Page 84 of Theirs to Rule

"I want you to be able to protect yourself," he explained. "I want you to carry this with you at all times."

The idea of carrying it around made my stomach churn. I winced. "Trust me, you don’t want that."

"Because you can’t shoot for shit?"

"How do you know that?"

He shrugged, like it was no big deal. "Ava told me. And three or four other people. The whole school knows how bad a shot you are?—"

"Then why are you giving it to me?" I snapped, putting it back in the drawer. Even holding it spooked me, though I hated to admit it. I didn’t want him to see me as weak, but I hated the thought of carrying a gun around, let alone having to use one.

"Because with the shit that's going on, the banner you found, the tattoos, Troy's talk of enduring for a cause, I’m going to teach you," he said simply. "You'll learn how to shoot accurately in no time."

"Great, can't wait to be the next Annie Oakley," I muttered, but I knew he was right. Danger was swirling around us, justwaiting to strike, and I should learn how to protect myself in as many ways as possible.

We showered and got ready then headed out of the bedroom but not before Kage grabbed the gun from the drawer. “Just a sec,” I said to Kage. I knocked on Ty’s door. "Ty?" Nothing. I pushed open his door, finding the room empty. "Ty didn't come home last night. Maybe I should put trackers on all your phones after all.”

Kage didn't respond, and I didn't push it.

We had breakfast at a cozy little diner one town over from Crimsonvale. The place was buzzing with early morning energy, the smell of coffee and bacon heavy in the air. As we sat down, Kage started flipping through the menu. "You're going to love the pancakes here."

I tried to focus on the menu, but my mind kept drifting to the gun, to Ty, to everything that was happening around us. "Good thing you have the gun, or I’d accidentally shoot myself reaching for the syrup," I quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

"Not likely since it’s not loaded yet." Kage reached over, squeezing my hand reassuringly. His touch pulled me back from the edge of my spiraling thoughts. "You'll be fine. I've got you."

The waitress came over, a bright smile on her face. "What can I get you two lovebirds this morning?"

Lovebirds?

I scowled at the woman, not because Kage and I didn't love each other, but because the casual way she said it was just that—casual—when what I felt for Kage and our inevitable ending was anything but that. Every moment with him felt too precious, too fragile, to be reduced to something so simple.

We placed our orders, Kage insisting I try the diner's special pancakes with all the toppings. As she walked away, I leaned in. "So, when are we going to this gun range? I need to mentally prepare myself to be humiliated."

"After breakfast. And you're not going to be humiliated. You're going to learn, and I'll be right there with you," Kage said, his tone firm but encouraging.

"Right. Learning. Can't be worse than humiliating myself at CU's weapons training."

After breakfast, I asked Kage to take me to get the Morning After pill. I could tell by his clenched jaw that he still didn’t like the idea, if only because we might have made a different choice if things were different. To be honest, I’m not sure that was true. We were both so young, our lives too complicated. I didn’t want to be a mother yet.

If I was pregnant, would he stay with me?

I immediately pushed that thought out of my mind. A baby wasn’t something to use as a tool or manipulation. When I did have a baby someday, if I had one, it would be one I’d planned to have with my partner, not a means to keep the mafia man I loved.

After our trip to the pharmacy, our drive to the gun range was a mix of silence and nervous anticipation. My palms were slick with sweat, and my stomach twisted with every bump in the road.

"We're here," Kage announced, pulling into the parking lot of a nondescript building that screamed 'gun range' with its barred windows and the faint sound of gunfire from inside. The sound sent a chill down my spine, reminding me how real this was about to get. My stomach did a flip.

"Ready to become a badass?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," I muttered, following him inside.

The interior was exactly what you'd expect: a counter with a guy who looked like he'd been born with a gun in his hand, walls lined with targets and gear, and the tangy smell of gun smoke drifting from the back. Kage handled the formalities, renting us a lane and getting me some ear protection and goggles.

"Alright, let's start with the basics," Kage began, his tone shifting to something more serious as we approached our lane.

My first few shots were... let's just say they wouldn't have hit the broad side of a barn. Each miss was a blow to my confidence, making me grit my teeth in frustration. I wanted to toss the gun aside and forget about this whole thing. Yet Kage’s patience never wavered. "Relax your shoulders," he advised. "You're tensing up too much."

Easier said than done, I thought, trying to follow his instructions. The gun felt foreign in my hands, a tool I was still far from mastering.

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