Forsaken Duty (Red Team #9)(26)

He looked at her as if considering how to respond. “I don’t know how much you know. There’s division happening inside the Omnis—it’ll continue, with or without me. And the resistance movement that my team is with will continue to fight them. My death would change nothing.”

“You’re King. Why would you dismantle the organization you built?”

“Addy, I’m not King. Not by a fucking long shot. Your brother thinks there might several kings, all hacking away at each other. He said my dad’s still alive and might be a king, maybe for the resistance. I guess your dad might be one, too.”

She watched him closely, trying to sort out if he was lying. He didn’t appear to be, but he could be acting. Acting played a funny game on a person’s psyche. He could be lying through his teeth, but if his mind believed the role he was playing, the lie would never show.

She considered the possibility that her father was King. Was that the reason for everything that had happened? Was that why he never tried to help her and the boys?

Over the next hour, Owen gave her a crash course on gun safety, loading, unloading, and firing the gun. He filled a duffel bag with a couple boxes of ammo, two pairs of earmuffs and safety glasses, and led her outside.

They went to a field far away from the house. Owen had set up a makeshift shooting range, complete with a table for their stuff and a chair in case she got tired. She was excited about what they were doing. It felt proactive—more so than anything she’d done to prep for her and Troy’s safety so far.

Again, Owen went over how each gun worked, how she should hold it, what her stance should be, how to sight in a target. He was no-nonsense but extremely patient with any of her questions. It was so very different from the time she’d spent with Cecil. He’d complained about everything—how she did her hair, what clothes she wore, how she kept the house, the menus she’d selected, how uninteresting her conversation was.

At last, they got to the actual shooting part. She found she did favor the SIG Sauer. When her magazine was empty, she hadn’t hit her mark once, though she had hit the target—she would have clipped an adversary, at the very least.

When their range time was over, Owen taught her to unload the gun and empty the chamber. When she was finished, he checked it himself.

“Can I keep one of these with me?”

“Do you have a safe in your room?”

She nodded.

“Then yes, after a few lessons. When I can, I’ll get you a biometric safe you can keep beside your bed. With Troy going in and out of your room, we have to be safe.”

“We’ll practice again tomorrow?”

“You bet. We have a lot to go over.” He gave her a worried look. “This wasn’t too much for you today, was it?”

“No. Not at all. I think doing nothing, waiting for what I feel is coming, is so much harder on me.”

They were a long way from the house. The sun was low but still bright. She looked up at Owen as they walked back. He was still the most handsome man she’d ever met, with his pale eyes and pale hair…the cleft in his chin.

“You know, you were never like a brother to me.”

Owen met her eyes, and his face went still. “I’ve known you almost your whole life.”

“Did you hold me when I was a baby?”

“No. I was only seven when you were born. And your father felt infants were the province of women. We didn’t get to see much of your family until you were about two.” He grinned, that flirty, lopsided smile. “I did change your diaper once.”

She looked away so that she wouldn’t fall prey to his charm. “I don’t remember those days.”

“I do. I know what you mean when you said I was never a brother to you. I feel the same way about you, even though we grew up together. I always thought you were a gift to me. I was in love with you forever.”

At times like this, she could almost believe him. They’d talked about this a while back—a lifetime ago. Before hell had taken over their lives. Back then, she’d thought being the one who’d caught Owen’s heart had made her extraordinary, as if the sun just told her that it shone for her alone. She’d adored him, in those days. It figured that so much love came at a high price—losing their lives to this war.

“And that’s not weird at all.” She laughed a little nervously, trying to lighten things up.

“It is what it is. Just like if I die before you, I’ll wait for you to come home. I came alive before you and waited for you to become an adult. Your brother hated me for that, tried to beat it out of me. What we have is bigger than us, bigger than your family, bigger than this lifetime. Your death—or rather, your faked death—damn near killed me.”

“What if…what if I don’t want to be with you?” Freedom. It was what she craved more than anything. Freedom to be alone, to make her own way…to not have her choices prescribed by a man.

He squinted as he looked into the distance, then looked at her. “We were created for each other. My heart is empty without you in it. You may well choose not to be with me, and should you do so, I’ll have to accept your decision. I’ll never make you go against your own will. Never. In anything. Just know that I’m always here for you. As I always have been. Now, more than ever, you have to know you are free to choose the life you want. With me in it or not.”