Page 60 of Obsession

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Violet

Oh God,he’s going to absolutely fuckingmurderme for this, but it will be worth it. You only live once, so you might as well make that one time so worth it.

I tried to sleep last night and did end up finally catching some zzz’s, but it was nowhere near enough. My mind was teeming with everything that had happened… and that kiss. So when I woke, I knew where I had to go.

I knew he was meeting me here. I asked in the kitchen about who the shooting instructor was, and by the way they all looked at each other knowingly and laughed, I knew it was Cain.

I wanted to get here ahead of him. I didn’t want to give him even that little bit of control over me.

So I came here first, even though I don’t know what I’m doing.

I guessed he doesn’t just leave guns sitting around, but I found Joe in the kitchen, and I may have told a bit of a whitelie embellished with what I knew Joe heard last night about our practice. Joe allowed me to come down here, but there was another guy, some big dude with a shaved head, training outside. He was the one that let me in.

The floor beneath my feet’s sparkling clean, made of concrete. Each practice area, sectioned off like cubicles, has a place to stand, a small table covered in velvet where I’m presuming you lay your guns, a hook with headphone things, and in front, targets at a distance. Half a dozen people could safely practice in here at once.

He’s coming here, coming soon, and my body heats with this knowledge. I want him so badly I can taste it.I want so much more than a kiss.

Even his attention’s nice, and I know I’m going to get more than I can handle if he catches me in here. I’m early though, at least fifteen minutes. I’ll put this all away before he comes.

I may have never shot a gun, but I’m no fool. I got a few hours of sleep, then pulled up a YouTube video on my phone and watched a series of “intro to shooting” videos. I didn’t want to be a complete newb.

I just want to touch the guns. I just want to feel them in my hand, see how heavy they are.

I have to admit, I didn’t know guns were sogorgeous.

I lift each gun, feeling the substantial weight of them in my palm. I don’t know why I ever bothered with throwing knives when guns were an option. I caress the heavy barrels, finger the finely crafted details. I can’t believe I’ve gone this long in my life without ever holding a gun. I’ve been missing out.

I doubt these are all the weapons he has on his property, but I’m pretty happy with what I can play around with for now.

There’s a compact pistol that feels like I'm holding a stick of dynamite in my hands. I place it back in the box, gingerly. Whoa. That thing’s deadly.

Next up, a revolver. Don’t know the name but it’s exquisite. I feel energy pulse through me, and for one brief moment, imagine electricity lighting up my veins like live wires. I’m not tired anymore when I hold the revolver.

There are handguns and shotguns, some that make me think of private investigators wearing suits and trench coats, others that look like they should be strapped to the backs of a military brigade.

I’m not dumb enough to load any of them. I put down the revolver and pick up another gun, imagine pointing it at the target. How hard is it to pull the trigger?

“Come at me,” I whisper, remembering what Cain muttered at Troy last night, his words laden with a deadly threat. “Come at me, bro.”

I pull the trigger just to see what it feels like.

Fire erupts from the gun.

I fall to the floor, too stunned at first to feel the pain in my shoulder. My ears ring from the deafening roar of the shot, and the instinctive fight or flight part of me feels like I should run for cover.

The door to the firing range bursts open, and I know before I even look to see who it is, Cain Master has entered the arena.

Great.

I am in so much damn trouble it isn’t even funny.

I place the gun gingerly down on the ground—too little, too late?—and leap to my feet. “I had no idea it was loaded!” I say in my defense. I flail my arms defensively, so he doesn’t actually murder me with his bare hands, but I suspect if he really wants to, my waving arms aren’t going to hold him back.

I knew the first time I saw Cain that he was capable of anger. I knew it from the moment our eyes first met, when I saw a world of hurt and rage simmering in his eyes. I knew it when we began hunting for his sister, and I saw him control and harness that anger when he killed the bartender last night.

But this… this isn’t controlled anger. It’s nothing but unadulterated, boiling hot rage, and he’s coming straight at me.

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