Page 60 of My Solemn Vow
“Alright.”
I’m positive Valor is underestimating me. It’s not the first time someone has in my lifetime, but it’s wholly unexpected.
I get a tour of the house — main floor with an open-concepteat-in kitchen to the living room, which I’m already familiar with. There’s a formal dining room and formal sitting room back toward the front door. Off the garage is the mud room with a washer-dryer stack and the tortoise room with the adorable Russian tortoise.
Back by the stairs, Valor opens the door to the basement. He leads the way down the staircase, turning lights on at the bottom. There’s a game room with expected game tables, a decently equipped gym, and a movie-theater-style room, and then he opens a large, thick metal door at the end of the hallway. Valor doesn’t hide the code as he punches it in, and then he places his hand on the scanner next to the door.
“I’ll get you programmed in the system; you’ll be able to open the hidden exit, the panic room, this vault, and the small one in my closet upstairs.” He slides the door back and steps inside.
It’s a marksman’s wet dream. Racks of guns, ammunition, targets, and other explosives. I poke my head in behind Valor, taking it all in. “Holy smokes.”
He laughs. “We have an arsenal, but what did you really expect?”
“Well.” I hesitate. We don’t talk with outsiders about the family business, but business and my family have changed drastically. Yet, Valor is actively sharing things with me, so I go for more honest than maybe I normally would have. “I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that the D’Medicis’ weapon suppliers aren’t as good as the Cavanaghs’. Mercenaries and marksmanship are kind of the Irish’s calling cards.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Valor selects a small handgun for me. It’s one Berto gave me a while ago that I hated. Part of me doesn’t want to say anything, but Valor pauses briefly, looking at my face while loading the magazine. “Do you... have a preference?”
“Well, when you say it like that, I sound like a snob.” I crossmy arms in front of my chest, tipping my nose up, pretending to be pretentious. “In the nine-millimeter, I prefer a compact over a subcompact. I’m not opposed, but the thirty-two and twenty-five are my preference over the thirty-three.”
“Damn. Say that again slowly.” Valor’s eyes have that warmth to them again like at the restaurant last night, only different.
The lighting must be playing tricks on me because it’s almost like they’ve changed color completely.
“May I have a thirty-two, please?” I give him a wry smile.
Valor unloads the thirty-three and then moves to the wall behind him. He selects a thirty-two and moves to a different rack. “Have you ever used one of these?” I shake my head, and Valor huffs. “No, of course, Berto prefers one, so that’s all you’d be exposed to.”
“Well, in his defense, he didn’t want to do this at all, but it was my —” I hang my head and stop myself from defending him. What Berto did was inexcusable, and Valor has every right to be pissed off at him. “It doesn’t matter. What’s happened has happened. I’d be glad to try anything.”
“I’m sorry.” Valor loads two guns and sets them on the table in the center of the room before grabbing holsters for them. As he undoes his belt to fit a holster, he surprises me. “I know you called the truce. I know that of everyone, I benefited the most from you calling the truce. But I’ve wanted justice for Holly. For so long that part of me is mourning the ability to finally catch Berto and Gregorio vulnerable.”
“I . . .” There aren’t words for this conversation.
Valor walks around the central table and picks up the gun he hadn’t holstered, bringing it over to where I am at the door. He offers it out to me, and I visually inspect for myself that it is, in fact, loaded and ready to be fired before flipping the safety back on.
“Start you with something you’re comfortable with, but Ihave a feeling you’ll like this other one better.” He gestures for me to turn back to the firing range.
I move to the preparation table closest to the shooting line. Valor approaches with earmuffs, plugs, and safety glasses.
“No lecture about how these aren’t something I’ll have the time to put on before I pull the trigger?” I set my gun down before slipping my safety glasses on.
Valor uses his middle finger to push his up the bridge of his nose, the cheeky fucker smiling. “Nah. But I’ve got excellent hearing, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
“So, when you pretend to not hear when I ask you to take the trash out?” I narrow my gaze at him.
“Won’t happen.” He assures me. “I’ve been properly...” He laughs, a single chuckle to himself. “Domesticated once before. I don’t play the game boys do, nor am I looking for someone to mother me. We’re a partnership.”
Valor hands me the earplugs first, and I take them. He might only be falling in lust with me, but if he means everything he says, I’ll be in love with him before the end of the week. My heart warms at the prospect of having someone who respects me in my life.
After we take our time putting on safety gear, Valor offers to let me take the line first. He stands close to me as I line up to take my first shot. I look at him over my shoulder, but he doesn’t step away. Not even when I raise my gun.
With calm and even breaths, I pull the trigger for three shots on an exhale before lowering the weapon. Valor reaches forward and pushes my arms up again. It’s evident he wants me to keep shooting.
Did I miss? I don’t think so.
I fire off another set of three, but Valor again stops me before I can lower my arms. I empty all thirteen out of the magazine before trying to lower the gun one last time. For obvious reasons, Valor lets me. He pats my shoulder and thenmust press a button because the target comes down the range toward us on the overhead track. It’s fancy as fuck, but this man converted a whole room of his house for the sake of a tortoise.
Valor takes off his earmuffs and pulls out one of his earplugs, so I do the same. With the target hanging before us, we get a good look at my shots. Of the thirteen shots, all but one are in the nine and narrower portion of the targets. One is in the upper right quadrant in the eight section. It would still kill if it hit someone.
