“It’s not. But just look at how angry he is.” We both make apfftlaugh as we simultaneously glance at him, indicating we’re talking shit. Roman’s jaw ticks, and he snaps his cigarette between his fingers before he can even light it.
It takes us a few minutes to stop laughing over it, but I feel much better after.
“I fucked up yesterday, I guess,” I mumble, accepting the gun again from John and making sure to not point it at anyone this time. “Moment of weakness, I suppose.”
John chuckles. “We’re all adults here, and we all have needs. Roman’s fucking hot, I get it.” He elbows me playfully. He makes it sound so casual, and perhaps it really is that simple.
Taylor and Gale come trotting back over to us with curious expressions.
“Where’s the lieutenant?” Gale inquires.
“Taking a time-out, I’m afraid,” John says sarcastically. The two of them laugh.
“That didn’t take long, did it?” Taylor smiles at me and plops a headset over my ears. He points at the mic that’s attached before he puts a headset on himself too. “Thornton, you read me? Over.”
At least it’s hard to stay in a down mood around their group. A small mercy.
“Copy that. Over.” A big smile curls my lips because I feel so ridiculous.
“All right, Private Squirt, we need you to take out two hostiles. Eastern ridge. Ten o’clock. Over.” Benson’s voice comesthrough, and I blink, looking for him but not finding him. He must be pretending to scout. I roll my eyes at their dramatics, but a giddy sense of fun rushes through me.
John moves behind me and raises my arms to where they should be. He pulls back one of the ear covers and murmurs, “Make sure to line up the scope with the center of the object, account for the fall direction due to the wind, and?—”
Bang.
He sets his finger over mine and squeezes the trigger. The gun kicks back really hard. I’m glad he was holding on because I didn’t expect it at all. The glass bottle in the center of the table shatters.
A huge smile and inaudible laugh escapes from me.
“Nice work, Private Squirt. There’s one more, though. Take them out.” Bensen sounds like he’s actually talking to a comrade, well, or I guess he would if he wasn’t calling mePrivate Squirt.
I’ll never livethatdown.
John lets go and moves to stand beside me. I take a deep breath and focus on lining up the scope and the bottle.
Bang.
Nothing happens.
“Crap, I missed.” I let out a frustrated huff.
Taylor pats my shoulder. “Trust me, you’re going to miss a whole bunch more.”
And he’s right. I miss nineteen times before I finally hit one. When I do, I about jump into John’s arms.
“Finally. Let’s get going. This took much longer than expected?,” Roman retorts, apparently feeling like he had to add an insult. I don’t even bother looking at him—I’m not even sure when he rejoined us at the firing line.
John’s right. I won’t extend him any of my energy.
The guys start packing up the SUV when I notice a car pulling up through the field. It’s noisy out here with the rustling grass, so I’m not surprised we didn’t hear it coming sooner.
“Um, guys, someone’s here,” I call and they all snap into movement.
“Get in the car, Briar.” John moves in front of me and gives me a little nudge. I’m not going to ask any questions—not after last night at the lake.
I climb inside, and Gale joins me. “Stay low, just in case this is a decoy and there’s an ambush in the grass.” His voice is cold and focused.
A chill moves down my spine as I try to stay as low as I can while watching the approaching truck.
