Shattered (Anderson Special Ops #4) - Melody Anne Page 0,93

Olympics. He ran directly to Mallory, gave her a quick kiss, told her he had this, and then went to the area for them to start making their long-range shots. No one standing there had ever seen a sniper in action prior to this day. The speed in which he was able to get his gear set and himself calmed down after such a vigorous run was nothing less than incredible to watch.

The long-range stage had six targets to hit. The targets had a bullseye worth ten points, a second ring worth five points, a third ring worth two points and an outer ring worth zero, but still counted as a hit. Green hit all six targets on only six shots. His total points: fifty-five. He missed the bullseye at twelve hundred yards by less than an inch. As he secured his rifle and got up to start back down the mountain, he swore he’d come back to that location and re-shoot the target. He’d hit a bullseye at least twenty times in a row before he’d allow himself to let it go. Since he was in a race, for the moment, he had to let it be and move on. But it would bug him the entire day and each day after until he fixed his error.

“Go get it babe,” Mallory called to her husband, doing a little cheerleader jump as she watched Green once again disappear from her sight as he went back to the mountain.

Sleep and Smoke arrived at almost the exact same time, only seconds after Green left, then Eyes only seconds after them. Sleep lost a few seconds because, like Green, he knew giving his wife a little sugar in the middle of the craziness was far more important than being a few steps behind his competition.

“Yes!” Smoke yelled after hitting the longest of the targets, also making each shot in one try. The training he’d done with Green months before had paid off. He’d learned how to read the wind and accurately judge the drop of his rounds. He’d have to remember to thank Green for the tips, after he came in first and Green was begging for tips on how to be so awesome. Smoke laughed to himself as he started running back in the same direction he’d come from, making sure to give everyone watching a wave and a flash of his smile.

Eyes smoothly executed each of his shots, but only had two bullseyes. He didn’t care. He had never been a long-range shooting expert and had a lot more to excel in that would launch him into first. They all knew Green would take this one.

Sleep took a few minutes longer, and missed his last shot on the first attempt, which had a three-point deduction. He didn’t stress about it though as he was confident in the overall score from the entire competition. When he finished he ran back over to Avery, swept her up in a big hug and planted a massive kiss on her neck.

Chad came running through the trail while the young lovebirds were tangled up with one another. He smiled and shook his head, remembering how fun that stage of a relationship had been. He slowed himself to a simple walk, held out his hand to his bride, and had her walk with him to his shooting station.

“How’s everyone doing, love? The guys who have come through look okay? I have no reason to think they wouldn’t, but you know me, I can’t stop from asking. You and the ladies okay? I know this might be boring for you.” They were moving at a fast clip and he was firing off questions one after the other before she had a chance to respond.

“Can you please have Lucas go to the golf store and buy some of those exploding golf balls? Tell him to have them ready for Smoke and Green,” Chad finished with a big smile at the thought of those two hitting golf balls that turned into puffs of dust. As he began setting his gun he waited for a reply.

“We’re having a great time. We knew you boys would have a bet for the competition, so the ladies have a bet as well. When you win I get a free mani-pedi and an all-expenses-paid girls’ trip to Napa for wine tasting and massages,” Bree said.

“Thanks, baby. There’s no doubt I’ll win. The extra pressure from you just pushes me more,” he told her with a