Page 15 of Caught By the Bratva Beast

“Well done,” a familiar voice says, the sound of clapping coming from behind me. Expensive dress shoes tap against the floor. “I didn't know you were going to be here today. It’s good to see that you’re getting into the practice again. Your shooting was getting a little rusty.”

“It's never been rusty a day in my life. Not since you took care of me and gave me my first gun, at least.”

Nicolo leans against the wall behind me, tucking his hands into the pockets of his black slacks. “Seven years is a long time. When I first found you, you were terrified of holding that gun. Now look at you. I would say that you're a better shot than some of the men that work for me. Hell, you could even compete with me for the best shot one of these days. You're a natural.”

“I don't think there's anything natural about it.”

“Would you rather be weak, unable to stand up for yourself? Unable to fight when the time arose? Do you want to be taken for somebody who can be easily taken advantage of?”

“You know that I don't. You know I've done everything I can to train for this. Everything you’ve ever asked of me has been achieved.”

“I know that you've been obedient and filled my requests, and it makes me proud. You’ve become a prodigy. If you were a man, you'd have a real chance at taking over the world.”

I press my lips together, the line drawing back memories from the other night. Maxim had promised me the world if that was what I asked for.

These days I am wondering what it was with powerful men promising anything and everything to a woman. Why did they think that was all a woman wanted?

There were a million other things I wanted. Revenge, money, power. True love one day. Never have to look at a fucking gun again.

“Pearl, you've done well in your time here. When Aaron died, I wasn’t certain that you were going to be able to pull yourself together but look at how far you’ve come. Our plan is coming along better than I ever could have thought. You just need to work on your shooting a little bit more. You’re good, but you’re angry and you need to be calm.”

“My shooting is fine, and of course I’m angry. Every time I come to the range; I think of killing Maxim. Today, the target was his heart. Tomorrow when I come for a little more practice the target will be his head. One day the target will be his cock.”

Nicolo winces. “Pearl, have you ever considered that a man doesn't want to hear you're going to shoot another man in the balls?”

“Are you worried, Nicolo?”

“Maybe I should have trained this sass right out of you too.”

“Your life would be far less entertaining if you had. Just think of how boring it would be sitting around waiting for somebody to make a joke. None of the men who work for you have a sense of humor. Not one that's been evolved beyond fourth grade.”

“Set another target.”

I do as he says, pulling down the first target and putting up a fresh one in its place. I hit the button, sending the paper back out down the range before pulling over my earmuffs and glasses once more.

The empty magazine hits the counter in front of me and I load a new one before flicking off the safety. As I aim at the head of the mock person in front of me, all I can see is Maxim Orlov’s perfect face.

It’s infuriating that he’s both attractive and a ruthless monster.

Killing him would be easier if I didn’t have to look into his whisky-colored eyes which set me on fire every time I steal a glance.

Or those tattoos. A woman could get lost trying to find them all. I’d only gotten a glimpse of them the other night, but I am sure they cover his torso.

A man with inked skin is my undoing. I imagine tracing my fingertip over every line all the way down to … well, that will never happen.

Squeezing the trigger, I grin, bullets sinking right into the space between his eyes. He would have no clue what was coming.

When I finally have Maxim in my sights, he’s going to underestimate me. So many men do. They think that I’m nothing but a beautiful young woman. A good entertainment.

He'll never see that I’m his biggest threat in disguise.

As I fire the last round straight into where the target man's cock would be, Nicolo makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat.

“You really didn't have to do that.”

“But I did.” I give him a satisfied smirk.

“Argh, God help you, Pearl. Other than that, though, your shots are good, and they'll kill. But you're getting ahead of yourself. You keep thinking about killing him the moment you have him alone, but there’s a bigger plan at play. We must be wise about this.”

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