Chapter 36
DANIKA
The gun is heavier than I anticipated. It’s also cool to the touch despite the heat on this sunny afternoon. We’re in the shade, so that helps. Just two people on a blanket in the middle of a farm with a picnic basket, a box of bullets, and a sniper rifle.
“This has got to be the strangest first date known to man,” I muse.
Tommy removes his eye from the scope to peer up at me. “Because of the gun or the fact that we’re already married?”
“C, all of the above.”
“At least it’s memorable.”
A giggle tumbles past my lips.
Tommy returns to his task, spinning dials and knobs between looks through the scope. “Alright, I think I’m ready to take some test shots. Time to put on the noise protection.” He hands over earplugs and thick black headphones.
I told him I only needed one earplug, but he insisted I use both.
Once I’m geared up, I squint at the distance, where I know he’s hung a target, but I can only make out a small white blur.
The large poster paper is attached to a tree trunk and consists of the silhouette of a man’s upper body in black on a white background.
It’s so freaking far away that I have no clue how he could possibly hit it.
He hands me a pair of binoculars. “Watch.”
I focus them on the target, trying to steady my breathing to hold as still as possible. My body tenses in anticipation of the shot, and when the gun goes off, I think he’s missed until a hole bursts through the paper a second after the explosion.
“Oh my God. That was amazing.” The accuracy. The insane delay. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.
Tommy grumbles something, and I have to take off my headgear and ask him to repeat himself. “Didn’t even hit the damn thing,” he says again, starting a new round of tweaks on the gun.
“Yes, you did! I saw it.”
“I hit the paper, but I was aiming for his head.”
“Considering how far away we are, I’d say you got damn close.”
“Once my sight is properly calibrated, I’ll be nearly one hundred percent from this distance.” He gives me a wicked glance from the side of his eye.
My jaw hangs wide open. “Are you serious? That’s nuts!”
“I am, but she hasn’t been properly calibrated since I moved back to the States.”
“She?” I ask in a playful tone.
“Yup, the only other woman I’ll ever have in my life.
” He brings his eye back to the scope while I preen like a schoolgirl.
“Headgear.” The single-word warning tells me he’s ready to shoot.
I replace my headset and lift the binoculars.
This time when the gun goes off, a patch of pale tree trunk is visible behind the new hole right in the middle of the silhouette’s head.
Damn, he really is good.
I continue to watch as he performs several more practice shots. Once he’s comfortable with his calibrations, he begins to disassemble the weapon.
“Hey, Tommy?”
“Yeah?”
“Have you killed many people?” I’m not sure what possesses me to ask. I probably don’t want to know the answer, but I can’t hide from it either. We’re married. I need to own the choices I’ve made.
“I suppose that depends on your definition of many. The count isn’t all that high, but it doesn’t take many to create a reputation, especially as efficient as I am. My targets go down before they ever know what hit them.”
And that’s what he plans to do to The Reaper. A man he knows nothing about. I’m not crazy about the idea, but I understand the necessity, and I’ve heard the things Reaper has done.
“Dani, look at me,” Tommy orders softly. “You’ve heard that the attorney general of New York is being prosecuted, right?”
I nod, not sure where he’s going with this.
“Companies put deadly chemicals in products. Clergymen abuse children in their congregations. Husbands beat their wives. Scammers steal people’s life savings without a second thought. That’s life. We’re not as civilized as we pretend to be.”
I chew the side of my cheek while I ponder what he’s said. He’s definitely on Gran’s team, and maybe they’re right. People really are the worst.
But they’re also the best.
For every act of violence or hatred, just as many acts are made in the name of hope and charity and love and forgiveness. If it’s up to me to decide how I see the world, I choose to focus on the best attributes of humankind. Dwelling on the ugly will only add another soul to the dark side.
I giggle to myself.
“What?” Tommy asks, brow heavily furrowed.
“Just thinking I choose to be on the side of the Jedi, that’s all.” And Biba is definitely Darth Vader. Does that make Tommy Han Solo? I giggle again.
He shakes his head and laughs. “I have no clue how that relates, but whatever works.”
Yeah, he’d make a decent Han. The antihero. He’s shown me in so many ways that the difference between good and bad is a broad spectrum, and people are forever sliding from one end to the other. If I had to choose between Tommy and the moral high ground, I’d choose Tommy ten times out of ten.
“The call is tonight at seven. Can you make it?” Renzo’s voice fills the car over the speakers as we’re reentering the city. Tommy said he and his brother fought, so I’m curious about what this means.
“You sure about that?” Tommy’s words are uncertain, and his posture behind the steering wheel has gone from casual to rigid.
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Then I’ll be there.”
The call ends. I watch Tommy like a hawk. “You have a call tonight?” I ask, hoping he’ll open up.
“Guess so. The last time Renzo and I talked … it wasn’t pretty. He didn’t want me in on the call with Biba, and it pissed me off. I sort of said some shit that didn’t go over well.”
“But now he’s decided to include you,” I surmise.
“Yeah, it looks that way.” He’s uncomfortable, and I get it. Conflict is icky.
“You might feel better if you talk to him again, you know. Now that you understand a little better where he’s coming from.
” I really hope I’m not overstepping, but I hate to see him so at odds with his family.
Especially his brother since they also work together.
It’s important they find a way to relate to one another.
Tommy tosses me a side-eye. “I’ll think about it,” he says dryly. “Me going out tonight means you’re going to be home alone. I was thinking about that tiny girl with the purple hair—”
“Sachi?”
“Sure. You’re close to her, right?”
“Yeah, she’s my best friend.” Where’s he going with this?
“What if you give her a call now and see if she’s free? We could pick her up, and she could hang with you at the apartment while I’m gone. That way, you’re not alone worrying, and I know you’ve got someone to keep you company. Female company.” The last part is added as a tiny verbal jab.
“You know she’s a lesbian, right?” I deadpan.
Tommy looks over at me, face twisted in confusion, and nearly hits the car beside us.
“I’m kidding! Watch the road. I was kidding,” I laugh and yell at the same time.
He snarls, but in a grumpy teddy bear kind of way. It makes me want to laugh harder, but I don’t want to distract him again, so I choke back a snicker.
An hour later, Sante is at our place to keep watch, and Sachi is on her way over.
She was at a friend’s orchestral dress rehearsal when we called, so we weren’t able to pick her up.
I’m kind of glad because that’s given me a little time to figure out how I’m going to tell my best friend that I got married since the last time she saw me.
I’m not sure if I’m more nervous about Tommy’s call with Biba or a pissed-off Sachi.
At least I can only really worry about one at a time.
And by the end of the day, I’ll probably have a whole new checklist of things to worry about.
Huzzah.