I yawned while I waited for James. I checked my watch one more time, it was two minutes before four. Not convinced I would be able to to wake up so early I had set three alarms. I wasn’t going to mess this up, if I did James wouldn’t continue to waste his time on me and I really needed this.

When it reached four o’clock I opened the door to find James walking up to the door. He was dressed in his usual suit looking exactly the same as he did yesterday. My hair was messy and I was dressed in sweats. He looked effortless and I felt like my lack of sleep was written all over me.

“Hi,” I greeted. I pulled the jersey tighter around myself against the cool air.

“Let’s go.” There were no pleasantries with him. He was the type of person that only spoke to communicate. At least he was also the type of guy who said exactly what was on his mind. There was no bullshitting or hidden agenda.

I hurried after him, having two take two strides for each of his. I followed him in the dimly lit route to another building off the main house. It was a bit of walk but I didn’t complain. If I did, I was sure he wouldn’t help me. He was doing me favor. When he got to the door he keyed in a code and the door opened.

In all the time I had ever been on the property it was a building I had never been allowed inside. I had no idea what was inside. He held the door open for me and I stepped inside.

There was a firing range on the one side with some guns on display. No handguns only rifles. I warmed my hands as James closed the door behind us. On the other side there was a passage that looked like a few offices but nothing really gangster looking. I had always imagined chains and dungeons where they tortured traitors. Clearly my imagination had run wild.

There was a table and James reached behind to his waist and pulled a gun out and laid it on the table.

“First rule, you never point it at anything you are not willing to shoot. Do you understand?”

I nodded. “Yes. Okay.”

I was more than nervous about handing a gun, it was something I had never touched. Maybe it’s because I was always afraid the gun would go off and I would end up shooting someone or myself. I had a healthy respect for weapons and the destruction they could inflict if mishandled.

“Do you know anything about guns?”

“No. I’ve never even held one.”

He picked up the gun and removed the magazine and checked the barrel before handing me the gun with the handle pointing to me. “Take it.”

For a second I hesitate and then I reached for it. I held it, not sure I was doing it properly. It was cold and heavier than I expected. He came around the table to show me how to hold the it correctly. He also showed me hot to rest my hand holding the gun on my other hand to help steady it.

He showed me where the safety was and how to tell if it was on or off. I tried to take in as much as I could but being around him made me nervous and it didn’t help that I was scared he was going to declare this a waste of his valuable time.

Once he showed me something, he stood and watched as I repeated the action awkwardly until he was satisfied I was doing it right. I was surprised he had any amount of patience with me.

“I’m not going to bother with how to take it apart and put it back together. It think that would overkill for you.”

I shrugged. ”Sure.” It wasn’t like I had to know how to do that. Honestly I just needed to be able to get the safety off, aim, shoot and hit the target.

“But I think it’s important for you to learn to load the magazine and take it out.”

He spent the next half hour going through all the things he believed I had to know. Once I had it down, even it was nervously he gave me some ear muffs and protective glasses.

“Let’s see what your aim is like.”

On the opposite end was a paper target I was supposed to aim for. I felt optimistic about hitting the target even if I had never tried it before. How difficult could this be?

“Take your time pulling the trigger. If you pull too suddenly the gun can lift slight and you won’t hit where you’re aiming.”

I nodded as I lifted the gun and steadied it in the palm of my other hand. Slowly, I pulled the trigger and the gun went off. The noise was muffled by the ear muffs but the gun jerked a bit. It was a little frightening but I tried to mask it.

“Did I hit it?” I asked, a little excited to see a bullet hole in the paper.

He pressed a button and the target wizzed to us but the closer it got I could there was no hole, I had missed completely. My earlier excitement evaporated and I was left feeling useless. I had definitely not inherited the DNA that had allowed my brother to never miss when he shot at something.

He shook his head. “Try again. This time keep your hands steady.”

He returned the target back to it’s place and I took my stance with the gun ready to try again.

How I was I supposed to be steady with him standing right next to me. He was intimidating. I emptied an entire magnum with six bullets and hit nothing. I was disappointed and deflated. I’d at least hope to hit the target paper even if I got no where near the outline of the person on it.

“You’re going to have to practice,” he stated the obvious and I felt lower than I had before. Couldn’t he give me some words of encouragement but this was James we were talking about? I was lucky he was even willing to help.

He reloaded the gun and I tried again. Not one bullet hit the paper again. I probably could have done a better job blindfolded.

“Can we try again tomorrow?” I asked, trying not to allow myself to give up because I wasn’t good at it. If I tried again and couldn’t hit anything I was sure I would give up altogether.

