Lay it on the Line : The Good Samaritan book two

7

CHAPTER 7

The preacher's words kept circling in his head. "Sin keeps you longer than you want to stay and leads you farther than you want to go."

It was true. Every day, JJ was getting deeper and deeper in a hole, and he knew he would end up six feet under. He tried to drive the words out of his mind with the song on the radio, but it was no use. He turned the radio off and sighed deeply.

"Ant that simple Skynyrd." Johnny spoke to himself and the radio as he pulled into the motel. The Cajun parked and sat there looking at the red door in front of his truck. Then glanced down at his wet and blood-stained clothes. He slowly pressed his forehead to the steering wheel to calm his nerves. "JJ, ya need to stop man." He could hear Sean's voice. "I know...believe me, I know." Johnny spoke to himself as he finally opened the door and hopped out.

He needed to get out of those clothes and get some rest before heading back to Mexico. After his shower, JJ finally sank into the bed of the dark motel room. The noise in his head along with the thoughts of his wrong doings were turning in loop, causing him to be restless. He needed to drown them out, so finally the Cajun sat up and reached for the remote. Turning on the tv, Johnny sat up in the bed and laid his head back against the headboard. JJ knew he must do something else. He was going in the wrong direction, and for five years he was stuck in a rut.

The Cajun missed his mom, his dog, and his old life. He felt awful, he once upheld the law and helped people, now he was doing the complete opposite. He should have never left home or church. JJ needed to change not only what he was doing, but how he was doing it. The Cajun finally falls asleep to the low sound of the tv.

The Cabin

The morning light came peeping in the room slowly, causing Paige's eyes to open. She looked around the room, wiping the sleep from her eyes. She slowly pulled the covers back and placed her feet on the floor. She then tiptoed past the door to the bathroom. Paige peeked to see if Nate was still asleep, but she couldn't see. Paige went to use the toilet and came out of the bathroom. Her hair was all a mess, as she scratched it and walked back into the room. Paige yawned and when she opened her eyes, she saw Nate standing in the doorway. She jumped at the sight of him, making Nate raise a brow.

"I see you're up. Good. Get dressed. We start your firing lessons today." the soldier told her as he turned to walk out.

Paige quickly got dressed and made her way outside. She walked down the small steps searching for him. She turned her head when she heard him crunching in the wet morning grass. Paige then walked around and followed him to the back of the cabin. They walked out in the small clearing, toward the back wooden fence where he had already set everything up. His dark glasses glinted in the sun. Paige squinted as she watched him, wondering why she was even taking a lesson. Nate set up a target behind the fence, by the tree line. He then made his way back toward her.

Nate proceeded to teach her how to hold and load the gun. Paige did it a few times and got used to it before Nate taught her how to aim. He walked behind her as the gun trembled in her hands. She listened to him intently as he instructed her but couldn't keep quiet for much longer.

"I told you I wasn't going to kill him." Paige huffed.

"Maybe not, but you need to learn to not only protect yourself, but to have my back in case something happens." Nate replied.

"Open your dominant hand to expose the webbing between your index finger and thumb. Taking the pistol, which should still be pointing down, in your other hand, insert the grip of the pistol into the web of your dominant hand. With your thumb on one side of the grip, keep your middle, ring, and pinky fingers curled securely around the other side, just below the trigger guard. You are really gripping the gun only with the middle and ring fingers, the 'pinky' is resting on the gun, but is not used to grip; neither is the thumb used to grip the gun. The grip should be very tight. Hold the gun so tightly that your hand begins to shake, then relax a bit to stop the shaking. Keep your trigger, index finger safely outside the trigger guard but ready to move into position. Wrap your non-dominant hand around the other side of the frame, aligning your two thumbs to point downward. This second hand, if used, is primarily for steadying the gun vertically and horizontally and not for gripping the gun. Make sure both thumbs clear the slide, or hammer. Remember, this mechanism pops sharply backwards when the gun is fired, easily injuring a wayward thumb!" Nate warned her.

Paige did as she was told, and he inspected her hands.

"Good. Now hold the gun very firmly, leaving no air spaces between your hands and the grip." Paige's stomach was already in knots. She had never handled a gun before. Nate could tell, but he didn't let her know this.

"How do I know you aren't gonna turn me into William?" It slipped out from the hundreds of thoughts that were swimming around in her head.

"If I was going to turn you in, I would have let Derrick bring you in. Or I would have drove you there myself." Nathaniel's eyes focused on her green eyes, so Paige would know he was truthful. He did not want to continue this conversation, so he continued his lesson instead.

"Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, with the foot opposite your dominant hand about a step past the other foot. Blade your body and stand with a slight lean forward, making sure you're firmly balanced. The elbow of your dominant arm should be almost completely straight. Similarly, your knees should not be "locked" but slightly bent." He watched her do as she was told.

"Now, the top of the front sight is level with the top of the rear sight. The rear sight appears evenly centered within the notch of the front sight. The front sight is the most important part of the sight picture. While the target and rear sight may be fuzzy, the front sight should be in-focus. For practical shooting, the front sight should be just below the point of desired impact. For most target shooting, the front sight is aligned with the bottom edge of the bullseye, the black area, while the point of impact is in the center. Either approach works, but you need to know how the gun is adjusted."

Paige was getting antsy as he explained everything. She just wanted to shoot and get this over with. The gun started to sweat in her hands as she waited impatiently.

"Bring your weapon to bare on the target, maintaining your focus on the front sight. You should see the sharply focused front sight touching the bottom of the blurry, unfocused bullseye. Only then do you insert the trigger finger into the trigger guard. Jerking the trigger will throw off your aim. It is best to time firing with your breathing. Take a breath, exhale half of breath, and then squeeze the trigger. Once you begin pulling the trigger, keep pulling it at a constant rate until the gun goes off. Be forewarned, the shot will probably startle you, so hold on to it, don't go dropping it."

Paige laughed nervously. He placed his hands on hers to make sure everything was correct. He then stepped back a couple yards.

"Do not rush; make sure to re-take aim because the recoil will offset your alignment. Now go-ahead and fire." he told her. Of course, her aim was horrible. Nate stood behind her with his arms crossed watching her. When Paige finished the clip, he walked back behind her and continued to teach her.