David gave a contemptuous laugh when he saw me, “And now I see why we have a problem.”
“There is no problem,” Evan growled loudly. “She knows what’s going to happen. She’s just buying time…”
“Have you slept with her yet, little bro?”
I felt the color drain from my face.
“David!” his mother delivered with commanding authority. “I told you to drop it! This is Micah’s job. He knows what he’s…”
“You haven’t, have you?” David continued looking from his face and then to mine. “That’s the problem,” he said, laughing and smacking his palm against his shoulder. It wasn’t a light hit, but he was immobile like granite. “You need to do this thing and get it off your mind. She’s playing with you, bro.”
“Get out of my house,” he ground out the words so deeply it was more like a rumble of distant thunder than a human voice.
“If she’s too much for you, Micah, I can help you out.”
It was as if I was watching a lit fuse disappear into a stick of dynamite. The explosion was getting ready to happen.
“Because if you can’t shoot her…” He moved so fast. His hand had reached behind his back, and in one smooth motion was coming in front of him with a gun pointed my direction, “…I sure as hell can.”
Evan was on top of him.
There was no time to think, I was outside on the ground running for my life. I heard a shot and my mind was crying out in terror wondering if I’d just lost Evan. Past the hedges and around the far end of the garage until I realized it was a long open run for the woods.
I glanced to the right and remembered what was in the back of the Trans Am. The doors were unlocked and I ripped the front seat forward, climbing into the rear, grabbing and pulling with all my might at the back seat to get it to come loose. It wouldn’t budge, but then my fingers felt the latch and it came down hard. I reached in the darkness for the case that I knew was right on top. It had slid off center, but it was still there. I gripped it firmly and stumbled out of the car to the side away from the house and quickly opened the box. The clip was lying beside it. I didn’t know exactly what to do, but I knew enough to slam it into the bottom of the handle.
I heard the sound of footsteps running from the back porch, and across the pool deck at break-neck speed. It would only be a matter of seconds before he reached me. My breathing was too loud and I was trembling so hard, it felt as if the gun would shake completely out of my hand. I put one palm around the grip, a finger on the trigger and the other palm under the butt of the gun to steady it. I could hear their mother screaming and more footsteps running toward the garage.
There was no more time to cower in fear, I stood and swung the gun toward the sound of the approaching person. It was David. His shoes slid across the asphalt as he came to a full stop. I could see he never expected to find me with a gun in my hands. Then Evan was through the bushes taking aim. Their mother wasn’t far behind screaming for them to stop it. David’s hands slowly went up. Evan’s eyes were unrecognizable as I saw him prefect his aim.
“NO, MICAH, NO!” I heard Celeste yell. “Stop it now, or regret it forever!”
“Wow, I’ve got to admit, Bro,” David spoke, ignoring the grave danger he was in. “You’ve found yourself a little wildcat.”
“You’re going to get in your car and leave right now! Don’t come back here!” He spewed.
David turned slowly and began walking around toward an ice-blue BMW parked at the edge of the front circle. “I’m gonna want my gun back, Micah,” he stated as if he wasn’t concerned by the fact that it was still pointed his direction.
“You can get it from Mom,” came the careful reply.
David continued to laugh and then opened the car door and turned to look at me.
I wasn’t aware until that moment that I was still clutching the gun and pointing it his direction.
“Well, Annalisa, it was fun to have met you. I hope we can do this again—without my brother around.”
“Leave!” Evan barked.
The car cranked and pulled away as I crumpled to the ground sobbing.
He was beside me, carefully removing the gun from my hands.
His mother was vehemently angry with him, rambling on about why this never should have come to this.
I wasn’t hearing all she said as I looked at him. “Are you okay,” I sobbed, my hand touching his bare chest and then moving toward his bloody side. “We’ve got to stop the bleeding,” I continued, my hands still vibrating with fear as they slid across his skin.
“Leese, it’s okay. It’s only a small tear. I’ll be fine. Are you okay? That was a hell of a jump and run you made.” He was pulling me up onto my feet, looking me over. I could only nod.
That was when I noticed his mother had become silent.
She was just standing there, her eyes riveted on the two of us. She suddenly seemed to snap out of her abstraction and her line of sight went to his side. “Let’s get you inside and clean that up,” she finally said.
“It’s not bad.” Then he paused. “I’m sorry—about all of this, but I knew what he’d be like when he got here.”
“I know,” Celeste replied gently. “I know you don’t believe it Micah, but he doesn’t want to see you get…” she paused, looking at me, and considered her word carefully, “hurt.”
I knew that wasn’t it. He didn’t want his little brother to get killed.
We went into the house. He insisted that he would clean and dress his own wound, leaving us standing in the family room as he went upstairs. I wanted to say something to her. I wanted some way to apologize, although I knew it wasn’t my fault that this contract had been placed on my life. Yet, I needed to let her know how much I didn’t want to hurt her son. I wanted so much to tell her that I was deeply in love with him, but I just stood there like a mute.
