Page 22 of Kilo's Edge

She sucked in a breath and I saw her hold it—another tip of mine—and her finger gave a steady squeeze. When the gunshot rang out, she froze, staring down the lane.

“Perfect,” I told her, watching her closely. She was tense. “You hit the five ring.” I stepped in close, wrapped my hand around the barrel of the gun and she released it. I laid it down, then pointed at her target. She was still tense and not moving. “Camila?”

Her head turned and she stared at me with wide eyes. I wasn’t sure what emotion was swimming around in them, but when I frowned she seemed to snap out of it. “Good.” Her voice was soft, but steady.

“You ready to try again?” I asked.

She swallowed hard, but then she nodded and picked up the gun again. She settled back into her stance once more, looking more sure of herself this time.

“Fire.”

Bang.

We continued that way until her ammunition was gone. I may have spent more time correcting her stance and grip than I needed to, but it gave me the opportunity to wrap my arms around her, so I took it. By the time we were finished, we’d moved the target back and she was starting to perfect her grouping. It always helped to get someone who’d never shot before because they didn’t have any bad habits that needed to be fixed. I stared down into her smiling face as she looked down at her target, which looked like Swiss Cheese, then up at me.

“Thank you so much for helping me with this,” she said, her voice a little breathless.

“Anytime. In fact, if you want to keep practicing we can meet here once or twice a week.”

“Yes, please,” she replied, her eyes dancing with happiness.

“Addictive isn’t it?”

“It really is,” she answered. “Is that weird?”

“No,” I said with a chuckle. “Or if it is, then I’m weird, too. I’ll show you where the bathroom is so you can wash your hands, then we’ll go grab an early dinner.”

I walked her back out to the front and showed her to the bathroom, then leaned against the counter as I waited. Overdrive grinned at me. “You mind brassing up for me?” It was typically a shooter’s responsibility to pick up the shell casings they left behind—unless they rolled past the firing line, then we got it later—but I didn’t want to waste time with that right now. Though, watching Camila bend over to get all the casings would be fun. I’d teach her about that next time. I’d thrown enough information at her today.

“Not at all,” he replied. “Gives me something to do.” He was studying me.

“Don't.”

“Don’t what?”

“You know what, asshole,” I told him with a shake of my head. I glanced over at him. “I have something I’m going to need to take care of in the next couple of days. You want to give me a hand?”

“Depends,” he replied, putting his arms on the counter and leaning forward. “You talking something shitty? Or something fun?”

“I need to teach someone some manners.”

“I’m in,” Overdrive said without any hesitation.

We both fell silent as Camila came out of the bathroom. My eyes raked over her and I couldn’t help but pray for some strength. It wasn’t going to be hard to spend the evening gettingto know this beautiful woman. I, on the other hand, would be hard all night.

CHAPTER 10

Camila

Itook a few extra minutes in the bathroom. I had to in order to get my heart to calm down. That first shot I’d taken had thrown me right back to that night. When I’d watched my father be murdered. But for some reason, the more I shot, the more it was as though I was taking my power back. Taking the fear and anxiety away from the people who’d killed him and putting it back in my hands. I’d eventually shaken off the memories, determined to put them behind me.

After that, I actually had fun. And it was like I was powerful for once. It was exhilarating and full of torture as Kilo wrapped his muscular arms around me to show me how to move and to fix my stance. Every time he brushed against me, ran his strong fingers over my skin, it stoked the heat building up in me. It bolstered my confidence. He made me feel as thoughnothingcould touch me. Except him, of course. I didn’t mind him touching me.

Boys had never been my focus. When I was younger, I studied hard so that I could get into a good college. After I’d graduated I’d taken a job to help our family financially. Dad struggled to provide for us, but refused to let Mama work. I’d managed to convince him that I needed to build up my resume anyway and he was reluctant, but finally agreed to let me get a job. College had gone right out the window in place of real life struggles. Then Dad was murdered two years later and here we were.

Shaking my head, I stepped away from the mirror and blew out a breath. I opened the bathroom door and stuttered to a stop when both men stared over at me. I didn't miss the heat in Kilo’s eyes. At least I wasn’t in this alone. He seemed to be just as attracted to me. My heart jumped again. We’d moved around too much for me to form any close friendships or have a relationship. I should have gone off to college, made friends, had a boyfriend, and had the time of my life. Instead, we struggled to keep one step ahead of our own deaths.

Guilt overtook me. I shouldn’t be doing this. Dating anyone meant dragging them into this mess right alongside me. It wasn’t fair, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. I knew Mama was right, that we needed to start trusting again, but that was a luxury at this point. We were all hoping that Phoenix would be our last stop. That we’d finally be free of this nightmare. But if they found us, we’d have to leave again.

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