“What type of food?” Ebony asked.
“What?” Suddenly, I’d forgotten what we had been talking about.
She gestured to the house. “The restaurant. What type of food did she serve?”
What are you doing? Get it together.
Since I wasn’t behaving, I directed my attention to the house. “I’m not sure. I just know that her peanut soup was high quality. Every now and then someone drives on the property looking for the restaurant. And when I said that the owner passed, they frown and ask if I have the peanut soup recipe.”
“Impressive.”
“Her son sold me the place. He lived in New York and had no intentions of moving to Washington. I grabbed everything for a good price.” I guided her away. “But this house isn’t what I wanted to show you, although it’s part of my suggestion.”
“Your suggestion?”
“I have two ideas for your dilemma.” I took us around the back of the house, led us down the stairs, pulled out my keys, and unlocked the basement door. “This is the first one. The house is the second.”
She stayed quiet as she watched me. When I opened the door and turned on the lights, she widened her eyes, but didn’t step in.
“Go ahead,” I said.
She stepped inside, and I followed.
Tons of guns lined the left and right walls. Large shelves of boxed ammo stacked the back wall.
“That’s why you didn’t ask for the shotgun back.” She scanned the space. “You have plenty.”
“That and because I want you to feel safe while you’re here.” I closed the door behind me. “Do you feel safe?”
She turned my way. “Yes. You’ve done nothing but open your house to us and do your best to host.”
“Let me know if I can do more. The right wall has all the shotguns and rifles, but that’s not what I wanted you to see.” I walked over to the left wall. “These are all the semi-automatic pistols. Smith & Wesson® to SIG Sauer®. Thin, lightweight designs. These have lighter trigger pulls. Good grip sizes. Three-point-takedown safety systems.”
I picked up one of the Kimber Stainless Semi-Auto Pistols and showed it to her. “This has a striker-fired trigger with a crisp pull.”
She nodded. “I don’t know what any of that means, but I’m thoroughly impressed.”
I grinned, put the pistol down, and walked further. “Here’s the revolvers. Some of these are collectors’ items for me. Those are the Peacemaker revolvers.”
“I bet a lot of peace come from them.”
I laughed. “It matters on how much chaos is occurring. That has a six-shot cylinder. Stainless steel barrel. This is a Glock King Cobra Revolver Double-action, 6-shot, .357 Magnum model. This would be good for you.”
She touched her chest. “Me?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “You can keep the shotgun, but you need something smaller too. A gun you can keep in your purse.”
“You’re going to give me a gun?”
“With that maniac, you should have a few.”
“Well. . .”
“What?”
“I do have his gun. I just need bullets.”
I studied her. “You have his gun?”
“Yesterday, when he came by, he pulled a gun on me. Things happened and—”
“What happened?”
“There’s no need to get in the details.”
I gritted my teeth. “They could help.”
“He pulled the gun on me, threatened to shoot my head off, and. . .even put the tip in my mouth.”
It was hard to contain my rage.
She stepped back. I was sure she caught the fury on my face.
I pushed down some of the anger. “He put the tip of the gun in your mouth?”
“Yes.”
I fisted my hands at my side. “How did you get the gun from him?”
“I. . .”
“It’s okay, Ebony. No judgement. You can tell me anything.”
“I lured him into my bedroom and then. . .I lowered to my knees. That made him put the gun on the nightstand by my bed.” She told the rest of it—him putting his pathetic dick in her mouth, her stabbing him and then grabbing the gun.
“Where’s the gun now?”
“In the SUV.”
“Do you think it’s clean?”
“I have no idea.”
There’s a woman missing in California. He might’ve shot her with it.
“Let me take and get rid of it for you. There’s no need for you to get in trouble with something he may have done with it.” It was hard to regain my composure. All I could think about was grabbing Wyatt, taking him down to the ground, and pistol fucking his mouth until his teeth cracked and he vomited all over himself.
I cleared my throat. “Take my guns. They’re clean.”
She bit her lip and scanned the wall of guns. “Is it okay, if I ask you a question?”
“Ask anything.”
“What do you do?”
“What I did was something similar to your husband. He killed for the government. I killed for a group of powerful people.” I assessed her reaction, hoping that I didn’t scare her too much. There was no sweet way I could confess it. She had to know as much of the truth as possible.