Page 80 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

I was having a great time with him. I didn't want tonight to end. He made me feel so normal. "Yeah, if that's alright." I smiled up at him.

"We'll catch you later then," Kins said. "We're just going to go this way." She pointed toward the exit farthest away. The one that would allow her to walk past James Hunter's table. "I'm going to try to get a whiff of his cologne," she whispered as she gave me a swift hug. She did some weird handshake with Eli before Patrick escorted her away from us.

"Do you two have a secret handshake?" I asked.

Eli laughed. "She makes me do it. No reason to be jealous."

"I'm not jealous." But I knew my face probably gave me away. I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"Are you cold?" he asked as he shrugged off his blazer.

"No, I'm okay. I..." my words died away as he draped his jacket over my shoulders. The truth was, I had been cold. And it was nice that he had noticed. I just wasn't used to asking for anything. I was pretty sure he'd give me the world if he could.

My eyes gravitated toward him as we walked away from the restaurant. He was starting to get a five o'clock shadow. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed how much older he looked before he told me the truth. He wasn't like the other boys on campus. He was a man. A detective. Someone looking out for me. And I knew he couldn't give me the world. But he could give me something that I needed.

"Will you teach me how to shoot a gun?" I asked.

He stopped walking, and I almost tripped because he was holding my hand.

"Why?" he said when I turned to face him.

I stared into his eyes. "You know why."

"There's still time to figure out another way," he said slowly.

"It's the only way. Please, Eli."

He immediately dropped my gaze. He didn't say anything to me as he hailed down a taxi. Or during the drive. Or even when we walked into the shooting range. He finally broke his silence and turned to me. "Don't say a word. Let me handle this."

I wasn't sure what he had to handle. It wasn't like the place was sold out of guns. I looked around at the storefront as I followed Eli up to a counter in the back. The man behind the counter greeted Eli like they were old friends.

Eli leaned against the counter. "Two today, John."

"So I see." John gave Eli a wink.

I turned away to study the store. I couldn't believe how many guns there were on display. Anyone could just walk in here and buy one.

"I'll just need some ID," John said.

Crap. Not just anyone, then. I couldn't give him my fake ID. I wasn't Sadie Davis. And I didn't know enough about the real Sadie Davis to know if she'd be allowed at a shooting range. I didn't even have my old ID claiming I was Summer Brooks. Not that it mattered. If he ran that, it would say that I was deceased.

"She's a new recruit," Eli said. "All her paperwork is being processed right now. Including her ID. Just set us up with one lane. I'm giving her some lessons."

"You know the rules, Eli. No ID, no entrance." John scratched the side of his chin. It looked like some kind of nervous tick. He scratched the other side too.

Eli laughed. "Her record is clean. Or she never would have been admitted to the police academy."

John turned to me and eyed me up and down before turning back to Eli. "I'm really not supposed to."

"You're acting like I'm doing a sting operation or something." He waved his hand. "It's fine. She's with me."

John shook his head as he pulled out a piece of paper. "At least give me her name. This is a liability nightmare."

"Sadie Davis," Eli said.

"Great." He wrote it down and slid it to Eli. "Sign your name. That way I'll at least have proof that a cop tricked me instead of a regular civilian. And so that you won't turn me in."

"What's got a stick up your butt today? Your wife still giving you trouble?" Eli grabbed the pen.

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