Page 54 of Serve ’N’ Protect

“If there’d been a magazine in the gun, racking the slide would have chambered a round and the gun would be charged and ready to fire. Are you ready to load the weapon?”

Was Markus worried that if he went with her, her family would misinterpret their relationship and think they were dating?

“Cassidy? Are you ready?” Markus repeated, drawing her focus back to where it should be. On the evil-looking instrument of death in her hand.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” She might have grown up in a rural part of the state, but she didn’t have much—try any—exposure to guns, not even for hunting, which to all accounts was the national pastime in this part of the state. Even though John had offered to teach her how to shoot, she’d always declined. Since then, her neighbor courteously only used his backwoods range when she wasn’t at home. “I know you’re only teaching me to shoot for protection, but I’m not sure I could ever actually shoot someone. Even if I owned a gun, which I don’t, I don’t think I have it in me.”

“Even if someone was trying to kill you?” Markus’s tone was patient yet contained a decidedly deadly tone, sending an equally decided chill through her bones.

“I’m not sure.” Taking a life was a serious matter to say the least, and not something she ever saw herself doing. “Besides, I don’t own a gun.”

“Humor me.” When he picked up a magazine from the table, the brass bullets stacked inside glinted in the afternoon sun. “You might even enjoy it. Target practice can be fun.”

“What if I don’t want to kill any targets?”

“Cute.” As he handed her the magazine, a quick flash of her winning that giant polar bear at the county fair came to mind. But that had been a water gun. “There are fifteen rounds in this magazine. Insert it into the bottom of the gun like I showed you.” She shoved the magazine into the butt of the gun, clicking it upward and into place with her palm. “Now rack the slide again.” Cassidy pulled the slide back and released it. “The gun is locked, loaded, and ready to fire.”

Markus went behind her, his chest pressing against her back. Clothed though they were, she felt every inch of his hard, muscular body against hers. The light breeze that whipped up brought with it his citrusy pine scent, doing exactly nada to help focus her concentration.

Here she was with a loaded gun in her hands, and all she could think about was how good he always smelled and how his body against hers hardened her nipples. Thank goodness she was wearing a jacket this time.

He wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands beneath her forearms and lifting her arms so that the gun extended straight out from her body. “Grip it the way I showed you, with two hands. Line up the rear sights with the front one on the center of the target, then put the tip of your finger on the trigger.”

With steady hands, she did as he instructed.

“It’s all in the trigger pull, so don’t jerk it. Squeeeze it, gradually.”

Way to throw off a girl’s concentration. Since she already knew how his hands felt on her body, the way he’d drawn out the word squeeze had her thinking about all kinds of other things those big hands of his could do.

Refocusing, she began squeezing the trigger, keeping the sights aligned on the target not fifteen feet away. Trigger pull, trigger pull, trigger pull. The gun blasted, startling her as it jumped in her hands from the recoil.

“Again,” Markus said, still standing close enough that she could feel the soft caress of his warm breath against the top of her head.

In slow succession, she squeezed the trigger again and again until the slide locked to the rear of the gun. Empty.

“Not bad for a beginner.” Markus pointed to the target. “Not bad at all. You’re a natural.”

The red and white target’s concentric circles were peppered with holes, most of them centered near the smallest red circle in the middle.

Still keeping the gun pointed at the target, she twisted her neck to find Markus grinning down at her.

“Do you have more bullets?” she asked, a burst of excitement shooting through her. He’d been right. Target practice was fun.

He reached into his pocket, but instead of pulling out more bullets or another magazine, he tugged out his phone. Markus whipped off his ear protection, setting it on the table while he took the call. “Kade, whatya got?”

In the span of three seconds, Markus’s expression went from grinning to deadly. Picking up on some unspoken signal, Ghost stalked over, ears erect and with his eyes pinned on Markus.

Cassidy knew dogs inherently sensed emotions in their owners, but Ghost’s intuition blew that meter clear out the window. Like her, he knew that whatever Markus was hearing was bad news.

From the way his nostrils flared and his jaw clenched, she had a feeling target practice was over. While she waited, Cassidy took off her ear protection and set it on the table, then did the same with Ghost’s earmuffs.

“I’ll meet you outside the location tomorrow at six,” Markus said, then punched off the call and stuffed the phone back in his pocket. He remained completely motionless, staring off into the distance, and a shadow of fear gripped her to the very depths of her soul. He still didn’t speak, but she knew. Whatever was happening would signify the end of his time with her.

“What is it?” she asked softly. “Markus?” When he didn’t answer, she touched a hand to his biceps. “You’re scaring me.”

“The embassy said Mansfield was out of the country and won’t be back until late tonight, so Kade went to the other guy’s apartment. Neighbors said he’s usually traveling for work. Kade ran a border crossing check on both men. He verified Mansfield is returning from Saudi Arabia tonight.” Markus ground his teeth so hard the muscles in his jaw flexed repeatedly. “Turns out the other guy, Mohammed Al-Amri, is a Saudi national and wasn’t even in the U.S. on the day of the party.”

Cassidy’s mouth fell open. “Then he couldn’t have been the other man in the car.”