His Revenge (Smoke & Mirrors Duet #1)

Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

LEO

“Sometimes your dick calls the shots and sometimes you have to teach your girl how to shoot. Both require protection.”

T he soft light of the sunshine spills into our room stirring me from my sleep and tugging my Butterfly closer to my chest. She sighs contently, burying her face into my chest to hide from the sun.

“Good morning beautiful,” I tell her sleepily, brushing the hair out of her face. Even first thing in the morning she is every bit the vision that I want to wake up to.

“Morning. How early is it?” She asks, stretching her body to wake up. Watching her arch her body even innocently sends all the blood to my dick. A groan escapes my lips and she smiles up at me.

“It's early, the sun is barely up. I have a surprise for you today,” I inform her before grasping her chin and bringing her face to mine. She deepens the kiss, pulling herself on top of me. Feeling each and every one of her curves, I push her up while smiling.

“Can you behave yourself long enough to get through a shower with me?” She asks with a mischievous grin on her face. Taking a deep breath, I nod and lead us to the en-suite. Turning on the water to make sure it is perfectly warm for my Butterfly, I turn around just in time to see my shirt come over her chest.

“Not that I am complaining, but when did you put on one of my shirts?” I question while we climb into the shower. She smirks and steps into the shower with me.

“I got up to pee after you fell asleep and it was on the way,” She answered. We both wash quickly, enjoying the heat from the water and peppering kisses on each other’s exposed skin. When I turn off the water I reach over, grabbing her towel first. Then I dry her arms, watching her eyes close at the soft contact.

“It is my job to take care of you, and while I will do so with my dying breath, Rome and I are going to assess where you are in your ability to protect yourself and make a plan to continue your training,” I say while drying the rest of her body.

“What should I wear?” She asks, trying to sort through this new information to plan for the day.

“For today I would wear something comfortable that you can move in, but at least once a week, I want you to wear a regular outfit that you would leave the house in because in this line of business you never know when trouble is going to find you,” I answer with honesty, even if I hate the idea that she could be in danger. I didn’t bring her into this life, she was born a part of it, but I want her to have every self-defense option at her disposal.

When I am done drying her, I hang her towel back up and remove mine from the rack and go about drying myself. She finishes up brushing her teeth and hair when I hang up my towel. We walk into the bedroom to get dressed for the day. As we get ready to walk out of our room, I pause in the doorway. Placing her back against the door jam, I place my forearm above her and lean over. The way she looks up at me and bites her lip has me wanting to spend the whole day in bed with her.

“You are the only person I have ever wanted to bow to. Your needs outweigh mine and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe without smothering you. I understand that you are strong and independent,” I whisper with conviction, opening the bedroom door. The brightness and understanding in her eyes have me wanting to drop to my knees now.

“Let’s go. The sooner we go through this the more you will relax,” She responds, lifting onto her toes to place a soft kiss on my lips. I deepen the kiss, losing myself in her.

The double knock on the front door and sound of keys interrupts our moment. We separate just before Rome opens the door. The smile on his face prolongs the joy I have at this moment. The only person that is missing from the house to complete it is my sister. I hope that me barging in on her evening didn’t disrupt what little fun she is allowed to have.

“Star crossed lover-boy, go back to smiling, your appearance did not ruin your sister’s night,” He smirks at me, knowing exactly what would cause my mood to shift so quickly.

“Let’s go, Butterfly. It is time to show you the underside of the house, unless you want to call it the rose garden like he does,” I jest, my best friend brightening his smile. He links his arm with her free one as we all go to the basement through the closet in my office.

Below the house is everything you would need to train someone for the perils of our lives. We stop at the range and all eyes swivel to me. Rome nods and goes to the far end of the range where the armory is. This armory has one of each of the guns that I keep upstairs for practice purposes.

