“Okay, maybe we should—”
The arrow came out of nowhere. I flinched as it whizzed by.
“Down,” Gigz yelled.
“Not so loud,” I said as I hit the dirt. “I can hear you just fine.”
“Sorry. What was that?”
I looked around from my terrible hiding place in the six-inch grass. “An arrow from up ahead.”
“Oh, you think?” she asked. “I saw the arrow, too, dork. I know where it came from. Who was it, and why just one?”
“Single archer?”
“A lone archer is a sitting duck out here.”
“He’s probably behind those trees over there.” I pointed ahead of us and to the left. “Ready for this? Cover me on three.”
“Got it.”
“One. Two. Three.”
I jumped up, drawing my weapon, and ran. The archer revealed himself, stepping around the trunk of a tree to shoot at me. Gigz was faster. Her arrow shot past, sinking into the trunk. The archer disappeared just as another arrow flew by.
“There might be more of them up there,” Gigz said.
“I’m counting on it.”
I rounded the trunk and came face to face with a drawn bow, the arrow aimed at my chest. Archers were fast, but I was faster. My sword came down, knocking the weapon out of his hands before he could get off his shot.
It was then that I noticed the rest of them.
“Gigz, get your ass up here.” I ducked around the tree.
“How many?”
“Ten.”
“Awesome.”
Knowing Gigz was just behind me, I jumped out, sword ready. I charged into the group, swinging for all I was worth. One went down on my right. A giant hammer raced toward my head but an arrow to the warrior’s neck stopped him short. I hacked and sliced, killing with abandon. Another foe went down. Then a third.
“Shit,” Gigz said. “That one almost hit me.”
“Careful back there.”
“You do your job, Badger, and let me do mine.”
I laughed again, slicing through a chest that already had two arrows sticking out of it. The warrior went down at my feet, but I was already on to the next one.
Adrenaline surged through me. My heart beat furiously as we cut through the group of outlaws. I watched them go down, feeling a rush of energy. Almost euphoria.
“Yeah, baby,” Gigz said. “You got the last one?”
“I got him.”
Three swings and he was down. I let out a long breath.
“Nice work,” she said. “You made that look easy.”
“That was just the beginning,” I said. “There’s a ton of random shit out here and it gets harder the closer you get to those mountains.”
“Good loot, though,” she said.
“Exactly.”
“Okay, I take it back. This isn’t boring as shit.” She paused, her end suddenly silent. “Damn it. Badger, I gotta go.”
“Now?”
“Yeah, now. Sorry.”
Gigz disappeared, winking out of existence as if she’d never been there at all.
A wave of emptiness washed over me so hard it almost knocked the breath from my lungs. I took off my headset and tossed it on my desk. I needed to log off—I’d get killed if I left my character standing there out in the open—but suddenly, it was very hard to care.
After all, it was just a game.
I scrubbed my hand through my hair and stretched my neck, wincing at the pull of scar tissue. It still hurt. Probably always would. I was twenty-nine, but sometimes I felt like I was ninety.
The loss of Gigz’s voice in my ear left me feeling hollow—almost numb. It happened every time she logged off, but it was worse when it was abrupt. Usually she’d let me know how long she’d be on and I could keep one eye on the clock. Be prepared for the sense of loss when she was gone.
I leaned back in my chair, wondering what the hell was wrong with me. That was a long list, but this struggle seemed particularly stupid. Gigz was just a gamer friend. I had lots of those, male and female. When I played with anyone else, it was just a game. When it was over, I logged off, took off my headset, went about my business.
But Gigz was different. When we were online together, I tended to forget. The weight I carried lifted, and it was just us. Just her voice in my ear, making me smile. Making me laugh.
I lived for those hours we spent online. And when they were over, it was hard to recover. Hard to bear the weight that once again sat so heavily on my shoulders.
Gigz—my cat, not my elusive online friend—jumped up onto my desk. I ran my hand down her white fur while she purred. “Hey, kitty.”
My cat wasn’t bad, as cats went. My mom had adopted her for me a few years ago. She liked to knock shit off my desk, but she was nice to have around.
Before I logged out, I checked to make sure Gigz was still offline, just in case. Of course, it was three in the morning. I should get some sleep, not spend another few hours gaming. Not that I slept a lot in general. But I needed some. I’d wind up as nuts as my brother Cooper if I didn’t fall into bed for at least a few hours every night.
Although all-nighters with Gigz were always worth it.
For now, I left the mess on my desk and shuffled into my bedroom to get some rest.
* * *
Continue reading Hidden Miles
Also by Claire Kingsley
For a full and up-to-date listing of Claire Kingsley books visit www.clairekingsleybooks.com
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Dirty Martini Running Club
Sexy, fun stand-alone romantic comedies with huge… hearts.
Everly Dalton’s Dating Disasters
Free Faking Ms. Right prequel
Faking Ms. Right
A hot fake relationship romantic comedy
Love According to Science
A hot enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy
The Miles Family Series
Sexy, sweet, funny, and heartfelt family series. Messy family. Epic bromance. Super romantic.
Broken Miles
Forbidden Miles
Reckless Miles
Hidden Miles
Gaining Miles: A Miles Family Novella
Bluewater Billionaires
Hot, stand-alone romantic comedies. Lady billionaire BFFs and the badass heroes who love them.
The Mogul and the Muscle
A billionaire and her bodyguard hot romantic comedy.
The Price of Scandal, Wild Open Hearts, and Crazy for Loving You
More Bluewater Billionaire shared-world stand-alone romantic comedies by Lucy Score, Kathryn Nolan, and Pippa Grant
Bootleg Springs
by Claire Kingsley and Lucy Score
Hot and hilarious small-town romcom series with a dash of mystery and suspense. Best read in order.
Whiskey Chaser
Sidecar Crush
Moonshine Kiss
Bourbon Bliss
Gin Fling
Highball Rush
Book Boyfriends
Hot romcoms that will make you laugh and make you swoon.
Book Boyfriend
Cocky Roommate
Hot Single Dad
Remembering Ivy
A unique contemporary romance with a hint of mystery.
His Heart
A poignant and emotionally intense story about grief, loss, and the transcendent power of love.
The Always Series
Smoking hot, dirty talking bad boys with some angsty intensity.
Always Have
Always Will
Always Ever After
The Jetty Beach Series
Sexy small-town romance series with swoony heroes, romantic HEAs, and lots of big feels.
Behind His Eyes
One Crazy Week
Messy Perfect Love
Operation Get Her Back
Weekend Fling
Good Girl Next Door
The Path to You
The Jetty Beac
h Box Set Books 1-4
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About the Author
Claire Kingsley is a Top 10 Amazon bestselling author of sexy, heartfelt contemporary romance and romantic comedies. She writes sassy, quirky heroines, swoony heroes who love their women hard, panty-melting sexytimes, romantic happily ever afters, and all the big feels.
She can’t imagine life without coffee, her Kindle, and the sexy heroes who inhabit her imagination. She’s living out her own happily ever after in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and three kids.
* * *
www.clairekingsleybooks.com
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Reckless Miles Bonus Epilogue Page 2
