Page 106 of Worth Risking It

Chastity Pampinella

My lunches with Amanda were becoming more frequent as time progressed. At first, Jack was very suspicious, but I did what I was learning I was best at, and acted as if I were merely trying to get pointers on how to raise a Pampinella properly. I had even laid on the charm about how proud he must be of his wife, for he had such amazing, strong, brilliant children.

He had narrowed his lids, scoped Amanda from head to toe, and pushed a breath through his nostrils. Since then, however, he’d not questioned our meetings and had even complimented her once or twice.

Since they lived in Wisconsin, I usually stopped by her place after my visits to the gun range as a way to wind down from the adrenaline rush and excitement. I was the only one who regularly visited the club who was seven months pregnant, so I got a lot of attention from newbies, but the regulars by now knew to not bother questioning me.

No one there knew I was a Pampinella, I went by my maiden name. They simply looked at me as a poor, average, everyday woman who loved to shoot her guns as often as possible. And yet they still respected me, and some were even intimidated. Had I seriously changed that much that I now oozed authority without having to use my husband’s name as a scare tactic? Had I really become that self-assured and strong, on my own?

The weather was nice and warm, the sky only having a few wispy, white clouds, so Amanda and I were having a picnic on the beach with her youngest, Bradly. He was sitting in her lap sideways, drifting off to sleep with an apple wedge in his hands, still trying to gnaw on it even though he was losing the battle with consciousness.

Her head was tilted, her cheek on his forehead, rocking him back and forth with a whimsical smile on her lips and a peacefulness in her eyes.

I grinned and plucked a grape from the basket. “You seem to be doing good these days.”

Her smile broadened, tugging at the four year old’s pants and fidgeting with his laces. “Everything is wonderful. I mean, the first few months were scary as hell. I was constantly being watched and monitored, Jack or his goons were always hovering, and I was terrified to go or be anywhere without one of the kids nearby.”

“And now?”

Her shoulder rolled as she lifted her head to gaze up the hill toward the house. “I dunno. He’s backing off. Even apologized for Meyers’s death. Still hasn’t come out and admitted he had anything to do with it, but he told me he knew I took his death hard, and he was sorry I struggled so much.”

My brows lifted, the grape hovering in front of my mouth. “Wow. You don’t think he’s trying to lure you into a false sense of safety, do you?”

“Like that’ll ever happen. Nope. I am always on guard, sleep with my door closed, have secret hidden cameras that my bodyguard monitors on computers off location in case something happens, and sleep with a gun.”

A second time, my brows went up. “You know how to shoot?” I asked, finally eating the grape.

“I know how to pull the trigger. Hopefully, I’ll never have to know if my aim is good, or not.”

Chewing, I slowly smiled. “I have a little secret.”

“Yeah?”

“What would you say if I told you that every time I come see you, it’s after I’ve left a gun range about fifteen miles from here?”

She stopped rocking, her eyes widening. “Really?”

“Mm hm. And I’m pretty darn good, according to the guys at the club. Wanna join me next week?”

Excitement glittered in her irises, her cheeks turning pink with her beaming smile. “Hell, yes!”

“Great. It’s off Dunbar Road, and I usually get there around noon. Bring your gun with you, let Donnie check it out and make sure it’s a good fit for you. Just because you can hold it, doesn’t mean your hands and fingers will be able to work it properly in a crisis.”

She frowned, stretching for a grape, as well. “Huh. I never thought about that.”

“Yeah, when the adrenaline starts pumping, and you’re afraid, you’ll be surprised at how easily your own muscles will betray you. Like my first gun, I bought—”

“First gun?”

“Uh huh. I have about four now.”

Taken aback, her jaw dropped, her eyes bulging.

A wicked grin tugged my mouth, a brow arching. Continuing, I said, “I bought the first one because I liked the way it looked, but when Donnie put me in a simulation, I dropped it because it was too bulky for my grip.”

Her bottom lip puckered, and her head tilted, her focus roaming my features. “I had no idea when I met you, how important you would be to me, Chazzy.”

Her comment caught me off guard, my bottled water hesitating right in front of my mouth. I batted my lashes and gazed at her, my pulse slowing.