PROLOGUE
Roman
A promise can looklike a lot of things.
It can be simple—a job, a reward—but a promise from the general of the Dark Forces looks a lot like freedom. One card that will set our villainous hearts on a path toward a normal life once more.
But that’s the catch, isn’t it? Because nothing is normal after your time in the Dark Forces.
“I’m getting too old for these games to continue dragging out like they are. I want the gatekeepers of the underworld hub in Bane Falls to be surveilled extensively for a year. They’re the ‘upstairs’ organization called Sub-Rosa, and I want you to intricately weave yourselves into this corrupt little town. Befriend the contacts and gain their trust. I will update you with further orders as time progresses.”
General Nolan moves slowly around his desk and organizes his documents in a manila folder before he lifts those dark eyes at me. A devil’s gaze.
He drawls on, “It’s taken years for me to gain approval for a test squad like Icarus. You and your assigned team will be free to roam the town and set a perimeter around it. You’ll get that taste of freedom you crave, Syxx. It might even be yours someday if you can prove yourself in this mission. Or you might see how ugly it really is out there and finally understand where your dark heart belongs.”
I study the general carefully. His gray hair is disheveled today, which means he likely got some shit news from one of the other squads who flopped on a mission.
I know better than to ask what’s above my rank. But why is he trying to put together Icarus now of all times? I’ve only been a lieutenant in the Dark Forces for two years and only two as a sergeant before this. When he first brought up the prospect of a test squad, he mentioned that I would need at least five years in a commanding role.
Something has him in a hurry.
But what?
I narrow my eyes at him and take a long sip from the bourbon he poured me. “You know, I don’t like t?esting things, Nolan. I’m either doing this and ending my campaign with the Dark Forces, or I’m not doing it at all.” My tone is flat. Why he thinks I’d want to stay here forever is beyond me.
I’m fucking tired too—we all are.
General Nolan looks at me with indifferent eyes, ones I’ve observed and replicated in my own expressions because if he’s in charge, I want to do what he’s doing. If I have to be down here, I might as well be in charge of the grunts. He got to the top somehow. I’d bet it’s his seamless lies—little drops of poison that he trickles throughout his grand design.
Lies that weave hope for the weak.
But lies are fruitless. Eventually, your troops will starve and there won’t be anyone left to lie to.
“I thought you’d say that.” The general chuckles and unlatches the pistol from his waist. He lines it up with my forehead and walks toward me until the metal is burning my skin.
I crack a grin and shut my eyes as I take another careless sip of bourbon. “I can’t be tempted with death, sir. You know that.”It probably wouldn’t even kill me, I muse with a chuckle.
Nolan is quiet for a few seconds before he laughs and pulls the gun back. “You don’t even flinch. You never have.” I blink up at him boredly. “Can you be tempted with vehicles and housing of your choice, then?”
My eyes widen, and I run my tongue over the bitterness the alcohol left behind on my teeth. “Now you’re talking, general.” I extend my hand, and we shake on it.
“There may be innocent casualties along the way. Anyone who isn’t a part of the mission and gets too close or suspects anything gets terminated. This mission must be successful. I don’t care how you do it, Lieutenant, I just want it done. Got it?”
Ah, so that’s why he chose me.
He knows I have a knack for not giving a shit if randoms get in the way.
Even the pretty ones.
1
BRIAR
My shoulderstill burns where Callum impaled me with that knife. It’s been three months since I’ve been on the run from him. Ninety days since my life took another fall into tragedy, only this time I’ve fallen into a hole I’m not crawling out of. Not unless I can outrun my past.
Thank God my estranged uncle’s estate attorney called me when he did. The highlight of my shitty summer is being told that my last blood relative is dead.
Look, I’m not saying I’m happy about it, but it may have saved my life.
