After setting one gun on the table, Alexei lowered the gun he’d been shooting and popped the clip from the butt as he half turned toward Isidore and offered him a smile. “What’s up, Izzie? You wanna fire off a few shots with us?”
Oh! That worked out better than he’d been expecting.
“Actually, yes. I was hoping that you could show me how to shoot a gun,” Isidore announced.
Not only did Alexei’s eyes widen on him, but West spun completely around to stare at him, his gun pointed safely at the ground.
“Seriously?” West inquired.
“Yes. Definitely. Seriously. I’ve never held a gun, but I thought now might be a good time for me to learn how to handle one of those properly.” He waved one hand at the guns both men held while pinning the grin on his lips so they couldn’t see his growing nerves.
Alexei and West exchanged a look, and Isidore couldn’t decide whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. After a bit, West shrugged one shoulder. “Why not? You remember your gun safety lessons?”
A snort left Alexei and he smiled broadly. “My uncles and mother all beat that stuff into my head.” He glanced over at Isidore and waved him over. “I’ve spent my life surrounded by guns. My family made sure that I understood their dangers and proper uses. But that’s what you get growing up with a pair of assassins.”
Isidore had so many questions about Alexei’s very interesting life, but he shoved them down. When the young man moved closer, he could see that Alexei had gone all out on his eye makeup, giving himself smoky cat eyes—terms he only knew thanks to having a sister. Alexei also had the longest eyelashes he’d ever seen. Were they real? It was probably rude to ask. He definitely shouldn’t ask or try to touch.
He turned his attention to the gun in Alexei’s hand, focusing on why he’d gone looking for him and West in the first place. Before he even got to the parts about firing the weapon, he spent many minutes walking through how to turn the safety on and off, how to check whether the gun was loaded, and how to properly hold the gun when he wasn’t planning to fire it. Isidore loved this part. This was all about keeping the people he cared about protected from him screwing up.
After giving him the information, Alexei went back through, asking him questions to make sure it all stuck. West offered little bits of guidance here and there. During the entire lesson, neither man sounded annoyed nor put out that he was taking up their valuable time.
The problems only started when Alexei held out the gun for him to actually hold. A trembling began in his hands that he couldn’t stop while a cold sweat broke out across his entire body despite the high temperatures. Isidore flexed his fingers a couple of times, trying to work up the courage to take the weapon from him, but he was afraid he was going to drop it.
Sucking in a noisy deep breath, Isidore reached for the weapon, but Alexei moved it away and West placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Maybe we should talk more first,” West said.
Isidore nodded briskly. “Yes. That would be good. And maybe we should practice first without the bullets.”
“Without…the bullets,” Alexei repeated, looking at him as though he’d lost his mind.
“Yes, maybe just techniques on holding the gun and pointing it. Or my stance. All the stuff before I pull the trigger.”
“Yep, West is right. Talking first,” Alexei announced. He set the gun in his hand down next to the other one on the table. West lightly gripped both of Isidore’s shoulders and directed him to one of the chairs.
Isidore’s gaze darted from one man to the other in confusion. When they suggested talking, he thought it would be instructions with the guns. This…this felt more like an intervention as Alexei and West drew up chairs on either side of him and sat.
“Normally, I wouldn’t ask someone a question like this,” Alexei started, but West quickly interrupted.
“Why the hell do you want to learn how to use a gun?”
Isidore’s mouth bobbed open and closed a couple of times. He thought the answer to that was rather obvious. Or it should have been. “I’m doing this so I can be more useful to Kairo. This is his world, and I want to be part of it. If I know how to use a gun, I’ll be able to better protect him, the people he cares about, and myself. I don’t want him to see me as useless or a burden.”
He glanced over to see West rubbing his hand across his lips thoughtfully while staring into Alexei’s eyes. The younger man was simply frowning.
Isidore pointed at one and then the other. “Can you guys speak telepathically?”
“Huh?” Alexei said, jerking upright from his slump in the chair.
“You and West keep doing this thing where you silently meet eyes, and I get the feeling that you’re talking without saying a word. It’s amazing,” Isidore gushed. “Can you read minds?”
West groaned while Alexei’s cackle sprinted through the olive tree grove.
“Man, I just love you, Izzie. You’re so much fun!” Alexei shouted.
“As disturbing as it may seem, Alexei and I have similar opinions and approaches to things,” West stated firmly. “And I’m willing to bet that he agrees with me when I say there is no way in hell Kairo sees you as useless or a burden now. You don’t need to know how to use a gun to be useful in this group.”
“Will doesn’t carry a gun,” Alexei pointed out. “No one would dare call him useless.”