Page 46 of Guarded By Them

“Have you got enough bullets to waste on me learning?” Rue asked, her face etched with concern.

“Don’t worry about that,” I told her. “I made sure we brought plenty of ammo from the apartment.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure that I don’t want you to have to rely on us if you’re in danger. You know any one of us would do whatever we needed to keep you safe, but if we’re not around for any reason, and you can get your hands on a gun, I want you to be able to confidently put a hole in that son of a bitch.”

We left the car and walked through the trees. We were going to need some space before we’d be able to start the lesson. My leg was still a little sore, but nothing compared to how it had been the previous day. The swelling had gone down while I’d been sleeping. Perhaps the sex helped in more ways than just mentally.

It was peaceful out here and, in some ways, I felt bad that we were going to ruin that peace with gunfire, but this needed to be done. We had to do everything within our power to give Rue her independence, and being able to defend herself was part of that.

The trees opened onto a grassy slope. Another line of trees was a short distance at the bottom, signaling the start of more forest, but it was enough space to allow us to shoot.

“This way,” I said, leading them all down the slope to the bottom.

There was a cluster of red pines, the trunks wide enough to provide a good target. I didn’t like injuring the tree, but this was more important.

I dropped the bag to the ground. “This will do.”

Bending, I unzipped the hold all and removed the gun and spare clips. Dillon and Kodee dropped down to sitting on the grassy slope, staying back to give us space, but close enough to watch.

“Come here, Rue.” I beckoned her over.

She came to me obediently, stopping at my side.

I pointed to the trees. “You see the biggest red pine directly ahead?” She nodded. “That’s what we’re going to be aiming for. You ready?”

Rue gave a curt nod. “Absolutely.”

I stepped behind her and pressed my body to hers—my chest against her back, my hips against the top of her ass. She was so much shorter than I was, I had to bend to bring myself to her height, resting my chin against the top of her head.

“Hold the gun like this.” With my hand on hers, I positioned her fingers correctly. I kept my hand on her arm and encouraged her to lift the weapon.

“Exhale when you squeeze the trigger, nice and smooth.”

I dropped my hand from hers, allowing her to take control.

“That’s right.”

The crack of the gunshot echoed through the trees, sending roosting birds bursting from the canopy. Crows cawed in irritation, flapping around before settling back down on their roosts. There wasn’t much point since we were going to send them flying again in a matter of a few seconds.

“Wow.” She switched the gun into her other hand a shook her fingers. “That hurt my hand.”

“You just need to relax, be prepared for the recoil.”

“Okay, I’m ready.” She turned her head slightly to look at me and her blue eyes flashed with something I hadn’t seen in her before. Vengeance. “Can we do it again?”

I nodded. “Yeah, let’s try again. You’re aiming for that tree, remember?”

The first shot hadn’t landed anywhere near the tree trunk, but I’d keep her firing until it did.

I reached around her, positioning her hand. “Relax your shoulders, straighten your back. Exhale and squeeze the trigger nice and slowly...”

Bang.

“Shit,” she cursed. “I missed again.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to hit anything. Not yet, anyway. But you’ll get there.”

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