Page 223 of Vexatious Queen

“Alright,” Nash said with a casual shrug.

Just like that, they got their stuff, and we were heading out the door ten minutes later to Nash’s truck. He flipped the middle console up so the three of us could sit together in the front.

“I have an idea,” Nash said as we pulled out with two vehicles following us. “We are taking a detour.”

Knowing Nash, it was probably something sexual, and I was tempted to question him, but I just leaned my head on Liam’s shoulder and nodded. My mum’s words played over in my head, but so did Nash’s from our conversation last night. Dad said that what happened changed her. The woman I knew for my whole life was warm, caring, protective, and had always put me first. At her weakest, when the chemo made her so sick, she’d still found ways to make me feel like I was the light of her life.

What could be so horrible that it broke something inside her? And if it was that bad…did I even want to know? God, life didn’t get any easier. Some people longed to go back to being a kid, but my childhood was just as big a mess. Only at the time, I didn’t understand what was happening around me.

As the truck slowed, I blinked and looked around the industrial area.

“Um…where are we?”

“You’ll see,” Nash said, as we pulled up to a building with a faded sign that said ‘Gun Range’. We parked out front beside the only other car in the lot. “Come on, let’s go.”

Skeptical, I slid out and stared up at the rundown establishment.

“I don’t think this is what I need,” I said.

“How would you know? Weren’t you the one who wanted me to take you shooting? And what better way to release the anger than putting some holes in shit,” Nash asked, as the guards got out. I spotted Massimo among them and pointed to the sign.

“Hey, Mo, you think it is a good idea to give me a gun right now? And don’t say it’s not up to me. What do you honestly think?”

Mo smirked and stepped closer as he pulled a cigarette out of his inside pocket.

“I think there is no better time,” he said, and lit up. “Family drama is the leading cause of deaths in our world. Maybe there would be less if more families took their anger out on targets instead of each other.”

“Well that was disturbing and sad, but I like your honesty. Tell me something else.”

He inhaled and looked at Nash and Liam, who just shrugged.

“If a gunman jumped out from behind the tree over there, what would you do?”

His face hardened as he glanced at the tree and then the truck.

“I’d grab you and push you down in front of the truck, protecting the three of you at all costs. But you are my number one priority.”

“And what if you were shot?”

“Then hopefully, it is not my day to die, but if it is…then there would be no greater honor than dying to protect you,” he said, and I believed him.

“I’m going to ask my father if you can be my personal guard whenever I leave Wayward and then continue once I’ve graduated. I’m tired of my guys rearranging their lives around my schedule. Are you okay with that?”

“Ren, you don’t have to do this,” Nash said.

“I know, but it’s time. So, what do you say, Mo?”

Mo looked completely shocked but straightened his shoulders. He dropped the cig, crushed it out, and kneeled in front of me, like a knight looking to be blessed.

“My life is yours,” Mo said. “Not because I was ordered to give it, but because I chose it.” He lifted his gaze to mine, unflinching. “Where you go, I stand. Whatever comes for you, comes through me first. Now and always, this I pledge to you.”

“Excellent. Then let’s go do some shooting so I don’t become another statistic.”

It felt like the first real choice I’d made as a leader. And maybe it was a small one, but it was solely mine.

Walking inside, the air was dry and cool. The entrance opened into a store with fake targets, camo clothing, and other items that I couldn’t name. It felt very claustrophobic with all of us in here, crowding every possible corner.

“I’ll get us signed in,” Nash said, ringing the bell when we reached the counter.