Page 103 of Breaking the Rules
“Good to see you, Harry.” Xavier motioned Waverly inside. “Harry, this is Waverly.”
“I’m not blind, son. I know a beautiful movie star when I see one.” In the dim light, Waverly could see snowy white hair and broad shoulders on a short frame. The man wore bifocals and a red and black flannel shirt.
“Hi, Harry,” Waverly offered the greeting as she slid her load of cases onto the glass counter that housed the usual gun shop treasures.
“Well, this must be a special occasion. As long as Xavier’s been coming here, he’s never brought company before, let alone company as pretty as you. Hope to see more of you,” Harry said, in a lopsided cadence.
“I hope you will, too,” Xavier said, laying a hand on the man’s shoulder while looking at Waverly.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it. You know how to lock up,” Harry said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his Dockers.
“Thanks again for opening up,” Xavier said.
Harry shuffled out the front door and locked it from the outside. He threw a little half wave, half salute and Waverly waved back.
“You do this often?” she asked, picking up her cases again.
“When I’m in town and need to blow off some steam,” Xavier said, leading the way through the retail and repair section into a narrow hallway of whitewashed concrete block. One wall had a large glass window overlooking the six-lane indoor firing range.
He opened the door to the range and slid his cases onto a long shelf that ran the length of the window. While he organized the weaponry, Waverly pushed the recall button on the first lane, calling the target clip home. Xavier reached over her and clipped the full body target in place and sent it back out to ten yards.
He settled ear protection over her ears and gestured toward the safety glasses. “Ladies first.”
She slid the eye protection on and plucked her Glock out of the molded foam compartment.
Waverly ejected the magazine, checked it, and slapped it home. Racking the slide, she adopted a wide-legged stance and sized up the target with a smooth inhale. On her exhale, she emptied the magazine into the target.
She placed the gun on the shelf and smirked as Xavier hit the recall button. She was a damn good shot and knew it. Dante had taught her tradecraft, but he was a terrible shot, so she’d hired a private coach for training. She had shown talent from day one, and with a few lessons and a lot of practice, she was solid.
Xavier let out a low whistle. Six shots were neatly clustered in the center of the chest. Any of them would have been fatal.
“Not bad,” Xavier said. “Now, what if the guy is wearing a vest?” He sent the target back out.
Waverly loaded in a fresh magazine and repeated the process. This time, when Xavier pulled the target back there was a grouping of four shots to the head and two in the groin.
“Remind me not to piss you off,” Xavier said with amusement.
“As if you need that reminder.” She handed him her gun. “Let’s see what you can do, Mr. Saint.”
He reloaded and with a cheerful smirk, fired off six shots. Xavier ejected the spent magazine, reloaded, and emptied that one, too.
Xavier was the essence of a man: raw, masculine, powerful, and cocky. He’d shed his suit jacket and fired the handgun in shirt sleeves and a tie. Waverly could feel her mouth spread in a slow smile of female appreciation for the fine picture before her.
“Damn,” she sighed.
His target was toast. Six shots to the head in a tight little grouping. Six more opened up one big gaping hole in the chest.
“I like what you do with a gun, X.”
He laughed. A real laugh like the kind he reserved for family and close friends. “I like what you do withmygun.”
“Aren’t you playful tonight?” Waverly commented, slyly arching an eyebrow.
“I can be fun. Why does everyone think I’m so serious?”
“They also think you’re dark and intense and maybe a little scary.”
He meant to tease her with a quick kiss, but Waverly shifted those intentions with her response. There was so much going on behind those deep brown eyes of his. She wished she could tease it out of him. She settled instead for teasing his lazy tongue and nipping at his lower lip until Xavier was pressing her against the divider wall of their booth.
