Stars Waited Above Empty Streets by Lorin Wren 221

Chapter 221 Gun Training 

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Finished. 

He guided her hand as she squeezed the trigger. Ava locked her eyes on the target and watched it jerk. 

She didn’t even have time to react before two more shots hit. The moving target got smacked again. 

Laurent stepped away and returned to his original spot. Do it again.” 

She fired a few more rounds. Her aim fell off. She frowned, clearly annoyed. 

“Everyone’s sloppy at the start. Stop stressing yourself out. The pressure throws off your timing. Just breathe and shoot. 

“If that doesn’t work, picture the target as someone you can’t stand.” 

A face surfaced in her mind. It was twisted and ugly, blurred around the edges. But she knew those eyes. When she looked back at the target, that face was staring right at her. 

She fired without a second thought. 

Laurent saw her entire vibe change. When she lowered the gun, he spoke again. “You holding a grudge or something?” 

She didn’t look at him. Her tone dropped. “Kind of.” 

“Against whom?” 

“I don’t know,” she said. 

She reloaded and went right back to it. 

An hour ticked by. Laurent finally checked the time. “That’s enough for tonight. You’ve got drills first thing 

tomorrow.” 

She lowered the gun. “If you’re not around later, can I still come in?” 

“Sure.” 

They packed up quietly. As they finished, Laurent glanced at her again. “Ava, I don’t know what’s happened to you. But if you ever want to talk, I’ll listen.” 

She froze for half a second but didn’t say a word. 

“Let’s head out.” 

“Yeah.” She gave a small nod and walked forward. Then, something warm rushed through her. It hit fast. It wasn’t light. 

Her stomach sank. Of course. It had to happen now. Shed carried tampons around for two days with nothing. The one time she didn’t have one? It struck out of nowhere. 

Laurent’s expression shifted. Years in the field had trained his senses to catch the scent of blood immediately. 

“You’re bleeding?” 

20:38 Tue, Jan 20 G. 

Chapter 221 Gun Training 

She whipped around. “No. Don’t say another word.” 

She spun and started moving. 

He grabbed her wrist. His voice sharpened. “Ava.” 

She glared at him. “Let go. It’s just my period.” 

He looked down. The lights overhead made everything clear. It was already soaked through. 

She wanted to sink into the ground. 

“Seriously? You’re still looking?” 

He blinked and pulled his eyes away to look at her face. Right. Let’s go.” 

There wasn’t a thing he could do about this. 

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She rushed ahead. He followed but stayed behind a bit. Then, he picked up speed, pulled off his jacket, crouched down, and tied it around her waist. “Come on.” 

She stiffened. That move had caught her off guard. 

“If someone sees you like that, you’ll want to crawl into a hole.” 

“Or maybe I should just carry you.” 

“No! I’m walking.” 

He still had his black vest on under the jacket. She tugged at the knot he’d made. “Your jacket’s gonna get ruined.” 

“It’s laundry. I’ll live. If you need to, take the day off tomorrow. Stay in and chill.” 

She shook her head. “I don’t need time off.” 

She didn’t cramp up. The shooting drills weren’t too bad. She could manage. 

They walked down the road together. The moon lit the street. Wind swept over their faces. She tightened the jacket around her. “Aren’t you cold?” 

“I’ve trained shirtless in worse.” 

He reached for her hand and held it firmly. 

They were halfway to the dorm when someone came walking from the other side. She stiffened the moment she saw him. 

“Major Caswell, it’s kind of late. Were you-” The guy froze. His eyes locked on them, and he shut up instantly. He was stunned. 

Laurent barely glanced at him. “Colonel, I’m walking my wife. Keep moving.” 

He kept Ava close and didn’t let go. Her shoulders were tense. She didn’t even know what kind of face she was supposed to make. 

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Chapter 221 Gun Training 

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Once they were out of earshot, Jasper muttered under his breath. “So, that’s what’s up. Makes sense now.” 

Ava had only been at it for two days, but she was already leveling up. Even Ivan took notice. To him, she was quiet, never said anything pointless, and powered through everything. The girl had guts. 

“D*mn, Ava. Did you pull an all–nighter or something? You’re killing it,” Zoey said. 

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