I'm the best shot in the trade. The first time I ever miss, it's the man I was paid to kill — and he's smiling like he knew I would.

Two hundred kills. A hand that has never once betrayed me. Then I put my crosshairs on Dax Quade, and he turns to a window he can't possibly see through, taps two fingers over his own heart, and dares me to do my job. My finger moves. The round goes a foot wide.

In the trade, a miss isn't a mistake. It's a confession. By sunrise we're both on the same list — the executioner and his target — and the only thing keeping either of us breathing is the other one.

He used to work the wrong end of a rifle, so he reads me like weather. He knows my hand chose him before I did. I should put him down.

I can't stop wanting to keep him alive.

The Quiet Trade Book 1. Cliffhanger ending. Duet — read in order.