chapter 8

As soon as one of her employees had shown up for their

shift, she had left her shop and walked several blocks until

she came to the front of NW Tactical. While she had been

hovering face down over the toilet, Addie had decided that

she needed protection, and that protection would be in the

form of a gun. She already had a baseball bat and a taser at

her house, but she needed something that would do more

damage if Alex really did come after her. And she didn’t

doubt that he would.

When she had stepped into the store, she knew she stuck

out like a sore thumb. She was the only woman in there, and

she was in a dress and Mary Janes for goodness sake. She

didn’t even look like a woman who used guns. And the

huge, dark-eyed, tattooed shop owner could obviously tell

that.

She knew in order to get a gun that she would have to

have a background check, but she hadn’t expected

questions from the store owner. She didn’t want to answer

those questions either. Wouldn’t it incriminate her if she told

him that she planned to use the gun to shoot her ex? Of

course, she would only shoot him if he got close to her but

still… Wouldn’t that be considered premeditated?

Backing away from Knox, who was both the hottest and

scariest man that she’d ever laid eyes on, she turned to

leave the store. A man like Knox was not a man to cross,

and by the look of all of his tattoos, she guessed that he had

been in prison a time or two. Could you own a gun store if

you had been to prison? Huh. She would have to research

that. Not that it mattered. She would never see the man

again anyway.

“Wait,” Knox said sternly.

She felt the warmth of his hand on her elbow to stop her.

Heat pooled between her legs at his touch, but her stubbornness had her yanking her arm away. When she

looked back at him, he looked concerned, and she felt a

little bad for being so rude.

“If you need a gun, I’ll help you find one. But you need to

know how to load it, fire it and clean it,” he said.

Fudge.

“Yeah, I don’t know how to do any of those things. But it

can’t be that hard, Aim and shoot, just like in the movies.”

His eyes searched her face, and she wondered if he was

going to make fun of her for making such a stupid remark.

She knew it was dumb to think it was just that simple. But

when push came to shove, she would figure it out,

especially if her life was dependent on it.

“It’s not that easy, Addie. I’ll tell you what. Let me teach

you. My brother owns the firing range on Rasmussen. Let’s

meet there tomorrow. I’ll bring a bunch of guns that I think

might work for you, and I’ll show you how to use them, and

you can practice to figure out which one you feel most

comfortable with. Okay?”

She stared up at him, unsure of what to say to that. It was

hard to focus on anything other than his intense, hazelcolored eyes. If she looked closely, she was sure she would

see flecks of gold in the irises. His hard jawline was sharp,

and the neat, closely trimmed beard made her want to run

her hand over it.

“Why?” she asked curiously.

Knox looked at her incredulously.

“Because you said you need a gun, and something inside

of me is telling me that there is a legitimate reason that you

need it for self-protection. I would never forgive myself if

something happened to you that a gun could have

protected you from. Let me help you so you know how to

use it properly. In the meantime, go down to the courthouse

and apply for a concealed carry permit. You won’t be able to

carry it on you or in your purse without that.”

He was being nice to her, and she was soaking in every

second of it. Everything about him reminded her of the

Daddy from the book, the one that she had fantasized about

the night before. Only, Knox was much more intimidating.

And hot. And major big dick energy.

“I’ll pay you for your time,” she offered.

The thought of spending one on one time with Knox was

overwhelming. Would she be able to keep her wits about

her? The man was standing several feet away from her, and

all she was thinking about was wanting to touch his beard.

Fudge. Get it together, Addie. You need him to show you

all of this. It’s life or death.

Knox gave her a stern look and shook his head. “You’re

not paying me. Will ten o’clock tomorrow morning work for

you?”

Biting her bottom lip, Addie looked up to meet his gaze

and felt a surge of arousal when she realized that he was

staring at her lips. When he looked up to meet her gaze, his

eyes were blazing, and she was pretty sure if her hand

wasn’t resting on the back of the chair, her wobbly knees

would have given out on her.

“Ten o’clock. The shooting range on Rasmussen. Got it,”

she said.

Her hands were trembling again, and she was going to

have to change her panties as soon as she got home

because the wetness was becoming uncomfortable.

“See you tomorrow,” he said before she walked out of the

door.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***