killshot | simon riley ✓

• Chapter 2 •

„Would you mind removing your fucking knee from my liver?" Rora hissed at the man sitting behind her, her temper running to the very end.

„Sorry," he muttered, trying his best to scoot to his right, giving more space to the woman sitting on the floor of the truck.

She arrived last at the pick-up point, and even though two of the soldiers were willing to give up their seats to the woman, she was way too stubborn to accept it, so she just seated herself next to a few other poor souls who happened to share the same fate with her.

Rora let out a frustrated sigh, rolling her shoulders back, eager to jump off the vehicle, her muscles aching from sitting in the same spot for so long. The night has already fallen over their heads, and even the weather was against her, letting a few raindrops hit her face. It wasn't that bad, she had been in worse situations before, but seemingly the universe tried its best to let her know that she made the wrong decision.

A low chuckle caused her eyes to flick up, her fingers stopping mid-air in their fidgeting with her semi-automatic rifle's strap. Her icy cold eyes met with another pair of blue eyes, the only difference being that his eyes were glinting with amusement, his lips curving into a smile, while her eyes could make a man drop dead on the floor, her slit-like smile cutting through the air like a throwing knife, ready to kill.

„What's so funny?" she asked, irritation bubbling up inside her. She was not used to being with so many men at once, she needed time to adjust to her situation.

Sure, she was in the army before, and she worked with mostly men, but since her departure, she spent her time mostly alone, sometimes with her boss at the flower shop, Violet, or in the back with the other shop owner, who ran her business as a mortician. In their minds, it made sense to run a flower shop next to a mortuary.

„I like your attitude," he answered, his lips curving up more, his eyes searching her features. He had an accent, subtle and warming, she just couldn't put a finger on it at first. „Gotta stay sharp, eh?"

„Guess so," she shrugged her shoulder, the muscles in her neck pulling at the motion. God, how long till they arrive?

„Sergeant MacTavish," he moved forward a little, reaching his hand out for a handshake, an action she wasn't used to that much. Most of the soldiers she worked with didn't have the audacity to reach their hands first and in other places, she would've considered his actions rude, but she couldn't afford to make more enemies. She already argued with two men, and she was here for maybe an hour or so. So she shook his hand with a steady grip. „Do you have a name?"

For the first time that night, the corner of her mouth turned upwards into a half-smile, sharp and threatening, but he didn't seem to back down easily.

„I have many names, Sergeant," Rora's voice is low, almost getting drowned out by the roars of the truck they are getting transported on, but by the intrigued look on the man's face, he picked up on her words without problems. Her voice held a steady lullaby as she spoke, almost like she was a singer in an opera, and he was the audience. „White Reaper, Scorpion, Bagheera... But most of them call me a bitch. But you can call me Wells if you want."

His low chuckle reminded her of the deep rumble of the ocean during a storm, his eyes sparkling with the light of the many stars above their heads. He was attractive, but far from being her type. She met many men who were similar to him, all of them being cheating bastards.

„I prefer originality," he sat back in his seat, tilting his head slightly to his left, watching as the truck slowly came to a halt, a few of the soldiers standing up at the end of the truck. „I'll settle for Wellsy."

And before she could have the chance to protest against the newfound nickname, he was already off the truck with many of the soldiers. She simply just shook her head, getting ready to get up from the floor, when a hand reached in front of her. It was the man she just told to fuck off with his knee in her side, offering her a helping hand to stand up. At first, the feminist side of her wanted nothing to do with his action, her eyes lingering on the gloved hand reached out in front of her, but her legs were kind of going numb from sitting for so long, so she accepted his offer and helped her stand up.

Rora muttered a quick „thanks" to him, gripping her rifle in her hand and pulling the strap on her shoulder, not waiting for him to jump off the truck and go after the others.

Her booted legs landed heavily on the moist pavement, her eyes scanning her surroundings. There were helos ready to deploy, soldiers running to take their places, and something heavy was hanging in the air, like the calm before the storm. It was an odd feeling, it made Rora slightly uneasy, but she was quick to shake off the feeling, having enough of her paranoid thoughts.

Sergeant MacTavish jogged by her with a small salute towards her, making his way to the helo most of the men were already taking their seats. She took one moment to close her eyes and breathe in deeply, filling her lungs with the slightly chilly, fresh air before she would press herself between a bunch of sweaty men, not knowing when will be the next time she could just enjoy such a moment.

That was until she opened her eyes at the sound of heavy footsteps approaching her. And then she saw him.

There's no way.

Her eyes scanned his tall figure, his well-built shoulders making a harsh contrast against the lights shining from behind him. There was authority in his steps, his strides confident and precise as he spoke to the comms, but as soon as her eyes found his face, her breath hitched in her throat.

There was that fucking skeleton-like mask on his face, concealing his features, only letting his eyes show. The mask was way too familiar, awakening past memories in her that she tried so desperately to bury in the back of her mind, that those memories became sheer ghosts of her past, haunting her in her dreams.

And now they were haunting her awake.

„Sergeant Wells?" his rough voice snapped her out of her thoughts, bringing her back to reality. He stood a few steps away from her, his eyes searching hers.

„Yes?" Rora could barely recognize her own voice, it sounded foreign. Her mouth felt dry like she just ate sand, her heart rate quickening so much she felt it in her throat. His eyes wandered towards her right hand, which was clutching the strap of her rifle so hard, her knuckles whitened. He took a step back.

„Is there a problem?" he asked, his voice heavy with a British accent. When she looked into his eyes, she felt like she couldn't breathe, so she had to look at the ground for a second to remind herself that it wasn't him standing in front of her.

„No, sir," she replied, flicking her eyes back at his. Her heart broke the very moment she glanced at his face.

„Then get up on the helo already," he gestured towards the helo where MacTavish disappeared. His tone was not harsh, but others would easily say that it was. But for Rora, it was hard to concentrate on his words other than the mask on his face.

The memories, the demons of her past tried so hard to crawl out from the dark corner she banished them inside her head, but by holding her head high and shutting her jaw so strong that a muscle started to pulse on the side of her cheek, she locked them up again. The only thing that remained was the soft raindrops falling over their heads, Rora staring at the man with the mask of her demons.

They say it's best to face your demons, and it looked like she would face them every time she needed to speak to him.

„Already on the way."

And with that, she took off to join the others in the helo, her back straight and her steps confident, even though her heart was beating like crazy, her eyes stung from tears threatening to show.

But fake it till you make it, they say. And Rora Wells was really good at faking it.

A/N:

Heyy there!

This was more like a chapter 1.5, the action starts next chapter

It will be more like a snow-burn kinda thing, so just bare with me here ^^

Don't forget to vote and comment what you think