Page 144 of Promises in the Dark

The bastard was a mess—blood soaking his shirt, breath coming in ragged gasps. But the fucker still had that look in his eyes, that smug defiance that made me want to put a bullet between them.

I needed information, not just the satisfaction of beating him to a pulp.

“How the hell did you know we were coming?” I asked, crouching down in front of him, grabbing a fistful of his shirt, dragging him closer until his face was inches from mine.

He stank—sweat, dirt, and arrogance, and it made me want to choke the life out of him right there.

The fucker just laughed, a wet, gurgling sound that sent flecks of blood spraying from his lips, like I’d told him the funniest joke he’d ever heard.

“You Americans,” he wheezed, “so predictable. Like dogs chasing stick.”

My vision went red. The butt of my rifle connected with his face with a satisfying crunch. His head snapped back, fresh blood pouring from his now-broken nose.

“I’ll ask again,” I snarled, grabbing him by the collar and yanking him closer. “How. Did. You. Know?”

He spat blood at my feet, a red grin stretching across his busted mouth. “What matter now? You dead soon anyway. All of you.”

I slammed him back against the ground, ignoring his grunt of pain. “Wrong answer, asshole. We just wiped out your entire fucking squad. You’re the one who’s dead soon.”

His laughter turned into a hacking cough, blood bubbling at the corners of his mouth. “You think you win? This just beginning. My death... will start something you cannot stop.”

I snapped. My fist connected with his jaw before I even realized I was throwing the punch. His head jerked to the side, and the crunch of bone echoed through my knuckles, and he groaned, spitting blood onto the dirt.

“All right, you fucker,” I muttered through clenched teeth. “You wanna play it like that? Fine.”

I grabbed him by the hair, jerking his head back so he had no choice but to look me in the eye. “Tell me who tipped you off. Who told you about our mission?”

“You have... traitor,” he croaked. “In your own ranks. Someone who wants you all dead.”

A cold chill shot through me, but I didn’t let it show. “Names,” I demanded, pressing the muzzle of my rifle under his chin. “Give me names, or I swear to God, I’ll make your last moments on this earth a living hell.”

More blood dribbled down his chin as he coughed. But there was a glint in his eye that I didn’t like. Like he knew something I didn’t.

“We knew,” he whispered, his breath foul in my face. “We always know.”

“Start talking, or I’ll break every bone in your goddamn body,” I snarled, grabbing him by the throat.

He licked his lips, glancing around nervously as if he expected something to happen.

“You are not safe. None of you are. We have—inside—”

The rest of his sentence was cut off by the sharp crack of a gunshot split the air, and I felt the hot spray of bloodsplatter across my face. His body went limp in my grip, his head slumping forward as a gaping hole appeared right between his eyes.

“What the fuck?!” I roared, dropping him as he crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap.

I whipped around, eyes scanning for the shooter. That was when I saw him—Pyro, his rifle still raised, about fifty yards away.

“Pyro!” I screamed into my comms. “What the hell was that? We needed him alive!”

Pyro’s voice crackled back, tense and defensive. “Boss, he was reaching for a weapon. I had to take the shot.”

I wiped the blood from my face with the back of my hand and glanced back at the dead fucker. There was no weapon in sight. No pistol, no knife, not even a fucking rock.

Maybe Pyro was right, maybe he wasn’t. Either way, the bastard was dead, and so was any chance of getting more out of him.

As I turned to leave, my boot crunched on something. I looked down and spotted a silver necklace half-buried in the dirt. Must’ve fallen out when I roughed the guy up. I bent down, picked it up, the chain slipping through my bloodstained fingers.

It was Red’s. No mistaking it. My fist tightened around the delicate metal. For a second, I just stared at the damn thing, the little piece of jewelry feeling so fucking out of place in this hellhole.

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