Page 111 of Piece You Saved

I shake my head. “Not so much pain, more… discomfort.”

He lifts one blond brow.

“It’s a little sore,” I concede. “But that’s not it. I keep thinking about Sam.”

Understanding flashes across his handsome face. “We’ll get her back.”

“I know.” My eyes return to the tree in the distance. I refuse to let it defeat me. “But in what condition?”

Aden drops another kiss on the top of my head and steps back, his arm falling away from my side as I lift my gun and prepare to shoot.

“How does it feel?” Aden quietly asks.

I cock my head in confusion.

“I would spend hours at the range, and I would always know the good shot the second I fired. Before, even.” He pauses. “Go with the feeling and stop focusing on the tree. The shot you’re looking for is the one that feels right. If you were to close your eyes at that moment, you would still hit your target.”

Trusta feeling? The last time I did that, I trusted a man who made himself my captor.

Still, I lift my gun, absorbing the cold, metal weight of it in my hand. I take my time aiming as I envision it’s Rylan’s face in that tree trunk. The feeling I settle into isn’t relaxation or calmness. It’s hate. It’s a need to stop him from destroying anything and anyone the way he made it his life’s mission to destroy me.

I fire.

Pop.

Bark explodes.

Not a lot of it, but I hit it.

I’d smile, but just because I hit a tree, doesn’t mean I’ll be able to do the same to Rylan. He’ll be moving, probably trying to kill me or the others at the same time. Which reminds me…

“Maybe Kade shouldn’t be on the bridge,” I say, lining up my next shot. “He will want to protect me.”

He will put himself at risk and die because of it.

I fire again.

Pop.

I miss. But I knew I would because I’m letting myself get distracted again, and I forgot to breathe before I fired.

“Which is exactly why he needs to be there,” Aden says softly.

As I turn to argue, he steps close, dips his head, and kisses me. “Keep practicing. I’ll be inside.”

I hadn’t thought he would leave me out here alone. Until I see him. Harley, leaning on the wall beside the back door, hands stuffed into the front pockets of his jeans pockets, watching me.

How long has he been there?

Aden grips the door handle, and I desperately call out to him, “Where are you going?”

He peers over his shoulder, not seeming to even notice Harley standing right beside him. “Need the bathroom. I won’t be long.”

I consider telling him I’ll go with him until I realize how ridiculous that would sound. Here I am practicing to put a bullet between Rylan’s eyes, yet I’m too afraid of being left out in this garden with Harley.

Aden steps inside before I can think up a less embarrassing excuse to follow him inside or convince him to stay. The door slams shut behind him, and then it’s just me and Harley. Alone.

I stare at him. He stares back.

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