Page 27 of Laying it Bare Biker Style: Ryder

“I don’t know about the badass part. I just hope I can handle the thing. But I do like theidea of being able to protect myself. I never want to be in thathelpless position again. Although I should be more careful about mydrinks as well.”

“That entire situationpisses me the hell off. But you don’t need to worry about someonemessing with your drinks at our club. I’d have those cunts tossedout so quickly they’d get whiplash. It’s a shame you were sotrusting and had to learn the hard way about that. Stay away fromthose bitches and if they are near just keep an eye on your drink.But we also would never allow the enemy into our club. And if therewas an instance for an exception, he wouldn’t be left alone for asecond and would NEVER be allowed near one of our girls.” I tuckeda strand of her hair behind her ear. “So are you ready to gotransform into that bad ass?” I shot her a wink.

“I guess no isn’t anacceptable answer?”

“You got this. Come on.”Taking her hand, we stepped into the garage and hopped onto mybike. Then we rode in the direction of the club. Once I pulled upto the entrance, I punched in the code at the gate. A second later,the wrought-iron swung open, allowing us access and I rode inside.Then I parked beside the building. Since it was pretty early on aSunday, there weren’t many people around; which I liked. I loved mybrothers, but I wasn’t in the mood for anymore shit about Sage.Grayson had met my allowance for the year.

After stepping inside, I made a quickstop at the office to grab the keys for the gun cabinets. Then Iled her down the hallway to our storage room. As I put my hand tothe knob, the door swung open and Remus stood in theentry.

He raised his eyebrow at me. But ithad nothing to do with my bringing Sage to collect a weapon. I hadalready requested permission. But it had taken almost two weeks ofpleading my case to get him to approve. Although I could hardlyfault the guy. We were giving a weapon to pretty much a stranger.But I didn’t doubt for a second that Sage was a pure soul and itdidn’t hurt that I had Grayson backing me up on thatclaim.

“I’m the club Prez. Youmust be Sage. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Remus extended his handto her.

Without hesitation, Sage placed hersin his and shook. “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for allowing meto be a part of your club. I don’t want this to cause any frictionbetween your group and Pyro Devils. I’m not safe there. Especiallywith this new threat. And I don’t mean to bring that trouble toyou. And this is very kind – ”

He put up his hand. “Take a breatherthere, Sage. Ryder and Grayson have already pleaded their case tome.” He shot me another one of his calculating looks I was relievedSage didn’t see. But since he was our Prez, I couldn’t punch himlike I could Grayson. “And the fact that Misti and Angel can’t sayenough good things about you, I’m not concerned we made a baddecision.” He stepped away from the doorway and motioned inside. “Idon’t know if you’ve had any experience with a gun so make sure youlisten carefully to Ryder. He doesn’t know much about life, but heis very knowledgeable about guns and how to use them effectivelyand safely.” Chuckling, he strode out into the hall and toward themain area.

“He’s such a bastard.” Igrumbled under my breath.

Sage giggled. “It’s like you don’twant your dad to hear you so you don’t get your ass beat. And it’seven funnier because you’re a little bigger than yourPrez.”

“Size only matters in somecases.”

Her cheeks pinkened.

“That’s so beautiful.” Igrazed my knuckles across her blush. “But just because he isn’t aslarge as me, he’s the Prez and that carries a lot ofpower.”

“So his size has to do withhis position not really anything else.” She slapped a hand over hermouth and her flush grew. “Oh my God, my mouth.” Shegrumbled.

“I can’t be sure, seeing asthankfully I’ve never seen his, but I like that in your mind youconsider me larger.” I shot her a teasing grin.

“You really shouldn’t . ..” Her words dropped off and a strange look passed behind her eyes.But she quickly regrouped before I could decipher it. “Let’s getwhat we need and head out before I chicken out. I’m a littlenervous about handling a weapon.”

“You’re not going to haveany problems and you’ll be comfortable with one before you know it.Just remember; you’re taking a step toward never feeling helplessagain. I will protect you with my life, but I’m not always nearby.And I’ll feel better knowing you can defend yourself. We’ll stay aslong as you need to today and then we can come back any evening Idon’t have club business. That’s the great thing about having yourown stash and range.” Grabbing her hand, I led her inside the room.Racks, cabinets, and shelves of all shapes and sizes – but were allgun metal gray in color – filled the space. Stopping at the cabinetthat housed our smaller guns, I unlocked it and pulled out the onlyRuger 380. Then I rummaged through another cabinet for ammunitionand another for two pair of safety goggles and ear plugs. SatisfiedI had what we needed; I locked everything up and guided Sage to ourconnecting garage so we could slip out the back door to ourrange.

