10. Harper #2
“Dax, your best friend, is one of the biggest arms dealers and transporters of illicit goods in and out of the US. Every criminal in the world knows who Two Tricks is and his Enforcer, Dax, who ensures that things go according to plan. Now that she’s come out and told the world that she is Two Tricks, it’s sent a ripple of shock across the world.
The people going after Dax were hoping to weaken Two Tricks by removing the biggest threat.
Now that they are one and the same, no one knows what to think,” Magnus explained.
“She told everyone?” I blurted, not having heard about this.
Magnus nodded. “Yes, she was telling all her people when the most recent assassination attempt happened. Weston didn’t tell us much more than that. I’m still waiting for him to reach back out, but they need to keep her safe first, so it may take a few days.”
“Do you know who is hunting her?” I inquired, cocking my head.
“Yes… but I won’t tell you who it is.” He stopped me from speaking with a finger to my lips.
“Not until she figures it out herself. We know Dax, and she needs to take this threat seriously, and that won’t happen until he’s made it personal enough to her.
Knowing how stubborn she is, it would take something quite drastic.
This is one of the reasons we will be even more cautious.
If this man ended up getting ahold of you, Dax would throw all reason out the window and get herself killed.
There are only a few things that will push her to that point, and you are one of them.
Weston would be the other, but he is used to how our world works and is in good company with those Phantom Saints. ”
“Then we sit and wait to see if war really happens? What if we could do something about it?” I urged. It felt so wrong not finding a way to help my best friend when she was under attack. Dax would do anything in her power to make sure she had my back and saw me through this—I wanted to do the same.
“The only way I would even consider the possibility of doing more is if I didn’t have to worry about you.
Learn what we have to teach you, be open to our suggestions, and if you show some ability to be more than a liability on a job, we can broach that subject.
As of right now, it’s out of the question,” Magnus decided, his tone brokering no argument.
Crossing my arms, I glared at him. “Fine, if that’s the deal we have to make, then I agree.
Just know I’m doing this for Dax and not because you decided this is what needed to happen.
I’ve come to this choice on my own since I refuse to let my best friend, a person I consider family, fight this alone. ”
A glimmer of pride reflected in Magnus’s eyes as he fought to keep a grin off his face. “Duly noted. Now put your ear protection back on and get your cute ass up so Ghost can teach you the anatomy of a gun.”
Rolling my eyes at him, I slipped off his lap and walked over to Ghost, who smiled brightly at me, leaning against the counter, where a gun was disassembled. “You two have a nice chat?”
“Shut the fuck up and teach me what all this is,” I snapped, flipping him off.
Ghost chuckled. “It would be kinda hard to teach you if I couldn’t speak, now wouldn’t it?”
Whipping my hand out, I punched his bicep as hard as I could. “Just get on with it.”
“Not bad form there, gorgeous, but we’ll work on your punches after this,” Jaxson teased, gripping my shoulders and facing me forward down the range.
“The first rule of ever being around guns is to assume that every gun is loaded and could hurt someone. Even if you know for a fact this gun is in pieces, you don’t ever point it at someone or something unless you are willing to shoot.
Beating that rule into your head will protect you and us in the long run. ”
Ghost nodded along as Jaxson spoke, then slid the pieces of a something-something semi-automatic handgun over to me.
“There are four main sections of a gun… the action, the frame, the barrel, and finally, clips and cylinders. Before you are allowed to shoot anything, you need to understand how it works. Respect between you and your gun is important. Now I’m going to put it together and talk you through it, then take it apart once more, and you’ll try. ”
For the next hour, that’s how I spent my time, putting together and taking apart this handgun, naming all the parts as I went and saying what they did.
I had to admit it took away a lot of the fear of the weapon, knowing exactly how it worked and getting comfortable handling it.
When it took me five minutes to put it together, they all clapped and grinned at me.
“Damn, gorgeous, watching you do that is sexy as hell. You might not ever be a sharpshooter, but, fuck, if seeing you do that with so much confidence wouldn’t make me think twice,” Jaxson praised.
Magnus switched spots with Ghost and handed me a fresh clip to replace the empty one I’d been working with.
“Now it’s time for the second part of this.
All I want you to do today is shoot off a round, get a sense of how it feels to shoot a gun and work on your stance.
Once we’re done with that, the three of us will show you what it looks like when you’re fully trained, then move on to self-defense. ”
I hit the button to eject the empty clip and licked my lips nervously before taking the loaded one from him. Sliding it home, the click of it locking into place sent a chill down my spine. Right now, in my hand, I could take someone’s life, and I didn’t know how I felt about it.
“Now, I want you to square up to the target, put a little bend in your knees, and slide your right foot back slightly to keep you stable. Right hand on the grip of the gun, pointer finger running along the top of the trigger notch. You never want to have your finger on the trigger unless you are going to pull it. Place your left hand over the right thumb, tucked in alongside the barrel of the gun. This will keep the slide from biting you when it fires,” Magnus instructed, correcting as he went along until I was how he wanted me.
“Now, this gun doesn’t have a safety, so it is live and ready to fire whenever your finger presses the trigger.
This is why it’s important you never absently place your finger there.
The trigger is light and will go off with the slightest hint of pressure.
These weapons are meant for killers like us, but if you can handle a gun like this, anything else will be a piece of cake. ”
Taking a deep breath, I took a moment to feel the stance, pretending it was a new yoga pose I was learning. Feeling what muscles were engaged and how solid my balance was, my center of gravity was deep in my heels.
“Now, take a deep breath, and, on the exhale, pull the trigger. Don’t take your eyes off your target. You never know when it might move. The first shot will startle you, and there’s going to be a solid kickback in your hands but keep your arms strong and roll the shock into your stance.”
What he said made sense. It was the fear of the unknown building up in my stomach.
“Just one shot, doll, that’s all I’m asking for right now,” Magnus coached, his presence reassuring as he stood right behind me.
Following his instruction, I took another deep breath in, and when I let it out, I slipped my finger around the trigger and squeezed.
The sound of the gun going off in my hands made me flinch even as I tried to keep my eyes on the target.
My hands bucked as the gun jolted. I would’ve tumbled onto my ass if my stance hadn't been solid. While I’d been expecting something to happen, I wasn’t prepared for how strong it would be.
Magnus’s hand on my lower back, keeping me steady, wasn’t needed, but I was glad to know he hadn’t gone anywhere.
“Good girl, that was excellent for a first try,” he purred, kissing right behind my ear.
“Now recenter yourself and do it again. You know what to expect, so adjust to respond to the recoil.”
There was something about hearing his praise that made me smile as I did just what he instructed with a little extra ass wiggling for his benefit.
The second shot went better, the sound was still abrasive, but I’d been ready for the back pressure and kept my upper body strong.
A tap on my back told me to continue, and I challenged myself to do my best. I might not like the idea of taking someone’s life, but it was becoming clear to me that I’d landed myself in a dog-eat-dog world, and I was the lone cat.
No matter what, I’d find a way to land on my feet, and if the claws had to come out then, so be it.