Nineteen
Their Eternity
Liv
“These flowers are beautiful.” I smiled as I smelled the petals and glanced at the florist. “We’ll take them.”
White roses. The perfect flowers for my bouquet because they symbolized the devotion my phantoms had for me. Their love meant everything to me.
“Thank God,” Sin exhaled as he peered up at the ceiling and rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “Can we go now?”
Sin and Saint’s patience needed some work.
“Yeah. We’ve been here for over an hour,” Saint mumbled while he flicked at the leaf on a stem. “We love you, Liv, but flowers make me…”
Achoo!
“Aw, Christ! Cover your nose,” Sin complained as he wiped the back of his hand on his jeans and glared at Saint. “You got fucking snot on me, man.”
“Sorry,” Saint apologized with a stuffed-up nasal cavity, and he blew his nose. “All these fucking flowers make me sneeze. I think I’m allergic to them.”
“Ah!” A light bulb went off in my head. “So, this explains the artificial white roses you used to leave me.”
I grinned like Sherlock Holmes would when he solved a case.
Saint had a Kleenex in his nose and pointed at his best friend, “Sin delivered them. Not me.”
“Why not?” I narrowed my eyes. “There was no scent to those buds.”
“Fake or not, I dislike flowers,” Saint admitted with a shrug. “Chicks dig them, though. You love them.”
“I do.” I handed the white roses back to the florist and turned to Sin. “What about you? Why don’t you like flowers?”
“Too damn colorful. Bright. Alive,” Sin admitted with a disgusted face. “But since you enjoy them, I’ll tolerate them. For you.”
“Awe…” I stood up on my tippy toes and Sin bent down. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, sweetheart.” We brushed our noses. “Plus, flowers are a certainty I’ll get laid.”
I giggled and shook my head. “I learn something new about you two every damn day.”
Sin grinned and pulled out his wallet. “I’ll pay on credit.”
The florist tallied up the total of two bouquets of white roses. One bigger for me to hold on my wedding day and the other smaller one was for Raven. Saint wouldn’t be able to tolerate anymore floral fragrance, even though I wanted to buy out the entire store.
I was excited as we left the florist, and I couldn’t believe the ceremony of my dreams was around the corner. Soon I’d walk down the aisle to vow my love to two men who each owned half of my heart. I couldn’t wait to spend forever with them.
“We should grab a bite to eat.” Saint rubbed a hand over his stomach and reached for the handle on the car door. “I’m hungry.”
“Dude, you’re always hungry.” Sin sighed, shaking his head. “You’re a goddamn bottomless pit.”
“I can’t help it.” Saint shrugged.
“You know what?” Sin stepped away from the car and peered across the street. “I got a better idea.”
“What?” Saint asked curiously.
Sin turned to me with a smirk. “Target practice.”
“Huh?” I raised an eyebrow and shook my head. “I’m not following.”
“Let’s go fire some guns.” Sin’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “We’ll teach you how to shoot.”
“Yeah. Great idea,” Saint agreed as he stood beside his best friend and nodded. “You can learn how to defend yourself with a weapon.”
“No way, guys.” I shook my head in disagreement. “I’m not ready for guns.”
“Oh, yes, you are.” Sin nodded.
“Nope.” I popped the P. “You can go. I’ll take a—”
Sin hoisted me up and threw me over his shoulder.
“Put me down!” I protested.
My hair dangled in my face, my fists pounded his back, and I thrashed my legs. The effort didn’t help. Sin held me tightly, trapping me while he chuckled at my urgency to escape.
Saint tapped my ass, bent over, and smiled at me. “This will be fun.”
“No, Saint! Not cool! Put me down this instant!” I cried out.
“Not yet…” Sin heaved while he carried me across the street. “Not until you calm down. This is for your own good.”
Horns honked. People watched. My face went bright red. A mix of embarrassment and a damn head rush.
“He’s right, Liv…” Saint added while he held the door open for Sin. “We only have your best interests at heart. You need to protect yourself.”
“I already know self-defense.” I grew dizzy when Sin spun around.
“Not with a weapon.” Sin heaved a grunt while he put me down on the floor, and he held me by the waist. “Easy does it.”
“Let go of me.” I pushed his hands away and fixed my hair. “I’m fine.”
