“Hopefully dangerous to anyone who tries to hurt you,” she says. “I admit, living alone makes me nervous, which is why staying close to the castle is so appealing to me and Adriel. I told him today that I was moving.”
“How did he react?”
“He gave me a deadpan look. That’s what he does.” She imitates said look, and we laugh.
Another few minutes pass and a man comes out to talk to us. He insists Giada needs to sit through a class, which is doubtless of Kayden’s or Adriel’s making.
“I’m going to shoot while you learn,” I say, ignoring her grumbles and making my way to another room, and it’s not long before I have goggles, hearing protection, ammo, and my own booth.
I unload a round, and the fact that my memories of my father teaching me to shoot feel more like everyday thoughts than flashbacks feels huge. I’m just reloading when I get a tingling sensation on my neck. Cutting a discreet sideways look, I catch the reflection of a man in one of the glass panels separating me from another booth, and he is familiar. He steps in my direction and I turn and aim my weapon at Mr. Tall, Dark, and Deadly himself.
“Wow, sweetheart,” he says, holding up his hands. “If I was hitting on you, this would be a major turnoff.”
“But you aren’t hitting on me. We both know that.”
“No,” he agrees, removing his shades so I can see his eyes. “I prefer redheads, but don’t tell my wife.”
My blood runs cold. “Who are you?”
“Your friend Sara hired me to find you.”
“Sara hired you?”
“Yes. And you weren’t easy to find. We can call her.”
“No. Sara can’t be involved in this. She needs to stay away.”
“I know. I told her husband—”
“She’s not married.”
“She is now, to a very powerful, famous man who spent boatloads of cash to find you. And for the record, it gutted her not to have you at her wedding.”
“Damn it, Blake,” a female voice says. “This is not a friendly approach.”
“That would be my wife, Kara,” Blake says. “You’d never know I’m the bossy one.” He calls out, “I was friendly. She’s trigger-happy.”
“If she were trigger-happy, you’d have a bullet in you already.”
At the sound of Kayden’s voice, Blake curses. “Holy fuck. This is not going as planned.”
Kayden steps to my side. “Was the plan that I not be here?”
A pretty brunette steps to Blake’s side. “Yes, it was. Because frankly, we wanted to know that she’s safe.”
“Can we put the gun down?” Blake asks.
“Put it down,” Kayden tells me. “I have the entire staff here on payroll.”
“Of course he does,” Blake grumbles, eyeing me. “You’re still holding the fucking gun, and you seem to follow orders about as well as my wife.”
I keep the gun aimed at him. “How do I know Sara sent you?”
“Let’s call her,” he suggests again. “She won’t know where you are. She just needs to hear your voice.”
Kayden’s hand comes down on my back. “Ella, sweetheart. If she did hire him, he can fill in the blanks you want filled in. And you can give Sara her peace of mind.”
“You believe him?” I ask.