Page 45 of Justice for Aleta

“Because I missed you.”

She giggled. “I was in the shower!”

“I know, but anytime I’m not with you, I miss you.”

“You could’ve gotten in the shower with me. Did CaptainSeitzer come by?”

He patted the side of the bed and she sat down, her bare skin almost glowing. He really wanted to bend her over the side of the bed and drive into her from behind, but they had to talk. “Babe, Moss knows.”

“Oh.” That was all she said.

“Any thoughts?”

“No.”

“Cappy told me to keep you close and keep an eye on you at all times.”

She side-eyed him and grinned. “I like it when your eyes are on me.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

He grabbed her and threw her down onto the mattress, then climbed on top of her and started kissing all over her face and neck. “How ‘bout my lips on you?” he asked, laughing as he went.

“Those too!”

He just kept going until they both were panting from laughing so hard. When he stopped, he looked down into her smiling face. “Aleta, you should know by now, I’d die to make sure you were safe.”

“I know. And that scares me,” she whispered up to him, stroking down his cheek with a soft hand.

“It shouldn’t. Nobody’s going to die. We’re surrounded by armed specialists who are bound by their commissions to keep us safe. There’s no place on earth that’s safer than where we are right now, except maybe Ft.Knox.”

“But can they? Keep us safe, I mean.”

“If they can’t, nobody can.”

She lay there, looking up at him, and he knew she wanted to believe him, but there was fear in her eyes. Truth be told, he was a little afraid too. Moss was crazy, weird and crazy. He believed himself to be ten feet tall and bullet-proof, and those were the worst kind. They didn’t think or process information like other people. They did things other people didn’t expect because other people couldn’t anticipate what their warped brains were going to do.

He dropped to the mattress and lay beside her, his arms drawing her in close. Ten minutes passed, and then fifteen, before he whispered, “I suppose I should go shower.”

“And I should dry my hair,” she whispered back.

Something crossed his mind, something he’d never thought to ask her. “Do you know how to use a gun? Have you ever used one?”

She shook her head, loosening the towel so her wet hair fell out onto the comforter. “No. Never.”

“We’ve got to fix that. Today. Let me get my shower and then we’ll see what we can do about that.”

* * *

Jack madea call and two hours later, a car pulled up in his drive. He greeted the two men at the door, then showed them out the back to the barn.

It only took them an hour to put it together, and an armed contingent of six men escorted Jack and Aleta to the barn. Jack had six weapons?his Ruger, his Glock, a vintage Browning.380 that he’d gotten from his parents for Christmas one year, a Rossi five-shot revolver that held .38Special cartridges, his brand-new Kimber9mm, and a .22rifle. He started with the Ruger. “Hold it in your right hand, finger up here,” he showed her, his finger lying along the side of the barrel. “Now, point with that finger where you want the projectile to go, then move your finger to the trigger and fire.” She squeezed the trigger and when the gun fired, she squealed and almost dropped it.

“Shit! That scared me to death!” she squeaked.

“We can’t stop. You have to do this, Aleta. Hold it up again. Now, take your left hand and cup it over your right. I want you to push with your right hand and pull back with your left. Like your right hand wants to go forward, but your left hand won’t let it. Constant pressure. Point with your finger and when you’ve got it where you want it, pull the trigger. Take your time.” He waited.

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