Chapter 5

Mia blew gunpowder and her hair out of her face, wiping the sweat off of her brow with one black colored sleeve. When Demon wanted them to practice he wasn't going to take no for an answer. They were in full tactical gear, including Kevlar vests that seemed to weigh a ton and amplified the heat.

She slammed the button beside her and watched as the target moved quickly toward her. The ten-ring had been completely torn through; the rest of the target was immaculate. She laid it on the pile of other targets that Demon would demand to see when they were done.

She popped the empty clip out and slapped a fresh one in, ratcheting the slide to ready it for fire. She'd already slipped her protective glasses on and was wearing ear pieces of the best kind, the kind that meant she didn't have to listen to any of the macho bullshit that the Alphas enjoyed so much.

Throwing verbal shit was one of the abuses no Alpha would ignore. It was part of the male bullshit that she'd have been throwing around herself, except for one thing. Aidan Hunter.

He grew infinitely more fascinating to her since he'd kissed her at the scene yesterday. He'd been in her dreams, nightmares more like the kind that were like finding yourself naked in school. She gritted her teeth and pushed those thoughts away. Glancing over and around the shooting stalls, she caught a quick glimpse at him. He noticed her and winked at her. Aggravation made her smirk and she clipped on her next target.

With a growl, she emptied the clip, the target becoming Aidan's face and that damn wink.

Demon's harsh, gravelly voice was easily heard. "Cease fire. Clear them."

Mia thumbed the safety on her pistol and slid it back into its holster. She slid her protective gear off, listening to Romeo and Digger as they bragged about their shooting. She said nary a word, handing her targets to Demon as he came up to her. "I think we have a winner here, boys!"

She grinned. "Of course." She blew on her knuckles and then rubbed them against her shirt.

Demon patted her on the head. "Now let's see if you can keep that going on the range."

The range was a long field that had been kept mown down. There was a hill on one end that made the field perfect for an outside range. If a bullet got past the thick target backing and the hay bales behind that, then the hill would stop it. Each part of the range was marked and the Bravos lined up in two lines.

Mia checked her clips, making sure that she had the right amount of ammunition. Going through the range and running out of ammunition would have her as the butt of the men's jokes. Of course, any one of the men would have gotten the same razzing. Somehow, she ended up paired with Aidan and she glanced over at him, sighing and closing her eyes. She needed to beat him, if only to bring back a little of the self-confidence that had gone missing since he'd shown up in her shower.

"Want to make a bet?"

She glanced his way. "What you got in mind?"

"I beat you and you have to promise to go home with me tonight."

Mia glanced at the other men, hoping that they hadn't heard what he'd said. "And if I win?"

Aidan grinned. "You can decide what position we use first."

"If I win, you'll back off. No more touching or kissing, no more invading my showers or trying to seduce me."

"Are you sure that's what you want, Mia? You could be letting go of something very special that could happen between us." His face was serious. "Think about it, Mia. You win and I give up all thoughts of a relationship with you, that means no kisses, no touches, never trying to get you naked again. Are you sure you want that?"

She could feel her will begin to cave and she heaved a long breath. Is that truly what she wanted? Aidan Hunter was prime Grade A choice even among the men who were part of the Alphas. His chest was hard and muscular, his arms felt so right dragging her close. Did she want to give up on those so-sweet kisses? Damn him, why did he have to do this now?"

"Yes, I want that." The words were out but then she wanted to swallow them back. She did want his kisses, she wanted him to shower with her, to kiss her and touch her. She wanted to go home with him, to be with him, in every way possible. Was she tearing off her nose to spite her face?

They stood at the line, pistols holstered. She watched as Digger changed the targets at the end of the range. His face was beaming as he walked back, holding his target and checking his score. He called the score out to Demon who grunted and then wrote it down on his note pad he carried with him. He looked up, seeing both Aidan and Mia standing and waiting for his whistle.

"Ready?" he shouted over the noise of the team.

