Chapter 20 #2
A thrill zipped through me. Finally, we were getting somewhere. I glanced at the weapon and arched a brow at him. “I know how to use a gun, Bray.”
He stood with one hand on his hip and a stern bend to his brow. He nodded at the gun. “Show me.”
Tension strained between us with the chemical bite, the terrifying thrill of live ammunition being nearby. My fingers tingled in anticipation of picking up the firearm. A heat flashed in Bray’s eyes, and I couldn’t tell if it was fear, doubt, or something darker and more daring.
“Go on,” he said with another nod. That authoritative note laced his voice and sizzled down my spine. “You want one, you have to show me you know what you’re doing first.”
As temptingly as the desire rolled around my mouth, I didn’t sass, I didn’t smirk. I knew this wasn’t something to be taken lightly, but I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of thinking he knew more than I did. He wanted me to show him anyway.
I silently flicked a brow at him and reached for the safety earmuffs hanging on a hook.
He mirrored me and grabbed the ones from the next stall over.
I turned the knob on the earmuff to drown out the deafening explosions about to happen and reached for the gun.
In one fluid motion, I loaded the clip, flicked the safety, and racked the slide.
I spread my feet, locked my elbows, and pulled the trigger twice. Bang. Bang. I hit the silhouette target thirty yards away right in the paper eyeballs. The kickback raced up my arms and rattled my skull, but I absorbed it with a well-trained stance.
Bray stood next to me with his arms crossed, watching.
I looked over at him while I moved the gun to only my right hand and pulled the trigger three more times.
Bang. Bang. Bang. The eyeball holes now had half a smile to go with them.
I switched the gun to my left hand and shot three matching holes into the other side of the paper face.
Bang. Bang. Bang. And then because I knew there were two bullets left in the clip, gave him one in the heart and one an inch from the bottom of the paper, between where the silhouette man’s legs would be.
I gave Bray another look while I handily released the empty clip and set the pieces of his gun back on the bench.
I could tell by the bend in his lips and brow he was trying to hide the impressed shock on his face. He cleared his throat. “You missed with that last one.”
I held his gaze with a steely defiance. “I promise you, I did not.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed hard. He hit the button to haul the target forward like a tattered sail. Up close, I was even more impressed with my aim. Ten perfect holes, right where I wanted them to be.
“Satisfied?” I asked with a hand on my hip.
He nodded with his lip pinched between his teeth.
“And a little terrified to be honest. What else do you know how to do?” The genuine awe in his voice coupled with sincere curiosity lifted the tension, which had been choking me since we entered the room.
Just because I knew how to use guns didn’t mean I liked them.
“Ballroom dance.” I began the list of unique skills I’d picked up over the years.
“Speak conversational French, Spanish, and German. Play chess. Ice-skate pretty decently; that was a weird case. Recite most of the Constitution. Identify sculptors and painters from all the major art movements. Kayak. Change an engine. Hotwire a car. Hold my breath for two minutes. Lie without blinking. And probably knock you on your ass.” My mouth flicked up at the corner with the last one, and I couldn’t help noticing his do the same.
“Oh?” he said like it was a challenge.
“Yes. I don’t suppose you want a demonstration of that too.”
“Oh, I absolutely want a demonstration.” He stepped at me with a cocky smile and reached for my shoulder.
On reflex, I whipped my arm out and blocked it.
I moved to fake punch him with my other arm, but he blocked me.
In a split second, both of our arms were locked in battle: him holding one of mine and me holding one of his.
The air crackled between us. He gazed down at me with a sly grin, a silent dare as we strained against each other.
He was way bigger than me, but I knew how to leverage his size and mine.
“You sure?” I challenged, trying to warn him.
But he only kept grinning.
“Okay then,” I said.
I slipped my arm holding his free and slammed my palm into his chest. When he bent over with a gasp, I shoved my elbow into his face, not hard, but hard enough for him to wince.
When he stood back up to reach for his watering eyes, I stomped on his foot, which sent him bending forward again.
I drove my elbow into the back of his shoulder, and he used his position to grab my legs—which I anticipated.
I kicked my feet off the ground and used the leverage of being over his shoulder to hurtle his body backward, hooking my knees under his collarbone and dragging him with me.
My hands pressed into the concrete floor, absorbing my fall, while he landed hard on his ass with a grunt.
He let go of my legs, and I scrambled back over the top of him so we were face-to-face, me with my hands by his head and knees pressed into the floor on either side of his hips.
“Told you,” I said.
We were both breathing hard, our chests nearly pressing together with each inhale. His face was an inch from mine. He looked up at me with wild wonder in his gray eyes. And a heat that made me fully aware of all the places we were touching and especially the ones where we weren’t.
“Holy shit, Erin. You’re a weapon,” he said in awe.
The words hit me with an odd pang. One that cooled the blood flaming through my veins. I climbed off him and wiped the grit from my hands. “I never wanted to be. I learned all that out of necessity.”
He sat up and wiped his hands on his pants. He looked at me like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how.
I didn’t know what to say either. I gazed around with a sigh. “So, if I passed my test, what’s next? Back to Del Rio with a Glock in my pocket?”
“Not exactly,” Bray said as he stood and held out a hand to help me off the floor.