“You’re a good shot,” Vik admits, crossing his arms. “We saw that at this asshole’s funeral.”
“Ugh. He was really shot,” Marie says. “I held the packing over his wound when he came intomyfucking hospital! You all know he didn’t fake that. He just pretended a little longer to keep you fuckers safe. Now sit down, behave, and show some goddamned gratitude! Things are changing, and you all need to figure out what that’s going to look like. I’m not having babies while my pack fucks off on the road. You all need a home base.”
I swallow hard as several club members sit down hard, even if it’s on the floor. Damn. She’s kind of scary.
Marie is right though. She may not be pregnant yet, but it’ll happen soon if our pack has any say in it.
“And that’s why I call her Kitty,” Storm grins. “My girl’s got claws.”
“I’d say so,” Burner mutters.
“I got it from here, Princess,” Lore says, kissing her lips. His face turns slightly, and then he’s brushing my lips with his. “Iheard there’s a gun range in this place. I think Marie needs to burn off some of her irritation.”
The unspoken command that I make sure not to go too far so I don’t trigger Marie’s bond sickness makes me nod in agreement. The room is silent, and when I glance around, I see that people are staring at us for an entirely different reason.
Lore kissed me in front of them all. Shit.
My cheeks heat as I begin walking toward the door. I’m not sure if that was his way of announcing our relationship, or if Lore is done hiding completely.
“Now that I have your attention,” he drawls, making me grin as I step outside of the room.
“I never know what the hell he’s going to do next,” I mumble, gently placing Marie on her feet.
The door shuts quietly behind us, shutting off the conversation that begins, thereby making it no longer my problem.
“That’s part of the attraction,” she mutters, weaving slightly as I hold her up. The adrenaline drop is hitting her hard now. “Shit. I didn’t expect to yell at an entire room of bikers.”
“I think that’s why it worked,” I chuckle, not hearing anymore yelling. “Are you up for some gun range time?”
“Yeah, I think I can handle that,” she says. “Shall we explore?”
“We shall,” I say, wrapping my arm around her waist.
Marie can play this however she wants, but I’ll be here in case she needs me to lean on. There’s nothing wrong with accepting a little help.
“Is your brother the one who makes you curl up into a ball and shut down when people yell?” I ask finally as we begin peeking into rooms to find the gun range.
“Hmm?” she asks, looking up at me. Marie’s is still a little spacey from her episode, and she sighs as she absorbs myquestion. “It’s not just him. My parents were really loud when they’d fight growing up. My dad died from drinking too much, and my mother eventually mellowed out. Sometimes, I can handle yelling if I’m riled enough to yell back. Others?”
“You check out,” I observe, nodding. Trauma rears itself in interesting ways, and not always in the same way. “Do you talk to your mom at all?”
“Not since before I left Chicago,” she admits. “I don’t really like to talk to her, especially when she has a tendency to pick things out of our conversation that I never said. I’m protecting my peace instead.”
“I can respect that,” I murmur, opening another door at the end of a hallway. “It looks like we’ve found the gun range.”
Turning on the lights, I see several stalls set up with safety protection and paper targets.
“Take a small step inside, Marie,” I say, hoping this isn’t too far away from Lore.
The building is huge, but her bond with Lore seems to have a mind of its own. Hopefully with time, it settles.
Marie takes a deep breath as she walks into the room before relaxing.
“I’m good,” she says. “I wonder if this has always been here.”
“It’s a smart use of space and time,” I admit, setting up a paper target for her before clicking the remote control.
Once it’s the distance that I want it to be, I snag Marie’s hand to bring her closer to me.
