Page 46 of Promises in the Dark

The audacity. She was callingmeout for twisting things when she had been doing exactly that from the beginning.

“Oh, please, like you’re not doing that right now,” I fired back, mirroring her words.

Red wasn’t about to budge, and neither was I. “I’m not twisting anything,” she snapped. “You’re just trying to turn this around to avoid taking any responsibility.”

“Is that so?” I asked, mockingly. “You should be careful, Red. You sound just like me.”

It seemed that we were back to square one. We had started our argument with an ultimatum, and now, it looked like we would finish with nothing more than a stalemate.

“I’m not continuing this discussion,” she said, turning away from me. “It’s pointless.”

I moved faster, stepping in front of her to block her path. I wasn’t about to let her pull this crap on me. “Don’t just walk away, damn it,” I said, my words coming out sharp and hard. “We’re not done here.”

“You don’t get to boss me around,” she replied, just as sharply. “We have nothing to talk about.”

My body tensed, the urge to grab her, make her stay, practically buzzing under my skin. But then I saw the bruises on her arms, the scratches on her knees, the tiny, bloody cuts under her fingernails—like she’d been clawing at her own skin.

Christ, so damn pale.

And the dark circles underneath the eyes.

Her clothes were dry now, but they hung off her frame limply, barely clinging to her thin and trembling body. She looked weak and tired, as if she was barely holding on to life.

Pale. Exhausted. Broken.

My grasp faltered, my fingers curling into fist and unclenching again. I couldn’t add to her shit. I couldn’t push herany more than she’d already been pushed. And I knew that, if I touched her now, that’sexactlywhat would happen.

“I’ll figure something out,” I began, my voice catching in my throat as I fought to stay in control. “For both of us.”

My anger disappeared like a wisp of smoke as concern took over. She didn’t want to fucking tell me where she got them, and I respected her enough to let it slide.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “Whatever story you come up with, I’ll back you up.”

I was too caught up staring at her—her ruby hair catching the light, her eyes drawing me in—when I heard it.

A pop.

Faint at first, but there.

Followed by a loud bang.

I was frozen. But only for a moment.

A bullet whizzed by my head, missing by inches.

In the blink of an eye, my thoughts turned to survival mode. I felt my heart beating in my throat, my blood run cold as I registered what was happening and pushed Red to the ground, crouching next to her.

“Get down!” I yelled, covering her with my body.

In the distance, I saw the muzzle flash as another bullet was fired our way. A shadow caught my eye and I saw a Taliban son of a bitch aiming again right at us.

We were fucking screwed.

Chapter 14

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Ithought that was it. I thought this was where it all ended.

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