Outside, we had a pavilion likeenclosure set up with spots for up to six participants. At theother end hung the targets. Prospects changed them asneeded.

Sage’s eyes scanned the area. “This ispretty impressive although I don’t really have anything to compareit to other than television and movies. But I am glad no one elseis around. That should help my nervous jitters.”

I handed her a pair of goggles and earplugs. “You’re going to be fine. You’re in great hands.” I shot hera playful grin. “Okay, the first thing you need to learn is how toload your weapon.” After showing her the pieces, I demonstrated howto press each cartridge into the magazine. Then I had her load afew, but I couldn’t help touching her fingers to make sure she wasdoing it correctly. Or that was the excuse I used. “After you havethe magazine loaded, you insert it here, then pull the slide fullyback and then release it. Your weapon is loaded. Now this gun doesnot have a safety like you would think when you hear the word.” Ipointed to the spots. “So instead, to ensure no misfires, thetrigger safety and the trigger itself must be deliberatelydepressed at the same time.”

“I’ll be able to pull bothof those back with one finger?” Her forehead crinkled.

“I’ll help you for thefirst few rounds, but you’ll see that you can do it with ease. Butthe next thing to remember is if you decide not to fire the gun andrelease the trigger, the firing pin safety automatically reengages.So if you change your mind or need to readjust before firing, it’sokay to do so. But I do want you to keep in mind; if you pull yourgun on someone be ready to use it. If it has come to that point, itis either you or him. And I choseyouto survive.”

She gazed up at me, her eyes full ofuncertainty. “I don’t know about . . .”

“You’re a smart girl. Ifyou pulled your gun it was because you knew you didn’t have achoice. You wouldn’t do it just to show off like being the bad assGrayson joked about. You would have pulled it because your life wasin danger and you knew you had to.”

“Thank you for that. Youhardly know me, but you believe the best in me.”

“I could say the same foryou. Never once did you treat me like a stereotypical bad biker.You treated me like a person.” Even though she had experiencedbikers who were foul individuals. And although I didn’t equate herwith Jensen, I couldn’t find it in me to separate the twosituations, forcing her to remain locked outside of my heart.Standing beside her with that thought rolling through my head,something unfurled inside my chest, but I shoved it away for themoment. My complete focus needed to be on teaching Sage how tosafely and effectively use a gun. However, I wasn’t able to resistand I kissed the crown of her head. “Okay, now we’re getting to thepart where you get to hold the gun. But safety first.”

Once we were geared up, I stood behindher so that my hands were near hers as I instructed her on how tofire the weapon. And it didn’t hurt that I loved being close toher, having her small feminine figure tucked beside my much largermasculine frame, feeling her warmth, and scenting her skin andhair. But I wanted to make sure she felt comfortable and this firstexperience went well. “I’m going to hand you the loaded weapon.Notice I’m behind you. Also because your hand is much smaller thanmine I’m going to show you this way. But there are a couple safeways to hand over a loaded weapon. Put your hand over the top ofthe slide like this. Be sure that your fingers are clear of thetrigger guard. Also, make sure the muzzle protrudes far enough outso that it is not pointing at your hand.”

After I safely transferred it to herhand, she stared at it like it was going to bite her. Then she tooka deep breath. “I can do this.”

“You sure as fuck can.”Using my hands on top of hers, I explained. “Keep your finger offthe trigger, as well as outside the trigger guard, until you’repointing your gun at your target and you’re ready to fire. Do notmove your finger from outside the trigger guard to the triggeruntil you have made a fully conscious decision to shoot the gun.But keep in mind youcanrelease the trigger if needed, but nine times outof ten if you drew your weapon, you’re going to fire it. Use yourdominant hand’s thumb and index finger to form a V-shape and gripthe gun high on the back strap. By doing so, you’ll gain moreleverage which will allow more recoil control when you firerounds.” Wrapping my hands loosely around hers I helped her get thecorrect form, loving how soft and smooth her hands were compared tomine.

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