35
EMERSYN
“East side, clear,” Hangman drawled over comms.
I briefly watched the team as they advanced along the east side of the building before I returned to my scope. I pulled the trigger and picked off another hostile to finish my sweep so Riggs and the crew could turn the corner and enter the warehouse.
“Door is clear,” I reported.
I watched Riggs advance, knowing he was the figure in the lead with the others behind him. I scanned the yard to make sure I didn’t miss any enemies that might hinder them. Just as I watched the door shut behind the team, I heard a bullet whistle past my head.
Hangman ducked down next to me. “Fuck.”
“Did you know they had overwatch?” I asked.
“Nope,” he remarked. “Fucker must have snuck out there. Our drones didn’t pick anything up earlier.”
He peeked out from behind the boulder we were behind and quickly ducked back in time to avoid another shot.
Hangman spoke into comms. “Contact right, moving to secondary overwatch position.”
“Roger that. Eliminate the threat,” Riggs answered. “Syn, return to the van and hold position.”
Fuck that. I scoffed quietly. I wasn’t going back to the van and when Hangman turned to me, he saw the look on my face and smirked.
“Want to go hunting?” he asked mischievously. “I’ll draw his attention. Go get ‘em.”
We both knew we were playing with fire by switching up Riggs’ orders, but in the heat of the moment, I didn’t give a fuck.
“Cover me,” Hangman said. “Then, when I start firing, you move.”
“Roger that.”
I leaned out and peppered the enemy’s position while Hangman dove from the cover of the boulder and snuck off through the brush.
A moment later, I heard his gun, and snuck off in a different direction.
For the first time in a while, I felt like I was back in the forest. I stalked my prey, sneaking through the bushes toward the far side of the ridge until I was close enough that I could hear the enemy's rifle every time he pulled the trigger.
“I’m in position behind the target,” I warned Hangman, so he didn’t accidentally shoot me.
“Get back to the fucking van, Syn!” Riggs yelled over comms.
Instead of listening to that asinine order, I drew my knife, launched myself at the sniper and buried my blade into his neck.
We rolled down the ridge in a shower of dust and shale.
I latched on and refused to let go until he jerked and went still.
I yanked the blade out and wiped it on the man’s jacket.
“You good, Syn?” Hangman asked.
“Yeah, he’s down.”
I threw my sniper rifle over my shoulder and slipped and slid down the hill towards the SUV.
Things wrapped up quickly after that. Rex set the charges and we all climbed back into the van.
Rex did a quick countdown and hit the button without ceremony.
I couldn’t even enjoy the brilliant display of fireworks because the tension in the car was volatile and heavy.
I could tell Riggs was furious. He wouldn’t look at me and I knew I was in for a tongue lashing when we got back to the house.
I wasn’t looking forward to it, and the thought of getting yelled at put a damper on what we’d just accomplished.
No one spoke the entire ride back to the house.
We pulled into the drive and everyone piled out.
Hangman gave me a fistbump and winked as we walked inside and dumped our gear.
Riggs was the last inside. “What the fuck was that?”
Everyone stopped what they were doing. I slowly turned to face Riggs and saw him staring at me.
“When I give an order, I expect you to obey,” he snarled.
“We did—”
“Exactly the way I ordered it!” Riggs yelled.
“Hey, man, that was my—” Hangman attempted to step in.
“Did I ask you?” Riggs snarled.
“I can hold my own out there, Riggs,” I growled.
“I don’t care—I give my orders for a reason, Syn.”
“What’s the reason? Because, you’re a controlling asshole?”
“You’re benched.” Riggs walked off angrily towards the kitchen. “Surveillence, jobs—that’s it!”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“You can’t do that,” I protested.
“I just did,” Riggs shouted.
“Fuck you!” I went after him and shoved him in the back.
Riggs whirled around to face me and before I could stop myself, I punched him in the jaw.
I knew immediately I’d made a mistake. He didn’t even hesitate and slapped me—hard enough to snap my head to the side.
The room fell deathly silent. I slowly turned my head, the shock of him actually hitting me fought with the urge to retaliate further.
The fire in Riggs' eyes was vicious as his control frayed dangerously.
“Everyone get out,” he snarled while he maintained eye contact.
The team silently drifted out of the room and we were alone. He grabbed my neck and slammed me against the nearest wall. My adrenaline was already high and this threatened to send me over the edge. I flinched as my back hit the wall and half-expected him to hit me again.
“You’re fucking weak,” he said, his voice strained with contempt.
“If–if you bench me, I–I’m gone.” My voice wavered.
Riggs barked out a cruel laugh. “You can’t do this alone,” he scoffed like it was the stupidest thing he’d ever heard.
“I could,” I said, but the words sounded pathetic even to me.
We were practically nose to nose. I could smell the gunpowder on his hand and see the blood splatter on his face from his kills.
Every breath I took made me blatantly aware of how our bodies were pressed against each other.
My body didn’t hate it, and before I could stop myself, I made the terrible mistake of looking down at his lips.
It was only a millisecond, but when I looked back up my stomach plummeted as his eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Careful,” he warned, his voice rough and strained.
Riggs’ thumb subtly shifted on my neck. The touch sent a shiver involuntarily through my body.
A coarse rumble escaped him and he dropped his hand, the back of which grazed the side of my breast before he settled it possessively on my hip.
I clenched my thighs together, but it was too late, the visceral reaction was written all over my face.
“Don’t touch me,” I growled.
I shoved him away and moved off the wall, taking several steps backwards.
He sneered. “Even your body knows the truth.”
I scoffed and pretended his words meant nothing before I turned and escaped the room.
“I’m not a patient man. I will eventually take what’s mine,” he called after me.
Later that evening, I snuck into the kitchen after everyone was asleep to grab some food.
I froze when I saw Hangman sitting in the dark, nursing a glass that looked suspiciously like whiskey.
We stared at each other for a long moment before he rose and walked over.
He threw back the last of his drink and set the glass aside. I saw he had scrapes on his knuckles.
“Let me see,” he said, quietly.
He tilted my chin towards the dim light coming in from the window and hissed low in displeasure.
“I’m sorry, Syn.”
“It’s not your fault,” I muttered.
“I shouldn’t have switched up the orders.” Hangman sighed and let go of my face. “Careful with him, Syn,” he murmured. “Once he claims you—there’s no escaping.”
The look on his face told me everything he wasn’t saying.
He meant no one escaped Riggs’ darkness, alive.
While his concern was touching—I didn’t know what to do with it.
So, I said nothing. I turned and dug through the fridge to hide the emotion his words provoked.
It’d been a long day. I was done dealing with this.
I was tired, hungry and still burned with anger and whatever the fuck else was happening with my body that continually left me with an unsatisfied feeling.
“I can take care of myself,” I said when I trusted my voice wouldn’t break.
I came out of the fridge with a leftover half of a sandwich.
Hangman stepped in my way when I tried to leave.
My instincts were thrashed, so when my stomach twisted in a knot at his proximity, I couldn’t do more than stand there frozen—numb to whatever would happen next.
But, Hangman only sighed and handed me a water bottle.
“I know you can,” he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Promise me one thing, okay?”
I hesitated. Here in the dark, his usually bright, sarcastic nature was shadowed. There was a darkness surrounding him that made my skin break out in goosebumps. I gave a curt nod, eager to get back to my room.
“You’ll let me know if he gets worse.”
The intensity in his eyes made me nod again, even if I wasn’t sure about that promise.
I was thankful when he stepped aside and let me pass without another word.
It wasn’t until I got back to my room that I wondered at his grazed knuckles.
The implications were heavy on my mind until sleep eventually claimed me.