She turned, evidently seeing the distress on my face, and put an arm around me. “Sit with me, Leese,” she asked, guiding me to the couch. She smoothed my hair and looked at me carefully, “You’re in love with my son, aren’t you?”
It was like a weight tumbled off my shoulders. It had been so apparent on my face that she knew the answer without doubt. I swallowed and then whispered, “More than I can say.”
“Micah has never fallen in love with anyone. This life our family lives is very hard on my boys. What woman could understand a man with an empty heart? The problem is you’ve woken something inside him that he doesn’t know how to handle. This is foreign ground for him, Leese. He’s in love with you and it’s going to destroy him one way or another.”
“No,” I began to sob again. “I won’t let it. I just want to save my mom and my sister. When they’re safe—I—I don’t know what I’ll do—but if he can’t—if he can’t… I’ll do it myself before I’d let someone hurt him.”
She wrapped her arms around me in a grip that was surprisingly similar to his steel embrace. “Good god, Leese, don’t let him hear you say that. I’m going to help him clear up this mess. I only hope that we can find a way out, a way for both of you.”
She had no idea how much I wanted that same dream. I wanted a way to come out of this together. Yet, it was only a dream; there would be no way the two of us would survive. He had said that he could complete his task at the end of our time together and, for his sake, I was now hoping he was right.
I could hear the sound of his footsteps moving down the stairs as the two of us straightened innocently and turned to him. His side was wiped clean and a fresh, small bandage covered the wound. “See, it wasn’t that bad. It’s mostly healed except that small spot on the end.”
His mother rose and met him half-way. “I’ve got to head back to New Orleans and do some more research on Leese’s situation. Do you need me to bring anything back for you? You’re shelves and freezer are pretty well stocked, but you might need some fresh items.”
“No, that’s okay. I’m thinking I might take Leese down to the French Quarter for
dinner tonight so if I need anything in town, I’ll get it. I might stop by and show her the house, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. You know that would be fine.” Then she seemed to reconsider, “Call first though, I want to be sure David isn’t over. I think you two need a chance to cool off before you run into each other.”
He kissed her cheek.
She told me good-bye and she was gone.
He closed the front door and returned to where I was seated in the family room.
Suddenly everything seemed a little different because we were alone.
He came over and sat down beside me on the love seat, his arm outstretched along the top of the cushions, his hand reaching out and feeling my hair.
“Leese, I want to do something…”
That sent a garden full of butterflies loose in my stomach. I could only look at him with expectation.
“You don’t know much about guns, and if you get in another situation like this morning, I want you to know how to handle one.”
The statement was an odd relief, but I still couldn’t speak so I just nodded.
“How about you and I take a ride down to where I like to practice and I’ll teach you.”
I wanted to say yes, but I was honestly so exhausted, mentally, emotionally and physically that I needed some sleep. “Would it be okay, if we just took a breather for some rest before we go? I didn’t sleep very much last night and…”
“Me neither,” he added softly. “All right, it’s only a little after nine, how about we take a few hours and then hit the range around noon?”
I nodded.
“You can relax. It’s just you and me here now. I’m going to lock up the house and turn on the alarm. You’ll be safe. David won’t come back.”
I went down the hallway into my room. The window was still open, so I pulled it shut and turned the lock. There was a bullet wedged in a hole in the wooden floor which was a too poignant reminder of my near catastrophic morning. I closed the blinds and drew the curtains, making the room blissfully dark. I didn’t pull back the thick comforter on the bed. I just laid down and let my head come to rest on the pillow. I heard my bedroom door open, causing me to sit up quickly.
“I’m sorry, I’m just checking your window,” he said as he crossed the floor.
“I locked it.”
He looked anyway and then left me alone.
Once again, my head went down to the pillow. I don’t know how long I slept, but when I rolled over I actually felt rested. I checked myself in the mirror and ran the brush through my hair before stepping out into the hallway to find him.
I could hear unusual metallic sounds and a sound that I was becoming, unfortunately keenly aware of, the chamber of a gun sliding and locking in place. I walked slowly, though for some odd reason, I wasn’t afraid. I peeked into the family room, but saw no one. I followed the sound toward the large formal dining room, but when I looked around the corner I was shocked at what covered the table. He was there with his large, flat gray case from the car. It was open on the table revealing two rifles and four handguns. His black case was also open and he appeared to be cleaning his black pistol.
“Hey,” I said softly. I certainly didn’t want to startle someone with that much fire power.
“You weren’t kidding about being tired,” he said with an easy smile.
I yawned and stretched, “What time is it?
“A little after two. Are you ready to learn how to use one of these?”
I was back to nods only.
He slipped his thick shoulders into some type of double harness and placed a handgun securely in each holster. He placed one gun in his black case and added two boxes of bullets, closed it and looked up at me. “Come on.” We went outside to the garage down to the last double stall on the end. He unlocked the handle and lifted the door.
“We’re going on those?”
He smiled, “No, we’re going on one of these—you’re riding, I’m driving.” He put a key into the ignition of a large green four-wheeler and backed it out.
