The Perfect Shot (Book 3) ✓

07 - Home

Hannah

Home sweet home. This statement sounded so wrong in my case. Don't get me wrong, I loved my family. They were constantly supporting me in everything I wanted to do... but... it was really hard to be part of this family. Everyone knew you, knew your parents, and you don't have a chance to be reckless even for a moment. Because, how could you? What will the people think? If your father couldn't keep his own daughter in line, what was expected for the whole town? No, growing up here, I had to be acting properly, following all the laws, not swerving even for a bit. My teenage years here were the worst. I couldn't go to illegal parties, couldn't drink alcohol with my friends, you know, been a dumb teen. Don't even start me on my dating life. If I kissed a boy, my father knew of it in the following hour. Like everyone in this town was acting like his spies without he even asking them to. Everyone was interested in my life, and I was feeling like I was suffocating.

That's why I was extremely happy when I got accepted into my university... far, far away from my hometown. There, I finally had the opportunity to do all the things I wanted. I partied, I dated, and I drank. I wasn't fully reckless, but I was living my life like I wanted it. And no one but me and my closest friends knew of it. It was heaven. But here I am, back to the hell I tried so hard to escape.

"Hannah, can you help your mother with the salads? The boys will start to come soon, and I want to have everything out in the backyard before that." My father was staying in front of the grill, taking care of all the meat that would be needed for the whole day. I so happen to come home in time for one of the most important days in my family. It was a tradition my father stared years ago, trying to bond together his team and at the same time give them some time to relax. It was a very kind idea, everyone loved it...well, everyone, but me, because I was going to run all day long, helping with the meals, the plates, the drinks...I was going to play the role of a waitress while my father and his employees talked, drank, and ate in our backyard. I was going to be death at the end of the day, with sore feet, but I was reassuring myself it was for a good cause.

"Sweetie, can you check if we have enough drinks in the coolers outside when you are there? You know these boys are drinking like crazy when they come here." I took a big bowl full of green salad from the kitchen my mother was occupying at the moment and went back to the backyard where I left it at one of the tables we had prepared and check the coolers. Like I didn't fill all of them early in the morning. But you know, something might have happened, and they could be missing. Just when I was going to scream back at my mother, to tell her everything was fine, I heard the first men coming to the party. These were the unlucky ones, because they couldn't drink alchohol since they had to go to work after their visit. So, most of these men and women came for the food.

One by one, they were coming and talking with my father, making him know that they were present, and after that, they would pick up some food and talk with the other people in the yard. With time passing, more and more people were showing, making it harder and harder for me to keep up with refreshing the food bowls on the tables and filling the coolers with new non-alcoholic drinks. I was feeling exhausted, and it wasn't even the middle of this more than 12 hours event. Luckily, we had a small pause when the shifts had to happen, so I had time to take a breath and sit for a while.

It was in the early evening when things got more interesting, freer, since the alcohol was involved. Nothing strong, just some beers, because no one wanted to get drunk in front of his boss. But the energy was different, the laughs filling the yard were lauder, everyone was feeling a lot calmer. Maybe it was because they were finished with their work for the day and could relax a little bit more than their colleagues before that. I don't know what the reason was, but it was a nice change... even though I had to run from one place to another a lot more often.

"Hannah! Come here. I want you to meet some of my men." My father finally gave up his position on the grill, switching with a friend of his, and now he was sitting at a table with some bulky men around him. "This here is Max Shaw. Next to him is Oliver Duncan and Lukas Riley." I stayed at my father side, smiling politely at the men my father introduced me to. "And on the other side, there's Raphael Romero and Daxton Hall."

"With Ace right here." The last-mentioned man pointed at the dog at his feet that was eating something and not caring about the people around him. "He's not very happy with me that I drag him here, but he's part of the Police Force, and everyone had to come."

"So, this is our SWAT team that we started a few years ago, and for now, their success rate is very high and..."

"Chief, aren't you forgetting someone..." One of the men interrupted my father's explanations. Just when he was ready to respond, a voice shouted from somewhere behind me.

"Did ya miss me, boys? Now that I'm finally here, the party can properly start!" This voice... goosebumps showed up all over my skin, making me forget where I was for a moment. My mind couldn't get over the shock of hearing it at my home. I slowly turned around, still not sure if I was hoping for the person to be an absolute stranger with a similar voice or the man himself.

"You couldn't get here without shouting for a change, Jones?" My father was looking annoyed by the newcomer, that he didn't even turn to look at him. But I did. And I was met with the one man who managed to turn my world on its head 24 hours ago. I saw the moment he looked at me and recognized me. His eyes got bigger with the surprise of seeing me here. His steps slowed down, unsure what to do, and probably wondering if I was really here.

"Yo, Cleo, stop stalling and get over here. I have something to talk with you about." One of the men at the table, I think his name was Max, made Cleo shake up the shock of seeing me and continue on his way to the table. "Team...chief..." Cleo nodded at the men around me while still throwing some unsure glances in my direction. "Nice seeing you tonight..."

"It was going to be even nicer if you decided not to show up Jones...it was such a relaxing day, and now I know it ended since you won't shut your mouth all night long." My father looked unhappy with the arrival of Cleo, and I was trying to figure out what was the reason and if it was a real dissatisfaction or just one for the giggles.

"Now, chief, I know that you don't mean it. I'm always the heart of the party. What would you do if I'm not present?"

"Enjoy my evening... and stop staring at my daughter like you haven't seen a girl in your life. I know you have quite the experience in that department..." This made Cleo visibly cringe, like he was not happy with the way my father was freely sharing his history. "...so you better stay away from her. I don't need you trying to corrupt her..." Oh, how true and how late was this statement.

"I'm not corrupting anyone, chief."

"Yeah, like I don't know what you are doing in your free time. The town isn't big enough to let you hide your activities, Jones..." I could see Cleo was feeling uncomfortable talking about his sex life with my father, so I decided to end the conversation by interrupting him and excusing myself from the table. One last look at Cleo made me know that we were going to talk sometime tonight, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

He was a cop...Cleo was a policeman... and he was working for my father... living in my hometown... working in my hometown...seeing other women in my hometown. Never in my wildest imagination have I thought of this kind of messed up scenario. I was so screwed that it was making me laugh at the absurd situation while walking back to the house for some new beers.

"What's so funny?" Ahh, that voice.   

***They met again... Not the way they imagined it, that's for sure. Did you know whose daughter she was before this chapter?