My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 331

Chapter 331

Gianna

15 Berus

He leaned in close, his voice a low, smooth crawl against my ear as he pointed toward a figure hiding behind a thick oak tree.

“That one,” Raphael whispered, his breath hot against the side of my neck, “He spent years breaking into the homes of single mothers, watching them sleep before he took what he wanted. He thinks nobody saw him.”

It was so easy. The moment he spoke the words, the man in the distance stopped being a person. He became a target. He became a piece of trash that needed to be thrown away.

I reached back, my fingers gliding over the smooth arrows in the quiver. I notched the string, the mechanical parts of the bow whirring with a soft sound. I pulled back until the string pressed against my cheek. I looked through the smart-sight, watching the little red dot dance across the man’s shaking shoulder.

I let go.

The arrow vanished into the dark. A second later, a sickening thud echoed through the trees, followed by a loud cry. I didn’t feel sick. I felt a rush of power. It was like a knot that had been tied tight in my stomach for years was finally beginning to unravel.

“Good,” Raphael murmured, his hand resting on my shoulder, “Again.”

We moved deeper into the woods. We were like two predators dancing through the moonlight. Every few minutes, we would find another one, the monsters. Raphael would tell me their stories in that calm voice of his. He told me about the man who sold poison to children, and the man who beat his wife until her bones were like powder.

With every story, I felt my element taking over. My movements became fluid and fast. I saw a man trying to crawl through a patch of thorns, his face twisted.

“He preys on the elderly,” Raphael whispered in my ear, “He took their life savings and left them to die in the cold. He has no heart, Gianna.”

I didn’t wait for him to finish. I swung the bow up, my muscles flexing under the black fabric of my top. I felt the power of the high-tech machine in my hands. I pulled the string back to my ear, and released the arrow. It struck him right in the thigh, pinning him to a log. I didn’t stop there. I reached for the touch panel on the grip, my thumb sliding over the glowing screen just like Raphael had shown me.

Click.

The mechanical wings inside the man’s leg snapped open. The sound of tearing fabric and breaking bone filled the quiet air. I watched him fall, and I felt a smile stretch across my face.

I looked at Raphael, my eyes wide and glowing in the dark. I was covered in sweat despite the cold, my hair wild, wavy brown streaks. I felt like I had finally found the place where I was meant to be.

“Next one,” I breathed, my voice coming out in a fast, excited rush.

Raphael looked down at me, his dark eyes scanning my face, seeing the fire he had lit. He didn’t say a word, but the way he gripped my hand told me everything.

The night bled forward in flashes of silver arrows, snapping branches, and heavy breathing.

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One turned into three.

Three turned into seven.

Then ten.

Then more.

The deeper we moved into the woods, the darker the trees became, thick branches swallowing the faint daylight. above us while dead leaves cracked beneath our boots.

Every target blurred together.

A man crying behind a fallen log.

Another one trying to limp through the creek after an arrow tore through his calf.

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