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“Murder shouldn’t be considered lightly,” I mumbled.
“No shit, sugar. It’s a serious thing to take a life.” He softened the harshness of his words with the gentle caress of his thumb across my cheek. The same finger that nearly squeezed the trigger of his 9mm slowly brushed my skin with calm focus. “Tell me, sweetheart, if your only choice between saving Sophie or watching her die was to shoot the person who threatened her life, could you do it?”
As much as I hated guns, as much as they reminded me of my brother Noah’s death, I knew the answer.Yes.
“I wouldn’t hesitate,” I whispered, never breaking eye contact.
“Then you understand. I’ll never let anyone harm my son or my brothers. The club is family. We look out for our own.”
Yeah, I already got that. He said it more than once.
“And I’d do the same for you and Sophie. You’re my family too. You’re part of the Riders now.”
Squaring my shoulders back, I knew I had to do this. If something happened and I needed to protect me and Sophie, I didn’t want to be helpless. “Okay. Show me.”
Chapter 7 Mack
Charlotte was a quickstudy. She learned how to shoot and began hitting her target with accuracy within the first hour. With more practice, she’d develop a keen eye and with it, and a steady grip. She’d be deadly.
I hated to think of her needing to learn this after discovering about her brother’s death and fatal shooting. I didn’t bring it up last night, preferring to let her approach the subject when she was ready. R.J. was the one who mentioned it a couple of months ago, disclosing Cara and Charlotte’s loss. I felt like a dick for pushing this on her, but she needed the confidence and ability to protect herself.
I led Charlotte inside a couple of hours later as the sun began to set, insisting that she take a break at the kitchen table while I whipped up some chow. “You got any allergies? Anything I should know about?”
“I prefer lean meats, fish, eggs, plenty of fruits and vegetables. No allergies but I don’t usually eat red meat.”
I figured. She avoided most of the food we had at the cookout last month. I noticed she picked at her plate, but she did eat the barbecue chicken and potato salad. I was a meat and potatoes guy and that was most of my meals, but I tried to get the veggies in. At my age, I had to think of my health.
“Got some chicken I bought yesterday. I could toss it on the grill with some asparagus and corn on the cob,” I offered.
“That sounds perfect.”
“And I’ve got a potato recipe that you’ve gotta try.”
“Okay, Mack. As long as you let me help.”
“Sure thing, sugar. Come on over here and cut up these veggies while I get the chicken marinating for a few minutes.”
