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He stepped around me, granting me a moment's reprieve, and pulled on the black metal grips built into the wall. To my utter shock, the wall moved with him. Three levels that ran nearly half the length of the room offered a variety of perches and positions to shoot from.
My mouth hung open, which I'm sure in hindsight was really attractive, as I processed what I was seeing. This room was basically an assassin's playground.
He shrugged, throwing me that signature smirk. "It started as a standard indoor range, but I got bored. Besides, I needed to practice more than just a pistol. Don't worry. Everything is reinforced. You can't shoot through these three walls and as long as you're not using the 357, the windows are safe, too."
It took every ounce of my mental strength to snap my mouth shut, not sure how to even respond.
He tossed me a box of ammo and stepped back against the wall, pushing the pieces of foam into his ears. "Take her for a spin."
My head bobbed, and I couldn't hold back the smile that spread across my face. With a final, quick sweep of the room, I began walking up the step ramps that led to the highest perch in his wacky shooting gallery. Every step felt cathartic. Healing parts of me I hadn't realized were damaged in the attack.
My fingers worked on muscle memory as I surveyed the room, freezing as I took in the array of targets; so many to choose from. The air felt tight, and I swallowed hard. The last time I had any say in mytarget had been my father. Every kill since had been at someone else's direction.
"Everything ok up there?" Ahren called out.
"Yeah. I just-"
"That one," he interrupted, a small red dot appearing on a target near the high ceiling in the far corner.
My body responded on auto-pilot, falling into position, my breath stabilizing as I tilted my head to check the sight.
As if on cue, the red dot disappeared, leaving the target clear for me. The target rose and fell in my sight with every breath. "Gotcha." My breath caught, knowing my aim was perfect. I squeezed the trigger, the air in my lungs releasing, as if set free by the gunshot.
I was usually quick to snap up and change positions, but this time my movements were slow, pensive.
"All clear." He yelled.
"All clear." I confirmed.
He walked up the ramp casually and sat down a few feet from me, his face thankfully devoid of judgment. "Perfect shot."
I swallowed hard and nodded. "I hesitated." No point in beating around the bush.
"Perfect shot," he retorted.
I shook my head hard—he didn't understand. My lips parted, a wicked reply on my tongue.
He pressed his finger to my lips, silencing my argument. "You obliterated your target. Hesitation or not, it was a perfect shot."
I nodded, still not sure how I felt in this moment. If anything, I was fucking angry at myself for having lost my mojo.
He hooked his finger under my chin, guiding me to him. "I won't bullshit you. When your performance is shit, I'll tell you. Every time. When I say that shot was perfect, I mean it."
My eyes slid shut. The first night here, I would have believed him, no question. But things had been drifting into murky waters as the days wore on. We seemed to be becoming something resembling friends. Did you tell your friends their shooting was shit? I'd have to ask Larissa. I didn't have any friends, so I honestly didn't know how that worked.
But in this moment, my spirit, that had been more damaged than I knew, needed to believe in his words. Needed to trust that the sexy assassin before me was brutally honest, not just brutal.
Chapter 23
AHREN
Her hips swayed seductively as she walked toward the target to retrieve the bolts. If I were a gentleman, I would offer to do it for her, but I confess I found myself instantly addicted to the shape her body took as she walked away from me.
She bent over to gather the bolts, then turned with a smile and sauntered back toward me. My cock hardened painfully at the sight and I turned away, pulling my phone from my pocket to check imaginary messages, hoping she wouldn't notice.
"So, we're done with the bow for the day?" she asked, dropping beside me.
I shrugged. "What do you want to do?"