Chapter 2
Briggs lunged across the dusty field and kicked straight toward Riley’s knee.
It was not a training strike.
It was not controlled.
It was meant to injure.
The kick snapped through the air so fast a few soldiers shouted before it landed.
Riley twisted back half a step.
The boot missed her kneecap by inches and slammed into the outside of her thigh instead.
Dust exploded around her feet.
Her body shifted.
Pain flashed across her face.
But she did not fall.
Briggs stepped in, grinning.
“You’re just a little girl playing soldier.”
The words carried across the field.
Five hundred troops heard them.
So did the cameras.
So did the officers.
Riley breathed through the pain.
Her ribs burned from a strike he had landed minutes earlier.
One he had thrown after the whistle.
She pressed one hand lightly against her side.
Briggs saw it.
His grin widened.
“Oh, that hurt?”
Riley lifted her head.
Her eyes had changed.
They were not angry.
They were worse.
They were calm.
Dead calm.
“You should’ve stayed quiet,” she said.
The laughter died instantly.
Briggs’s face hardened.
He moved closer, trying to tower over her.
“What did you say?”
Riley lowered her hand from her ribs.
“You heard me.”
The front row shifted.
Commander Ethan Cole, sitting between two senior officers, leaned forward slightly.
His expression did not change.
But his eyes locked on Briggs.
Briggs did not notice.
May you like
He was too busy enjoying the moment.
Read Part 3 to find out why Riley had been watching every illegal move Briggs made.
