Page 22 of Only The Strong

Callum shrugs. “It’s one of my job skills.”

I turn around, with my back against the table holding the guns. “You need to know how to shoot guns to run a roofing business?” I snark at him.

“I wasn’t talking about CM Roofing.” He hands me the eyeglasses, putting his on as well. “I would have brought my personal ones for you to try out, but there’s too many to travel with.”Too many to travel with? Are you a small army?

I cross my arms and stare up at Callum. “I guess the rumors are true then, huh?”

Callum shakes his head and chuckles deeply. “You and those damn rumors, why are you so obsessed with them?”

“Because they’re all I know about the club since everyone side-steps around it.” I snap, starting to get a little irritated at his constant diversions of the topic.

He leans against the wall of the small cubicle with his arms crossed. “I can’t tell you about the club babe, and I told you I won't lie to you.” I turn around, frustrated with him for not sharing things with me, but also appreciating that he’s not lying to me when it would be the easier option. Callum’s hands come to rest on the table on either side of me, his lips grazing my ear. “The truth is far worse than the rumors,” he whispers. “But I will always keep you safe.” His mouth moves from my ear to kiss down my neck. I tilt my head to give him better access and feel the vibration of his deep chuckle. “You want me to bend you over right here? I gotta admit, you next to these guns is doing something to me.” His chest shakes behind me and I realize he's laughing. His laughter is infectious, it always has been, and it makes me laugh along with him. “Are you scared?” His laughter dies out and his voice turns serious.

Am I scared? Of Callum? Maybe. No. Should I be scared? Probably, yeah. Am I scared of the club? Again, I know I should be. All I know is the rumors and they paint them as dangerous people. Cold, scary, and unpredictable. I know Callum is into illegal things, he’d be more open with me if he wasn't, but he hasn't ever put me in danger. The guys in the club are some of the nicest and most selfless people I've ever met. So can whatever they be doing be that bad? What makes a person a bad person? That they do illegal things? Is a criminal a bad person? Where do we draw the line? At hurting others right? But what about if they’re doing it to protect people who can’t protect themselves? My lines on these kinds of things used to be so clear-cut. Everything was black and white, but Cale has come to mean a lot to me, and that's where Callum and the club reside: in the gray area of life.

“No.” I finally answer.

“Why?” His hand snakes up my front, stopping at the base of my neck and rubbing back and forth softly.

My mouth goes dry at the contact and I swallow to bring some moisture back. “Because I know you’ll always protect me.”

Callum’s hand starts to move again. Running up my throat to clasp around my chin. He gently turns my face to the side and he leans over my lips, inches away. My breath catches when I look into his slate blue eyes. “Always, Red.” When I think he's going to kiss me he pulls away and I can feel the air rush back into my lungs with the distance. I take a deep breath and clear the fog from my brain. “Alright, let’s do this,” he says from beside me again.

After giving me the rundown speech on safety and what each part of the gun is meant for we finally move on to the actual shooting. Callum positions me in front of the target, with the gun aimed and my arms locked straight, my legs parted slightly. He stands behind me and lightly holds my arms up, his big body enveloping me with his pine scent. He smells like a forest and I lose my focus for a second, his body emitting heat down the length of me.

“Whenever you're ready, Red.” He snaps me back to reality and the weight of the gun sits in my hands. I pull the trigger.Pop!I stare wide-eyed at the target. I didn't hit anywhere near the bullseye, but I hit the target at least, more importantly, I just fired a gun. “You’re a natural, Red. You didn't even flinch.”

I lower the gun to look at the target, smiling. “I kind of liked it.”

Callum chuckles behind me, his chest shaking against me. “That’s my girl. Pop off a couple more and then you can try the other ones.”

I raise the gun and fire, checking to see where I hit. Still not close, but at least I'm hitting the target. I fire again,pop, pop, pop.Callum laughs his intoxicating deep laugh and lets go of my arms and steps to stand beside me. He loads the next two guns and hands me one. I set the previous one down and try out the next one. After trying both of the other guns, my aim getting slightly better, I grab the first one again. Callum pulls the target in and replaces the sheet with a clean one. This time I focus more on my aiming and I get dangerously close to the bullseye. I let out an embarrassing squeal and turn to look at Callum. His grin is huge and he looks as proud as I feel. I’m no stranger to Callum, we’ve been hanging out for a few weeks now, but this time together feels different; I feel more of a connection to him like I actually care if he’s proud of me or not.

We stare at each other, I bite my lip and his gaze lowers to my mouth before he pulls his attention away from me with a sigh. Callum pulls his phone out of his pocket and checks the screen, pulling his earphones off and placing them on the table; I follow him in doing the same. “Which one did you like, Red?”

I set the gun I was holding back into its case. “This one.”

Callum nods and starts to close the case. “I thought so. You looked most confident with it.” He sets his glasses on the table as well and picks up the case. “Come on, babe, we have a double date to get to.”

He holds the door open for me and I walk through and back into the public lanes. The lanes are about as busy as they were when we arrived, not much, and I turn to read a poster on the wall about a women's shooting night when I slam into a person. Rushing out an apology, I look up to the stranger that I just assaulted. “Eli?”

Eli’s chocolate brown eyes widen. “Reese! Wow, I haven't seen you since…” He trails off looking over my shoulder to Callum.

“Since Noah and I broke up, yeah. How are you?” I feel Callum move a little closer to me, but I ignore how badly I want to lean back into him.

Eli smiles, his smile was always the most handsome thing about him. “I’m good. You look great though. I mean Noah hasn’t taken the whole thing that well but…” He shrugs.

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure.” I highly doubt my cheating ex was all that heartbroken when we broke up, yeah I’m sure he cared about me, but I know he didn’t have any trouble filling his bed after I left.

Eli leans in like he’s going to tell me some secret and looks into my eyes. “Really, I mean he’s acting super weird and running off without telling anyone. He never wants to hang out with any of us anymore. I think he’s hiding something; all of us guys are worried about him.”

I nod, trying to hold my tongue. I’m sure the only thing he’s hiding is an STD. I notice the earplugs in his ear and the handgun case on the table next to him. “I didn’t know you liked shooting.” I gesture to the small black case on the tabletop.

He flashes that charming smile again and his eyes hold a mischievous glint in them. “Oh yeah, I’ve always loved to hunt.”

I nod again, not knowing what else to say and Callum lightly taps my waist, getting my attention. “Well hey, we have to meet up with some friends so I’ll see you around okay?”

Eli looks between Callum and I, smiling. “Yeah. Definitely. See you around, Reese.”

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