Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
I wasn’t him.
I wasn’t a killer.
But as I held the aim, a small voice whispered in the back of my mind.
What if you have to be?
Leo glanced at his watch. “We should begin.”
Terror gripped my heart.
Can I do it?
Chapter eight
The Targets
Moni
I wished with all my heart to know what I was fucking missing but I couldn’t think of it.
Sighing, I rechecked to make sure the guns were loaded.
Maybe. . .I’m overthinking.
Leo stood off to the side, casually checking his watch like we were simply passing the time.
Song remained nearby, silent and watchful.
The air around us felt thicker now, the tension crackling like the static before a storm.
I lifted both pistols and aimed at the first target. Fifty yards away, the golden point gleamed under the floodlights, beckoning me.
I can do this one easy.
Talking to Lei tonight would be amazing. Only God knew what was going on back at Lotus Blossom.
I knew how crazy Banks could get.
I also understood that Lei might fucking lose it and beat the shit out of Marcy and Banks if they went too far.
Then there were my sisters, who had come to their new home and a cookout, to only find out at the end that their sister had been kidnapped by Lei’s father.
Fuck. I hope they’re okay.
Leo’s voice lowered. “Are you ready, Monique?”
I trembled. “Yes.”
“Then, the game begins. . .now.”
Shit.
My heart pounded. Without thinking, I pulled the trigger.
The gunshot echoed across the mountain, loud and jarring in the quiet night.
Fast, the bullet hit dead center on the gold point, a small puff of splinters bursting from the target as it made impact.
There you go.
Relief washed over.
First bullet hits. Now for the next.
I exhaled sharply.
“Good Job, Monique.”
I shifted my stance, already lining up for the second target. It was a bit farther away, but nothing I couldn’t handle.
The later targets would be the ones that would truly test me.
I aimed.
My finger tightening on the trigger, and then I fired.
The bullet flew through the air, hitting the gold point again with precision.
The target shook, and I felt a small rush of excitement as I realized I was doing it—winning this twisted game.
Fuck yes!
Leo chuckled. “The game just hit a minute and you’ve taken out two.”
Get this shit done, girl.
The third target went down just as easily, the bullet striking true. The recoil of the guns in my hands felt familiar now, the power of each shot flowing through me like an electric current.
You’re killing this shit!
I was in control, and for the first time in this whole nightmare, I felt like I might actually win.
Alright. Stay focused.
Each time I hit a target, I imagined the call with Lei—his voice calming my nerves, his reassurance that everything would be okay.
I had to win this.
I had to get that call.
The fourth target went down with ease then the fifth.
My confidence soared with each successful shot.
I was getting closer to the hundred points.
Closer to Lei.
Leo chuckled again. “We’re at three and a half minutes. At this rate, you’ll win with no problem.”
Song spoke. “She’s faster than I expected.”
“This is why she’s the Mountain Mistress.”
Let’s go. Let’s go.
But just as I shifted my aim toward the sixth target something caught my eye—a dark liquid dripping from the first target.
Wait. What’s that?
My heart skipped a beat.
I blinked, trying to get back to the game, but. . .something was very, very wrong.
“Focus, Monique.”
But. . .what the hell is that on the first target?
The golden point I’d hit wasn’t just splintered—it was slick with something red. The drip was slow at first, but then it began to pool at the base of the target.
No. That can’t be happening. It doesn’t make since.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a brief second and opened them again hoping I was imagining things.
But the liquid was still there, dark and glistening under the floodlights.
Is that. . .what I think it is?
Leo thought of himself as some dark illusionist. That much had become clear over the time I’d spent in his twisted presence.
He wasn’t just the Grand Mountain Master—he fancied himself a master of manipulation, of bending reality to his will.
Surely, this had to be another one of his magic tricks.
Therefore, the red liquid had to be a trick.
Another test.
It’s all fake. Leo’s playing mind games again.
Panic began to creep in.
My hands trembled slightly as I aimed for the sixth target.
“Hurry!” Leo’s voice cut through the night. “Time is ticking!”
Shit.
I forced myself to focus trying to shake the unease gnawing at my gut.
I had to keep going.
Ignore it for now. Just win.
I fired at the sixth target.
Just like that, the bullet hit its mark.
I’d thought that these targets would give me problems but they were easier than I’d assumed.
I rushed to the seventh target, my mind was spinning now replaying the image of that red liquid over and over.
Is it what I think it is? No. It can’t be.