“Coming right up.”

“Wonderful. I’ll be in my brother’s study if you need me.”

Mary smiled as she wrapped an apron around her thick waist. Gwen heard her humming as she left the room.

Blake’s study was a painted in dark masculine colors with built-in bookcases and a desk that sat center stage. Brown leather chairs flanked the desk, with a couch and wet bar on one end of the room. Considering how much Blake despised their father she found it entertaining how the space reminded her of the larger study in Albany where their father used to spend all his time. The very same one Blake now used when in Europe. He ran his shipping business from both continents and did so quite successfully.

Not that he needed to any longer. Their father left his estate to Blake once he married and had an heir. Gwen and her mother were given small stipends on which to live. Small by their standards, large by anyone who hadn’t lived in a country manor all her life with jets at her disposal and a clothing allowance that could feed small countries. Blake didn’t feel the division of funds was fair so he added to her trust fund, not that she asked him to. Gwen knew her brother loved her. When he transferred the money into her accounts, she realized how much he’d sacrificed to obtain their father’s millions. She also realized how different her father and brother had been.

Living in the small Tarzana house was a choice. One Gwen really did enjoy. But now that she knew Neil wasn’t going to watch her every move, she needed to make certain she was safe.

Gwen crossed to where her brother hid his walk-in safe. The paneling on the wall looked like the others in the room, but when she placed her finger on a digital reader, the wall moved and a steel door stood in its place. A palm scanner opened the next door and she was inside.

Only four people had access to the safe: Blake, Sam, Neil, and herself. Gwen kept some of her own jewelry and funds in the secure space but that wasn’t why Blake gave her access. At twenty-four feet by twenty feet, and impermeable from the outside, it doubled as a safe room. When Blake and Samantha took a private vacation, Gwen stayed with her nephew and Sam’s disabled sister Jordan. Blake wanted to be sure that if there was ever a problem his family would be protected.

Gwen walked into the room and opened a drawer.

Inside, four handguns of different shapes and sizes sat next to open boxes of ammunition.

All she had to do was figure out which one suited her best.

She lifted the gun that looked like one that Eliza owned.

Always treat it like it’s loaded. Eliza’s words drifted in Gwen’s mind.

She checked the chamber, found it empty, and noticed the clip sitting beside it.

“What are you doing in here?” Neil’s booming voice made her jump. She turned toward him, gun in hand.

She noticed his gun in his hand and pointed toward the floor. “Good Lord, Neil, you scared me half to death.”

He reached behind his back, holstered his gun, and stepped into the room. “Answer the question.”

The sheer size of the man dwarfed the space. She turned away from him, doing her best to ignore his presence.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” She picked up the clip, tested its weight.

“That’s not a toy.”

“I’m quite aware of that.”

“What do you need with it?”

“Nothing. Probably. But between Eliza and Samantha’s advice, I’ve decided I should have something at the house should I ever need it.” Samantha had agreed with Eliza’s advice when they’d last spoken on the phone.

“You’ll likely shoot off your own foot.” He moved closer.

“Thank you for your vote of confidence but I’m sure I’ll be fine.” After putting the gun and clip down, she lifted a revolver. She’d only held Eliza’s revolver once and couldn’t remember how to check the chamber. She wasn’t about to ask the man who just mocked her.

“Have you even held a gun before?”

She put the revolver back, skipped over the second larger revolver, and lifted another gun that was similar to the first. “Eliza taught me, remember?”

Neil grunted. “None of these are what Eliza carries.”

“These look the same.”

“Different calibers, different mechanisms.”

He stood next to her now, close enough that she felt the heat of his body.

She closed her eyes. I really have to stop torturing myself with this man.

“They shoot bullets, don’t they?”

“Of course.”

She grabbed the first gun and the clip. “Then I’ll be fine.” She turned to walk away, and Neil placed a hand on her arm, stopping her.

His grip was firm at first, and then softened when she met his hazel eyes. “Eliza shoots a .38. That’s a .45 and will knock you clear across the room when you squeeze the trigger.”

She couldn’t remember what Eliza shot, but apparently, Neil did. Gwen glanced at the gun.

“I’m not leaving here without a gun, Neil.”

His hand barely rested on her arm now, but he didn’t move away.

“Fine.” He let her go, knelt on the floor, and opened another drawer. He removed a black case, opened it, and proceeded to place all the guns, clips, and extra bullets inside.

“I don’t need them all,” she said.

He cocked his head to the side. “You need to leave with the right one. You won’t know what that is until you fire all of them.”

“Oh.”

They stayed for lunch, appeasing Mary, and then drove to an outdoor shooting range tucked in one of the many canyons of the California mountains.

The range was relatively quiet and it didn’t take long to realize that she was the only woman there. A couple of men sent her an appreciative glance, but after noticing Neil at her side, quickly looked away.

The concrete ground was littered with shell casings, making it difficult to walk in high heels. Once they entered the area where the guns were being fired, Neil handed her ear protection. The sounds of the blasts were muffled, and Gwen had a hard time hearing what Neil was saying.

He set up their guns at the far end of the run and rested his hand on the counter. “I want you to try this one first.” It was the largest revolver in Blake’s drawer.

Its sheer size intimidated her. “Why that one?” Did he want to scare her away from guns?

“It’s the easiest to shoot.”

She huffed out a laugh. “I doubt that.”

“I take my weapons seriously, Gwendolyn, and would never lie to you about them.”