Page 48 of The Torturer's Target

Tesiera was about to say, “Nope, for slicing people,” but she bit her tongue in the nick of time. Rather, she answered, “Yes, that’s right.”

Tesiera hurriedly put the knives away to avoid more questions and ushered Hazel from the room. “Let’s head to the kitchen, shall we? You’re going to help me with the cooking,” she stated.

“Yaaayyy!” the girl squealed, beaming.

The girl was as bright and happy as she was before the attack, and Tesiera wondered if perhaps Hazel had already forgotten about the attack.

An hour later, Tesiera sat alone in the living room, lost in a sea of aimless thoughts. Her young companion, having played and eaten to her heart's content, had finally succumbed to sleep. Max, meanwhile, remained preoccupied in the study. From the snippets of phone conversations Tesiera had overheard, it was clear he was deeply involved in investigating the attack.

“Are you even watching that?”

She jumped, as Max's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts. Startled, she turned to see him standing behind her. It seemed he had been there for a while.

“I don’t like reality shows. They are boring,” Tesiera said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Likewise. It’s all scripted and that defeats the purpose, don’t you think?” Max replied, moving closer to her. He stood in front of her, hands on his hips, looking amused.

“What?” Tesiera asked, feeling self-conscious.

“You look really, really bored,” Max said, a small smile playing on his lips.

Tesiera shrugged, feeling a bit defensive. “Are you done working?”

“For now. Thank you for keeping Hazel company. I bet you haven’t been around a lot of children before. It must have been hard,” Max said.

"It wasn't so bad, actually," Tesiera found herself saying, a touch of genuine surprise in her voice at her own admission. "The housekeeper who came over was a big help too."

“Oh yes, Mary and James. They love her so much. I’m so glad to see that Hazel is back to her playful self. “He took a seat beside her, leaving only a small space between them.

Tesiera was about to put more space between them when his hand touched her bandaged shoulder. “How’s the wound today?”

“Better,” she answered, relieved that her voice was firm in contrast to her fluttering insides. No one had ever been this observant about her before.

“It’s a good thing you changed the bandage already. Does it look alright?” Max asked, his eyes examining the bandage closely.

“Yes,” Tesiera replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable with Max's close proximity to her. “An expert handled it, so it’s healing well.”

He nodded in satisfaction. “I’ll examine it when we get back.”

“I’m fine—” Tesiera started to say, but Max interrupted her.

“I have an idea. How about doing something for fun while we wait for the driver?” Max suggested, his eyes twinkling mischievously as he changed the subject.

Tesiera remained unamused. “Not interested.”

Max ignored the flat statement. “There’s a gun range in the basement. How do you feel about a little challenge, huh?” he teased, waggling his eyebrows playfully.

“A challenge?” Tesiera’s ears perked up.

“Yep. Come on, let’s go.” Max led the way to the basement door.

Tesiera hesitated, then she got up and followed him down the stairs.

Max opened a door at the bottom of the stairs and the basement transformed into a state-of-the-art gun range. There were three automated target retrieval systems with remotes, a high-quality HVAC system, she was positive it kept the air filtered and breathable. There was a shelf displaying several different firearms and boxes of ammunition. Tesiera gave an impressed nod as they chose their weapons and stepped into adjacent stalls.

“Whoever hits the bullseye most wins. Let’s start with a round of ten,” Max proposed.

Tesiera racked her pistol and aimed. Max stood with folded arms and watched her as she steadied her grip, and she pulled the trigger.

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