Chapter 12
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“ W hat the fuck?!” I snarled in disbelief.
One of the refugees shot that chick. He didn’t even stop to think, he just turned the barrel towards her husband and pulled the goddamn trigger like a mad bastard, firing a bullet into his skull and silencing him for good.
Red’s scream of pure, unadulterated fear tore through the sound of gunfire and frantic voices. Without thinking, without hesitating, I grabbed her by the arm and hauled her ass away from that goddamn disaster.
“They asked to be shot. Rather die than fall into the hands of the Talibans,” said the son of a bitch who gave us the map.
I couldn’t give two shits about the two who met their maker. All that mattered was getting the hell out of here. So, I pushed through the swarm of desperate motherfuckers, dragging Red’s ass towards the exit.
This wasn’t a rescue mission. Hell no, it wasn’t anything so honorable. I didn’t have time to play hero, to go back for the others. Screw that. They were on their own.
This was an extraction.
As Red and I sprinted through the chaos of Jalalabad, the city unfolded before us in all its fucking glory, screaming with the sounds of war.
I forced myself to match Red’s slower run speed, my muscles straining against the urge to sprint ahead. It was annoying, having to accommodate her and remember the layout of the city at the same time. There was part of me that wanted to just keep running and not turn back. There was part of me that wanted to not give two shits about what happened to Red or whether she could keep up or not. But damn her, I couldn’t help it.
I hated that I gave a damn.
I tried to recall that map I saw for a few fucking seconds, to remember the twists and turns, but time was a cruel bitch and we couldn’t afford to stop. The Talis were hot on our heels, and stopping meant certain death. We had to keep moving or end up like the poor bastards back there—bullet-riddled corpses.
“I need a minute,” Red gasped, stumbling against a wall, clutching her mouth like she was about to puke her guts out.
“We do not have a minute,” I snapped, annoyed at the delay. “We’re in the middle of a gunfight, in case you didn’t notice.”
“Well, I do have,” she mumbled, her face flushed with sweat.
And with that, she doubled over gagging, her body convulsing as she unleashed a torrent of vomit, her stomach emptying its entire contents onto the ground in front of her.
“Fuck,” I whispered, torn between irritation and… I don’t know, maybe some fucked-up concern.
I put a hand on her shoulder, holding her steady and keeping her from falling over as she bent over and retched again, vomiting out onto the pavement.
Her body crumpled against mine as she tried to recover, her head down and her hair falling back against his hands. The stench rose into my nostrils and made me grimace but I sucked it up.
I held back her hair—what a fucking gentleman, right?—keeping it out of the way while she emptied her stomach.
She was weak and trembling and I felt like a goddamn idiot for being a jerk about it.
“Breathe deep,” I said gently, even though I was pissed off. “It’ll pass.”
She let out a little sob and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, managing to choke out a few words through the bile and tears. As she caught her breath, I ran my hand down her back, trying to keep her upright. Slowly, she stopped shaking, her breathing leveling out.
“I’m alright,” she said, trying to stand up straight.
As she tried to do so, her legs wobbled, and she stumbled forward. I quickly caught her, my arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her against my chest.
She leaned into me, her body trembling, and I held her there for a moment, feeling her heart pounding against mine, her softness against my hardness.
“Can you walk?” I asked quietly, not wanting to sound like an asshole. But I was so damn done with her bullshit, and yet, here I was, still holding her together. Still making sure she didn’t get herself killed.
Why was I doing this to myself?
No fucking clue.
God, I was such a mess.
I let go of Red, giving her some space and she immediately straightened up and brushed away the strands of hair that had fallen on her face. She looked so damn perfect, with her red hair like a glimmering flame exposed for me to see, no longer covered up by the niqab she had lost on the alley we ate.
Her face glowed with a light sheen of sweat, each dip and swell accentuated in the glistening liquid. Her skin was so smooth and soft, and every curve was perfect, making me ache to trace my tongue along those smooth, velvety trails.
She looked… fuck, she looked perfect. And I wanted her. Bad.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice still shaky and weak.
“You sure?” I pressed, still doubting she could keep up.
“I said I’m fine,” she emphasized, taking a few slow steps. “Now let’s go.”
Fuck.
She was so beautiful and tempting, I could barely resist the need to reach out and taste her. Instead, I pulled out the crumpled map from my pocket, trying to orient myself on how the hell I was supposed to get the fuck out of this shithole of a city.
