He smiled at her. “So aim again and take another good breath, then let it out. Lower your finger and pretend to fire, making sure to hold the gun steady.”
She inhaled as if this were her last breath, then let it out and glanced at him. “There’s so much to remember.”
“You can keep practicing like this while we’re gone. Just be sure you’re not pointing the weapon at the door. One of us might come through, and we don’t want you to accidentally take us out.”
Her eyes widened. “But how will I know if it’s you coming back or the creep who killed Jamal coming after me?”
“Good question. I have my SAT phone but you can’t get a signal out here so I can’t call you.”
“We could honk the SUV’s horn,” Colin said. “We’ll do three short beeps to let you know it’s us.”
“Great idea,” Micha said. Now why hadn’t he come up with that? Was he really too close to her to do a good job?
The door opened as if on cue, and Micha spun. Dev entered, colorful ropes slung over his shoulder. “These will do the trick, and we’re good to go.”
“Today’s your lucky day, little bro.” Colin grinned at his brother. “Since you’ll be in the boat, you can stay in the rain gear, and I’ll get a garbage bag.” Colin headed for the kitchen cabinet.
Micha turned his attention back to Ava. “I hate to fire that weapon in the cabin, but I need you to at least take a few shots.”
“Okay.”
Her uncertainty hit Micha in the gut and he didn’t want to leave her, but he had no better option. “Let’s use that lamp again, but for the poor lamp’s sake focus above it. Since you’ll actually shoot now. First, flick off the safety.”
She found the safety and pushed the lever, then hesitantly lifted the gun. Pointed.
“Once you have your target in sight, let your finger drop to the trigger,” he said as calmly as he could.
Her finger dropped.
“Now use the pad of your finger to pull the trigger. There’ll be some play in the trigger before you reach the wall, the point when the gun actually fires, and requires you to apply more pressure to make it discharge. Follow through, pulling the trigger all the way back. Then be ready. After you fire the gun you’ll feel a backward movement. That’s the recoil. Let your body absorb it. Aim and fire when you’re ready.”
“Okay.” She licked her lips. “I think I’m ready.”
“One more thing. Only when you’re practicing. Check to make sure everyone is out of range of your bullet, then fire when ready.”
She glanced around, then aimed again, her concentration sharp.
She pulled the trigger. The sound reverberated around the room. She held the weapon solidly through the discharge. Then fired again.
“Great job,” he said, though he suspected her second shot would prove to be off target for sure.
She lowered the gun, her hands shaking. “I…it was…I never thought I would shoot a gun.”
He had no idea how many times she said that, but clearly she was still shocked by the turn of events. “How did it feel?”
She blinked a few times. “Not bad, I guess.”
“Good. Then go ahead and put the safety back on and point the gun at the floor. We’ll see where your bullets landed.”
She followed instructions. Other than the shaky hands, she was keeping her wits about her, and that gave him hope she could pull off a solid shot if needed.
“I’ll take a look,” Colin said and was already stepping toward the wall.
“You’re leaving souvenir holes in the wall,” Micha said.
She frowned. “Not sure that’s a good thing.”
“It’s an interior wall, not one of the logs, and we can always patch the holes.”
