Page 40 of Cyber Revenge

We drive for half an hour to the middle of the woods. Private, no one around. Just him and me.

I start to open my door, but the handle wouldn’t move.

“Child locks? Are you kidding me?” I glare at him.

He gets out, chuckling low to himself, and walks to my side of the truck. He opens the door and throws me over his shoulder again, like I weigh nothing.

I kick and laugh, hitting my hands against his rock-hard back.

“I can’t do anything if you carry me everywhere,” I joke.

The truck is parked deep in the trees. Older model. Blacked-out windows. The bed is filled with gear.

He sets me down and tosses me a paintball mask, a vest, nd a belt lined with capsules of neon-colored paint.

Then comes a semi-automatic paintball gun that looks way too real.

“Wait, are we…?” I blink.

He steps forward and clips the belt around my hips, slow and firm. His gloved fingers slide over my skin, grazing just under the hem of my shirt.

Then he leans in.

“Run, little killer.”

My heart slams into my ribs.

“You’re serious?”

He cocks his head. “You play COD every night. Let’s see how good you are when the bullets feel real.”

Oh fuck.

The woods explode into movement.

I sprint, paintball gun clutched in both hands, gear rattling on my belt. Trees zip past, fog curls at my boots, and adrenaline surges through every inch of me.

He’s silent.

But I can feel him.

Like a ghost between the trees.

I duck behind a stump, spin, and fire three rounds into the shadows.

Miss. Miss. Miss.

A shot slams into my side from the left, blue paint bursting across my ribs.

“FUCK!” I scream, laughing breathlessly. “Okay, that’s cheating!”

Another shot whizzes past my ear.

I take off, shrieking.

“Goddamn it, Trip. You better not headshot me or I’m turning your mask into a jockstrap!”

His voice echoes from somewhere I can’t see.

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