El released me, and I fell into step beside Emiliana as Sofia and El led us toward the massive building. The only windows were on the glass front doors. The rest of the structure was some sort of dark-gray sheet metal. Their security went in front and behind us with several at the side, forming a diamond of protection. Once inside and closing in on the front desk, we were waved through by the guys sitting there.
“We don’t come here often, but when we do, there a few private ranges set aside for our use,” Emiliana explained.
We weaved through the hallways until we came to a locked door. One of the security guys opened it, and we filed in while the guards remained in the hallway. Some had stayed in the lobby and a few more were outside the entrance. The shooting bays were divided by plexiglass, and electric panels were mounted to the side of each unit that must have had the ability to move the targets.
Sofia pulled a gun from her purse. It looked like a 9mm, but I honestly had no idea. El and Emiliana did the same, along with a few clips or magazines. It was pretty basic stuff, but I’d never been around guns before. I just hadn’t paid attention to what the specific parts of a gun were called. And until that day, I’d never cared to learn.
Sofia wrapped her arm around me and led me to one of the bays. She handed me noise-canceling headphones but stopped me before putting them on.
“This is what you’re going to do.” She positioned the gun in my hand. “Hold it like this.” I demonstrated how the grip should be between the webbing of her thumb and index finger. Three fingers wrap around the base of the grip and below the trigger guard. The thumb rests along the frame. Then her index finger only goes on the trigger when she’s ready to shoot. “Look down the sight. Line up the top sight with the rear, point, and shoot. It’s a great way to get your frustrations out.” She winked then flicked her long, wavy ponytail over her shoulder. “Trust me.”
She put on a pair of headphones when I did then leaned against the plexiglass as I followed her instructions. I fired off a few shots then lowered the gun. Sofia made a rolling motion to keep going with her finger. So I did. I channeled all the frustration, aggression, and fear I’d felt in the past few days and kept firing until there were no more bullets. When I handed over the gun, she popped part of it off and reloaded it. Then she hit a button on the control panel, and the target I was aiming for moved forward until it stopped a foot from where we stood.
“Look.” She grinned. “You got a few on the sheet.”
My cheeks burned. “On the edge of the paper.” If that had been a person and I had to shoot him in a life-or-death situation, I would have been the one bleeding out. Not a single shot had hit the actual silhouette.
El poked her head into our space and checked out my dismal attempt to hit the target. “You’re learning. Don’t worry about it.”
Emiliana joined us, taking her headphones off and letting them hang around her neck. “You’ll get the hang of it. You hit the target. Be proud of that.”
“Besides, we’ll teach you.” El grinned. “And speaking of you being around… what’s going on between you and Trey?”
Sofia’s nose scrunched up. “Please keep it PG.”
“It’s pretty PG. Don’t worry.” I worked hard to keep the longing from my voice. I wanted more, which told me the accusation I’d made was most likely off base—I was a decent judge of character. “After I blamed him for having something to do with my stepfather’s death, I don’t think there’s anything more to it. He’ll probably happily drop me at home after this.”
Sofia snorted. “He’s not going to get rid of you. Trust me. The way my brother looks at you says it all.”
“I’ve got to agree with Sof,” Emiliana said. “Trey’s never acted like he does with you.”
“Not even when he was dating Teresa.” El leaned against the plexiglass. “He onlythoughthe was into her.”
“True. She was a temporary vacation from his life, which he needed with everything that was going on.” Sofia’s expression sobered. “It wasn’t easy for him to graduate high school so early. He went to college at fifteen. My brother’s a genius. Imagine what that was like… and then to push himself to excel in med school and during his residency, all the while maintaining what the family expected of him.”
“We’ve talked about dating,” I confessed, needing to get more clarity on the situation from their perspectives. “I’m just worried he’ll lose interest once all the danger with Guido is over.”
“You’re referencing that bullshit about sending you home the other day?” Emiliana frowned. “Take it from all of us—they try to push us away until they can’t deny their feelings any longer. It’s like this weird white-knight act they try on in the name of us being safer without them. It’s a load of bullshit. They can’t deny the monsters inside them, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She shrugged, and the other two nodded, wearing knowing sinister grins.
“His denial of his feelings won’t last.” El chuckled. “Well, for you, it didn’t even last half a day. Must be the genius in him.” She winked at Sofia.
“He’s still an idiot. All men are.” Sofia rolled her eyes. “But we love them anyway.”
“This idiot is ready to take Hailey away before you corrupt her any further.” Trey stood with a wide stance inside the door, arms crossed over his chest.
“See what I mean?” Sofia glared at Trey then pulled me in for a tight hug. “We’ll do this again. You’re good for him. Don’t give up the fight.” That last part was whispered.
I squeezed her back. I hugged Emiliana and El, then handed over the equipment I was using before joining Trey. “How much of that did you hear?”
“Enough.”
He opened the door, and we exited. As soon as it shut behind us, he put his hand on my lower back. I couldn’t suppress the full-body shiver from his touch.
“I’m sorry.” The words were soft, but he turned my way as if he’d heard me.
“I won’t kill someone in your family without good reason or you knowing about it, and certainly not like that.”
We navigated the parking lot, and I climbed into a black Range Rover that must have been one of his cars. He got behind the wheel and pulled out to the street. We had much to discuss, mostly my accusing him of killing Allen when the problem was that I was hurt, confused, and lashing out. He just happened to be my scapegoat, thanks to the little seed of doubt Justin had planted.