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He pressed a small button on the wall, and they watched as the target slid toward them. Even before it reached the window where they stood, she could see she had hit the center. Jason pulled the paper free from the clips, and they examined it together.
“You got four hits,” he said. “All of them center mass.”
Caroline studied the tiny holes. They were all within the targeted circles. “So I did good?”
“You did better than good—you did great.”
“I want to go again,” she said, a little astonished at the thrill of power she felt. “I don’t want to stop until I hit the mark.”
“Not everyone is able to hit the dead center,” he cautioned. “But we can come back as many times as you want until you can.”
“I’m going to do it today.”
He didn’t argue, simply nodded and replaced the target with a fresh sheet. They spent another hour at the range, during which Caroline practiced using each of the weapons that Jason had selected. By the end of the session, her shoulders and arms ached with the effort of handling the guns and she had a knot of tension between her eyes.
She watched as Jason gathered up the guns, handling them with an ease and familiarity that bespoke years of experience. She waited while he turned the weapons and equipment back in, and then they walked outside and climbed into the SUV.
She watched as he put the vehicle into gear, admiring the shape and strength of his hands. As if sensing her scrutiny, he glanced over at her and smiled and then reached over to cover her hand with his.
“You did great,” he said. “Don’t worry that you couldn’t hit dead center. Like I said, sometimes it takes years to achieve that kind of marksmanship. What you did today was incredible, and I certainly wouldn’t want you pointing a weapon at me.”
His words brought back that horrific moment when she had inadvertently swung the gun in his direction. “Don’t remind me.” She cringed. “God, when I think that I could have shot you.”
“But you didn’t,” he said. “We’ll come back again, until handling a weapon becomes second nature, okay? We’ll get you a weapon of your own before the end of the week, along with a license to carry.”
Caroline nodded her agreement. Less than a week ago, she’d never have believed she’d be the kind of woman who would carry a concealed weapon. But that was before someone had gunned down her father. Before her life had been turned upside down.
She glanced over at Jason as he negotiated the busy city traffic, and she couldn’t help but recall how good it had felt to have him standing behind her—both figuratively and literally—while she learned to shoot. But while having her own weapon, and the skill to use it, might make her feel safe, she knew there weren’t enough bullets in the world to protect her heart from Jason Cooper. He’d already struck her dead center.
10
“I HAVE TO make some phone calls,” Jason said when they’d returned to the hospital and she had reassured herself that her father was still resting comfortably. “You’ll be okay while I’m gone? I’ll try to be quick, and then maybe we can grab a bite to eat downstairs.”
Caroline nodded. “That sounds good.” He had turned away before she remembered that she had other news for him, which she’d almost forgotten about in the excitement over her father’s condition and the shooting range. “Oh, wait.”
Jason pivoted back around, his green eyes flickering with interest.
Caroline moved to the table and picked up several of the case files. “While you were gone this morning, I went through some of the cases my father was working on, and I think these three warrant a second look.”
She held the files out to Jason, who took them and quickly scanned the contents. “These are medical malpractice cases,” he said.
“Well, two of them are. The third file involves Conrad Kelly, the guy who bombed all those federal buildings.” Seeing his expression, she held up a hand to forestall him. “I know what you’re thinking—Conrad Kelly is already serving a thirty-year sentence for the bombings, so there’s no way he could have been the shooter. But he has a lot of crazy followers, Jason. What if one of them decided to get revenge on my father for the sentence?”
“Okay, I’ll take a look at them as soon as I get back.” Jason set the files back on the table and took Caroline by the upper arms. The touch of his fingers sent a shiver of awareness through her. When he fixed his gaze on her mouth and swallowed hard, she knew he wasn’t immune to the contact, either. She could sense the effort it took for him to pull his thoughts back to their conversation. “We’ll follow every lead—I promise. We’ll find whoever did this.”
