Page 41 of Nuclear Option (Owens Protective Services)

“No!”

“Huh.” He cocked his head as he assessed me. “I didn’t expect that.”

“Interestingly enough, not every person in the world has held a gun before.”

“Well, it’s time to change that. Don’t ever put your finger on the trigger unless you’re prepared to shoot the person you’re aiming at. And don’t ever aim it at someone unless you’re prepared to pull the trigger. Got it?”

“But—”

“It would be nice to sit here and chat about it, but the others are waiting on us, so we have to go.”

“The others?”

“The team. Cash called and said there might be a problem.”

I shoved the gun into my sling and grabbed him by the arm before he could walk out the door. “Wait, Cash is here?”

He looked at me funny, a grin pulling at his lips. “Well, yeah. You didn’t think he’d leave you here, did you?”

“They told me he left.”

“That’s just silly talk. Cash would never leave you. Of course, I’m a little surprised I found you before him. He must have gotten held up.”

“With what?”

“Fighting off baddies,” he grinned, reaching over to ruffle my hair. “You’re so cute. Now, pull that gun out of your sling. It won’t do you any good in there, and you’re more likely to shoot your arm off.”

I hadn’t thought of that. I quickly took out my gun, unsure of how to hold it. “It’s so heavy.”

“You’ll get used to it.” He quickly ducked his head into the hallway, then looked back at me. “Now, we’re going to move fast. You stay on my ass, and if you see anyone that’s not with us, you fire first and ask questions later.”

“Wait! What if I shoot one of us?”

“Well…I guess they had it coming.” And with that, he turned and stepped out into the hallway, his gun raised as he quickly walked down the hall. I followed behind him, trying to emulate him in some way, but I looked like an idiot, trying to hold the gun in one hand. I wasn’t even sure I could fire the damn thing.

“Stop!” someone shouted from behind us. I turned and flinched, ducking down as Fox turned and fired at the man. I was cowering and covering my head.

“You’re too tense. That man would have shot you. Shoot first, ask questions later. It’s a mantra. Repeat it with me.”

He nodded as he repeated it, motioning for me to join him. “Shoot first, ask questions later,” I said very unenthusiastically.

He winced. “Well, it wasn’t the most convincing, but you’ll get the hang of it sooner or later.”

“I doubt that,” I muttered.

“Trust me, all it takes is one bad guy threatening you, and you won’t hesitate. What you need is to loosen up. I know, we should sing something to get you in the mood.”

“You want to sing now?” I hissed.

“It heightens the thrill of the action,” he said over his shoulder as we turned another corner.

He started singing, but I ignored him. The man was crazy, singing show tunes while we were trying to evade capture. I kept running behind him trying to block out the sound of his singing. It wasn’t calming me down at all. If anything, it was scaring the shit out of me that someone would find us.

“There they are!” a man shouted. I turned and nearly screamed as four men gave chase. Yet Fox was still lost in his show tune universe.

“Fox! They’re coming!”

“So shoot them,” he said over his shoulder.

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