Mia nodded and Aidan must have too because the sound of his whistle, though short, was ear piercing. Mia ran forward, dropping to her knee in front of a barrel. She popped off her six shots and then rolled to the next, a small brick wall that she had to lie in front of. Popping off the rest of the rounds, she slid out the empty clip and popped in a new one.

The range was not just based on speed, but speed and actual scoring of hits on the target. She rose from behind the wall, racing to the next obstacle. She bounced through the tires, rolling over the last two and sighting quickly at the target. Then she stood and walked to the end, shooting off the rest of the bullets in her clip. She stood at the edge of the end line of the range, panting lightly. When she heard the whistle again, she walked up to the target and took it down, sliding a new one up.

The scoring on the target ranged from one point to ten points each depending upon where she hit. Kill shots were always given a ten, whether it be heart or head. From there, it waved outward, each ring getting slightly bigger until the one ring which was around the figure. She had one bullet in the eight ring but the rest were in the ten, both head and heart totally ripped apart.

She handed her target to Demon and watched as he wrote down her score next to her time. Aidan was next. He'd been a bit faster on the range but she was sure her accuracy made up for the few second difference. Her heart was in her throat, her eyes actually ached from trying to see over Demon's shoulder. Which one of them won?

He whistled again and she gasped in surprise. "We have a winner!" He paused for dramatic effect, oofing when Mia shoved her elbow into his gut.

"Who?" she demanded.

"Our winner is..."

Mia stared at Demon as he announced the winners for the day. One after the other, he read them leaving the range for last Mia began pacing, stopping only long enough to glare at him as another winner was presented.

"And the winner of the range," he picked up a small piece of paper and held it up and then out a bit, squinting at the name.

Mia growled her irritation and she watched as the envelope was taking from his hand by Aidan. She saw the wide smile on his face and she felt her heart sink. "And the winner is ... Aidan Hunter!" Aidan bowed and took the prerequisite pounding on the back. Then he walked up to Mia. "Not planning on reneging are you?"

"No, the bet was made. I'll wait for you at your car." He was beginning to walk away from Mia before he turned around and shouted her name, tossing a cell phone her way.

"Call your sister!"

Mia chewed on her lip in consternation. Why had she made this stupid bet? The only reason, because Aidan wanted it to be made. He always got his way no matter how asinine it was or how much it broke protocol. Now, because he wanted her in his bed, he'd made a bet she hadn't been able to refute. She growled in anger and quickly finished with the clean up on the range, running the round catcher across the field and emptying it in the barrel that stood in a corner of the range.

Then she went down into the locker room to gather her things. She was out of the locker room before the first of the men came strolling out. She waved goodbye to the guys that saw her and then climbed into her truck when Aidan walked up toward her. "I'll follow you."

"No." He opened her door and pulled her out, grabbing her bags and tossing them over his arms. "You're riding with me. I'll bring you back when we are done." He walked away from her car door, throwing her things in the back end of his truck. Holding open his car door, he stared her down until she changed trucks, sliding over the middle of the seat and into the passenger side. "Thank you."

"For what?" she snapped.

"For not making this such a big deal, Mia. I've wanted you since the first moment I laid eyes on you, but I always told myself no, that you were forbidden fruit."

"So what, am I now on the platter of the day?"

"Because you kissed me. You had to fucking kiss me back. It blew my mind, Mia. I knew after that kiss that this was the logical next step."

"What happened to courting a girl, to wining and dining them, movies, midnight strolls, just to sit and get to know each other?"

"I know your whole life history, just as you know mine. Being part of this team, we are together every day. We socialize together, we drink together, hell we even run together. I know what your weaknesses are. I know you have this idea that you'll never get married." He laughed, sobering when she turned her head and stared at him.

"Then you know what this look means as well."

"Yes, and I know I'm not going to worry about it. That look means to be cautious of my words but you aren't really pissed yet." He started the car and then reached over, taking her hand in his. "That look says I want this but I'm terrified that I'm going to get hurt." Mia turned her head away from him. "Mia, I'm not going to hurt you, at least not in any way you wouldn't want."

