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“With all due respect, you’ve already set a track record for doing whatever the hell comes into your head at any given moment.”
“I would do everything you said. This is serious. It’s important to me. I won’t fuck it up.”
How does she leave me torn between admiration and exasperation? It’s like a gift she has. “How do you plan on protecting yourself if someone ambushes you?”
She blinks rapidly while flailing around silently, trying to come up with a defense. “If I’m by your side, I won’t have to worry about that, right?”
Touché. “Still. What if we were outnumbered? What would you do?”
“Kick them in the balls.”
The worst thing I could possibly do right now is laugh. She’s not making it easy to keep a straight face… or to keep from touching her. Her flushed cheeks and flashing eyes threaten to draw me in no matter how I try to fight it. “I need you to prove you can protect yourself if you’re going to go through with this insane plan.”
“What do you need me to do?” Her eyes are sparkling when she lifts her chin, squaring her shoulders like she’s ready for battle. If she’s not careful, I’ll have no choice but to throw her on the floor here and now, and by the time I’m finished, she won’t be worried about attending the gala. She’ll be too busy with simple things like walking.
“I need you to learn how to fire a gun.”
That knocks her back half a step, but she recovers quickly. “Okay. Are there like last-minute lessons I can take?”
“We can do better than that.”
Hopefully, I don’t end up regretting this.
She follows me to the elevator. I type in the code before pushing the subbasement for the gun range.
“Hey, Mas….” Pete’s sentence gets cut short as he notices Teagan entering the range behind me.
“Pete, get some targets ready for some up-close situations.”
I don’t have time to explain all of this to him. Nor do I have to. The truth is, I hope Teagan has at least a bit of natural talent in her. The smell of gunpowder in the air calms me. This is how I blow off steam. Or, as Teagan puts it, “Have fun.”
“Now listen, shooting is easy once you get over the initial shock of the weapon’s recoil.”
From the corner of my eye, I see the same range girl who flirted with me the last time I was here. The smile on her face disappears when she sees Teagan.
“Mr. Grant,” she says flatly. “Will your guest be shooting as well?”
“I am,” Teagan answers for me. Something I usually hate, but today, I’m simply amused by it. “Mason and I will be shootingtogether.”
A small grin reaches my lips. She’s like a wild animal staking her claim.
“Go get me a .380 with 300 rounds.”
“Oh, you mean the gun we give to older people who can’t rack a gun?” Ginger tries to joke, but neither Teagan nor I are laughing.
“Listen, Georgia.” I call her by the wrong name on purpose.
“It’s Ginger,” she says with a wounded expression on her face.
“Yes, Ginger. Do you like working here?”
She takes a step back and clasps her hands in front of her.
“Of course, Mr. Grant. I love my job.”
“If you’d like to keep it, I suggest you treat my guest the way you treat me. With respect. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Mr. Grant.”
