Conquer (Control) (28 page)

Daemon spoke with the man, I assumed was George, as I continued glancing about the room.  There were enough weapons and ammunition in this place to arm a small army.   Not only were there guns, but there were also bullet proof vests, gas masks and an impressive display of hunting and combat knives.  My eyes widened when I spotted a crossbow hanging on a wall display. 
That could be fun…

“Paige, are you with us?” 

My head shot back to where Daemon was standing.  Both he and the other man were staring at me intently like they were waiting on me to say something.  “I’m sorry.  Did I miss something?”

Both men chuckled as Daemon threw his arm around my shoulder and pulled me to him.  “Paige, this is George.  He owns and runs the gun shop and range.”

I smile politely at George and extend my hand.  He took my hand and shook so vigorously, I felt like my arm would pop loose from my shoulder.  “Nice to meet you, Paige.  Joe has told me a lot about you.”

“Joe?”  My face turns beet red.  “Peanut gallery Joe?”

George smiled and I saw where he would have been quite handsome when he was younger. His green eyes sparkled and two dimples appeared on his cheek from his deep smile.  “I don’t know nothing about peanuts, but Joe told me Daemon was training a real beautiful girl down at the gym.  I hear you can hold your own against Daemon.   That’s something to be proud of.  Most men can’t do that, much less, a tiny thing such as yourself.”

I look up to find Daemon beaming down at me with pride.  “Uh, yeah.  I guess.  Daemon’s been teaching me some self-defense stuff for the past couple of months.”

George nodded and grabbed my hand to pull me away from Daemon.  Dragging me to one of the display cases, he put his arm around me as I peered down into the glass top case.  My eyes scanned over multiple handguns laid out on display.  “Well, if you are learning self-defense, you’ve certainly come to the right place.   Have you fired a weapon before?”

I looked up from the handguns to answer George.  “Once.”

A surprised expression comes over George’s face.  “Excellent.  What type of gun did you shoot?”

I shrugged my shoulders.  “I’m not sure.  I know it was a rifle.  It was long, and had a little lever sticking out from the side of it that you had to push back and forth each time you shot it.”

“Sweetheart, you mean to tell me you shot a gun and you didn’t know what it was?  Who in the hell let you do that?”

“The guy I stole it from.  I was trying to kill him, but every time I shot the thing, I missed.”

George stood eyeing me with suspicion as Daemon walked over to join us.  “George, it’s not what it sounds like.”  Daemon pointedly looked at me like he wanted me to shut up.  My eyes widened at him.  “Paige has had some issues…”

Daemon explained my situation to George who looked sickened at the story he was being told.  Once Daemon had completed the story, George immediately walked behind the display case to pull out several handguns and place them on the glass top.  Looking up from the small selection of guns, George’s eyes meet mine.  “I’m damn sorry to hear you’ve been going through that, Paige.  I wish you did know how to fire that rifle because nothing would please me more than to know that sick son of bitch was six feet under.   However, after Daemon and I are through with you, if that son of a bitch comes near you again, I guarantee you won’t miss him the next time he’s looking down the barrel of your gun, you understand?”

I nodded my head hesitantly.   Daemon looked over the selection of handguns George had laid out on the counter.  Daemon pointed to three of the guns.  “I think we’ll try these three.  I’ll take Paige to get some ear protection and meet you in the range.

George picked up the guns and started moving towards a back door.  “Good choices, Daemon.  I’ll take them out now and set them up for you.”

Daemon waved back at George before directing me to the back of the shop.  He grabbed a set of ear muffs and reached up to fit them over my head.  As soon as the padded blue discs covered my ears, I could barely hear anything Daemon was saying.  His mouth was moving, but a grin tugged at the corners of his lips as he spoke. 

I reached up and took off the ear muffs.  “What did you just say?”

Daemon’s smile grew brighter.  “I was telling you everything I will be doing to you tonight when we get home.”  He winked then grabbed my hand to lead me to the shooting range.  When Daemon shoved the metal door open, a large hallway lined with benches opened up in front of us.  Partitions were evenly spaced, creating stalls to the right of us and I spotted George at the last stall.  The three guns Daemon had earlier selected were laid out on a countertop at the end of the stall.  Beyond that was an extremely long aisle with a pulley system attached to the ceiling.  A paper target hung at the far end of the alley.

