"So do heroes," I reminded him. "The difference is that you don't hurt them for the rush. You fix things for the rush and hurt anyone who gets in your way." I reached over to place my hand over his. "Just be careful with Faith, ok? She's the gentle kind."
"Kinda like you," he agreed. "Well, like you used to be. I wanna see what happens if that girl grows up without being broken apart. I think of it like a pet project. An experiment, if you will. Can I prevent the world from screwing her up the same way it did with the rest of us?"
"Which is why you meddled in the court case," I realized.
He leaned back and shook his head once, but there was a little smile on his lips. "You know me too well. Yeah. I know you're all about Luke's dick. Makes a woman turn stupid, so I couldn't trust your opinion. I just made sure that where that man's dick goes didn't have a damned thing to do with the rest of Faith's life. If her mom was better for her, she would've gone there, but the judge said that except for the promiscuity, there was no contest. Chartreuse also showed me the texts." He let out a low growl. "The things that mother said!"
"Just remember that losing a parent would hurt Faith," I reminded him. "She loves her mother. She also hates her, and she's not blind to her mom's failings."
"Luke helps," he agreed. "I thought parents like him didn't exist. Well, 'cept for Gran, but she wasn't a real parent." Then he jerked his chin at me. "How's your mom?"
"No idea," I admitted. "She's still institutionalized. Unlike you, she never tried to deal with her mental issues."
"She's got the same thing as me, right?"
"Mhm," I agreed. "Cy says that I should've shown some sign of it by now if I had it."
"Which is why you're not scared of me," he realized.
I just pushed to my feet and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "I'm still scared of you, Billy, but it's hard to stop loving my brother."
"Good." He caught my hand and took a step back, letting his arm stretch out between us. "Means you should come with me."
"Uh..." I followed as he led me toward the hall, but I had no clue what he was thinking.
"You're going to learn how to use this gun," he explained. "I have a few hay bales set up in the back. Cy helped. Luke knows I'm not leaving this place unarmed. He doesn't like it, but fuck that. And when Faith gets home, we're going to make sure she knows some basic gun safety."
"Ok," I agreed. "Let me get some shoes, and I'll meet you... Out back?"
"Just behind the pool," he agreed. "Make sure the dogs don't get out."
I hurried upstairs to get some running shoes. Oddly, neither of those dogs were anywhere to be seen, but I had a feeling that Faith's puppy would be following Luke around, and Cy probably had Lucy in his arms, treating her more like a doll than a dog. Sure, we'd had a few accidents in the house, but so far, both of them had been surprisingly good.
When I was finally ready, I headed out back to find Billy waiting at the gate on the far side of the pool. He opened it for me, then passed me a pair of earplugs on a cord. Those went around my neck, and together we walked down the hill and further into the pasture. Down at the bottom were a pair of round bales - new ones, it looked like - with paper silhouettes attached to them.
"You do know that Bea taught me how to shoot," I said. "Right?"
Billy scoffed at that. "Yeah, her antique six-shooter."
Then he pulled a gun from his waistband and passed it over. This was definitely nothing like Bea's gun. It was a semi-automatic, black, and the magazine was the extended kind to hold more ammo. I took it, making sure to keep the barrel pointed away from either of us, and looked it over.
"That's a nine-millimeter Glock," he explained. "Very common gun, and this one will be impossible to trace back to you. It was purchased in Arkansas, resold to Louisiana, and the current listed owner is deceased. In other words, if you need to make someone disappear, the only way to tie it to you is through gunpowder residue on your hands and clothes. Make sure you scrub under your nails and you should be good."
"Let's hope I never need that," I said.
Then he walked me through how to stand, how to aim, and what to expect. When I was ready, he dared me to hit the bullseye on that target, which also happened to be the vital area of the silhouette. I stepped up, took aim, and let off two shots. The first was just outside the line I wanted, but the second was an inch inside.
"Good," Billy praised, and then he began to correct me, and we did it again.
Then again, and one more time after that. Billy tended to forget to offer praise, but he was quick to make corrections. He also didn't snap at me for not being as experienced as he wanted. Sure, I'd learned how to shoot a gun. That was almost mandatory when owning livestock in the country. Sometimes, it was the most humane way to deal with an accident. Shooting at targets was easy too.
Shooting at a person would be very, very different.
I hoped I'd never have to use it, but those words on my door were enough of an incentive to make me try as hard as I could. If anyone came for one of my guys, I would gladly put a bullet in them. I didn't even care where. Someone wanted to hurt my guys because they weren't ashamed of being different. It was probably Simmons, but clearly, he wasn't alone. Well, I also wasn't a weak and helpless little girl. I was a goddamn viper when I had to be.
I wasn't sure how long we'd been at it when a sharp whistle split the air. Billy waved me down, then took the gun from my hand and flicked on the safety before we turned to see what was going on. There, up by the house, Darnell stood with Faith. Beside me, Billy waved for them to come down.
"Does Dad know you have a gun out here?" Faith asked when she was close enough.
