For the past couple of days I’d been thinking about my childhood and growing up with my parents. Their parenting was unorthodox but it did help me become who I was today. I wouldn’t be as strong as I was if they hadn’t pushed me. I hated my parents and what they did to me growing up, but at the same time I appreciated them for helping me become who I was.
Movement from the corner of my eye caused my hand to freeze on the trigger for a second before pressing it and sending the bullet into the target. I lowered the handgun and removed one side of the headphones off my ear. I twisted my body to face Nazai who stood there watching me. His eyes shifted to the target, taking in where I hit, then back to me.
“You’re a good shot,” he noted.
My face stayed deadpan as I stared at him. “Why are you here?” I didn’t have to ask how he knew where I was, either Jackson or this collar told him.
He smirked. “If I remember correctly, this is my house and my range. Am I not welcome here anytime I want?” His head tilted to the right with bewilderedness in his eyes.
I bit the inside of my cheek and rolled my eyes, turning to face the target again. “Whatever.” I paused. “Wait, where’s my brother?” My eyes narrowed.
“With Emmet.” Nazai pulled a gun out of the small of his back.
My heart fell into my stomach and blood rushed through my head. “Emmet? Why the hell is he with that psycho? Are you out of your mind?” I went to rush past him but he caught my arm.
“He’s good.” His face grew serious.
“No he’s not. Your brother hates me for one and if he does something to Carson I’ll?—”
“He’s not gonna hurt the kid. Your brother is tougher than both you and him give him credit for.”
“He’s not like us!” I gritted. My muscles grew tighter. “He’s not a killer nor is he meant to do what we do!”
“Carson might not be useful in the field, but he isn’t useless. He has quick reflexes and he picks up on things quickly. Besides that, the kid is smart. All he needs is the proper training and he’ll be a great asset.”
I scoffed. “Asset. I hate that fucking word.”
I turned toward the target and lifted my gun, aiming and pressing the trigger.
“It’s clear your parents implemented skills in you that make you as talented as you are. The Queen of Hearts is well known for her flawless and clean kills. You don’t learn that overnight. I don’t know if your brother didn’t learn it because he wasn’t old enough but?—”
“My parents were sadistic, sick, narcissistic assholes who didn’t give a fuck about anyone but themselves. I could handle their fucked up ways but Carson was never built for it. They hated it and him for that fact.” I faced the target and studied it. For the most part I had hit the center, only missing a handful of times.
“Your brother is obviously smart. They didn’t care about that?”
I huffed out a laugh and rolled my shoulders back. “Carson learned how to code at eight years old from videos online. He’s always been into gaming and his dream was to create his own video game one day. My parents said it was a waste of time and became angry because he’d rather sit in front of a video game or computer instead of going out and putting a bullet through someone’s skull.” Lifting my arm, I pressed the trigger, not bothering to aim this time. “They saw my brother as weak, useless, and worthless, so they ignored him and wrote him off.” Again, I shot my gun before turning back to face Nazai.
“I won’t allow anyone else to make him feel like that. So whatever sick joke you and your brother have going on won’t end well. Carson might not be built for the field but he’s a good kid and doesn’t deserve to be treated like less than because of that.”
My grip tightened on the gun and I clenched my jaw. My stomach churned thinking about all the things I endured to take the pressure off my brother. It didn’t bother me that I never got a hug or praise from them growing up, I learned at a young age to accept it. Carson wasn’t easily able to write it off. He wanted what every young kid did, his parents’ love, and tried hard to earn it. My parents thought it was funny and taunted him for it, claiming they were toughening him up, that was when I stepped in.
“That’s not what this is. Carson came to me wanting to train and get stronger. As I said before, he’s stronger than any of us thought and he picks up on things quickly. Emmet doesn’t bat an eye when it comes to killing yes, but he only ever steps in when it’s needed. We don’t call him the silent assassin for no reason. He prefers to be behind a computer gathering intel for us. He’s the perfect person for Carson to learn from.”
Again, I chewed on the inside of my cheek. My muscles were twitchy. I didn’t trust Emmet. He seemed to lack any human emotions and didn’t say much. I had learned early on to trust my instincts and something about Emmet made me uneasy.
“My brother better be okay.” I left it at that.
Husband and brother-in-law didn’t mean a thing to me. If Carson was put in harm’s way and hurt, I would slit both of their throats with a smile on my face.
I went to put my headphones back on but Nazai’s chuckling caused me to halt.
“Wildfire, one day you’re gonna learn to lower your guard and trust me.”
“Maybe if you give me a reason to, I will,” I spat, thinking back to the barn. I didn’t open up easily, if ever, and Nazai using the time I had against me caused daggers to shoot into my chest. It made me angry, but even more, it hurt, sealing the locks that had been starting to crumble back into place.
Silently he watched me without blinking. His eyes scanned from my head down to my feet and back up again. He didn’t respond, instead facing the wall and pressing the button next to him that brought the target closer to us.
“Your parents really fucked you up, huh?” I cut my eyes at him but didn’t reply.
