PROLOGUE
Cameron
They saysoldiers in the Dark Forces are like tools wielded by the true devils of the world. We are a dirty secret. The broken weapons swept beneath the rug when our expiration date comes around.
Except I don’t plan on dying here in the underground military. I don’t plan on dying at all. I’m going to be the best there is among the crooked soldiers. I want to be like Lieutenant Erik and rise in the ranks by his side. He’s the only one who’s been there for me in my sorry excuse of a life. The only one who’s ever looked out for me.
That’s why my thumbs are knuckle-deep in some random asshole’s eye sockets. He screams and the sweet sound of it makes my knees weak.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that. You’re enjoying this as much as I am, Titan,” I snap at my comrade, who’s leveling me a distasteful scowl a handful of feet away. His black tactical gear is smeared with dirt and blood the same way mine is. His gogglesare up on his helmet, leaving a clean ring around his eyes while the rest of his face is grimy.
“Mori, I haven’t once enjoyed the way you do things. Just hurry the fuck up, would you? My stomach is getting upset watching this.” Titan turns away and covers his mouth like he’s going to vomit. Of all the grotesque things around us in this abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere, I find what I’m doing the least nauseating.
I roll my eyes.Fine.
My thumbs slip out of the soldier’s sockets. I firmly grip my pistol in one hand while prying his clenched jaw open with the other.
“Open. Wide.” I articulate the words overdramatically like I’m feeding a child. My British accent comes out thick with the slow pronunciation.
The man whimpers as the metal of my gun skates against his bloody teeth. I shove it to the back of his throat, making him gag and thrash helplessly before pulling the trigger. His body instantly slackens.
Relief and euphoria wash through my veins as I tilt my head back to face the crumbling ceiling. A manic laugh rolls from my throat as I wipe my red-stained gloves off on my vest, glancing over at Titan.
His eyes are narrowed at me distrustfully.Ugh.New guys.I blink slowly, trying to get a read on him. The Fury Squad is only for the most depraved of men. And quite frankly? I don’t think this guy has what it takes. Not even close. I know he passed the Under Trials and whatever, but he’s too green. Too bright-eyed and shifty.
I don’t know why General Nolan keeps picking up criminals like him. They have no promise. Not really. Not like I do.
My wry grin grows as Titan looks away.
It might be better for everyone if I justoffhim.Now there’s an idea.
My fingers flinch over the trigger of my pistol, and Titan doesn’t miss the motion.
“I swear to God, I’ll cut your fucking head off, Mori.Don’t,” Titan mutters with disdain. He lifts his M16 and aims it at my head. He knows my dark, not-so-secret secret. Everyone does, now that it’s been declared a problem.
Oh, he’s daring,I muse, letting a loose smile lift the corner of my lips as I raise my hands innocently. “I have no idea what you’re getting at.”Though, the headless idea isn’t so bad, though.His neck guard can be easily pulled down since it’s not clipped in correctly, and his helmet is too loose. I noticed it the moment we boarded the helicopter this morning. One tug back on it is all it would take to choke him. One clean slice…
My lips firm and I shake my head.No, I’m not doing that. Absolutely not.
Titan doesn’t lower his gun for a minute, but eventually he lets down his guard. I drag the bodies of our targets to the corner of the abandoned building. The Dark Forces will send someone out here to clean up after us once we clear this mission.
I take out the new strain of pills Nolan is testing out on me and pop three into my mouth before we depart.
We walk back to base to regroup with the rest of the squad. Titan’s scruffy dark beard has ash stuck in it still from the brush fire we set earlier as a distraction. My eyes dip to his throat, and I have to bite down on my tongue to try to keep myself from thinking about his demise again.
I count the number of times I reach for my combat knife and imagine cutting off his head. He shouldn’t have put that idea in my mind. It always gets worse when they get specific on me.
I won’t kill him like I did my last partner.
I won’t do it.
I won’t.
Everyone in the Dark Forces knows that I have one fatal flaw. That Mori, the most detrimental member of the Fury Squad, has one catastrophic fucking problem.
You see, I can’t for the life of me stop killing all of my direct partners. Yeah, I guess I’m a little fucked-up, but you sort of have to be in order to be in the Dark Forces, don’t you? Lieutenant Erik picked me for a reason, and I like to believe it’s because he saw something wicked in me that he knew he’d never find in anyone else. Because he needs someone like me on the squad who can do the unthinkable without question.
Abandonment issues.I know.A twenty-seven-year-old soldier is too old for that, right? But therapy isn’t a luxury we get to indulge in, not for the disposable underground forces.