I traced my finger along the streets, mapping out a path that would hopefully lead us to safety. There were so many streets that all looked the same, which didn’t make it any easier to figure out where we were.
I tucked the shitty map back into my pocket, cursing to myself as I did. I burned a few escape routes into my brain and started moving, not too fast, but not slow enough to get our asses killed. Red had just puked her guts out; she wasn’t in any shape to push it.
The Talis had their dicks firmly planted in the city, and it was a nightmare trying to find an escape route. But fuck them—I wasn’t about to let those goat-fucking extremists box us in like rats.
As we approached a crowded market, my guts tightened with adrenaline as I eyed the crowd, looking for any hint of danger. There were too many unknown variables here.
Talis were swarming the area like cockroaches, their beady eyes scanning for any signs of rebellion or resistance. We had to find a way to slip out like ghosts.
I grabbed Red’s arm and yanked her into a narrow alley.
“We can’t go forward,” I grunted, keeping my voice low. “We’ll have to find another route.”
We weaved through a labyrinth of filthy-ass alleyways, and fucking hell, the smell of garbage and decay was unbearable, burning our throats and making us choke.
I was holding my breath, trying not to gag as I made my way through the crowd, pushing Red along as I went. The city seemed to be designed to fuck with my nerves and trap us, but and it was succeeding. There weren’t any straight roads, only narrow alleys and crooked side streets, making it impossible to know where everything would lead and which way was the right one.
Up ahead, I spotted a crumbled wall. I grabbed Red and pointed.
“There. We’re going over that wall.”
“What’s the plan?” she asked.
I tilted my head to take a closer look at it. She did the same and raised her eyebrows. “When I say go, we run. Don’t look back, don’t hesitate. Just fucking run.”
Red started pulling off her abaya, and I couldn’t help but let my eyes roam over her body as she revealed what had been hidden beneath all that fabric. My gaze raked over every curve, hunger tightening my chest and stiffening my cock.
My mouth went dry as I imagined my hands gripping her hips, my lips and tongue tasting every inch of her exposed flesh. The thought of tasting her, of hearing her moans of pleasure, drove me to the brink of madness.
I felt my desire grow, my cock painfully hardening at the view before me, desperate for any form of contact with her warmth. My pulse quickened, my breath hitching in my chest as I resisted the urge to reach out and touch her.
The ache in my pants became unbearable as I imagined the delicious friction of our bodies coming together over and over again.
Focus, you depraved bastard.
“Ready to go?” I forced the words out, barely able to concentrate with my cock hard as steel.
She nodded, and we bolted toward the wall. She was running on fumes, barely keeping it together, but I had to give her credit—she didn’t stop. Even as her steps faltered and her breaths grew labored, she pushed through it.
When we reached the wall, I boosted her up, my hands gripping her ass as she pulled herself over. I followed, feeling the jagged stones rip into my palms, but I didn’t give a shit.
The only thing that mattered was getting the fuck out of there, leaving those Taliban pieces of shit behind. With a final push, I landed on the other side and looked up just in time to see Red about to jump down.
But then I heard footsteps and shouts behind us, getting closer.
Fucking hell.
I jerked Red’s arm and pulled her down with me, her body falling onto mine as we dropped down onto the ground. She let out a muffled gasp as she hit the ground, her knees scraping across the rough and jagged rocks, leaving deep cuts on them.
“For fuck’s sake,” she cursed, wincing in pain.
“Sorry,” I said, but my voice was drowned out by the sounds of approaching footsteps.
I gritted my teeth and I hauled her back up. I felt my stomach lurch as I saw the blood starting to trickle down her shins but we didn’t have time to stop.
Red’s breathing was getting heavier, and I glanced back. She nodded, still running, but she was reaching her limit.
“Hurry!” I shouted as we ran through alleyways and side streets, following the Kabul River as it cut its way through the valley below.
“I’m not fucking Usain Bolt on crack like you!” Red huffed in frustration.
“I don’t give two fucks whether you’re Usain Bolt or Peter Dinklage,” I responded hastily. “I’m not asking you to break the world record, I just need you to speed up a little.”
She rolled her eyes, but she picked up the pace. “I am moving as fast as I can, goddamnit,” she snapped back. “I thought you were supposed to be good at this spy shit, shouldn’t you be trying to, I don’t know, make plans and figure this out instead of pushing and yelling at me all the time? Jesus, Rogue,” she spat back at me, practically daring me to lose it.
I stopped dead in my tracks, feeling the vein in my temple throb as her bullshit complaint hit me.
