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CHAPTER 12
Ryan
Ana frowns when her first shot doesn't hit the intended target, a piece of the crate delivered yesterday propped up against a tree fifty yards away from the ATV. She takes aim and fires again. This time she nicks the corner. Still frowning in concentration, she continues shooting without a word until she needs to reload.
"Any more advice?" she asks as she prepares to fire again."Don't pull on the trigger, squeeze it," I say. "If you jerk on the trigger instead of using smooth movements, you'll move the barrel to the right and your shot will go wide.""Huh," she grunts. Her next shot is slower but closer to the center of the target. She narrows her eyes at it, appraising it. "Hmm," she hums in the back of her throat, sounding thoughtful. She lines up the shot again and continues firing until she needs to reload again.She's not bad. She's not excellent, but she's not bad. Maybe I'll take her huntiRelated chapters
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 13
RyanWhen she emerges from the bedroom the next morning, I'm wearing the mask again. I'm going to pretend like nothing happened last night and hope she doesn't mention it. We didn't talk about her nightmares. Maybe she won't mention what happened after mine.The plan works at first. She doesn't say anything during breakfast. Afterward, she remains at the table with her Glock, but it doesn't sound like she's very focused on it. The sounds from the gun are slow and there are often long pauses between sounds. I'm not doing much better, still staring at the same page I opened to after finishing my bowl of cereal. Eventually, I hear the sound of the gun being placed on the table and her chair moving. I feel sweat prickle between my shoulder blades.I continue to stare at the book even as I see her approach in my periphery."You don't have to keep wearing that," she says.I don't move, don't look up, and pretend I've not
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 14
Tayja"There. 45 seconds, as requested."I'm sitting cross-legged on the bed in front of Ryan with my Glock sitting on the bedspread between us. He's been reading in the bedroom, hiding from me, I suspect, ever since we came back inside from an afternoon of target practice. A very, very quiet afternoon of target practice, save for the echoing gunshots.It seems he's given up wearing the mask, but he's still very uncomfortable with me viewing the injured side of his face. While he wore the mask, he was noticeably protective of his right side. Now that he's not wearing it, he's even more so. I'm not certain he even fully realizes he's doing it. It makes me feel sad for him, but part of me knows that he doesn't want that from me. I've decided to treat him as normally as possible. Maybe he'll subconsciously pick up on that and become more comfortable around me.I was correct last
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 15
Ryan"Get up. We're going fishing today." I walk through the living room toward the front door."Fishing?" Ana asks, her forehead wrinkling. She makes no effort to move from her spot on the couch, curled up in a blanket reading a book."Fishing. Our rods are on the porch. Let's go.""Why?""I'm making fish for dinner. Come on." I open the door."Do I have to come?" she asks, looking longingly back at her book."Do you want to stay here alone?" I ask.She frowns. "Can I bring a book?""Fine."She hops off the couch and disappears into the bedroom. I've continued to let her sleep in my bedroom. After sleeping on the couch for a month now, I've become accustomed to it. I've even found that I prefer it. Being only a few steps away from the porch when I wake up from a nightmare feeling hot and panicked is a comfort. Even being able to stare at the auroras dancing through the stars outside the bi
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 16
TayjaI roll onto my back again so I can stare up at the wide-open sky. It's so beautiful out here. The air is a little chilly, but I'm warm lying in the sun wearing the jacket Ryan bought me. The sky is the purest blue I think I've ever seen. The snow-capped mountains in the distance are picturesque. Thick forest borders both sides of the river, full of black spruce trees that look like very tall, skinny Christmas trees. The sounds of rushing water and forest life drift to my ears."Giving up so soon?" Ryan asks, a rare grin tugging at the left side of his mouth."I think the fish made their preferences clear," I say, shifting my gaze to the fish Ryan has caught. When I finally managed to catch one, Ryan said it was too small and that I had to throw it back. "Besides, I don't want to clean out fish guts." I make a face."I'd do that for you if you find it so offensive."I smile at him. He looks back at the river.
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 17
Ryan"What's cooking, good looking?""Sounds like you were expecting someone else's call," I say flatly."You again? Didn't you just call me last week?""I need you to send some things.""I literally just got done with your last order. Aren't the days like, shorter, or something, up there? You must have gotten it like yesterday.""That's... that's not how any of this works.""Whatever. Tell me what you need so I can hang up.""Lovely speaking with you too.""Come on, man, I got numbers from like ten hot chicks last night." His voice becomes distant. "Last night? This morning? Whatever. I just texted all of them and soon they're gonna start responding so hurry it up."I begin rattling off a short list, including enough ammo to keep up with Ana's rigorous attitude toward target practice. When I reach the last item on my list, I pause."I want a dog.""A
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 18
Tayja"Tayja!"I'm back in that room. My living room. Julie is screaming for me as the gun is pointed at her head. I'm frozen. Julie's and my eyes meet."Tayja!"Her scream is desperate. She knows she's going to die. She knows they are going to kill her."Tay-" Her scream is cut short as the gun fires. Her body crumples to the floor."No!" I scream. I wake up, sitting bolt upright in Ryan's bed. "Julie!"I know I'm awake and I know the dream wasn't real. Julie didn't know I was there when she died. She didn't know I could have done something, anything, to save her. She doesn't know that I watched her die and did nothing. I take in a deep breath and scream.Ryan bursts into the room, but I ignore him as I keep screaming, alternating between my little sister's name and wordless cries of anguish.I watched her die. I watched those men shoot her. I did nothin
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 19
RyanToday I brought Ana a little farther along the river to one of the best fishing spots. I was a little surprised yesterday when she agreed to go fishing with me. I dared her to catch something large enough to cook, so it's only fair if I give her a fighting chance. The bend in the river I've brought her to today has some slower spots where large fish like to rest lazily in the weak current. It's my favorite spot for salmon fishing in the summer.Like last week, Ana doesn't seem particularly fond of fishing, but today she has a vested interest. I watch her from the corner of my eye as she stares at the water with a determined expression on her face. I can't help but smile."Fishing is supposed to be relaxing, you know," I say, watching her tense little form.She turns her head to eye me. After giving me a sideways glare for a few moments, she
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 20
AnaRyan doesn't seem to be in the cabin this morning as I begin to prepare breakfast. I wonder if he's out hacking down trees. He seemed really odd last night and wouldn't talk to me. I tried to figure out what I'd done to upset him, but I couldn't think of anything.I go to the window to look out at the forest. I don't see Ryan anywhere. Strange. I turn around back to the kitchen and jump. Ryan is lying on the couch, an arm and a leg hanging off. Near his hand is a bottle of amber liquid that I've never seen before.Is that alcohol? What's going on? I never knew Ryan drank. I didn't even know there was any alcohol here. I take a couple of steps closer to the couch."Ryan?" I ask, somewhat timidly. Usually, he's awake by now. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever woken up before him.Ryan doesn't stir. I edge a little closer."Ryan?" I say with more conviction. He shifts, ro
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