Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(59)

Had, in fact.

When she looked up to look at his gorgeous face, he was looking back. It was her turn to flush. To hide it, she looked behind her to see what the others were looking at. It was Marcus. He was dressed all in black. He had a form fitting suit like Sean—he probably bought two and made Sean where one of them—with a similar well-defined body. Krista had to remember to comment on it. Unlike Sean, Marcus liked a little appreciation. To complete his outfit, he had some green smudges on his face.

He walked over to Krista, all ease and friendliness. “Howdy boys. Geegee, my goodness, I do believe some of their testosterone has rubbed off on you.”

Krista smiled and let his relaxation wash over her. It was so good to see a friendly face—one that didn’t take everything so dang seriously.

“Marcus, good to see you,” She sighed.

“Okay, focus everyone,” Sean said, clapping his hands. “Marcus, can you shoot, run, or do anything useful?”

“I can run if a burglar is chasing me. I can’t shoot all that well. But I am excellent at sitting very still.” Marcus replied.

Janice laughed and raised her hand again, indicating that was her speed, too.

“Okay,” Sean said, “We have Annie Oakley and a bunch of sharp shooters. We’ll have to make due.”

He then went on to explain how big the perimeter was and how they should form a couple clusters to guard people’s backs. From the looks in everyone’s eyes, no one had a clue what they were supposed to do. Finally, Sean sighed and gave up. “We’ll just have to do our best.”

Sounded good. Everyone got their guns and protective gear. Goggles were mandatory and everything else was optional. Krista reached only for the goggles. So did the other men. Janice took everything she could get, including a helmet.

When they were ready, they were led past the tree line, given a map, and told they would start in fifteen minutes.

“Okay, gang. Janice, Bob, Marcus, and Donald, get to this area,” Sean pointed at the four corners of the perimeter. “Find a bush or a tree, hide yourself well, and sit there until you can pick off people that come through.” They all nodded. “Dean and Georgie, you’ll be a team. Geegee and I will be another team. Give ‘em hell.”

Krista looked over her paintball gun. It had the paintballs in the top in a mini bin, leading down into the gun. It was light weight and had no sights. Point and shoot. All day long.

Krista followed Sean, who was looking at this watch. “Okay…”

“GO!” said a voice over a loud speaker.

Sean looked at Krista with a grin. “Like I was saying, it’s time to go.”

Sean checked his troops, made sure everyone was off, and they headed out at a fast walk. Being that it was Colorado, there were lots of trees and foliage to hide behind. Instead of hiding, though, they crouched behind shrubbery and looked for fat professionals they could shoot at.

Krista was never any good at the slow approach to physical things. She was more a run in and shoot ‘em up type of girl. Like with debating, her brain worked better with the increased adrenaline of danger.

Come to think of it, it was probably why she liked dangerous men.

They walked around a while, paused and looked, then walked around some more. Krista was starting to get bored. She wanted to shoot at someone already. That was, until the world exploded into loud popping noises, blasting the foliage around them.

Sean shoved Krista behind a tree and jumped the other way. She fell and rolled, her blood starting to pump. Her excitement starting to bubble. She felt a smile creep up her face. Show time.

Sean was up, trying to shield her like a fool. She crept around the other side of the tree, away from him. It sounded like three shooters, all in front.

Without hesitation, she took off running. Popping filled the air. She dove into a bush, waiting. Breathing heavily. The popping stopped. She could hear shifting. They were probably looking for Sean.

Up she bounded, bush-hopping faster than they could turn. Always too fast for their body shifts. She worked her away around, Sean still quiet and in front. The world stilling somewhat, everyone waiting.

POP, POP, POP!

Sean was active. So was the return fire.

Krista launched her body forward, gun pointed, trigger finger squeezing. A guy from Chicago, seeing nothing but a black hole at the end of a barrel in the hands of a madwoman, started screaming. Yellow spattered across his chest.

Krista ducked back down and held her position just in case someone else heard the fire. Sean did likewise from wherever he was. They’d taken out the cluster of men in no time flat. Time to move on and get their next “kill.”

The three guys—two from Chicago and one from Utah—were laughing and clapping each other on the backs. They packed it in and slowly headed back to base. Krista had no doubt they would head to the bar immediately. This was the last thing for the day.

Light footsteps approached her hiding bush as Sean made his way over, cautiously. His eyes were shining and his face was flushed in excitement. His gun was low and his head high as he saw her. A radiant smile lit up his face before his eyes started scanning again.

She crawled over to him.

“Best to constantly stay on the move,” she said quietly. “These guys are chubby and slow. Those that know guns are probably hunters, right? They are used to things running away. I think if we keep moving toward them, fast, they might get confused. Or something.”