167
If that phone hadn’t rung, I don’t know what might have happened.
Moments like that are rare. I reacted purely on instinct. Maybe the phone call was a blessing in disguise!
When I was with Jax, he would just force himself on me, going in dry and hurting me whether I wanted it or not.
I like Daniel and Antonio, but I can’t forget they kidnapped me just yesterday. I still need to verify if they're being truthful.
Vincent might know about that day when I was five, but he could just be using a story he heard from a paramedic for his own ends.
Maybe he wants something else from me, perhaps as leverage? The last Lombardo.
One thing’s for sure—I’m not naïve enough to develop Stockholm syndrome in under twenty-four hours.
These people are in the mafia, and I’ve been kidnapped. They may be treating me well, but I can’t leave—and that means I’m a prisoner.
Daniel said he’s taking me shooting. I make sure to keep some distance from him after the incident on the balcony.
He leads me through the house, out the back, and onto an ATV. We ride out to an isolated barn.
There are no trees here either.
I’ve never ridden an ATV before, but it seems straightforward. I’m not sure if Daniel made me sit behind him to force physical closeness or to prevent me from taking off on my own.
I guess that’s the issue with nice kidnappers—you can’t always tell their motives!
I can’t believe he actually tried to kiss me!
But…now that I think about it…I can’t believe I actually wanted him to!
When we reach the barn, we dismount the ATV without exchanging any words. I stay on high alert, ready to use any street-fighting moves I learned in the orphanage.
From the outside, the barn looks like a place for all sorts of nefarious activities, but once Daniel takes me inside and shows me a collection of guns, I start to relax a bit.
He hands me some earmuffs and shoots a few rounds at a paper target with a concrete block behind it.
The barn is set up like a professional shooting range—just like in the movies.
My opinion of him changes drastically when he offers me a loaded gun. “Ever gone shooting before?”
A voice from behind us interrupts, “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
Daniel and I turn to see Christian, looking incredulous. He resembles Antonio but is broader, taller by a couple of inches, with shorter hair and a goatee.
In contrast, Daniel looks nothing like his father or brothers. He must take after his mother, having Antonio’s height but with sharper features and a wiry build.
I look at Daniel.
He glances at Christian. “What?”
Christian
I can’t believe how clueless this kid is. I followed them and saw him take the ATV. “You’re handing a loaded weapon to your captive? What if she turns it on you?”
Dany shakes his head. “She’s not our captive. She wouldn’t do that.”
I look at Chelsea; she smiles and shrugs—Maybe.
My kind of lady. “See?”
Dany sets the gun on the counter. “She’s joking.”
Chelsea picks it up, “Can someone at least show me how to work this thing? I’ve never used one before.”
I stand back, fold my arms and watch Dany explain things to her. He ejects the magazine, shows her where the bullets go, shows her the safety, the hammer, the sights, the ejection port. He’s not bad.
The whole time, I’m watching her like a hawk, ready to draw on her if she makes one false move. The blood of a tiger runs in her veins…even if she doesn’t know it.
She could turn that gun on my brother in a heartbeat—kill him without a second thought.
When Dany’s instruction about how the gun works is over, he starts explaining how to shoot. “Left foot a little bit forward. Knees bent. Square your shoulders,” he gets behind her, both hands on her upper arms.
He’s flirting his ass off. He’s clearly into her…but so am I.
“Elbows bent too,” he goes on. “Keep the gun cupped firmly in your left hand. You’ll use the right to guide you when you’re aiming and to squeeze the trigger. And remember, you don’t yank or tug at it, you squeeze.”
Chelsea looks like she’s feeling out of her depth, “Okay. Got it.”
Does she though?
I can see how nervous she is. It’s written all over her face.
Dany points out the sights, “So you line up the back sights here with the notch at the tip of the barrel, that’s how you know you’re shooting straight.”
“Okay,” Chelsea looks even more confused.
“Ready?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, go for it,” Dany gives her an encouraging smile. I’ve never seen him do that with anyone before.
Chelsea does everything that Dany explained to her, she takes her time like she’s a deadeye marksman…plants her feet, gets her stance right, lines up her shot and then…BAM!
The gun jumps out of her hand and she lets out a smallshriekas it clatters to the floor. She leaps out of the way, “I can’t do this! I can’t do this!”
I grab her as she runs for the door in a mild panic—arms flailing.“Hey,” I take her hand, “relax!”
“I’m not a gun person, okay?”
“You most definitelyarea gun person,” I give her my most charming smile—which probably means I’m grinning like a shark looking at its lunch.“You just need the right motivation.” Then I turn to Dany, “Or a better teacher.”
He rolls his eyes at me.
“Come on,” I put my arm around her and guide her back.She smells great.If Dan wasn’t here, I’d be trying my luck, but fornow…I’ll settle for a little flirting of my own. Maybe some mind games.
Everyone’s been treating the new heir to the throne with kid gloves.Ithink she needs a reality check.
