“No. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“He could protect us,” Josh said.
“He has a gun,” Sasha announced.
“What?”
“Daddy has a gun,” she repeated.
“No, of course he doesn’t have a gun,” Chloe said.
“Yes, he does,” Josh said. “He showed us.”
“Daddy showed you a gun?”
“It’s very heavy,” Sasha said, snuggling into Chloe’s side.
“He let you hold it?” Chloe could barely contain her horror.
“It wasn’t loaded,” Josh said.
“I don’t care. You shouldn’t be anywhere near guns.”
“It’s for protection,” Josh insisted.
“We don’t need protecting,” Chloe said, managing to sound much surer of herself than she felt.
Someone was threatening her.
Matt had a gun.
Seconds later, both children were asleep, their warm little bodies pressed against hers. Chloe lay between them, afraid to close her eyes, the clock beside her bed ticking off the seconds till morning.