Chapter 14

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

But just as that motherfucker’s finger tightened on the trigger, a gunshot rang out, slicing through the air like a thunderous fucking crack. Before I could even process what the fuck happened, the Tali’s head exploded like a watermelon, his brains splattering across the ground.

I blinked in disbelief, my mind struggling to catch up. Someone had just saved our asses. As my heart continued to race from the close call we just had, I turned my head, searching for the source of the shot.

And there he was.

Viper, laughing like he’d just hit the goddamn jackpot, gun still smoking in his hand. His dark brown hair slicked back, chin covered in stubble.

He wasn’t tall, but he made up for his lack of height by packing on muscle. He had a boner for guns, explosives, and anything that made a bloody loud noise like a kid in a candy store when he found a cache of C4 and a few RPGs.

“Well, well, well, look who’s the lucky bastard today,” Viper grinned, his eyes twinkling with excitement.

“Couldn’t resist the chance to be the hero, could you?” I asked with a chuckle.

He smirked, shaking his head and lowering his gun. “It’s not every day I get to blow someone’s brains out and still be the hero.”

“Thank you, whoever you are,” Red said, her tone bursting with genuine appreciation.

Viper winked at her and raised his gun back up to his shoulder, his grin growing wider and for some reason it pissed me off.

“You can call me Viper,” he introduced himself while he shamelessly looked Red up and down like she was a piece of bloody meat. “And don’t worry, love, I’m always up for a bit of heroism and saving pretty ladies like yourself.”

He knew exactly what he was doing and I had to bite my tongue, trying not to swear this bastard out for crossing the line. But I knew better. Show him I gave a fuck, and that’d just give him more ammo to fuck with me.

“By the way, how’d you and bossman get together anyways?” he asked, turning his attention to Red with a smirk. “You two look like you’ve been through hell and back.”

Red stayed quiet, glancing at me, and we shared a brief look, both trying to keep our story straight.

“She’s my doctor,” I said, keeping it vague, hoping he’d drop it.

An annoying smirk spread across his face as he raised an eyebrow at the answer. “You brought your doctor with you to a warzone?”

“Don’t bother digging further, you’ll get nowhere,” I warned him, my fists clenched so tight they could’ve crushed diamonds.

He paused, eyeing me like he was trying to figure out just how much he could push. “Seems a bit fucking excessive, don’t you think?”

“She’s here because she’s damn good at what she does. That’s all you need to know.”

I shot a glance over at Red, and she was looking right back at me with a raised eyebrow, her expression her expression practically screaming ‘You’re full of shit’.

Partially true. I might have been talking a bit out of my ass but she was impressive. Despite the fact that I had seen her in action only once, and most of the time I was unconscious, I wasn’t going to downplay her medical expertise.

I wouldn’t be alive if she wasn’t a damn good doctor.

A sly smile crossed Viper’s face, and he gave Red a once over, his eyes roving over her figure. “And what’s your name, little miss?”

“Curiosity killed the cat, you know,” I said dryly.

“But satisfaction brought it back,” he countered, throwing my own phrase back in my face. “And I think I’m satisfied right now,” he said, giving Red a suggestive look.

Red’s cheeks flushed—whether from embarrassment or rage, I couldn’t tell.

Either way, it just egged Viper on, like he saw her reaction as a personal challenge. And I was slowly reaching my breaking point.

“Keep it in your pants,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes at his bullshit.

Viper chuckled, still ogling Red before finally turning to me. “Need me to scratch your back again, Lieutenant?”

Red cut in quickly, stepping in between me and Viper. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” she said politely, giving Viper a small nod of greeting. “I am Harper.”

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.”

“How many?” I asked, glancing at him with an arched eyebrow.

He just smirked. “The last one made it five,” he said, as if this was supposed to impress me.

I gave him a hard look, not buying his cocky bullshit. He raised his eyebrows, acting like he couldn’t believe I was questioning him.

“They’re getting desperate, Rogue,” he continued, puffing his chest out like some self-righteous asshole. “Since we started our offensive in the south, the Talis have been struggling to maintain their hold on the area. They’ve called in reinforcements from their stronghold in Jalalabad, but they’re still spread thin.”

I nodded and kept moving forward. I supposed that made sense. The offensive was working. Those pricks were spread thin and struggling to hold ground against the American forces.

“Why were they so close to our base?” I asked, furrowing my brow. “That’s no coincidence. They’re getting too bold.”

“For sure,” Viper agreed. “And they’re resorting to riskier tactics. From what I’ve seen, they’re trying to gather as much intel as they can, even if it means getting uncomfortably close to our doorstep.”

My mind was spinning with suspicion as Viper casually mentioned taking out the Taliban spy group. There was a gnawing thought I couldn’t shake—someone had sold us out. But who the fuck could it be?