"So if I say no."

Aidan stopped for a moment, turning so that he could look into her eyes. "I'll think about it."

"You'll think about it?"

"Yeah. You're mine tonight, Mia. Your own words give you to me for this night. I'm not missing out on this, not for anything." A smile crossed his face that only grew bigger as he looked down at her. He pulled through a gate behind which was a long curved driveway.

"What is this?"

"Home sweet home, I'm renting it from a friend of the family." He pulled up close to the front of house before turning off the engine and jumping out. He hurried to Mia's side and opened her door, seeing the confusion that covered her face. It was a good condition to keep her in, at least for a while. "Come on, Mia, let me introduce you around."

"O-okay." Her fingers slipped over her bag that was carrying her weapon. For some reason she felt slightly naked without it. "You promise no one bites?"

"I'm pretty sure of it." He grinned back at her, trying to feel her relax just a bit. "This is my favorite." He tugged her over to a small tree that sat in a heavy clay pot.

"The bonsai tree, it is believed to seek solace in a tree such as this one, bring peace to the mind and a surety to ones fingers." She smiled up at him. "I had one when we first moved down here." She lowered her voice until it was gruff. "Bonsai teaches patience and control. It also makes you aware that one clip of the scissors can change the entire structure of the tree. It makes you think as you cut."

"This belongs to the dojo."

"Its root structures is strong."

"Just as the root structure of this dojo is strong."

"Is that why you brought me here, to prove to me that I should just give up? That I should ignore the hurt that man has caused my family and will continue to perpetrate against us if we don't stand tall to bring him down?" She turned away from him, unwilling to see the lie on his face as he spoke.

"Mia, your father can't hurt you anymore, you know that. He's dead."

She spun around, her hip hitting the side of the bonsai tree and sending the pot wobbling. "What you mean, Aidan, is that I killed him. He can't hurt us anymore because I shot him, I killed him." Harsh sobs shook her and she didn't fight him when he pulled her close, wrapping her in his strong arms.

"You didn't have a choice, Mia. Don't cry." He sighed, dropping his head down so that his cheek touched her hair. "Please Mia, don't cry."

She wiped at her eyes, forcing the sobs to quiet. "I don't cry, I don't ever cry." She pushed away from him, turning her back to him to wipe at her wet eyes with the edge of her shirt. "How do you know what happened with my father?"

"I know it all. I know he found you and conned his way into your apartment. I know he attacked you, that he was going to rape you but you got away from him and got to your gun. I know you gave him every chance to get out. But he wouldn't go. He didn't think you'd shoot him. He tried to take the gun away from you and you were forced to pull the trigger. Mia, you were barely twenty years old. You weren't at fault. You were protecting yourself." He walked up behind her, pulling her back against him, cradling her in his arms.

"It ... It wasn't the first time." Her voice was low, her face turned away from him. It was the deepest secret she had, the one she'd buried under everything else, one she'd promised to never tell. And now she was telling him. "He'd ... to both Tanya and I"

"Oh God, Mia." He rocked her gently and began humming in her ear. When she suddenly turned, reaching her arms up to wrap around his neck, he lifted her slightly, sighing deeply at the way she felt in his arms, not in passion but for comfort. She wanted comfort from him and he'd give her all she'd ever need.

"C-can we go inside?"

Aidan surprised her, bending slightly to slip his arm under her knees and lifting her into his arms. "There's nothing you need in your bag, is there?"

"My gun." She felt him laugh and couldn't help but smile herself.

"I don't really think you'll need it, do you?"

"But is it safe out here?"

He handed her the key fob. "Press that red button, would you?"

She did and heard the sound of his truck lock.

"The alarm's set as well, Mia." He smiled down at her as she tucked the keys into his chest pocket. "Now there's nothing to worry about but us." He kicked his front door closed, turning to lock it as well. Then he walked up a flight of stairs, refusing to put her down.