Page 49 of Hollow Forest

“Or maybe I'm just that good.”

Those onyx eyes warmed. Heat sizzled through my core. “Maybe you are.”

The word beautiful felt implied.

There was no calming the patter of my heart.

He stepped up for his next shot. This time he aimed longer. The teasing faded from his expression as he focused on the last untouched pumpkin sitting furthest back.

Bang.

It was a miss. The bullet kicked dust behind the pallet.

I blinked at him. “Joey.”

“What?” he asked, voice feigning innocence.

“You missed by, like, a foot!”

“It was the wind.”

There was barely any wind. Just little gusts every now and then. He was letting me win.

The realization hit sharp enough to annoy me. I should have been glad. If I won, I could finally have my answer. But…not like this.

I lowered the gun. “Stop doing that.”

“Doing what?” he drawled.

“Throwing shots.”

Joey frowned slightly, genuine confusion mixing with amusement. “You think I’m missing on purpose?”

“I know you are,” I retorted.

He stared at me for a second, then barked out a laugh. “Alright. Fine.” He lifted both hands in surrender. “Didn’t realize your ego was this fragile.”

“My ego is not fragile.”

“Mhm.”

“I just want to win fairly.”

The smirk he gave me then was softer somehow. Less teasing. “Okay.” He nodded toward the pumpkins. “Fair it is.”

Something tightened pleasantly in my chest at the way he said it. His admission that I was worth taking seriously meant…a lot.

Focus!

I was stalling my revenge to sate my curiosity. Nothing more. There was no future here. Not with Joey, and not with the masked man. Even if they were one and the same, but certainly if they weren’t.

The last two pumpkins sat side by side in the fading light.

Joey motioned dramatically. “Go ahead.”

I narrowed my eyes at him before lifting the rifle again. My shoulder ached slightly from recoil, but I steadied my breathing the way I'd practiced once upon a time.

Aim.