Sure, she’s a princess, but she’s not going to be visiting sick children in hospitals and waving to crowds with her pinky jutting out. This princess was bred for war, she needs to be tested through blood and fire.
I let my hand drift down from her shoulders to her waist as we walk back. She gives me a curious sideways glace for my effort. I’m a second away from grabbing a handful of her ass—it looks great in her jeans—but decide against it…for now.
We get to the table with the firearms and I push Daniel away with two fingers to his chest, “Watch and learn.”
He shoots his brow—I love screwing with him too.
I point to the Beretta she was using, “This is too much for you. You can’t start learning on a gun that’s bigger than you are.” I move the gun aside and point to something more appropriate. “The SIG Sauer P238, that’s more your style. Pick it up and feel the weight.”
She tests the heft in her palm and nods. “Yeah, this is better.”
Dan’s phone rings. He answers, “What?”
Chelsea and I turn to him, he’s got an annoyed look on his face.
“I’m on my way,” he pockets the phone and looks at me, “You’ll get her back safe?”
“Of course,” I give him my shark smile.
He looks at Chelsea, “You good with him?”
“I think it’ll be okay,” she turns and looks at me like a viper, “if he knows what’s good for him.”
I smile.She’s growing on me by the minute.
“Okay, see you guys later then,” Dan heads for the door.
When he’s gone, I put my hand on Chelsea’s shoulder, “Listen, I’m sorry about before. It won’t happen again. I did what I had to in the moment. No hard feelings?”
She looks up at me with those bow-shaped lips and those brown eyes…and I have to stop myself from kissing her. I feel myself getting hard.
She sighs, “It hasn’t even been a full day yet. Something new is coming at me every fifteen minutes. I think I need more time to focus if I’m going to hold a grudge.”
“Good enough,” I laugh and find myself smiling at her honesty.
She gives me a curt nod and turns back to the target.
She deserves the truth. I’m going to give it to her. She’s been lied to long enough. There’s a dragon inside this woman and she needs a reason to let it out.
“Hey,” she jabs me in the stomach, “are we doing this or not?”
“Right,” I shake my head and come back to the present, “so I want you to forget about what Dany told you. When you’re training a rookie for a badge, those are the instructions you get, but when you’re training a warrior, it’s instinct that matters.”
She chuckles, “Warrior, huh?”
“Exactly. I want you to think of the gun as an extension of your arm. Don’t square your shoulders and plant your feet and all that bullshit. All you need to do is look at what you want dead, point with your arm and squeeze.”
“That’s all there is to it, huh?”
“That’s all there is. Now, point at the Cassaduchi and pull the trigger.”
She scrunches her face at me, “The what?”
Here’s where I unleash the dragon.“The Cassaduchi, over there,” I point to the target.
She laughs, “So is Cassaduchi the Italian word for target or something?”
“Don’t be silly, if I meanttarget, I’d just say—target.”
“Then what, pray tell,” she tries to force down her smile, “is a Cassaduchi?”
I stand back to give her some room to react…she looks at me in confusion. “Well, we’re playing pretend. Don’t forget to point the gun at the target, okay?”
“Okay?”
“When you look at the target, I want you to picture an ugly son of a bitch holding a gun. He’s pointing it at you. He’s standing over a car wreck and he’s pointing the gun at your family.”
She looks at me with hatred, “That’s not funny, Christian. I don’t want to play your fucked-up game. You said you weren’t going to be an asshole.”
She turns to leave but I stop her, “It’s not a game, I said it’s pretend. Now, trust me, look at the target.”
She pauses to stare at me. I nod to her and she does as I ask.
“Now, keep your gun hand loose at your side, close your eyes and picture the man I’ve told you to. Picture the scene.”
She huffs out a breath and nods.
Now she’s ready.“That man you’re picturing on the target…he works for the people who had your mother, your father and your two brothers killed…it’s him.He’s right in front of you.”
Her eyes are still closed, but she starts breathing hard.
The people who put the hit out on your family…they’re still out there. That man on the target…he’s the hitman…he pulled the trigger.”
She shifts her stance anxiously. She snorts like a wild bull waiting to be set free.
“Keep your eyes closed. When I speak the name…I want you to open your eyes, point at the target and fire.”
She nods and shifts anxiously again.
“The name of the family who ordered the hit is,” I pause before I say it.
“WHAT?”
I wait another few seconds…then say, “Cassaduchi!”
Chelsea’s eyes fly open and she takes aim.POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!She empties the seven-shot magazine all at once. She does it one handed and hits the target with every bullet.
When it’s over, she slams the gun on the counter and grabs a handful of my collar, “Your father said they’d been dealt with!”
“Dealt with doesn’t mean dead,” I pull her hand off me, “it means dealt with.”
“And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?!”
“You’ll have to ask my father.”
She’s fuming. Good. “Why the hell did you tell me this if you were just going to say—Ask my father?”
I point to the target, “Ever see someone handle a gun for the first time like that?” I raise my brow for effect. “Now, you know how to shoot. You’re going to need to.”
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