“You’re angry,” Saint said.
“Of course I am!” I whisper-shouted and glanced around.
Fuck. Now I was the one making a damn scene while Sin and Saint stood in front of me with their arms crossed. My chest heaved, and I blinked away black dots. My vision grew clearer; people quit staring and went back to minding their own business.
“Are you done having a tantrum, sweetheart?” Sin tilted his head and nodded toward the firing range. “Can we teach you how to shoot a gun?”
Sin and Saint were only being supportive, and I was fighting them.
I guess deep down I wanted to be normal.
I wanted to have a productive day of wedding errands with them and go home to the penthouse to make sweet love.
But our love story wasn’t the standard normal of everyday life.
We had targets on our backs, and somewhere at the flower shop I had forgotten all about the danger.
“Fine,” I huffed.
“Atta girl.” Sin smirked.
Sin turned around and went to the front desk to sign in. Saint walked over toward me, studied me carefully, and tilted his head. He stopped beside me.
“What?” I asked with an attitude.
“God, I love it when you’re a brat,” Saint whispered in my ear and ran a hand down my back. “I missed your spunky attitude. Gives me a hard-on.”
I ran a hand down his chest. “Blue balls too?”
“You bet,” Saint replied.
“I have a fix for the problem.” I went lower and crept down to the waist of his jeans.
“Is that so?” Saint smirked.
I nodded playfully. “Uh-huh.”
Sin grabbed my wrist.
“Not so fast. I know what you’re up to.” Sin placed a gun in my hand. “Here’s something else you can hold on to.”
“But I wasn’t—” Sin cut me off with a tsk.
“Shame on you, Liv, using sexual advances to get out of this.” He wagged a finger at me and put on some protective eyewear. “I’m onto you.”
“No, Sin—” Saint plopped safety glasses over my eyes.
Sin placed protection over his ears.
“I can’t hear you.” Sin pointed at his ears and tugged on my hand. “Come on. Let’s practice.”
I yelped.
Sin pulled me along, and I had no choice but to follow his lead. The gun in my hand made me uncomfortable. The intimidation of the weapon created an unpredictable feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I kept the muzzle in a downward position. Heaven forbid the bloody thing went off by accident.
I’d shoot myself in the fucking foot!
“Guys. Come on. Is this necessary?” I questioned as I stared down the shooting range where a paper target waved at me.
Sin took my weapon and loaded it with ammunition. The danger became more real. He handed the gun back to me.
“Yes,” Saint replied as he put some safety gear over his eyes and leaned in close to me. “The primary aim is to hit inside the circle.”
Sin leaned in closely on the other side of me. “But the key is to hit a bullseye. You see the dot in the middle?”
Sin pointed straight ahead. The tip of his index finger pointed directly at the middle of the circle. He made a gun symbol with his fingers.
“Yeah,” I whispered.
“Pew…” Sin made the imaginary gun fire. “Bullseye.”
Saint gripped my chin, and my body turned toward him.
“There are four regulations to follow when handling a gun.” Saint moved the muzzle of my gun away from his crotch. “Rule number one. Treat every weapon as if it’s loaded.”
“Oh,” I sighed, my cheeks turning hot.
“Rule two.” Saint pushed the weapon down to point at the ground. “Always keep the muzzle pointing in a safe direction.”
“Sorry.” I blushed harder.
“Three.” Sin ran his hands down my arms and moved my index finger to wrap around the handle of the firearm. “Keep your damn finger off the trigger unless you’re ready to shoot.”
“And rule number four.” Saint locked blue eyes full of intent on me. “Know who your target is and what is beyond it.”
“You never know if the shot could ricochet or go right through your target,” Sin whispered in my ear and turned me back toward the firing range lane. “Hold up your gun, Liv.”
I followed Sin’s command. The weapon aligned with the paper target, which had gone still, and my hand trembled. I was nervous.
“I can’t do this.” I hesitated.
I lowered the weapon.
“Yes, you can,” Saint whispered encouragement in my ear. “You’re powerful, intelligent, and magnificent.”
Sin tilted the gun back up.
“Steady.” Sin exhaled slowly as he placed his hand over mine, and we gripped the firearm together. “Finger on the trigger.”
