Page 26 of Gio

A prospect that wasn’t as unappealing as it was a few weeks ago.

So I was determined to buck up and deal with the fear. I had Gio and the Steel Demons at my back and if that wasn’t enough then nothing would be.

“Okay, I’m done.” It was a little longer than an hour, which explained why Gio’s expression of relief was so dramatic it teased a laugh out of me. “Ready to go?”

“Yep.” He jumped to his feet and shoved his phone into some hidden pocket in his vest. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” He snatched my hand and clasped our palms together. “How do you spend your days inside these windowless rooms?”

It wasn’t the first time someone posed that question to me, and I always gave the same answer. “You don’t notice it after a while.”

“You grew up in the sunny desert and now you live in the sunniest fucking place on earth, no way it doesn’t bother you.” He pulled me close when a group of tipsy men stumbled out of one of the gaming rooms.

He was right but the truth was sad. It was pathetic. “I spend more time in those windowless rooms than the sunshine so actually this,” I waved towards the sky, “is more jarring than ballrooms.”

“Hmph,” he groaned and handed me a helmet.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” He made his eyebrows jump before turning away to throw his leg over the bike. “Come on.”

I was curious to see what this surprise was even though I was pretty sure it was just sex, which was amazing because sex with Gio was always amazing. In fact it surpassed that mild word every single time—mind-blowing was more like it. It’s temporary, I reminded myself even as I hung on tight and pressed my body to his, though as I’d been staying at his place for coming up to three weeks, I was getting a bit too used to being around him. Being on the back of Gio’s motorcycle was always such a rush, a thrilling and terrifying rush that left me breathless and a little wobbly in the legs when we arrived at our destination.

***

I’d thought he was taking us to the clubhouse but then he headed out of town towards the warehouse district. Eventually we went down a dirt track and pulled up at a large building. I jumped off and looked up at the building with metal and wood twisted to make a skull, the words above and above it declared it to be Demon Head Guns. “Is this your place?”

Gio flashed a proud smile and nodded. “It belongs to the MC so yeah it belongs to all of us.”

That was an interesting bit of information. “Right. You’ve been with me so you’re probably not getting a lot of work done.”

His lips tugged to one side, and he hooked an arm around me and led me inside. “I’m not bringing you to work with me, Harp. This is for you, and for me.”

I stopped but Gio pushed me ahead with a short laugh. “How’s this for me? I don’t own a gun and I don’t want to know how to shoot one.” My heart pounded against my chest so loud it almost blocked out the sound of guns being fired beyond that giant metal door.

“You don’t own a gun, yet. And youdoneed to learn how to shoot one because it could be a matter of life or death. Like you said I can’t be around you twenty-four-seven even if I want to be, and this way we can both rest easily knowing you can handle some shit if it goes down.”

My heart went completely still, and his words sank in. There would inevitably come a time when Gio wouldn’t be at my side and even if that time never came there might come a time when he couldn’t do it all on his own. I would have to step in and don my own cape to help save myself. I didn’t like it, and it scared me shitless, but he was right. “Okay. Fine.”

His smile brightened and his chest puffed out proudly.

“But if I don’t like, we stop.”

“You’ll love it, I promise.” He dragged me towards the door and punched in a code. “It’s nice when there are no life-or-death consequences on the other side.”

“That sounds like bullshit but I’m here and I’m willing to give it a try.”

Of course Gio was a good teacher, and he went through the motions to teach me about gun safety, how to load and unload the damn thing. It was all very mechanical, and his bland delivery helped take the mystery out of the murder machine. Eventually I was ready to give it a go.

“Got it?”

I nodded. “Yep, I think so.”

“Good.” He smiled and nestled up behind me, cradling his hands around mine. “Get a feel for the gun. Grip the metal and let the weight of it sit in your hands.” His words came out on a grunted whisper. “Yeah, just like that.”

I barely suppressed the shiver that his breath words sent down my spine. “Okay. Now what?”

“Now line up your shot. Aim for center mass. It’s the biggest part of the body and increases your chances of landing a bullet.”

“Okay. Squeeze the trigger slowly and keep your hands steady.”

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