Page 35 of Assistant to the Assassin

“I have had sex before, Beth, I don’t think anything would surprise me.”

Her head turns towards me at that, her expression bewildered. “You have?”

I don’t know how to take her reaction. “Did you think I’ve been celibate for the past thirty-six years?”

She shrugs, placing her bowl down on the coffee table. “Kinda, yeah. You’re not exactly a people person. I can’t imagine you dating, nor do I believe you’d have enough time, with your schedule.”

“I never said I’ve dated, I said I’ve had sex. Women typically don’t respond well to me once they get to know me. Neither do men. They find me cold and sociopathic. But no one has to get to know me if I meet someone for a one-night stand. I’ve been told I’m attractive.”

She rolls her eyes and smacks my chest. “You know you are, you goober, don’t try to sound humble.”

I laugh gently, kissing her temple. “You’re right about not having time for relationships, even short-lived ones. I haven’t been with anyone in years. Not since I left the CIA.”

She shakes her head, linking her hand with the one draped over her shoulder. “Here I thought I knew all your secrets, but you keep proving me wrong.”

“If it makes you feel better, I didn’t keep any of this from you on purpose. I just have a lifelong habit of not talking about myself.”

She sneaks a peek at me, squinting. “Anything else I should know about?”

“I hate peas.”

Now she glares. “I’m serious! If you and I are going to be anything, I don’t want there to be secrets between us, especially given our circumstances. We are living in a bunker twenty feet below surface on an uninhabited island in the Caribbean; it’s pointless to keep anything from each other. I want to know every aspect of you, and vice versa.”

I can see where she’s coming from, but like I said before, I’m not good at talking about myself, and it can be really hard to do so. I don’t want her to think I’m not committed to our budding relationship though, and I oddly do want her to know all facets of my being, and I certainly want to know all of hers.

An idea comes to mind, and I grab on to the remote to pause the episode. “Okay, how about we play a little game. For every mark you make on the target today, I’ll tell you a secret. If you miss, you tell me a secret.”

She gives me a challenging grin, nodding enthusiastically. “Let’s do it. I’m going to kick your ass.”

“I won’t be shooting today, it will just be you.”

“Well then I’ll definitely kick your ass.”

I roll my eyes, placing another kiss on her head of curls. The two of us finish up breakfast and watch the last part of the episode, then we make our way towards the gym. Since we first arrived here, I have made her practice the defense techniques so many times she could do them in her sleep. Despite having never been an agent in the CIA, Beth has the same drive and tenacity that everyone has drilled into them through training. She’s a natural with learning new skills and committing them to memory; she never complains about the strict training schedule or how hard I push her; she just rolls with the punches.

I have no doubt she’ll be the same way with shooting.

Within our bunker’s gym is a target practice station, equipped with target sheets and a working track on the ceiling that moves it back and forth. Beth and I are twenty feet away from the target, where she eyes it warily.

“What if I fuck up? I could shoot you!” she exclaims, worrying her bottom lip.

I look through the selection of guns, trying to pick one that would be well suited for her hand. “I have faith in you.”

She makes an incredulous sound. “Well, I don’t, and neither should you.”

I pull out my nine milliliter Glock, one of two guns I carry on me at all times, and begin explaining the basics. “You see this little latch on the trigger? That has to be pushed to fire the weapon. There is no real safety. Down here in the handle is where the magazine is. You click this button here, near the trigger, and it comes out, allowing you to reload it. Never shoot a gun without loading a full mag and loading the chamber, by pulling back the top slide.”

She nods along. “Okay, that’s not too hard.”

“Once you have the mag in and a bullet in the chamber, all you gotta do is aim and pull. This gun won’t have the kind of recoil others will, and it’s nowhere near as heavy. It will be easy for a beginner to use.”

She takes the gun from my hand, then she loads in the magazine and readies the weapon to shoot, just as I instructed.

I gesture to the target, then step back to give her some space. “Now, usually if you’re beginning to use a gun, you’d wear headphones to protect your ears, but given our dire circumstances, you need to get used to the sound. If your ears ring for a while after we practice, just know that’s totally normal.”

She gets into a wide-legged stance. “Thanks.”

She aims at the paper target and fires, letting out a little squeak of shock when the bang sounds through the room. She places her free hand on her chest and takes a few deep breaths.

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