I hitched my thumb back in the direction of the target.  “I hope you don’t expect me to be able to hit that.” 

George shook his head, laughing as he did so.  “No, Paige, we don’t expect you to hit that.  The target is set at a distance for rifles currently.  Daemon will pull it to the distance that’s preferable for the guns you’ll be using.  Turning to Daemon, George said, “Alright, kid, the range is all yours.  Be sure to go over the safety rules with her before starting.”

Daemon complied with George’s request.  After explaining the rules, Daemon placed the ear muffs on my head and turned me in the direction of the target. He reached up and pulled on a lever that brought the target closer to where we were positioned.   Daemon selected one of the smaller guns and held it out in front of me.  When I took the gun from him, his hands slide over the top of mine.

“You want to hold the gun like this, Paige.  Use one hand to grip the weapon, leaving your index finger free to pull the trigger.  You’ll want to use the other hand to support and steady the weapon, like this.”  His hands positioned mine, but all I could think about was the heat of his chest rolling down my body.

Daemon was pressed up against me as he reached out to help steady my shot.   I leaned my head back against his shoulder and closed my eyes.  I felt him chuckle right before he corrected me.  “Damsel, not that I mind you leaning back against me, but this is a situation where you really should try to keep your eyes open.”

I opened my eyes to bat my eyelashes at him.  “Sorry, you just have that effect on me.”

His dimples popped out from his smile and I melted right there in his arms. “Let’s keep our thoughts on the task at hand.  There’s plenty of time for other things when we get home tonight.”

I let out a small groan before returning my attention to the target, but then something occurred to me.  “Daemon?  How is it I can hear you right now and yet, I couldn’t hear you when I had these ear muffs on in the store?  Wait a second!  You didn’t actually say anything in the store, did you?”

His chest vibrated with laughter.  “Sometimes, beautiful, you are just so damned gullible.  Now seriously, we have a target to take out.  Focus.”

I focused on the target as Daemon continued his instruction.  “The gun will have a slight recoil, Paige, so be sure to support it properly.  When you are ready, use your thumb to pull back the hammer and then pull the trigger.  Try to look down the barrel of the gun to align the center of your target with the sights located on the barrel.  Okay, fire when you’re ready, Paige.”

I pulled down the hammer of the gun and closed one eye so that I could use the other to align the sights with the target.  My finger came over the trigger and I pulled.  Although I was ready for a loud blast, the actual sound caused me to jump.  Without realizing it, I’d closed my eyes as soon as the gun fired.  I peaked my eyes open to find that I’d hit the target almost dead center.  I was so excited, I started to jump up and down and spun around to look at Daemon.  Daemon jumped away almost immediately, but then grabbed my hands to force the gun downward and away from his body.

“Paige, unless your intention is to kill, you need to make sure you always keep a loaded gun pointed away from anything that is breathing.  It’s best when you are not actively firing the gun that you keep it pointed to the ground, or in a situation like this, replace it on the counter before jumping around excitedly.  Understand?  This is VERY important.”

My cheeks reddened a bit from embarrassment as I turned around to lay the gun back on the counter.  Turning back to Daemon, his hands came up to cup my cheeks as he placed a soft kiss on my lips.  “You did well for your first time, Damsel.  But I was helping you that time with your aim and controlling the recoil.  I want you to try it on your own this time.  Remember to take your time and prepare yourself before firing.”

I returned to the stall and picked up the gun.  My hands came up in front of me and I steadied myself, aligning my sights before firing.  When I pulled the trigger, the blast surprised me again and the recoil of the gun forced my hands up.   I looked at the target to see that I’d barely nicked the paper.  I grimaced and tried again.   After firing three rounds, my aim hadn’t improved and I became frustrated.

Setting the gun down, I turned to Daemon.  “I can’t do this, Daemon.  I suck.  Look, I can’t even hit the fucking target!”

