Page 75 of Secrets Bared
After Luke talked to the man behind the counter and got them passes to the back, she followed him to a solid metal door. “Won’t you get in trouble for letting me fire your weapon?”
“Nah, sweetheart. I’m expected to practice, especially when I’m on leave. No one will care.”
“Really?”
He paused, his hand on the door handle. “Sweetheart, if Ross found out my girl had a stalker, and Ihadn’tlet her practice on my weapon, he’d smack me in the head and give me the shittiest assignments for a year.” He grinned at the shock on her face. “His girlfriend had a stalker when they got together and it’s a kind of sore spot for him.”
“Oh.” She took the hard ear protection, and safety glasses he handed her and followed him inside. He found them an aisle and laid the case on the table there, spinning a combination lock and popping the lid open.
“First rule of gun safety is to treat all guns as if they’re loaded. Which I’m going to do here.” He demonstrated how to load the magazine, how to insert it into the gun, and then pressed it into her hands.
“Keep it pointed downrange, there you go. We’re just going to focus on the functions of actually shooting so you can get a feel for it. This gun might have more recoil than you want, and we can shop around if that’s the case. But for now, this’ll do.”
Maggie nodded, nausea turning her stomach. “I’m not sure this is such a great idea.”
“Why’s that?”
“I don’t know if I can do this for real, Luke. Shooting the paper at the far wall is one thing, but a person?” Her hands shook so bad she was worried that the gun would fall to the floor.
“Chances are you’ll never need to know any of this, sweetheart.” He murmured into her ear, the protective sound barriers no match for his velvety baritone. “But if it comes down to it, you should know how to protect yourself.” His hand smoothed over her shoulder, soothing her.
He was right. She knew he was right. Maggie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.
She’d gotten away from Sean on her first try. Most survivors tried seven times to get away from their abuser. Firing a gun should be easy.
Luke showed her how to plant her feet, how to hold the gun with both hands. “Don’t take the safety off unless you know you’re going to shoot.” He had her flick the little safety lever off, then on, several times. “Okay, now pull the slider back.” He took her hand off the gun and laid it on top, using her hand to slide the top portion back and then letting it spring forward again.
“You just loaded a bullet into the chamber from the magazine.”
Maggie nodded as the butterflies in her stomach did the Riverdance.
“Now, lay your finger along the barrel. Bend your elbows slightly. Line up your front sight with your target…”
She squinted one eye shut and lined the little bump at the end of the barrel up with the crosshairs on the paper target.
“…and squeeze the trigger.”
An explosion erupted from the gun, the pushback taking Maggie by surprise even with the stance Luke had shown her. She found herself leaning back against his chest, panting as though she’d run a mile.
“There’s the recoil.” He helped her upright once more. “Can you try again?”
She looked back and up at him as the adrenaline pumped through her veins. “Hell yes.”
An hour later, her hands were too tired to hold the gun, much less reload the magazine. Luke was grinning at her as he put the gun back in its case and they returned to the counter to turn in their protective equipment. She hadn’t hit the bull’s eye at all, but she’d gotten the bullets in the paper, and that’s what he said he wanted to see. “The point is to buy you time to get away, notjust to kill someone. Although if they’re attacking you, they’re fair game.”
The knuckles on her thumbs were raw from the recoil, but she felt ten feet tall. Let Sean come for her. She wasn’t afraid of him anymore.
When they got back to Luke’s car, she let him put the case in the trunk before she leaped into his arms.
He laughed. “What’s this for?”
“Thank you,” she said, wrapping her legs around his waist as he leaned his forehead against hers.
“You’re welcome? Thank you for agreeing to it.”
“You were right. I needed this.” She attached her mouth to his, exploring the inside with her ravenous tongue. He gripped her ass, and she hoped he left bruises.
He broke the kiss on a moan, “Baby, does shooting make you horny?”
