Page 85 of The Hunter's Empire

"Do you still have your gun?"

Even with the estate collapsing around us, the question steadies me.

The panic that had been clawing at my chest slowly begins to recede, replaced by something much more familiar. Training. Instinct. The cold focus that always arrives whenever a situation becomes dangerous enough that there is no longer any room for hesitation.

"Always."

My hand disappears beneath the layers of emerald fabric gathered around my legs. The pistol is exactly where I secured it this evening. Strapped against my thigh. Hidden beneath enough silk and tulle to fool everyone attending the celebration. The familiar weight settles into my palm as I draw the weapon free.

Immediately, I feel more like myself. Beside me, Roisin makes a small choking sound. I glance over her and see her staring at the pistol. Then at me. Then back at the pistol. The look on her face would almost be funny if we weren't hiding from automatic gunfire.

"No."

I blink. "No?"

Her eyes narrow. "You can actually shoot?"

A bullet tears through a nearby wall. Neither of us pays attention.

"Yes."

Roisin looks genuinely offended. "Vivienne, you nearly shot Lucien during the hunt."

"I grazed him."

"You shot him."

Nico chooses that exact moment to contribute. "It was personal."

I immediately glare at him. The bastard has the decency not to laugh. Barely.

Even with half his face hidden behind the mask, I can see it anyway. The unmistakable amusement lingering in his eyes, the faint crinkling at their corners, the infuriating look of someone enjoying my reaction far more than he should.

He's smiling. Through his eyes.

Roisin looks between us. Then her eyes slowly widen. "Oh my God. You did it on purpose."

I decide not to answer. My silence is apparently answer enough.

"You absolutely did it on purpose."

"I had my reasons."

"You shot your fiancé."

"He survived."

"That's not the point."

Nico looks entirely too entertained by the conversation. The man has a bullet scar because of me and somehow he's enjoying this.

Then Roisin shakes her head. "No. Forget that. Forget all of it. You spent an entire day pretending you didn't know how to use a rifle."

I shrug. "Technically, I never said that."

Her jaw drops. Nico actually laughs. The sound lasts less than a second. Because another burst of gunfire erupts from the foyer below.

The reality of the situation crashes back into place immediately. The laughter disappears. The amusement disappears. Everything disappears except survival.