“Did you sleep well?” Chris asked.
“God yes, I felt like I slept for a week,” I said.
Chris brought over a couple plates full of food and then some orange juice. We both sat there and ate in silence. I couldn’t remember how long it had been since I had eaten. Maybe two days before when I was at Rebecca and Robert’s house? I shoveled in the pancakes and strawberries like a prisoner who had been denied food for weeks. It surprised me how comfortable I felt with Chris and his new beard. It looked good on him now that he was all cleaned up. I think he might have trimmed it at some point while I was asleep also. The curves of
his beard matched perfectly with the edges of his chiseled jawline.
He sat there eating his food and every now and then glanced at me and smiled. It was a reassuring smile that I needed so very much. I still didn’t know what was going on and although I was freaked out about it on the inside, I did try not to worry too much about it. I was there with Chris now; nothing could go wrong with him there. I saw the wound on his shoulder from the gunshot he had taken a few weeks before. It was all healed now with a raised red scar that had formed. My fingers traced over the scar and I looked up at him. The horror of that night was very fresh in my brain and I doubted I would forget about it any time soon.
“Does it still hurt?” I asked.
“No, it’s better.”
“Should I call Rebecca and Robert? I know they must be getting freaked out.”
“I called Sheriff Thomson and told him you were with me, he’ll let them know.”
Chris handled things very efficiently. The fact that he knew who Sheriff Thomson was, that impressed me a great deal. Chris was a smart man and seemed to think things through about ten steps ahead of everyone else. I couldn’t even imagine being able to think about steps that were so far ahead of the moment I was in.
“Okay, that’s good. I just didn’t want them to worry. How long are we going to stay here?”
“Well, I would like it if you stayed here, but I have to go back to work for a little bit.” Panic struck my whole body as I thought about being left alone in the house. I knew we were far away from where the men had hurt Chris, but I didn’t like the thought of being left without any protection.
“Will Gunner be with me? Or one of the other guys?”
“No, they need to come with me on this mission. You will be alright. No one knows we are here except the owners of the property.”
“I won’t be safe,” I said as my voice cracked.
“You will be safe. I wouldn’t leave you here if I didn’t think you would be alright.”
I felt my breath get faster as I started to panic. I couldn’t be left alone; there was just no way that I would be alright.
“I’ll just come with you. Where are you going?”
“Babe, you can’t come with me. I’m going to be down in Chicago messing up some pretty bad guys. You need to stay here.”
Panic filled my body and I felt my breath getting faster and faster. The color left my face and I felt my face drain of all the color. I was left with a pale face and felt like I was about to pass out. The room was closing in on me and I felt extremely dizzy.
“I can’t stay alone,” I said as my hands shook.
Chris grabbed both of my hands and held them firm in his own. He looked at me in the eyes and I felt he was there with me. He didn’t condemn me for being scared, instead he understood and that helped me calm down.
“I’ll give you a gun. Would you like that?” I thought about it for a moment. I had never shot a gun before, but the idea of having one around did make me feel a little better.
“Will you show me how to use it?”
“Of course, after breakfast we can go out back and I will show you. But I should only be gone for a day or two, you will be just fine. I promise.”
I couldn’t eat another bite of my breakfast and instead waited for him to eat so he could show me how to shoot the gun. It made me feel much better to think I would at least be able to protect myself if I had to; I just hoped I wouldn’t have to do it. I had never been around guns and didn’t’ feel comfortable at all with the idea of having to shoot one. But it was much better to be able to shoot the bad guys than to let them shoot me.
Chapter 46
The cold metal of his gun felt sexy in my hands. I held the heavy gun and tried to point it at the target Chris had set up for me on the other end of the yard. The weight of the gun made it difficult to keep my hands outstretched though. My muscles just were not use to having to work that hard.
I relaxed my arms and the gun pointed toward the ground. It was silver and I really didn’t know what type of gun it was. It was flat on the sides and had a slip of bullets that slid into the bottom of the gun. I wanted to know how to shoot it. I wanted to feel safe when Chris was gone and feel like I could protect myself if I had to. Chris came over and showed me how to put the safety back on the gun.
“Anytime it is not in use you have to have the safety on. This is essential. Do not forget it.”