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“Oh my gosh, it’s so beautiful!” she says, picking up the smaller red box inside the package. She shakes it and a few bullets fall out into her palm. “Thank you so much, babe!”
Alize sets the box aside and bounces from her seat and into my arms. I catch her, spinning her in my arms, her excited laughter echoing in the garage. I press a kiss to the base of her throat.
“Do you like it?” I ask when I’ve set her back on the ground. She looks like a kid on Christmas, with her wide eyes and cartoonish smile.
She nods her head. “Iloveit. You kept your promise.”
“You didn’t think I would?”
Alize looks back at the gun. “Yes, but not so soon.”
I put a hand on her chin, twisting her face toward me. “In light of recent events, I want you to be able to protect yourself,” I say. I did always plan to get her a gun, but my conversation with my father only sped things up. “I’ll always be by your side, but that doesn’t mean you have to be defenceless.”
She gives me a satisfied smile. “Now I can shoot you when you misbehave.” There’s a cheeky grin on her face, but this coming from the woman who stabbed me is an actual threat.
“I didnotgive you a gun for you to use it on me.”
“Then you’ll behave?”
“I have a gun too, and it doesn’t seem to make you behave any better, does it?” I say, and she laughs. Then she huffs, and tries to wiggle out of my arms. “Get your cute ass in the car. We’re already a few minutes late.”
“Late for what?”
I walk her back to the car, then stuff her into the passenger seat. “Put your seatbelt on.” When she does, I close the door. “You’ll see soon enough, sweetheart.”
A minute later, we roar out of the garage.
EIGHTEEN
ALIZE
We’reon the road for almost half an hour.
The whole time, I’m oscillating between being over the moon about the gift that Alex got me and being nervous as hell about where we’re going. Though I can’t share my reasons with him, I really hope Alex will do what I asked andnottake us to the city.
The farther we are from that address my father sent, the better.
“I should’ve brought a bigger purse,” I mumble to myself, comparing the gun to my purse. We’re zipping down the road pretty fast, but this car’s like a spaceship. I can’t even tell we’re really moving. “Do they make guns smaller than this?”
Alex spares me a glance for a second. He’s got his hand outstretched, his wrist on the steering wheel. The other’s tangling over my thigh, his elbow on the centre console. The side of his lip lifts in a lopsided smile.
“Yes, they do,” he says. “I can get you a thigh holster for that one. Or get you a smaller one if you’re going to keep carrying those ridiculous bags.”
“It’s not ridiculous, it’s fashion,” I say, looking down at the tiny crocodile skin bag laying in my lap. Truthfully, Tara’s the one who convinced me to get it. Since then, it’s grown on me. It might not be very functional, but damn is it cute.
“Alright, it’s fashion.What have you got in it?” Alex chuckles.
I open the gold latch. “My lip gloss, a credit card, a tiny comb, and a hair tie in case this one pops.” The items in question spill out onto my lap. “That’s all I really need.”
“You bring money when you go out with me?” Alex sounds offended.
My eyebrows bunch together. “Duh? Why wouldn’t I…”
“Because you’re going out withme,” he says, turning to me with fire in his blue eyes. He shoves the hair that’s flopped against his forehead back. “When would you ever need money while we’re out together?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, Alex? I have it just in case. What if I want to buyyousomething one of these days?”
That gives him pause. He’s quiet for a few seconds, and I see the wheels turning in his head. Has he seriously never considered that? “That would be nice, I think,” he says, with a nervous chuckle. “I don’t really get many gifts.”
