Chapter 24

Elise lifted her face to the sky. A cool breeze carried with it the scents of heather and gorse. Behind her, the low stone wall beckoned. Despite her objective to regain field-agent status, she had enjoyed these weeks reconnecting with her parents and sisters—much more than she had ever believed possible. If she was completely honest with herself, she did not look forward to leaving them.

Time was wasting, however, and Elise had a job to regain. The bullseye on the hay bale beckoned. She loaded the magazine into her Glock. Taking the proper stance, she extended her arms, focused on the target, and squeezed the trigger.

Bang.

A small black hole appeared a tad to the left of the center circle. Lowering her firearm, she frowned. A novice could do better than that. She should have compensated for the wind. Once more, she raised her arm, this time waiting until the gust passed. She squeezed the trigger.

Bang.

That was more like it. Warmth spread throughout her body as she viewed the perfectly centered hole.

On assignment, the luxury of a perfect shot rarely occurred. Agents had to improvise and think on their feet. If they weren’t one hundred percent on their game, they died. Her smile faded.

“Hiya, Lady Elise,” Sammy shouted from the dirt track behind her.

Turning about, she caught sight of the lad mounted on a bicycle. She bit back a smile. Sammy had slipped his lead again. By now, she had become so accustomed to his antics that they didn’t even faze her.

She waved. “Come help me take down the target and put up a fresh one.”

Sammy dumped his bike and charged down the slope through the prickly gorse to the target. He must have escaped the castle just after lunch. She clicked her tongue. It was a miracle he hadn’t gotten lost on her father’s 27,000-acre estate.

Unable to set aside her training, she dangled a carrot in front of Sammy’s nose.

“Sammy, would you like to learn how to shoot?” She joined him and removed a fresh target from a stack on the ground beside the hay bale.

“A gun?” Sammy’s bright eyes sharpened, and a smile lit his face.

“Among other things. I was thinking more along the line of bow and arrows.”

Sammy made a face, obviously ready to protest in favor of something that made a much bigger noise.

“Have you ever shot an arrow before?” Elise asked.

“I dunno.” Sammy scuffed the toe of his boot on a rock. “Can I shoot a gun too?”

“Perhaps, but I’d like to see how well you handle a bow first. When I was your age, I beat my brother, Roddy, all the time.”

“Does he shoot guns too?”

“When he comes home to visit, which isn’t verra often.”