final round - lrh

fifty-one.

    Luke's eyes trail off towards mine, as if this is a silent favor to me by giving me time to spend with my brother. I bite back the urge to showcase a smile, not wanting Declan to think that Luke is favoring me in any way.

    "Fuck yeah, challenge accepted," Declan says in excitement. "You know there's nothing I love more than gun training."

    "How pleasant," I say, regardless of the fact that I've been behind a gun plenty of times. Obviously, they don't scare me as much as they used to but hearing my brother showcase his love of guns definitely doesn't sit well with me.

    "You'll be a pro once I'm done with you," Declan says, patting my back gently. "Even if the thought of my little sister holding a gun terrifies the living hell out of me."

    I laugh, not blaming him in the slightest as the thought of me holding a gun before I got here was enough to make me sick. I've obviously gotten used to it but I don't know if I'll ever be entirely comfortable while holding one.

    I always hid behind my brother when problems arose and depended on him to deal with anyone who looked at me the wrong way. Now, I depend on myself and I'm sure that's becoming evident to him as I don't doubt that he probably doesn't recognize the person I've become since coming here.

    But I don't doubt that he's proud, nonetheless.

    "Well, I'm glad that you have a crew out here looking out for you regardless," Declan says, clearly comforted by the fact that I am capable of standing up for myself but also have people that care about me here.

    "She's in good hands, Declan," Luke assures, his eyes looking to me to assure me the same. I only smile, knowing this to be true as I'm thankful that I have as many people who care about me out here as I do.

" So, I don't have to worry about anyone here kissing you or anything, right? The last thing I need is some son-of-a-bitch walking around here like he's worthy of liking my little sister."

Well, those were words I certainly wasn't expecting for him to say.

I gulp back deeply, hoping it's not obvious as I try my best to not look in Luke's direction. His question has created an uncomfortable environment within milliseconds as the question seemed to have come out of nowhere.

If he only knew.

Would he be mad? Would he be okay with it? After all, he knows Luke and maybe he'd feel better knowing that he had a deeper connection to me. Maybe it's that much more reassurance to him that I could possibly make it out of here alive.

Knowing I'm a terrible liar, I attempt to word this as best as I can.

"Trust me, there's not a single soldier out here that I would fancy."

I never said anything about my Lieutenant.

Declan laughs, not catching onto my attempt of straying the attention from the possibility of Luke being the one that I'm messing around with.

"I don't blame ya, sis," he says, patting my knee and clearly being thankful to hear these words. "You're too good for all of them anyway."

My eyes can't help but catch sight of Luke's, our gazes locking instantly as I can see a teasing glint in his. In fact, it's only further solidified as he shoots me a subtle wink, one that Declan could never catch sight of. I'm thankful for this as Declan remains calm and is clearly oblivious to what's going on between Luke and myself.

"I'm sure Hemmings over here would never allow any messing around anyway," Declan says, looking to Luke with a smirk. "Am I wrong?"

Luke just shrugs it off, clearly being just as uncomfortable with idea of lying as myself. I wait for him to say something, hopefully something that'll change the subject but he seems to be just as stuck as I am when it comes to words.