Page 160 of Promises in the Dark

“No shit,” I muttered.

But I wasn’t focused on what happened to them. I was thinking aboutwhodid this.

And then, like the universe wanted to twist the knife even deeper, a voice came from behind us. Calm. Amused.

“Well now, what’s all this commotion about?"

We whirled around, weapons snapping up on instinct. And there, leaning against the doorframe with a smirk on his face, was Pyro, standing there with this eerie calmness like he hadn’t just walked in on a massacre.

I felt a surge of rage so intense it nearly blinded me. “Funny,” I spat, my finger itching on the trigger. “I was about to ask you the same fucking thing.”

Pyro’s eyes scanned us, pausing on the raised guns. He didn’t look worried. Not one bit. “Me?” he asked, with a shrug. “I just heard some noise and thought I’d check it out. Gotta say though, quite the welcoming committee. Care to explain?"

Raven stepped up, her weapon trained squarely on Pyro’s chest. “Cut the bullshit,” she snarled. “We know something’s going on, and we know you’re involved.”

Pyro’s smirk didn’t falter. “I don’t know what you think you know,” he said, his voice taking on a harder edge. “But you’re making a big mistake.”

A harsh, humorless laugh bubbled up from my throat. “No, asshole. The mistake was ever trusting you. How long, huh? How long have you been playing us, you piece of shit?”

For a second, I thought he might try to bluff his way out. But then I saw it—his posture shifted, tension coiling through his body like a snake ready to strike. And then, he smiled. A real smile this time, full of malice and triumph.

“Long enough,” he said simply.

And then all hell broke loose.

Viper moved first, lunging for Pyro. But the bastard was fast,impossiblyfast. He ducked under Viper’s swing and came up with a knife like he pulled it from thin air.

I shoved Red behind me, bringing my own gun up. “Down!” I yelled, just as the first shots rang out.

The room exploded into chaos. Gunfire, shouts, the sickening sound of fist meeting flesh. I lost track of who was where, my whole world shrinking down to one thing: protecting Red and taking this asshole down.

I caught a glimpse of Raven grappling with Pyro. Viper was down, clutching his leg, but his gun was up and searching for a clear shot.

A bullet whizzed past my ear, so close I felt the heat of its passage. I returned fire, the rapport of my weapon deafening in the tight space.

“Rogue!” I heard Red’s voice, covered im fear.

I risked a glance back, saw her crouched behind a stack of crates, weapon shaking in her hands. Shit. She was the first thing on my mind, the one person I had to protect above all else. But everything was going to hell.

“Stay down!” I yelled, whipping back around just in time to see Pyro break free from Raven’s hold.

He was bleeding from a cut above his eye, but the bastard was still grinning. “You don’t get it, do you?” he called out, his voice clear even over the gunfire. “This is bigger than you. Bigger than all of us.”

“Fuck you,” I spat, squeezing off another shot.

It hit him in the shoulder, spun him around, but the son of a bitch still didn’t drop.

Pyro laughed, the sound chilling me to the bone. “Oh, Lieutenant. Always so righteous. Did you ever stop to think that maybe, you’re on the wrong side of this?”

Betrayal burned in my gut, like fucking acid. I wanted answers. I wanted to know why the hell he was doing this. But more than that, I wanted to put a bullet between his eyes. He sold us out. He led our team to slaughter.

That traitorous piece of shit.

I saw red. All the pent-up rage, all the frustration and fear of the past weeks, it all came boiling to the surface. With a roar, I charged at him, abandoning all pretense of tactics or strategy. This was personal.

We went down in a tangle of limbs, my fists flying, smashing into his face, again and again. Every hit felt like vindication. But Pyro gave as good as he got, his knee coming up to catch me in the gut, driving the air from my lungs.

I heard Red scream my name, but it seemed distant, unimportant. All I cared about was pounding that smug grin off his face.

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