SIMONE'S POV
I kept my eyes locked on the paper target, my breath steady, finger pressed against the trigger. A sharp squeeze, a c***k through the air.......bang. The bullet ripped dead-center through the mark.
"Hell yes," I muttered under my breath, a grin creeping up my face. "Now that's more like it."
The recoil still buzzed through my arms, the smell of gunpowder thick in the air. It was addictive, the control, the rhythm—the moment when chaos bent to my will. I lined up for another shot, already chasing that rush again.
After a few more rounds, I let the gun lower slightly, scanning the room. The echo of my last shot faded into silence. "Where the hell is Nicholas?" I mumbled, irritation prickling beneath my calm.
He'd been acting...off lately. Distant. Secretive. He
