Page 40 of The Heart

I take a deep, frustrated breath before speaking, “Campbell, give me the gun. This. Means. War.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

COLTON

The man moves quickly, I’ll give him that. Even through the barricade of yarn we put into place to slow him down, it only takes a few seconds before Sebastian is leaping on top of the kitchen island, his weapon pointed straight down to where Leena is hidden behind it.

I can’t help but laugh when he rains a volley of shots down onto her. She screams, scrambling out from behind the counter, stepping over and ducking through the string like a fucking pro. I quickly look away, because staring at my boss’s ass in those skin-tight camo leggings is not the objective of this game. Well, not entirely.

But I won’t deny it’s definitely a perk.

“Fisher! I need backup!” she cries out when her path causes her to take fire from where Luke is kneeling on the couch.

“Stay with me, Hart! I’m moving in!” I say into my earpiece, lying flat on my stomach and pulling myself under a nearby set of strings so I can pop up behind the couch where Luke is stationed.

“Are you two wearingcomms?” Sebastian barks out.

“Well that’s fucking cheating!” Luke agrees.

“It’s not our fault you aren’t prepared. And you always cheat,” I retort, smiling as I move into position.

“Campbell, watch your six,” Sebastian warns, but he’s too late.

I stand, landing five perfect shots straight into Luke’s back before scrambling to pick up my ammo and finding cover behind the tipped up coffee table.

“I’m clear!” Leena says, my assistance helping her get to safer ground. But at what cost?

I roll to my back, watching with horror as Luke stands over me, the gun pointed straight at my chest. We smirk, both of us knowing how fucking ridiculous this is.

“What? You told me to distract her.” I shrug.

Then he shoots me.

Right. In. The. Dick.

The foam bullet doesn’t hurt, but the backhanded slap he adds to that same spot as he steps over me definitely does.

“Oh,fuck!” I say through gritted teeth. “Hart! Your boyfriend just shot me in the dick!”

“Fisher, if you don’t want him playing with your dick, you should just ask him nicely to stop,” Leena replies.

I gasp out a laugh, so does Sebastian from wherever he’s at on the other side of the room.

I hear the sounds of more shots being fired and Leena’s laughter following them.

I honestly wasn’t sure if the guys would even play this game with us, and I definitely didn’t think they would take it so seriously. But when Luke pulls off his shirt and finds the other two comm pieces we left out on the side table, tossing one clear across the room to his teammate, I realize: this game is just getting started.

—

We’ve been at this for hours, all of us too stubborn to surrender. Leena and I are down five points, and desperately in need of scoring so we don’t have to live with the embarrassment of this slaughter for the rest of our lives.

I know that Sebastian is currently staking out the living room, so I head toward the hallway instead.

I hear a sound.

I quickly turn the corner, gun raised, then halt, standing up straight as I stare at the sight in front of me.

This.This is why we’re doing so poorly.

---