Nothing Left to Lose (Guarded Hearts 1)

He burst out laughing. “Damn it, Anna, will you stop making me laugh? I’m driving!” he scolded, trying to be serious.

“I apologise,” I said, still giggling. I glanced over at him, and he gave me a wicked grin and winked, making my face burn even more.

Despite the GPS, we still got a little lost on the way there so it took well over an hour before we pulled into the shooting range parking lot. The anxiety and worry had been building inside me the whole ride, so by the time he cut the engine, my stomach was churning so much that my cereal was threatening to come back up.

Dean’s car pulled in and stopped beside ours, but he didn’t bother to get out. As far guard, he was just to wait outside the building in the car and be on call to jump in and save the day if he was needed. Ashton smiled at me encouragingly as I forced myself to climb out of the car and look over at the large, and incredibly intimidating, brick building.

As soon as the door to the place opened, the noise made me want to run. There were already a few people inside, so a gunshot sounded every couple of seconds. Each shot made me squeal and press myself against Ashton’s side as he spoke to the assistant and signed us in with the guest passes my father had arranged. Ashton was handed two black trays, and I could see a small handgun in each one as the assistant led us over to the last two lanes in the building.

My heart was crashing in my chest, and my breathing was shallow. I didn’t take my eyes off Ashton the whole time; it felt like if I kept him in sight I would be okay. Once the assistant guy had left, Ashton turned to me and pushed some safety glasses onto my face before snapping a thick, heavy pair of headphones over my ears. Sound was instantly muffled, but I could still hear the gunshots ringing out in the background.

He gripped my hips, guiding me to turn and face the right way. Stepping close to my back, his arms circled around my waist as he clamped my back against his chest. “It’s alright, Anna, I promise,” he said loudly so that I could hear him through the huge ear defenders.

I pressed harder into Ashton’s body, wanting to melt into him as another shot rang out somewhere in the building. I was struggling to stay in control. Deep down, I wasn’t sure I could do this. My eyes locked on the black and white target of a body that was in front of me but about twenty feet away. There was a target on the centre with circles spreading outwards with little numbers in so you could obviously keep track of your progress.

He gently lifted one of my ear defenders off my ear, resting it on my cheek before his hands closed over my shoulders, squeezing supportively. “Okay, Baby Girl,” he said. His voice vibrated against my head, making the hair on the back of my neck prickle.

Wait, did he just call me baby girl?

Reaching out, he gripped one of the hand guns, holding it out in front of me. I groaned and shied away from it, pressing back into him further. “It’s fine,” he promised. With his other hand, he took mine and placed the cold metal into my hand before forcing my other hand around it too so that I was holding it. His hands stayed firmly wrapped around mine. A pitiful whimper left my lips. “Do you know where the safety is?” he asked. Forcing myself to look at the killing machine in my hands, I spotted a small button on the side of it. I pointed it out with my thumb, taking a wild guess. I didn’t bother trying to talk, my mouth was too dry; I knew nothing would come out if I tried to speak. “That’s great, Anna,” he purred in my ear. His praising, sexy voice almost distracted from the deep down terror that had practically consumed me – almost, but not quite.

Ashton then proceeded to give me a brief overview of how to line up my target and sight it properly; he went on and on about how I was supposed to squeeze the trigger, not pull it – which actually made no sense to me at all. Apparently, the gun would jerk in my hand a little when I shot it, so I had to expect that.

By the time I was ready to start, my breathing was coming too fast, and my heart was racing. He put my headphones back into place and then guided my hands out straight in front of me, still pressing into me from behind.

“Okay, click the safety off when you’re ready, and then go,” he instructed, holding my hands tightly on the gun. A long groan escaped my lips, but I moved my thumb regardless and clicked off the safety. When I squeezed the trigger, the gun did indeed jerk in my hand. I squealed and jumped at the sound and the fact that I’d just shot a gun. “That was fantastic. Go again,” he encouraged.

As I squeezed off another shot, it dawned on me that it wasn’t quite as bad as what I had been envisioning. After a couple more shots, Ashton took the gun from my hands, prising it from my stiff fingers as he clicked the safety back on.

I turned to look at him over my shoulder, chewing on my lip.

“That was great!” he cried excitedly. “You wanna have a go on your own?” he offered, raising one eyebrow.

“Okay,” I agreed hesitantly. “But don’t leave me.”

He shook his head, raising his hand and crossing one finger over his heart. “I won’t, I promise.” He nodded back towards the target and held the gun out to me again. I gripped the gun, turning towards the target, trying not to notice that my hands were shaking. Once his arms encircled my waist, I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths. “Whenever you’re ready, aim, take the safety off, and then go.”

I concentrated on the safe feeling I felt with his arms around me like that; I focussed on the heat and hardness of his body as he held me tightly. Finally, my nerves subsided, so I took a deep breath and pointed the gun.