“Don’t bring me back into this.”

Lars hurries to shake his head. “No, I mean have you ever killed someone?”

“No. Why would I do that?”

“Because it was your fucking job.”

Getting frustrated, Perry scrubs at his hair—still with his gun hand. “I wish people would stop pointing out what a failure I was.”

“You’re not following.” Lars steps closer. “You’re a perfect shot, and the only time you’ve missed is when it was a person you were aiming for. I don’t think you missed at all. I think you did it on purpose.”

I frown at Lars. “You think he shot my ear on purpose?”

“I didn’t,” Perry defends. At least, I assume he’s defending until he goes on. “I was aiming for his head.”

“That’s not actually better,” I point out. “You know that’s not better, right?”

Lars doesn’t give him time to answer. “I think you thought you were aiming for his head, but subconsciously, you couldn’t do it.”

Great. If Lars is right, that means I have a security team of my best friend, who I don’t want in harm’s way, and a failed hitman who won’t hit anyone. This is looking better by the minute.

“You know, that might explain some things.”

Lars lets out a loud yawn that stretches his mouth wide. “Keep practicing. I didn’t get much sleep, so since you’re both awake, I’m going to have a quick nap. Wake me in an hour.”

He stalks back toward the cabin, still looking like he has the weight of all our plans pulling at him. Out of the three of us, he’s the only one with actual training for what we’re going through, so I know he feels the responsibility more than anyone.

“I think Lars is right.”

I turn toward Perry’s muttered words. His eyebrows are knotted together, and there’s something in the way he’s watching me that’s wary. “You didn’t want to kill me?”

After a moment of considering my question, he answers. “I don’t want to kill anyone.”

“Seems like an incompatibility for your job description.”

“I, umm …” Perry’s dusty sneaker kicks at the dirt. “I got to meet you though. So it’s not all bad.”

A rush of nerves skitters through me, and I avoid Perry’s eyes as they search for mine. What is it that we’re doing? Having sex and passing time is what I want it to be, but there’s this tether between my gut and his smile so that every time he unleashes one, I drop. A sudden fall. Like the ground disappears and Perry is the only anchor I have left.

None of it is worth focusing on right now. “Can you teach me?” I point to the gun, hoping to distract.