Page 48 of Promises in the Dark

Viper’s grin didn’t falter for a second. Of course not. But as much as I wanted to punch him into next week, I knew I had to play it cool. For now.

Red stood up straight and extending her hand for him to shake.

“Pleasure to meet you too, Harper,” he said, offering a friendly smile. “Just a warning though, you’re in for a wild fucking ride if you’re hanging around with this idiot.”

When Red reached out to shake his hand, I almost flinched. Viper’s hand swallowed up hers, making her hand look like a kid’s next to his.

They exchanged a long handshake, his intentions more than obvious. He held onto it for an awkward amount of time, his eyes raking over her body long enough to make Red blush.

“That’s not for you to decide, Viper,” I lightly said, but clearly irritated.

“Thanks for the heads up,” Red said, shooting a glance back at me. “But I’m sure I can handle myself,” continued, sounding more confident than she probably actually felt.

Viper let out an obnoxious laugh. “Oh, you’ve got no idea what you’re in for, sweetheart.”

I wanted to tear his head off right then and there. “Stop calling her ‘sweetheart,’ and quit trying to fuck with me,” I said through clenched teeth, trying like hell to keep my cool.

But, the more I tried, the more I felt like I was losing it.

“Aw, are you getting territorial?” Viper teased. “Maybe you do have a thing for her after all,“ he added casually, giving her a sly wink.

“Let’s not argue over who has the bigger balls here,” Red cooed, stepping between us and placing a hand on each of our chests.

“What do you know about balls, sweetheart?” Viper asked, leaning towards her and smirking.

Sweetheart.

My jaw clenched again, but I forced myself to take a deep breath and calm down. I was the leader of our Task Force 121 team, and had to act like one, not get bent out of shape by some cocky bastard.

Red’s cheeks turned bright pink as she realized the unintentional innuendo of her comment. I was about to interject and tell Viper to shut his mouth, but she took care of it for me.

“I know that you’re probably compensating for something with that ego of yours,” she answered, trying to defuse the tension between us.

I had to bite my tongue to suppress a laugh.

Viper let out a low whistle. “Oh, you’re certainly a feisty one. But who says I need to compensate for anything at all?” he sneered, clearly enjoying this way too much.

I’d had enough. I stepped forward, nearly knocking Red aside.

“Rogue,” she said, a note of worry in her voice.

But I ignored her, focusing entirely on Viper with a steely gaze. I knew my irritation was showing in full display, but at this point, I didn’t even care.

“Enough,” I snapped, finally losing my patience with him. “Are you trying to piss me off on purpose? Because it’s working.”

“Do I really have to answer that?” he asked, his Southern accent in full force. “Yes, I am trying to piss you off. And, honestly, you’re making it pretty damn easy.”

I took a deep breath and tried to take a step back and relax, but Viper was making it impossible.

“You need to back the fuck off before I do something we’ll both regret,” I told him, my voice no longer hinting at a request.

“That sounds like a threat, Lieutenant,” he replied, still wearing that damn grin.

Red cleared her throat, shaking her head in exasperation at our banter. “Seriously now,” she intervened, speaking in a cautious tone. “We need to keep moving before more of these militants show up.”

“She’s right,” I agreed. “We need to move.”

“I’m enjoying that little fire in you, darling,” Viper said, the edge of his lips curling up in a smirk. “But I took care of their spy group.”

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