“Why can’t I drive one?” I asked, trying not to sound disappointed.
“Do you know how?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Not really, but I’m a fast learner.”
“No, not today. Besides, I don’t want you to get crazy and get the notion to race me.” The engine cranked with a steady, blub-blub-blub. He placed his black case in a rack on the front and sat down on the beast.
“No helmets?” I wondered out loud.
“We’re just going to the back of my property. Climb on.”
I didn’t want him to know how excited I was, but I couldn’t contain the large smile that emerged on my face. I straddled the seat close behind him and he showed me the pegs where my feet were supposed to rest. “How do I hang on?”
He didn’t say anything but, even though I was behind him, I could see the cheek go back as the smile formed on his face. He reached for my hands, placing them around his waist. “Just don’t touch my guns,” he laughed.
“I’m not gonna touch your…” and the beast lurched into gear, causing me to grab him tighter.
He just kept laughing and we were off across the lawn. I’d ridden jet-skis before, and the feeling was similar, but I think it was even more enjoyable because I had a good reason for wrapping my arms around that marvelous waist. We took a trail through the woods and around a large lake to his personal gun range on the other side. The ride ended far too soon.
He wasn’t kidding when he told me this was going to be a lesson. He was very thorough as a teacher, stressing over and over the issues of safety. He made me unload, check, reload, unload again, safety on, safety off, check the chamber, where’s the target, where was I pointing the barrel when I wasn’t pointing at the target, over and over again. I had a feeling I’d be able to do this tonight in my sleep.
“Have you ever actually fired a gun?” He finally asked as he was demonstrating how to load the shells properly into the clip.
“Does a starter’s pistol count?”
He looked at me oddly and then, “No. And I don’t know if I want to know what you were doing with one of those. This is a Glock-17 and it’s what I’m going to have you shoot. You’re going to have to pay attention to every detail I tell you because, if you don’t, you’re going to hurt your hand and you’ll quit on me.”
“I’ll do what you ask, and I won’t quit on you.”
“Okay, we’re just going with the basics of shooting the gun.” He put a target on a pulley and sent it out into the range about ten yards away. “Stand with your legs about shoulder width apart, relax your knees slightly. Good. Without putting your finger on the trigger, grip the gun in your dominant hand and cup your weaker hand underneath and around your stronger. Keep your elbows slightly bent, but your wrist should feel locked in place. Use your weaker hand to come up and pull the loading mechanism backward, while pushing the gun forward with your stronger hand. You didn’t pull the chamber all the way back, Leese.” Then he pressed his body to the back of mine, his strong arms fitting perfectly over my own. He cupped my hand and chambered the bullet. Then his arms relaxed and slid back to my mid-forearms. “You’ll chamber the next clip, okay?”
I nodded, afraid to breathe.
“Don’t hold your breath, Baby. Take slow shallow breaths just before you fire. Remember how I told you to sight the gun. Aim for the chest on the target and use steady pressure to squeeze the trigger. Grip the gun firmly because it’s gonna kick and you’ll see a shell fly out the top, but that’s okay. The kick only scares people; it doesn’t really hurt that bad. Okay, Baby, squeeze the trigger.”
My heart was running double-speed, but I didn’t know if it was from the power of what I held in my hands or the power of who was holding me in his hands. I took careful aim and gently squeezed the trigger. The blast was deafening as I felt the sensation of the gun thrusting its self back into my hand like the sting of catching a baseball with no glove. The
shell flew out the top, but I never flinched. I wasn’t going to disappoint him; I wasn’t going to quit until he told me I’d done it correctly.
“Good shot, Leese. You have sixteen more rounds. I want you to fire until the gun is empty. Count off your rounds in your head each time you squeeze the trigger. Don’t forget your aim. Go!”
I squeezed the grip firmly and began unloading the magazine into the target. I wanted to stop after about three more rounds because I could feel my hand beginning to tingle, but I refused to quit. After the last bullet was expended, I pressed the clip release button and watched the empty clip fall to the small table in front of me. I checked my weapon and laid it down. I had those goofy little orange ear plugs in, but it didn’t prevent the hard hum in my ears. “When will my ears stop ringing!” I said a little too loudly.
He was reeling back in the target and he smiled, “They’ll stop in a little while.” He gave a low whistle as he inspected my accuracy. “I don’t think I did that well my first time shooting,” he said approvingly. “Nice pattern.”
They looked like holes in a piece of paper to me, but if he was impressed, I was happy.
He put a new target onto the pulley and sent it out further this time. “Okay, Baby, you’re doing this one all on your own. I’m stepping back. Put in your new clip, chamber your first round and see how well you can do.”
I liked it much better when he was standing right behind me with his arms wrapped around mine, but I was determined to prove that I was a good student. And besides that, every time he called me baby, I became more eager to please him. It was just the deep velvety way it rolled up from his chest, giving me goose-bumps with every utterance. I followed everything he had shown me exactly and managed to pull the mechanism back far enough this time to chamber my first round, I sighted carefully, took slow shallow breaths and away went seventeen rounds into the paper target.
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