For the Bond (Romantic Suspense) (Beyond Blood, #3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

under my skin.
    Twisting, I stared at the yellow staining my jeans. Wasn't Kite's gun supposed to shoot blue? Two shots, both from the same person.
    Jacob.
    Dammit, he must have been waiting for me to reveal myself. Kite was the bait. This was unfair, they were in sync. One of them was enough of a challenge. Together, these hitmen would overcome me. I needed a plan, but what could I even do?
    Nervously, I peered over the crest of the ditch. The woods were silent once more. Kite was out there, I'd seen him. Jacob, though... I hadn't caught a glimpse, and still, he'd hit me twice.
    This didn't feel like practice that was tailored to my needs. I couldn't see myself stalking the murderer I was after through the freaking forest. Kite had made it clear before, if I had to hit a moving target, I'd already messed up. Why are they playing this game with me? What's the point of it? If it was actually for fun, they were the only ones enjoying it. I was too busy feeling like prey to think this was entertaining.
    But if it was about fun... Are they actually trying to have a good time with me? The notion was startling. Me and them, just playing and not worrying about killing or not being killed. What a crazy concept.
    A tiny sound tore me from my reverie. Clinging to my gun, I sat up and stared so hard that my eyeballs ached. Where were they? Again, a new sound, except it was to my right—I had to contort myself to look. My neck twinged from the motion. Shit, they were circling to surround me, that had to be it.
    For confirmation, a blue paintball popped open on my chest. My hiding spot was a deathtrap. Wildly, I fired where I thought Kite was. I kept shooting, the canister vibrating and a helpless shout of frustration leaving me. This. Was . Not. Fair!
    Scrambling through the mud, I fled away from the noise. If this was a movie, I would have spun around and hit them both while I backpedaled. But it wasn't a cinematic firefight. It was me, flailing desperately to not lose in a landslide.
    Running as fast as I could, another burst of paint landed. Blue color soaked into my thigh. Good for them, they were even on points. Lovely.
    Panting heavily, I ducked behind a fat tree and leaned on the bark. Staying low had done nothing. Hiding hadn't helped. My 'plans' so far had been awful. They know they can hunt me down. This is what they're great at.
    Holding my gun, I squinted at the plastic, bulging tube of paintballs. They were the size of marbles. What were they made out of? A possibility inched into my brain.
    Shooting Kite and Jacob wasn't going to work. There was another method. It might fail, but it was a chance. That was all I really needed. A single chance.
    Twisting the plastic, I heard the balls clack together.
    I knew how I could win.

- Chapter Five -
    Jacob
    ––––––––
    T his game had become a stomping ground. Kite and I could have ended it already, but stalking Marina through the brush was unnervingly exciting. Granted, her first hiding spot had been pretty good. If she hadn't taken a shot at Kite, we might have struggled to find her.
    I'd been crouched down on the higher part of the slope when she'd hit the tree near him. The brief, surprised look on his face had made me smile. He'd looked right at me afterward, hand in the air and two fingers held an inch apart. “This close,” he'd been saying without making a sound.
    It was true. Marina had almost hit him. Almost didn't count. She'd failed at nailing either of us this whole time.
    When she'd bolted, I'd casually lifted my marker and tapped her twice. Pop, yellow paint all over her legs. The color was bright, it made her even easier to follow with our eyes after that. The second round in the ditch, Kite had tapped her and evened things out.
    Points wise, we were miles in the lead. The numbers were nice. I liked the strict, rules based way of thinking. This was a game with no real stakes, but I still intended to win.
    Brushing my hair back, I knelt on the leaves