“I am making plans,” I snapped angrily, turning to gace her. “But we can’t exactly sit around and map out a goddamn strategy while the Talis are crawling up our asses, can we?”
Red stopped too, leaning forward with her hands on her scratched-up knees, panting like she was about to collapse. “Real fucking genius plan, Rogue,” she said, her voice panting from the effort. “Just run and try to figure things out as we go.”
I was completely and utterly done with Red and her crap. I was exhausted. I was pissed off. And I was done saving her ungrateful ass.
“Must you always be a pain in the ass?!” I asked, fed up with her bullshit about how I handled things. “If you think you can do better then be my fucking guest and take the lead, Red.”
Her eyes hardened and for a moment, it seemed like she was about to say something back, but she shut the hell up. The look on her face told me she realized I had a point.
“Of course, you won’t because you know damn well that you can’t. "
She had nothing to say to that, no comeback, no argument, so I let her run ahead. I could’ve easily outrun her, but I didn’t see the point. Let her try to prove herself if it made her feel better.
The city faded into the distance as we moved further away from the danger. The sound of gunshots and chaos slowly faded, replaced by the rhythmic sound of our own footsteps.
As we approached the rushing river, my eyes narrowed in concern. We needed to cross it to get to the base, but it didn’t look like it was going to make that easy for us.
I took a deep breath, trying to tamp down the nerves before breaking the silence. “You know how to swim, right?”
Her red hair clung damply to her forehead and her green eyes darted nervously. “Is there... is there any other way?” she asked, looking as if she was about to piss herself.
It took everything in my power not to roll my eyes. “This is the shortest route,” I answered with a touch of harshness in my voice.
Her face turned pale, her breathing erratic. It seemed like she’d rather chew on broken glass than attempt to swim across. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” I said slowly.
She trembled slightly, her eyes meeting mine for only a moment before she looked away. Her voice came out strained, almost like a whisper.
“Talk to me, goddamn it,” I added impatient.
She trembled, glancing at me before quickly looking away. Her voice barely came out, weak as shit. “I don’t like to swim, that’s all.”
I raise an eyebrow, not entirely convinced. “Yeah, well, I don’t like getting shot at, but we don’t always get what the fuck we want.”
Red looked over at me, her face unamused by my comment. “Don’t you have anyone else you can be a dick to?” she asked, deadpan. “Or am I just your lucky charm?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle darkly. She was pissed, and I wasn’t about to let her have the satisfaction of getting under my skin.
“If you wanted nice, sweetheart, you should’ve joined the Peace Corps,” I replied, equally sarcastic.
She looked like she wanted to punch me straight in the face, and for one second, I thought that she was actually going to do it. But she held herself back and just shot me a dark, angry look instead.
I kept walking, until I reached the edge of the river, not bothering to look back and see if Red was following me or not.
I didn’t care if she was or not, at this point, she could go fuck herself for all I cared. I was done with her constant bitching, her whining, her complaints, and her goddamn attitude.
“So, are you going to join me, or do I have to throw your ass in the river?” I asked, not turning around, still deeply annoyed by her stubbornness.
She trudged up beside me, her sour expression daring me to keep talking, but I just stared her down, daring her right back.
“Let’s just get this shit over with,” she said, finally sounding somewhat reasonable.
We both took deep breaths and plunged into the freezing water, the current immediately fighting us. My abdomen felt like it was tearing open, each stroke through the water pulling at stitches that had no fucking business being underwater. But I kept going—because stopping wasn’t an option, not for me.
My muscles strained as I kicked and pulled through the water, each stroke pushing me forward. It was brutal—the cold bit into my skin, and the current thrashed against me like it wanted to pull me under. But as painful as it was, it felt fucking exhilarating. There was something about being so close to the edge, so close to drowning, that made you feel more alive than ever.
The freezing water wasn’t just cold; it pierced straight to the bone, sending violent shivers down my spine that made my broken ribs feel like they were grinding against each other. Every stroke through that freezing water lit my nerves on fire, making me feel alive in a way only pain and adrenaline can. It was fucked up, but I lived for that feeling.
As I swam, I glanced behind me, expecting to see Red struggling along. But she was nowhere in sight. Panic gripped my chest, my heart pounding like a motherfucking beast as I frantically scanned the water, searching for any sign of her.
Where the fuck was she?
“Red!” I shouted, my voice echoing against the river’s tumultuous roar.
Nothing. Just the relentless crashing of the waves, like the water swallowed my words and spat them back in my face.
“RED!”