“Remember. There will be a kickback after you fire off a shot,” Saint added.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Will the recoil be intense?”
“Treat every kickback as if it would be.” Saint ran his hands down to my hips, and he lightly separated my legs. “Keep your body in a stable stance, and you’ll be fine.”
Saint put on his ear protection and placed mine on me too. All the surrounding sound drowned out, and I focused on the target. I locked eyes with my main objective while Sin let go of my gun, and I remained steady. All my attention went to this exact moment.
My heart was hammering. Sweat beaded on my forehead. I held my breath and pulled the trigger.
The gunshot forced me to blink. Everything happened quickly. The recoil rippled up my arms like an aftershock, but my feet remained firm on the ground. Tingles ignited on my skin in the shot’s aftermath.
“Did I hit the target?” I exhaled, lowering my weapon into a safe position.
“Yep.” Sin beamed proudly.
“I did?” I took off the eyewear for a better view.
A direct hit. Bullseye. I’ll be damned.
“Beginner’s luck.” Sin plopped on my eye protection.
“Try again,” Saint demanded as he pressed a button and a new paper target came up.
I wiped the sweat off my brow with my forearm and got the weapon into position. Legs apart, knees bent, and feet firm. Easy. I got this.
I took a deep breath in and held it. My finger found the trigger. I waited for the paper to go motionless, and I fired.
Bang.
Saint whistled.
Another direct hit.
“No practice required.” I flashed my men a cocky grin.
Sin exclaimed in awe. “Fuck me sideways.”
“You’re a natural, darling.” Saint tapped my ass and gave my cheek a squeeze. “Come give me a kiss.”
I pushed out of reach.
“Hey. No foreplay.” I pointed a finger at him and clicked on the safety of the gun. “Safety first.”
“Smart ass.” Saint took the gun out of my hand and pulled me in close. “Always being sassy. I adore it.”
Saint planted a kiss on my lips. I giggled and pushed him away. Sin caught me in his embrace.
“Now”—Sin wrapped his arms around me—“time to put this lucky streak to the test.”
“Oh, yeah?” I caressed his forearms.
Saint took aim at the target down the laneway. Legs spread. Steady.
Saint glanced over his shoulder at me with a wink. “You’ll see.”
Bang.
“Is this a joke?” I asked as I stared at the laser gun in my hand and the electronic vest. “How the hell is this supposed to help me?”
“Target practice is for pussies.” Sin huffed and balanced a laser gun in his hands. “This baby gets you ready for reality.”
“And you can’t go out in public and shoot someone, silly…” Saint did up the Velcro of his vest and grinned at me. “At least, not yet.”
“Legally, you need to have a reason to defend yourself with a firearm.” Sin pointed the laser beam at Saint. “But you should practice on moving targets.”
Sin fired.
“What the fuck, man?” Saint raised his arms. “We haven’t started yet.”
“It was a practice shot.” Sin held up his gun to disarm the situation. “Relax.”
“We should’ve gone to the paintball park.” Saint sighed with disappointment. “That was my idea.”
“Next time.” Sin patted his best friend’s back and turned his attention to his laser blaster. “Laser tag is easier for beginners.”
“Quit calling me that.” I pointed my laser beam at Sin. “Or I’ll shoot.”
“Fine.” Sin leaned in close. “But not if I shoot you first.”
“Game on, tough guy,” I teased with a smile.
“Remember to hold the blaster with two hands, press the reload button when you’re out of ammo, and when you get hit, you temporarily lose the ability to shoot, but you can hide,” Saint explained.
“You know how much we love it when you scurry away.” Sin tapped me on the nose with a grin.
“You’ll be the one hiding in this solo round.” I chomped at his finger. “Because I won’t miss just like target practice.”
“Beginner’s luck.” Sin huffed with a shrug.
“I doubt it,” I challenged with my laser blaster in a ready stance. “Scared to find out?”
“No, darling. You’re gonna be the one running around terrified,” Saint answered as he pulled a mask from his back pocket. “Because we brought reinforcements. Right, man?”
Saint put on a skull mask. Sin pulled out a Ghostface mask. My phantoms were armed and extremely dangerous.
Fuck. My pussy drooled for my men. This match of laser tag was no joke to them.
“Yep.” Sin pulled the disguise over his face. “Game on.”