Page 62 of Mafia Queen
“Squeeze, queen.”
I squeeze. A bullet leaves the chamber and lodges itself in the fence.
“If I were queen, I’d abolish ‘mbasciataon my first Monday at work. You know what I’d take on on Tuesday?”
“That bottle, right there.”
I try again, aiming a little higher. I don’t know where the bullet goes, but it doesn’t hit the target.
“On Tuesday, this whole ‘best murderer wins’ rule would be out.” I shoot and miss again. “How many bullets does this thing have?”
“Fifteen.”
I shoot again. The bottle seems to move a little, but it could be wishful thinking.
“Breathe in.” He puts his hands on my rib cage, feeling it expand. “Shoot on the exhale.”
Letting the air go, I squeeze the trigger. The bottle definitely moves.
“Don’t lose your concentration thinking about Wednesday.”
“On Wednesday, all the men will do the dishes.” I shoot and miss entirely. Then again, with the same non-result. “This is the most frustrating thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
“This?” he says from behind me. “Out of everything?”
I shoot again. Miss.
“Ugh. Yes. On Thursday, I’d replace all the guns with bazookas.”
“You’re rushing.”
Well, I wasn’t, but it’s a really good idea.Crack-crack-crack. Miss. Miss. Miss. I drop my arms in annoyance.
“You have toaimit, Violetta.” From behind, he picks up my arms. “Line up the target with the center pin.”
“I’m going to learn this, then watch out on Friday.”
“Inhale. Exhale and…”
He doesn’t finish. I shoot. Miss. Breathe in. Breathe out. Shoot. Hit a lot of air. Scare a lot of birds.
“This is stupid,” I say. “If someone’s coming after me, I won’t have time to hold it this way and breathe and aim or anything.”
“Again,Forzetta.”
“Fine.” I double-grip, breathe, shoot, and the bottle spins a little as if the bullet grazed it.
“Better.”
“If that was a person, they’d be dead,” I say. “That has to be close enough.”
“Is this how you studied in school? Close enough?”
“Nursing’s easier than shooting.”
He moves to the side to look at my profile. “You haven’t even emptied your first magazine.”
“Is that all I have to do?” Facing him, I hold the gun up to the target straight with one hand and squeeze the trigger. The bullet shatters the bottle into a million pieces. “Happy now?”
