Page 80 of Beneath the Light of the Moon

“Good girl,” he praised, and the throbbing between her legs responded to those two little words. “L 3.” It was the only signal she got, but she fired nonetheless.

Bang!

This time, it hit the target, remarkably. It wasn’t a head shot, but she could settle into this new norm, make it a routine.

“Close, but not good enough”—he began the ascent on her spine—“Th 11.”

Another shot; this one clipped the jaw of the silhouette on the paper. Anika yearned to press her thighs together, to relieve the pressure building in her core, but Mikko’s feet ensured her stance didn’t waver.

“I’m feeling nice,” he said, “I’ll count that one.” Up, up, up he went. “Th 7.”

Anika exhaled, then—

Bang!

She let another round lose, desperately trying to keep still, but her arms were shaking with weariness, and her body was quivering from Mikko’s mixed signals.

“There’s two, look at you go.” His fingers steadily slipped into another divot of her spine, the next vertebrae already falling from his lips. “Th 3.”

“I hope you remember this next time you break into my house,” Anika gritted out before shooting again. It was another chest shot, her progress taking a step backward while her underwear dampened. He rhythmically tapped on one single vertebrae.

“I will, but I also know where you keep this little gun,” he countered. “Th 1.”

Barely having enough time for her rebuttal, she chose to shut up and concentrate instead.

Clink!

The shell casing bounced off the floor near her feet, but all shecould see was a third head shot. “Impressive. Two more to go. C 7.”

Another shot echoed around them. Mikko’s fingertip climbed causing her clit to throb in time with his touch.

“C 5.” The feeling of his finger resting right below the nape of her neck drove her insane. She squeezed her eyes shut momentarily.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Bang!

A miss. This one didn’t even land within the outline, the stray hole a painful outlier amongst the rest of her shots.

“Last chance,” Mikko said, his tone unwavering despite the tension rolling off them, thick and suffocating.

“Or what—”

His hand wrapped itself around her ponytail threateningly. “C 2.”

I can do this, I can do this, I can do this…

In order for her to find peace, her past would have to be avenged. And to do that, she needed to take down those who she couldn’t protect herself and her family from all those years ago.

Her eyes aligned with her gun’s sight, leveling it to match up with the center of the target’s faux head. The trigger was already crooked against her finger, all she had to do was focus. Squeeze—

Bang!

And there, right in the middle of the head—right where she’d aimed—was a small hole. Never in her life would she have imagined making that, especially with Mikko’s presence behind her.

He huffed incredulously before giving her ponytail a slight tug. It sent electricity zipping down her spine. “Seems like distractions work in your favor.”