“I get that. I do. But it doesn’t mean I’m not a complete fish out of water. I don’t know the rules or how to act, what I can or can’t say.”
“Relax.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“I’m afraid I’m going to screw up, do something wrong, and make you look bad.”
He chuckled. “How are you going to make me look bad?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll say the wrong thing to somebody’s ol’ lady and start a cat fight. Your club will wonder why the hell you’re with an idiot like me.”
“One. You’re not an idiot. Two. You’d never be rude to one of the ol’ ladies. Three. It wouldn’t be the first cat fight the club’s seen. In fact, the boys love a good cat fight. They bet money on them.”
I lifted a brow. “You’re teasing me, right?”
“Maybe.”
“What are we doing here?”
“Getting you a gun. Then we’re going out back for some target practice.”
He didn’t wait for me to object, just tugged me behind him and walked through the door.
The interior wasn’t what I expected. With the exposed logs, the place looked homey. Kind of like a bar and restaurant I’d been to on Lake Dillon. There was a long bar on the right and pool tables and tables and chairs filled the rest of the room. There was even a fireplace with comfy overstuffed seating around it.
Utah led me to the bar where several men sat on stools drinking longnecks. Neither of them was Memphis. I wished he were here. He was the only other Royal Bastard I knew.
“Darko, you got any guns for sale? Something light and easy for her to shoot.”
A middle-aged man with dark hair and silver at the temples turned, and his eyes swept over me. I noted the patch over his breast read Vice President. “Maybe. You gonna introduce the pretty lady?”
“Kate, this is Darko, our VP. Darko, this is Kate.”
He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, darlin’. So you need a gun?”
“Utah thought I should learn how to shoot one to protect myself.”
Darko nodded. “I see. Well, then let’s find you a gun.”
He drained his beer and slid off his stool. “Follow me.”
He led us down a hall and opened a locked door with a key. “Wait here.”
I stood in the doorway while he and Utah stepped through. I could see through the crack in the open door there was a large rack on the wall with all kinds of long guns. They moved to another cabinet and discussed various models of handguns.
“What do you think? A semi-automatic is easier and faster to reload than a revolver. Plus, semi-autos have a shorter, lighter trigger pull than revolvers. So, if she doesn’t have the strength to operate a double-action trigger, she should have no problem using the trigger on a semi-automatic,” Darko said.
“I don’t know. The revolver is more time-consuming to reload, but it’s also a safer option for a new gun owner with less chance of a misfire.”
“You want her fast or safe?” Darko asked.
“Ideally, both.”
“What’s the threat to her?”
“I don’t know for sure yet. A girl with her looks, all kinds of creeps come around. Someone broke into her place last night.”