Page 76 of Forbidden Hearts

Santiago and a young woman stand a few feet away. Her arms are wrapped around his waist. “Then who?”

“Nobody,” I say, “It’s just for…protection.”

He gives me a look that I often see on Alonzo’s face. He’s studying me.

“In that case, I can give you some pointers,” he says. “Melanie, do you mind?”

The girl removes her arm from around him, and Santiago steps forward. He points at the paper target at the end of the alley. My eyes turn to where he’s pointing, and for the first time, I realize I almost hit the smallest, innermost circle.

“Are you left-handed or right-handed?” Santiago asks.

“Right-handed.”

“Okay, well, you were holding the grip with your left hand. Hold it with your right hand and use your left to manage the recoil.”

I blink at him. Is Alonzo’s brother really teaching me how to shoot a gun?

“Go on,” he says. “Give it a try.”

I put the earmuffs back on and hold the gun the way he tells me. I aim at the target and shoot. My shot is worse than before, but the recoil isn’t as bad as the first time.

I sigh.

“That’s fine,” Santiago says. “Your first shot was probably a lucky shot. Practice the way I told you. The more you shoot, the better you’ll get.”

“Thanks,” I say. I don’t have time to practice the ‘proper’ way, so I’ll have to shoot Jacob whichever way feels more natural in the moment.

“No problem,” he says. “I’m sure Alonzo can teach you more if you ask him.”

Not after our exchange yesterday.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say.

Santiago watches me fire a few more shots. They're not any better than my first shot, but at least they’re not worse than my second.

“Santiago, honey, can we go someplace else? I’m bored and hungry,” Melanie says.

Santiago rolls his eyes. “Yeah, we better go. Catch you later, Alex.” They leave with locked arms, but something tells me she means nothing to Santiago.He’s just like Alonzo, hopping from one girl to another.

I fire a few more shots at the target and stop before my hour is up. I burned through most of the ammo like the old man said I would, but that’s fine. I still have a box of ammo left, and I only really need one bullet to kill Jacob. Two at most.

I pack my things and leave the range.

That’s it.

Jacob is going to die tonight.

???

I pull into The Den’s parking lot two hours before the start of my shift. The club is mostly empty around this time, which increases my chances of walking out of here alive.

Still, Sammy is probably standing outside Jacob’s office like always. I’ll have to run out of Jacob’s office as soon as I shoot him dead…I may even have to shoot Sammy as well, which I don’t want to do, but I will if I have to.

I hide my gun in my purse and walk to the club’s entrance. Two reapers stand guarding the door. They stare at me from head to toe and step aside. Everybody who walks into the club is checked for weapons, except the dancers. Jacob underestimates women. That will be his downfall.

As I expected, the club is mostly empty. A few reapers sit at the bar, where Alice serves them beer. There can’t be more than six or seven reapers in total in the club.

“Alex! You’re here early!” Alice says when she sees me.

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