Page 28 of In The Trenches (Owens Protective Services)

“I’m not married.”

“Ex?”

“No.”

She nodded, like that explained everything. “You don’t look like a Beth.”

That’s because it wasn’t my real name. I hadn’t used it since that fateful day. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be the woman I used to be. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“I’m just saying, you can talk to me if you need to.”

Her offer was nice, but that would never happen. I would never allow someone to get close to me again. Art hadn’t even known my real name and he still ended up dead. If she knew what was really going on, she would be in danger, along with anyone that knew her. I couldn’t carry that weight on my shoulders.

I opened the door to the apartment building, hearing her scoff of disgust as we walked through.

“Security here sucks.”

“I don’t think that was on the advertisement for this building.”

I headed for my apartment, grateful it wasn’t on a different floor. The idea of walking up stairs was daunting right now. When I approached my door, I paused, my heart thundering when I saw it was already open slightly. Rae shoved past me and pulled a gun. I stepped back, my eyes wide as I stared at the weapon in fear. Where the hell did she get that?

She put her finger up in front of her lips and slowly shoved open the door. I watched in amazement as she entered the apartment without fear, but then she stopped almost immediately as a man walked out of the bathroom as if he had every right to be there.

“Freeze, motherfucker.”

The man stopped, raising his hands slightly. He was a slimy bastard, with yellowing teeth and filthy clothes. The grin on his face said he didn’t think she was a threat. That was just stupid. One look at Rae and I knew she could kick his ass. Still, he walked forward, like he would intimidate her.

“I’d stop moving if I was you,” she said, her voice not even shaking.

I was terrified andshewas the one guardingme. I took a step toward the door, my back hitting the wall. My instincts told me to run, that I wasn’t capable of winning this fight. I’d had enough of getting beat up in my lifetime, and now all I wanted to do was survive.

“Lady, do you even know how to use that?” the man asked, continuing to advance on Rae, who stood her ground.

“Well, I know there’s this thingy here. I’m supposed to pull it right?”

“You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Rae cocked her head to the side. “You mean, this is, like, dangerous or something?”

“Sweetheart, if you don’t know how to use that, you should really put it down.”

Rae glanced over her shoulder slightly and frowned. “I don’t know. What do you think, Beth? Should I put it down?”

I didn’t answer, and I didn’t think she really wanted me to.

“I mean, it can’t be that hard, right? Point and shoot?”

The gun fired without warning and the man screamed out in pain, clutching his knee as blood poured through his fingers. “Fuck! I told you not to use it!”

“Huh, that wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought. I was aiming for your head, though. I guess my aim was a little off.”

My lips twitched at her humor. There was no way she was aiming for his head. The large man suddenly stood to his full height and charged. Very calmly, almost as if she’d done this a million times, she fired off another shot, this time hitting him in the shoulder. He stopped instantly, clutching his shoulder as he cried out in pain.

“Damn, I was really hoping that would hit him in the head. Maybe I should just keep firing until I get it right. How many pew pew things does this hold?” she asked, looking at the gun funnily.

“Pew pew things?” the man shouted. “Lady, that’s a deadly weapon!”

“Is it? I thought it was just really badass looking.”

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