garbage squirming beneath me, his eyes wide with panic.

“Come to finish job?” he spat out, a mocking smile on his bloody lips.

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