Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(60)

Sean looked at her, crouching next to her. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I’ve thought that since I first saw you walk into that copy room three years ago. I’m not sure if I ever told you that.”

Krista’s mind stuttered as her body flushed. “Huh? Sean, we aren’t really going to die out here, you know. These aren’t real bullets.”

He smiled jubilantly, and then grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. Before she could react, she was released again. “I know, but this is fun. Let’s go!”

“Uh…” Krista staggered a couple steps after Sean before her mind shifted from his kiss to his running away. She blinked a couple times hoping that would help restart her brain. It didn’t. But the next batch of pop-pop-pops did!

Sean dove to the side a second before she did, narrowly missed. His eyes peering at her out of the green foliage, the colors nearly matching, the light standing out like gold dust in his eyes. He gave a quick head nod, and then started moving. Krista figured he wanted to run around the shooters this time. Only fair—it was the fun part.

She inched up and immediately heard the blasts. Her drop back down to the ground was as fast as a boulder through water. With any luck, they hadn’t seen her.

She waited quietly, giving Sean time. When he was in position, and drawing their attention, she could surprise them with paintball death.

She waited until she heard Sean shoot, then answering shots in his direction. She took that as “Go.”

She was up in a flash. She started sprinting at the huddled managers as fast as she could, staying to the bushes and behind trees whenever possible. When she was close enough to see the guys sitting together, focused on Sean, she placed her shot clusters of three and slid behind a tree. She did an army roll behind a bush as Sean’s, or someone else’s, shots rang out behind the group of guys. Krista was up again, sprinting, bursting through the bushes like a nightmare with her gun pointed at their wide eyes and hasty shield of white flags.

“Oh, hey, Perry,” Krista said, relaxing. Looked like Sean finished ‘em off.

Perry just stared with his mouth open and sweat blossoming on his brow.

Sean showed up a second later. The guys thought Sean came to talk to them, or save them, and looked at him expectantly.

Perry was just about to say something when she whispered, “No, no. Don’t talk to me. Do your thing.”

She got an askew look.

Sean flashed the other guys a smile before he turned to Krista. “I say we go East at a fast jog. I think I saw another group that way. By the time they know we’re there, they’ll be toast.”

“Okay, but they’ll be hiding. It’ll be like a rattlesnake—we won’t know until they start shooting, and there are bound to be some damn good shots with these guys.”

“They are generally too fat to move fast. No offense Perry.”

“Alright, fine. Do Navy Seal hand signs, though. Let’s stay on the same page.”

“I am now glad you made me learn those,” Sean said with a smile.

Perry looked at Sean cockeyed. Sean just shrugged. “Sounded cool.”

Krista winked at Perry and the other guy who she’d never met, but had made fun of for his weird belt buckle, and started off at a fast jog. Sean was right behind her. Krista motioned for him to go to the left and run. They would have to divide their shooting.

Onward they went, loving it, the thrill of it, being on the same team and showing off for each other. Sean had obviously continued the routine because he was keeping pace with her easily. So she sped up to make it more interesting. They were bounding over objects and swerving around trees like a couple of frightened deer, having the time of their lives. The beach was nice, but she missed all the green of Seattle. This felt like home.

There was a rustle off to their right. Krista motioned for Sean to cut back and head around, giving it a wide birth. She angled that way as fire broke out, but seemingly not pointed in their direction. It looked like one guy was shooting toward three or four others. One region must have made a stand together. Dumb.

Sean ducked behind a bush; Krista did the same. They waited for the solo guy to get taken down. It looked like he took two guys with him. They waited longer for the other guys to laugh and start moving around, getting comfortable again in their ring of bushes. And then, when the white flag guys started walking off, Sean gave the signal.

They both started sprinting toward the two remaining guys. Krista took the one on the right, leaving the one on the left for Sean. When he started firing, she did likewise. The guys were so surprised by the blast of activity, the one closest to Krista shot his teammate. He was trying to get his gun up and pushed the trigger too early.

Hopefully he wasn’t a hunter.

Shocked stares replaced white flags as Sean and Krista swept by them, hardly slowing. Krista gave them a wave and looked to Sean, who quickly dove into a bush. She immediately threw herself behind the two guys they had just shot.

“What are you doing?” It was that tall guy with the flood pants.

“Hiding,” she said, looking at Sean crouched behind foliage. He did some fancy finger work, telling her he found three guys huddling not far from where he was. Krista was to run around them, he would cover her.

“Gotta go, guys,” she said as she sprung up and started running at a breakneck pace.

She spotted the prey as she ran. They were huddled behind a tree and a cluster of bushes, looking around to determine what that strange thumping sound was. How long has it been since they heard someone running?