I glanced at him, narrowing my eyes. I couldn’t completely ignore the possibility he might’ve been involved, but jumping to conclusions would’ve been stupid. We were supposed to be brothers in arms, but trust? That shit was fragile. One crack, and everything goes to hell.

“You don’t think this might have been an inside job?” I asked, slightly accusatory towards him.

“You imply we have a traitor in our midst?”

I just stared at him, holding back the urge to outright accuse him. I didn’t have proof—yet. But I knew someone was playing both sides, and it made me fucking furious.

“Talis knew precisely where we were and launched a coordinated attack on us. That’s not just luck.” I said, my voice tense and my thoughts racing. “Someone had to have rated us out.” I continued, letting my anger and suspicion fill my voice. “I don’t know who. But it couldn’t have been just a coincidence. Some bastard led them straight to us.”

My eyes bored into Viper, trying to see if I could get a reaction out of him. “Roach, Gaz, Tiger and Phantom,” I listed, my voice hollow and emotionless. “They’re all dead. We were set up, ambushed, and they didn’t make it out.”

“Maybe our intel is shit, or maybe there’s a mole,” he said, unconcerned. He wasn’t exactly helping the situation with his nonchalant attitude.

“Did the Captain mention anything?” I bluntly asked, and straight to the point.

“All he told us was that you were wounded and recovering in the med camp near Kandahar. He didn’t give any specifics about the others,” Viper replied calmly, his tone was as flat as ever, no emotion, no fucking concern.

I could feel my fists clenching. He was dodging, and it pissed me off. But I kept my cool. Barely.

"That’s all?" I asked, making sure I wasn’t missing anything.

“Nothing more,” he replied, his expression still stone-cold. “I’m just as fucking pissed as you are.”

Yeah, right. I didn’t buy it for a second.

“Why are you being so evasive about it?” I asked, no longer holding back. He wasn’t getting away with this shit.

Viper just shrugged, seeming unfazed by my irritation. He was playing at something, I just couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.

“I’m not hiding shit,” he said, his tonality growing sharper. “Capt. said you were hurt. Nothing else. End of story.”

The way he avoided eye contact, the way his voice wavered just slightly—it didn’t sit right with me. Something was off.

“I don’t understand what your game is here, Viper,” I continued. “But I’ll let this go for now.”

“Smart move,” he replied, a smug look in his eyes. “Don’t go making enemies of your own men, it wouldn’t bode well for you.”

I shot him the fiercest look I could manage, barely containing my annoyance toward him.

“You know more than you’re telling,” I accused, fists itching to wipe that smirk off his face. “Why are you being so fucking cryptic?”

I knew the prick well. He was slippery, always had been. My gut was screaming that he was lying, but I couldn’t pin him down.

“I don’t know shit,” he said quickly, sounding almost uncomfortable with my questions. “If I did, I’d tell you. We’re in this together, remember?”

“Bullshit,” I snapped, taking a step closer, my gaze drilling into him. “You’re holding back. Now spill it, or I’ll make you.”

“Look, man, I don’t know anything more than what I’ve already said. Capt. was tight-lipped about it,” he insisted, his expression still bland and indifferent.

He wasn’t backing down now, and I almost admired that in him.

I wasn’t convinced, but without proof, there wasn’t much I could do. Yet.

“Very well,” I said, knowing I wouldn’t get anything else out of him.

We’d been moving through the open field for a while, heading back toward base. The heat was oppressive, making every step feel like a fucking marathon. My body was aching from the last few days of non-stop hell, and the sun was relentless, beating down on us like we were its personal punching bags.

“What were you doing out here by yourself?” I asked, somewhat harsh.

Viper just looked at me with a nonchalant smile, clearly not surprised by my question.

“Reconnaissance,” he said lazily. “Didn’t think I needed to spell that out for you,” he added dismissively, as if he already had the answer for every question I could possibly think of.

“You know damn well that’s not something you should be doing alone,” I said harshly, this time not just sounding suspicious but also worried. “We don’t let our men go off on their own like that.”

Red’s eyes went wide, clearly not sure what the hell was going on. Viper just rolled his eyes, his face still that same cocky mask as he turned back to me.

“I can handle myself, Boss,” he said, with that fucking arrogance that was infuriating me.

I knew from experience that it was a mistake to keep asking him. But my suspicion of him was slowly turning into raw frustration.

“Don’t test my patience, Viper,” I warned, a slight edge to my voice. “Or should I remind you of what happened to the last person that went against my orders?”

He knew damn well what I meant.

Viper remained quiet for a beat, his cocky smirk now gone. “Point proven, Lieutenant,” he replied, his tone matching the look on his face now.

Red’s eyes locked onto me, and for a moment I thought she wasn’t breathing. I saw the same look of fear and concern that I’d seen a thousand times before, only now it was aimed at me.

Good.

She should be scared. I had destroyed people for less.

The old Rogue was back, and he was hungry for blood.