“A combination of moving into this house and the clear target on your back make it necessary to walk you through the assembly, shooting, cleaning, and breakdown of all the guns kept in the house. If there is a moment where you need to defend yourself, I want you to have every advantage,” I inform her, stepping into my role as her teacher instead of her lover.

Grabbing the first handgun, I remove the clip, empty the chamber, and disassemble it. She holds out her hand, determination clear on her face. Placing the clip in her hand, I step aside and let my soon-to-be wife take my position. She re-assembles the gun with ease.

“I did get training from Anton on firearms and self defense, but I knew the dangers of using those tools within the walls of that house. I was only allowed to retaliate against the unsanctioned actions of others,” She fills the space with her words. The visible shiver that wracks her drives the heat of my vengeance higher. Passing out the ear protection, I try to process her words. The understanding that she is so strong and trained but was forced to endure this anyway is almost too much for words.

“Sis, please know that when I get the chance, I would love to make both your father and his so-called men beg you for their lives,” Rome responds before I even get the chance. The fire that rages in his eyes is more intense than I have ever seen him before. We all put the ear plugs in before she proceeds. She looks at him while she pulls back the slide and racks the first bullet. With her eyes open and both hands on the gun she unloads the magazine one bullet at a time into the target down the range.

When she is out of ammunition, I call the shooting target forward. Every shot hit the target, mostly in the body but with far more accuracy than I expected given the larger caliber of ammunition and heavier kick of this handgun. The megawatt smile she gives me shows the pride and prowess of the woman I am lucky to be marrying. Once she sets down the gun I pull her into my arms.

“I am so proud of you,” I tell her while I cup her face, placing gentle kisses until she is giggling at the contact.

“What’s next?” She asks breathlessly between giggles. Rome looks at me, and I meet his eyes.

“It’s time for food. I know early breakfast is not something you prefer, but it is important to keep up your strength while you train with us today,” I update them both on the plan. We all file upstairs for an easy breakfast sandwich meal and some coffee.

After breakfast we walk back into the basement to go through the other types of firepower kept in the house. While she is not an expert in some of them, her functional knowledge of guns makes it so much easier to help her through this part of the training. When she gets stuck I am there to walk her through the rest of the steps, then she disassembles and starts over until she can do it without assistance. Only once she completes the assembly of the firearms will she shoot them until she is comfortable. Each gun has a unique aspect that makes it part of my personal arsenal and makes me and my home a much more deadly target.

“Okay beautiful, for this part of the training, Rome is going to walk you through some hand-to-hand combat skills,” I say, moving her on to the next portion of the training. She nods as we walk to the mat. She grabs the wraps and gloves to prepare while Rome does the same.

“We use the same color system on the mat that we use in the bedroom. I am begging you to use those words freely. I would hate to accidentally hurt you so close to your wedding,” Rome informs her, taking over the training. He and I discussed this at length and he is the better person for her to spare with. He is just as trained as I am and is far less easily distractible.

“Is this how you show brotherly love?” She jokes, her face lighting up with the taunt.

“Yes, because I want you to be ready for anything this world throws at you. We want you to be able to protect yourself if we cannot be there,” Rome answers, seriousness in his tone. He lines up with her before he starts going through combinations. Each hit on his gloves brings me pride at her following instructions and retaining these lessons. She is so much more than I originally planned for and I could not have wished for a better outcome.

I valiantly watch their movements as they go round for round. She is learning and adapting. Everytime she falls I cringe, but she doesn’t use the safe word and proceeds to get right back up. Seeming to use every land on the mat as a learning experience, she strives for perfection and increased knowledge. By the time that Rome calls it for the day she has a sheen of sweat on her skin but a smile on her face.

“Drink this. You were incredible,” I tell her earnestly, handing over a bottle of water to her and one to Rome. They both drink their bottles and catch their breaths as we head back upstairs.

“I could use a bath,” She utters to me as we enter the kitchen. Smiling, I grab her hand and walk her to our room. While there is no way I can make every one of her dreams come true, I can easily make this request her reality.