“I thought it would be harder,” I mention when the clip is empty.

“It will be hard,” he states as he uncrosses his arms and moves closer to me. He takes the gun from my hand, and then pulling his own weapon from behind his back, he hands it to me. “Aim the gun at me.”

“What? No,” I gasp.

“The safety is on. Aim it at me,” he orders, and then he takes a couple of steps back.

I swallow hard, and lifting my arms, I train the barrel on Demitri’s chest. Instantly my hands begin to tremble, and my breathing begins to speed up.

I don’t like this at all.

“Killing another human being is hard, Ariana. That first shot changes you forever.” Demitri sets Winter’s gun down on a shelf near us, and then he moves so fast, I don’t even have time to let out a startled shriek. He rips the gun from my hands, and then he’s behind me, his arm tightly around my throat. Right by my ear, he says, “Holding onto your weapon in a fight is the most important thing.”

“I wasn’t expecting the attack.” I glance to the side, and my cheek brushes against his mouth. “Do it again.”

Demitri lets go of me and hands the gun back to me as comes to stand in front of me.

My body is tense, and I watch him closely. This time when he moves, I yank my arms back, but he still grabs the gun from me, and then he sweeps my feet from under me. I land hard on my backside, letting out a huff of air.

There’s a sinking feeling in my stomach that I’ll never be able to protect myself.

Demitri holds his hand out to me and helps me back to my feet, then he says, “Don’t get discouraged. I’ve been doing this all my life.”

I hear movement behind me, and glancing over my shoulder, I see everyone coming in.

I guess the training session is over.

Winter gestures to a large sparring mat. “Come. We’ll show you how it’s done.”

As Winter steps onto the mat, she winks at Damien. “Take it easy on me, babe.”

He lets out a chuckle, shaking his head as he begins to slowly move around her. My eyes are glued to them. I expect Damien to attack first, but Winter explodes into action. Lunging at her husband, she slams her body into his side, and grabbing hold of his shoulder, she freaking climbs his back like a tree. She quickly wraps her thighs around his neck, and then she flips him off his feet.

Holy crap.

My mouth drops open, and I can only stare.

Demitri moves forward, and my eyes widen. “Come, little brother. I miss a good fight.”

Winter comes to stand next to me, and then I have a running commentary.

This time they don’t waste time, and Damien instantly attacks Demitri, his body lifting off the mat as his leg shoots out to hit Demitri on the side of the head. But Demitri grabs hold of Damien’s ankle, and yanking hard, he sends his brother flying.