Bright

Chapter 16

Harry and the boys had been home for a week since everything happened, and things were going pretty well. I had a few doctor appointments left before little Dezzy would be here and I couldn't wait. I know Harry was excited for his son to be here, but we were both scared shitless about the whole thing. We knew we had help in our family and that made it easier to bare for us.

Begging me to stay home, Harry convinced me to stay home for the week from school and work, which didn't take much convincing. I was tired, my feet were always swollen and my back was killing me. Anne was more than okay with me taking time off and my professor was kind enough to email me all the course work that I needed to stay caught up. I was going stir crazy in the house, until an idea popped into my head.

Hobbling out of bed, I dressed in a pair of yoga pants and one of Harry's flannel shirts that just barely stretched over my bump. Once I had my shoes on, I grabbed my blue Glock from my bag that Frankie had bought me in the states and I went to find Harry. I found him in the den playing video games and drinking a beer with the boys, which made me smile that they could relax for a bit.

"Hey, baby. I know you're having a good time, but I was wondering. Would you guys be interested in taking us girls to a shooting range?" I ask, handing Harry my gun.

Looking it over, his eyebrows shoot up and he looks up at me with that smirk on his face. "What do you want to go for?" He asks.

With a shrug, I place my hand on my bump and smile. "I'm going stir crazy in here. I need to go somewhere and do something. I know you and the boys are leaving in 3 days and if I'm not going to run away anymore, then I need to learn how to protect myself. What better way than to learn how to use this from someone I trust?"

Nodding his head, Harry looks to the guys, and they all seem to be on board with the idea. Louis sets his controller down and leans forward, fiddling with the ring in his lip. "It wouldn't hurt to make sure the girls know how to protect themselves. Get everyone rounded up and we'll get the bikes ready."

Harry stands up and hands me the pistol before drawing me in for a slow kiss. "I'm real proud of you, you know?" He says.

I blush and smile at him. "Thank you. I'm trying. I'll go get my bag ready." I take the gun and go back upstairs to our room to begin getting things ready to go.

Once the other girls and myself are ready to go, we meet the boys out in the garage and they load the bikes down with our stuff before setting out for North London.

After a 20 minute drive, we stop in front of a place called Croydon Rifle & Pistol Club. "What's this place?" I ask as Harry helps me safely climb off his bike.

"This is an indoor and outdoor shooting range. If we want to make sure you're safe, we need to be sure you're all tested both indoor and out. Come on. We called ahead and got both ranges rented out for the entire day. We'll do inside shooting first." Harry places his hand on my lower back and carries our bags in with his free hand while the others follow us.

"Who's the gun expert of your gang?" I ask Harry. We step into a huge room with one long bench that's separated by panels and targets are located at the far end of the range. Each one of us is led to a booth, and we begin setting up our gear before Harry answers me.

"Me and Lou are the best with firearms. The rest of the guys are all beyond accurate shots and know the basics. So, before we begin, what do you know about guns in general?" He asks. My blue and silver pistol sits next to his jet black on the table along with several boxes of ammunition.

"Um, not a lot. I know the basics of safety. Things like, keep it pointed in a safe direction, don't aim at anyone unless you intend to kill them, how to load and unload it, what the safety is for and how to pull the trigger. Otherwise, I don't know much else." I confess with a shrug.