Daemon came up behind me, placed his hands on my shoulders and turned my back towards the target.  “It takes practice, Paige.  You have to learn to relax when you fire.  Next time you shoot, try taking a deep breath.  While you are releasing that breath, pull the trigger.”

I picked up the gun again and attempted the shot.  This time, a nice hole was blown into the right side of the target.  Even though it wasn’t a perfect shot, I was excited.  I started to dance around at my success when Daemon’s hand came down on the gun, pointing it downward.

“Damsel…”

I quickly replaced the gun on the counter before looking back at him.  “Uh…sorry.  My happy dance sometimes gets the best of me.”

Daemons eyebrow arched.  “Well, let’s keep the ‘happy dance’ under control when playing with dangerous weapons.”

The remainder of the afternoon was spent testing out the three different guns Daemon had selected for me.  By the end of the day, I was feeling confident about using what Daemon informed me was a thirty-eight caliber snub nose.  Although never making a dead center shot, I was close enough that Daemon felt we could call it a day.  We left the guns on the counter of the stall and returned to the store through the metal door.

George was standing behind a display case cleaning parts of a gun that he’d broken down.  “How’d it go back there?  Are you missing any body parts, Daemon?”  George chuckled to himself about his little joke as he looked up at us.

Daemon’s hand rested on the small of my back as he led us to the counter where George was standing.  “I’m still in one piece, thankfully.  Paige, did exceptionally well, actually.”

George nodded his approval as he placed the gun part he was cleaning on the counter.  “Well, that’s good then.  You feeling confident that the next time you come across that sick son of a bitch, you might actually hit him this time?”

All eyes were turned to me and I shrugged.  “Hopefully, it won’t come to that, but, yeah, I guess if I had that little gun I was using, I might do some damage.”

Daemon laughed.  “It’s a thirty-eight, Paige.  It’s far from being considered a ‘little’ gun.  George, Paige preferred the snub nose and I’d like you to go through the application process with her so we can buy it for her.”

George moved to grab a manila folder with paperwork inside.  He slid the folder to me with a pen.  “I’m going to need you to fill those papers out.  There’s also an application for a concealed weapons license in there.  You’ll need to practice some more and complete a safety course before it will be approved, but you will be able to pick up the gun from me after a three day waiting period.”

“Why the three day waiting period?  I can’t just take it home now?” 

George looked at me and laughed.  “No ma’am.  The state wants to make sure you get a chance to cool down in case you’re buying the thing to kill someone.”

“But, I thought I was buying it to kill someone.”

George looked at Daemon, arched a brow, and then looked back at me.  “Paige, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.  Listen, I know you’ve got a psychopath chasing after your ass and I agree he should end up dead if he ever bothers you again.  More importantly, though, I prefer you not have blood on your hands.  It’s not an easy thing to deal with, darlin’, and it’s best you just remain careful and let law enforcement handle him.   When you do have the gun, there is one rule you need to be sure and follow.  No matter what the situation, whether you’re being attacked, or there is an intruder in your home, or whatever is going on…NEVER pull a gun unless your intent is to use it, and ALWAYS make sure you know what you are shooting at.  Guns are a responsibility that you should never take lightly.  They are there to protect you and they should only be used when you fear for your life.  Do you understand me, sweetheart?”

I nodded my head and returned my attention to completing the paperwork.  George and Daemon chatted as I filled out the applications.  Once I was finished, we said our goodbyes and left.   As Daemon and I walked to the truck, he took his hand in mine and kissed the top of it.  I looked up at him to notice a serious expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

Daemon shook his head.  “Nothing’s wrong, Damsel.  I’m just proud of you.”

I’m sure my expression showed my confusion at his statement.  “Proud of me for what?”

Daemon took both my hands into his and pulled me so that we were face to face.  “For everything.  You are handling this entire situation so well.  You kick ass in the ring and soon, you’ll be firing like a skilled marksman.  You’re amazing in every way possible.  I truly am a lucky man to have you, Paige.”

I could feel my cheeks heat as I smiled at him.  Never being good at taking compliments, I shrugged him off and turned back in the direction of the truck.  “Come on.  Let’s go get some food.  I’m freaking starving.”

~

~~Daemon~~