His voice came from behind me just as I reached for the phone. “You’re boring.” He stood in the doorway, staring at my phone. “Follow me.”
I blinked and looked over my shoulder. “Excuse me?”
“Come with me.”
I hesitated. “We’re leaving again?”
He walked out without answering, and I hurried after him. Outside, Dmitri crouched beside a pile of rocks, stacking them like a kid building a toy fortress. His movements were quick. When he finished, he stepped back and scanned the yard until his eyes found mine. I nearly stepped back when he approached.
Dmitri always felt both safe and dangerous at the same time. He took the can from my hand, walked it to the pile, and set it on top. He pulled a gun from his waistband, and this time, I took a step back.
“That’s your target,” he said, handing me the gun.
My mouth went dry. I stared at the gun, then at him.
“I don’t know how to use it.” I could still remember its heaviness, how it shook me as the sound cracked the air, and how Marco’s body hit the ground.
Dmitri tilted his head. “There’s a first time for everything. Now come on.”
I stood still. “Why are we doing this?”
“Because I’ve got a war to run, not a babysitting job. You need to learn this.”
I sighed and stepped forward, taking the gun from his hand. “I’m sure I will never learn this.”
He moved behind me, close enough that his breath brushed my ear. His hands slid over mine to guide the grip, but the nearness unsettled me.
I stepped away. “I can hold it myself.”
He gave a slight nod and stepped back.
The gun felt heavier than I remembered. Sweat pooled in my palms as I lifted it. I closed one eye, held my breath, bit my lip, and pulled the trigger.
No sound came.
Dmitri scoffed. “Yeah. You really know what you’re doing. Cock the damn gun first.”
He moved behind me again, his hands brushing mine to show me. “How is anyone supposed to remember that when they’re about to die?”
He chuckled. “That’s the point. Now shoot.”
I swallowed and tried to focus. Closing one eye, I fired. The shot cracked through the air, sharp enough to send birds screaming from the trees. I flinched so hard the gun nearly slipped from my hands. I didn’t even come close to the target.
Dmitri said, “Again. And stop thinking so much.”
I raised the gun again and fired. The bullet chipped the stone just under the can. The sun was dipping low, casting everything in a blur of orange. I lowered the gun and looked at him. “Maybe we should try this when the sun isn’t blinding me.”
He didn’t even blink. “Again.”
My shoulders slumped as I turned back. I raised the gun again, but before I could fire, a roar cut through the silence.
Rodion. My grip tightened around the weapon. Maybe his arrival was my way out. I fired once more before the bike reached us. The bullet landed closer to the can than I expected. My chest jumped, not from fear, but a twisted pride.
“Wait,” Dmitri said, glancing at his buzzing phone in his hand. He answered as Rodion’s bike tore into view, tires screeching to a stop. Dust coiled around him as he stepped off.
I smiled. Seeing him felt like coming up for air after being underwater too long. But the moment was shattered when he raised a gun and aimed it at me.
Time stalled. My breath hitched. Rodion’s jaw clenched, his eyes dark with rage aimed at me. Dmitri snatched the gun from my hands and stepped behind me, his arm clamping around my neck.