Page 28 of Cruel Vows

I take one of the pistols, checking it over before snatching a magazine and some ammunition.

As he selects his gun, I load mine and walk over to the counter. Down the range are two targets, both with human silhouettes and sections marked off. Little numbers denote the amount of points gained for shooting that section.

Sean stands beside me, his shoulders tense. “You want less bodyguards. I think you need more since you can’t seem to take care of yourself, so we’re going to settle this my way.”

“A shooting competition?” The corner of my mouth twitches.

“Yes. Beat me, and you can have things your way. I beat you, and you stop arguing with me about the bodyguards.”

I lean against the counter, keeping the pistol pointed at the ground and the safety on. “You think you’re that good of a shot, do you?”

He shifts away from me, widening his stance. “I know I am, and I also know that you couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn if you tried.”

Smothering the smile that tries to surface, I shrug. “Don’t have much experience with guns.”

“Whoever gets the most points wins.”

“You go first.” I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, glancing at the targets before turning my gaze to my shoes. “I think I should at least get to see what I have to beat since there’s only a slim chance I could.”

“Fine. Ten shots each.”

Sean turns to the targets, hitting a button to move them a couple yards closer than they already are. He puts in a pair of earplugs before flicking the safety off and firing. I grab my earplugs, cramming them in as I stand back.

The first shot cracks through the air and goes through the silhouette’s head. The next hits its heart.

The other eight shots land close to the heart, but a couple stray a little to the right, hitting the silhouette closer to the shoulder than the heart, losing Sean several points.

He smirks at me, flicking the safety back on the pistol. “Ninety-three.”

“I don’t know if I can beat that.” I swallow hard, stepping up to the counter and widening my stance slightly.

As I aim, he shifts beside me. I don’t let it bother me, keeping the pistol aimed at the heart.

My finger wraps around the trigger and the shot echoes, the bullet whizzing through the ten-point section. I change my aim slightly to the nine-point section, firing twice.

The rest of my shots stay in either the head or the heart, each one racking up another ten points.

When I’ve fired my ten shots, I shove the safety back into place and turn to him with a smirk. “I think that makes ninety-eight.”

His deep-brown eyes narrow, so dark they almost look black in this lighting. “You played me.”

I shrug, pulling out the earplugs. “You’re the one who doesn’t bother spending time studying their enemy. If you spent a little more time asking questions instead of pretending you’re the boss of me, you might have learned that.”

After reloading the magazine while he fumes, I put the gun away.

Sean follows me, storing his gun and punching in the code to shut the panel. “This isn’t over, you know that. I’m your husband now and I know what’s best for you. You need the bodyguards.”

“So, I take it that means you aren’t a man of your word.”

“I am.”

“Great, then because I won—as stated in your terms before entering the competition, I get to decide how many bodyguards I have.” I tuck my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “Me and myonebodyguard are going to go home so I can prepare for work.”

Sean’s hand shoots out, wrapping around my wrist and stopping me before I can leave. “What are you planning?”

Sweat beads on the back of my neck.

There’s no way that he knows I’m working on a plan to get the hell out of here, but it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that I might.

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