“What is this, Jay?”
“We’re going to have a little clay target game. McKenna tradition. Ever shot before?”
Wait, what?
I have to fight the urge to smile. This means Jay hasn’t run a background check. If he had, he’d know I served as a field medic, and that I’m very comfortable around a trigger.
I used to sneak out of the field hospital to join Paul on overwatch in the hills. Between the adrenaline, the flirting, and him fucking me in the dirt while teaching me breath control, I became a very good shot. Safe to say I rarely miss.
Something heavy burns inside my chest.Neither did he.
The over-under, which I’m fairly sure is illegal here, feels familiar the moment it hits my hands. I make sure none of that shows. Instead, I turn it over awkwardly, like I’m not quite sure what to do with it.
“Careful with the weapon, Aoki. We wouldn’t want any accidents, would we?”
Sergei’s thick Russian accent comes with a wide grin. He and Jay burst out laughing.
Let them laugh, I know it won’t last. I give it about thirty seconds.
“Thank you,” I whisper to the sky.
Chapter fifty-two
Tom
Bzzzz. Bzzzz.
A wasp trapped in a glass jar hums somewhere deep inside my skull. My lashes flutter. They feel insanely heavy. Sleep takes me back under.
Bzzzz.Again.
It’s my fucking phone and whoever’s calling is very persistent.
I grope around until my hand finds it, half buried under the pillow. I clutch my head. My eyes feel like sandpaper, pain flashing the moment I try to open them. Yesterday had been a lot. My brain’s still wrecked. To be fair, there’s another sore reminder too.
What time is it even? Who the hell—?
Shit. Joan. I’d better answer.
“Mmmrrh…Joan.”
“Babe, where the fuck are you!?”
“Joanie, I get that you’re pissed, but please, can we do this later? My head’s about to explode…”
“Twat! Get your skinny ass over here, your boyfriend’s having a shootout with Dad!”
At that exact moment I hear a gunshot crack through the air, echoing over the lake and through the phone at once.
My eyes snap open, finding the spot beside me empty and cold.
No. No. No. This is a fucking nightmare! I jump into a pair of trousers I find next to bed and grab a sweater out of my suitcase. I don’t think I’ve ever dressed this fast. Jacket, where is it? I find my snow boots at the door.
I glance over my shoulder, and through the living room’s glass wall, I spot the family gathered on the other side of the lake.
Bang. Another shot right after.
Ah, the annual McKenna clay target game. My big brother’s going to regret this, and I can already see the disaster coming.
