Page 47 of Liam

We pull up outside the gun range. “You going to teach me how to shoot?” I ask Liam, acting all innocent. I don’t think he knows that I know how to shoot; he definitely doesn’t know how good I am at it. Dad has had me shooting since I was old enough to learn how to do it safely. He carries a gun everywhere, so it was only fitting that I learn about gun safety.

“Sure, Baby.” He leans across the middle seat and kisses me. He gets out of the truck, and I let a laugh loose because he is about to get the shock of his life.

I get out of the truck and walk to where the ole ladies are standing. Liam is getting his guns out of his truck.

“You girls ready?” Kyle calls, and Liam walks over and sets stuff down on the table.

Liam grabs a small pistol. “I am going to show Paisley how to shoot really fast before we start,” he tells Kyle, and my dad looks at me, confused.

I wink at him, and he covers his mouth to hide his smile. Kyle looks just as confused since he taught me, right along with my dad. I put my finger up to my mouth.

Liam has me stand in front of a target and shows me the ropes, explaining everything. “Alright baby, step back here and do exactly as I told you.”

I walk back to where he told me to stand, pretending I still don’t have a clue what I am doing. I adjust my stance as he instructed me to do; it’s really the same thing I was taught all those years ago.

“Shoot whenever you are ready, Baby.” Liam’s hand is on the small of my back, bracing me.

I aim and pull the trigger.

Liam

I think I have been played. I realized it the moment she pulled the trigger and the bullet hit the fucking bull’s eye.

She empties the clip and then Torch is there, handing her a fucking AK. She takes the gun like a fucking pro and shoots every single target, hitting the dummies right between the fucking eyes and on the heart.

All of a sudden Torch and Kyle are standing beside me.

“She fucking played me,” I say.

They laugh loudly. “Fuck yeah, she did, we both taught her.”

She empties the clip once again and turns around, looking at me with a shit-eating grin on her face.

Little fucker.

She walks over to me, hands her dad the fucking gun, and continues giving me that grin. “Thanks for all your help, Baby.”

I glare at her, everyone behind me laughing. I am pretty sure Torch is about to roll on the fucking ground he is so amused. I bend down and whisper in her ear, “You’re going to get it later.”

She pulls back, grinning at me even wider now. “Promise?”

I nod. Her dad isn’t fucking smiling now, and that serves him right. She walks back to the ole ladies; even Vanessa is there.

Paisley

He is so shocked!” Kayla laughs loudly. Honestly, he was. I got him good and I have the promise of payback later, and I can’t wait. Payback isn’t really payback with Liam because I benefit from it, and I may or may not piss him off on purpose. My dad and Kyle ate that shit up. They loved to see me play a prank on Liam, especially since they taught me everything I know.

“I am excited to learn!” Vanessa says, watching the guys preparing the guns. I feel like this is a big deal for her; this will give her a way to protect herself. I want that for her. She has suffered at the hands of other people without a way to protect herself, and this will give her that independence.

I have my carry and conceal license, and I keep my gun in my car. I drive home a lot at night, and there are some messed-up people in this world.

“I am so shocked that you can shoot that good, girl!” Vanessa tells me, a huge grin on her face, and I am taken aback for a second. She looks different. She looks happy, like the weight of the world has been lifted off her shoulders and, honestly, it is probably because of her dad. He probably had her so down all of the time. Since she has been with Tyler, she is so much happier. I love to see her this way, and I want her to grow and have all the things she has been missing in life.

“How are things with you and Tyler?” I ask her.

She smiles even bigger, and she looks over her shoulder at him and then back at me. He is standing next to Liam, talking. “Things are amazing, girl, I am so glad that you set us up. I am so happy now, girl, and sometimes I am afraid that something could take that away any minute.” She looks down at the ground, her fingers twisting the bottom of her shirt.

I touch her arm. “You can’t think like that, girl, you need to live and enjoy every moment.”

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