Page 104 of Secret Love

He takes my hand and brings it to his lips. “Be brave,” he whispers, his breath tingling my fingertips. “And, you know, don’t shoot me.”

I laugh even though I shouldn’t. “I make no guarantees.”

Fox pushes off the floor and slides down the ladder to the ground. He walks out of the barn and looks back at me with a smile.

Be brave.

He says it like it’s so easy, like it’s just flipping a switch. I never considered myself a courageous person. I’m an actress. I have stunt girls and special effects to make me look cool, but none of it is real in the end. It’s all just make-believe.

I lay my hand on my heart. It thumps against my palm like a pair of hummingbird wings, never ceasing for a moment. It’s all just a machine in there. Machines can be studied and controlled. I’m the master of my machine. I have the will to say whether I’m scared or brave.

I am Roxie Roberts.

Scratch that.

I am Danielle Roxanne Roberts.

Fox trusts her. He believes in her and dammit, I should, too.

I look through the scope and take aim at the bottle with my finger on the trigger.

Fire at the end of your breath.

The bullet strikes the bottle and it shatters along the driveway into a dozen pieces.