I had to know how to do this. The most important thing was to be able to aim and shoot. A gun in my hands would be useless unless I could hit the target. It wasn’t like a threat was going to stand right in front of me and let me shoot them. My target aim might have been better if I tossed the gun in the target’s direction.

And besides I wasn’t sure how much of James’ time he was willing to waste on a hopeless case.

“Yes. Same time same place.”

“Okay great.”

He took the gun I had used and put the safety on before tucking in into his waist band behind him.

“Let’s go.”

When we got back to the house I thanked him, in return he gave me a curt nod and headed into the house straight to Angel’s study leaving me standing after him watching.

Did anyone ever break through his tough exterior? Was there anyone he thought about or was he just programmed to care about work and nothing else? I wondered.

It was five thirty and I was tired. It was way too early for coffee or breakfast so I decided to go upstairs. It had taken a lot of energy to keep myself optimistic and upbeat when all I wanted to do was give up. I took off my jersey and got back into bed, pulling the covers right up to my chin.

I felt like such a failure. Not one of the shots I had fired had come anywhere near the target. Was there any hope I would improve? If I didn’t this would be a complete waste of time and Angel would be right. It would be best for me to keep out of the way in dangerous situations.

It made me wonder if I had the stomach to deal with the dangerous world I was integrating into. It was one thing being the daughter of gangster’s henchman, it was a whole different thing when I was marrying the gangster. I was his weakness, the target his adversaries would keep in their sights.

I was effectively stepping into the firing line without any experience on how to handle any of what I was being face with. The things I had learnt growing up or been surrounded by had not been sufficient to prepare me for any of this.

When Angel had offered me marriage to keep the Vincents from taking me, I thought it would have been simple enough to get married and it would be enough. I was slowly coming to realize that wasn’t the case.

“What’s the point?” I asked, with my hand on my hip.

We had been going around in circles and we were no near agreeing on anything.

“This is a real marriage and we will have a real wedding,” Angel declared.

I sighed. “Why do you only consider it a real wedding if it’s a big wedding? It’s still going to be an official wedding whether we have a handful of guests or not.”

“If we don’t do this correctly it will give the impression that it’s not a real marriage. We have to make sure our union sends the right message.”

“I don’t want to do the whole circus. It’s bad enough that we have no love between us, I don’t want to stand in front of hundreds of people and make vows that are lies.”

“We will be together in sickness and in health.”

“It’s the love part, that’s the lie.” I rubbed my forehead. I’d hoped he could see things from my point of view but so far he wouldn’t budge and it was frustrating.

Was this how things would work in our marriage? He would continue to argue until he got his way.

All my fairytales from my childhood, from the white dress, to the happy ever after were dying slowly arguing with Angel over the details of our wedding.

“I’m tired and I don’t want to argue about this anymore,” I said, sinking down in the chair across from him.

He frowned. “You seem to be tired a lot lately?”

How had he even noticed that, I barely saw him during the day. He was always busy in his study with James or he was out.

“It’s nothing, it’s just been a long day.”

The fact the four am sessions with James were wrecking havoc on me and I always seemed to be so tired. I had no idea if Angel knew about them or not but I wasn’t going to tell him for fear he might put a stop to them because I was just starting to get the hang of what James was teaching me.

The first time I had hit the target paper I had squealed in delight much to James’ dismay. I had been so proud of myself nothing was going to dampen it. I wasn’t a great aim but I was working on it and hoping with more practice I would get better.

James had taken me through all the security measures on the property. He had shown me where the guns were kept in the house. They were all hidden quite cleverly, all in different places stored in small safes that looked like something else entirely opened with a keypad. No matter where I was I would always have access to a weapon so matter which floor I was on.

He had also started to go over what security measures they had in place for when we were away from the property. From the bullet proof cars to the number of bodyguards who would accompany me out. It was a small army. It was also difficult not to feel a little nervous and I hoped it was just overkill.

“And I still need to go shopping this afternoon to get some new clothes.” Usually I loved to shop but right now I would rather have been doing anything else.

“Reschedule it,” he said. “Rest if you’re tired.”

“Can we at least come to some sort of compromise on this issue so I can go upstairs to rest?” I negotiated with him.

“A hundred guests?” he offered.

It wasn’t exactly a small wedding but it was than two hundred.

“Deal.” I lifted myself out of the chair.

“Your ring arrived today.” He rosed and opened the drawer at his desk and took a ring box out. He opened the box and took out the ring.

Then he reached for my hand and slowly slid it onto my finger. It was beautiful. It was an emerald cut pink diamond surrounded by small white diamonds.

“It’s a pink diamond.”

Most guys stuck to traditional white diamonds, I was curious as to why he chosen the pink.

“It’s beautiful,” I breathed. “What made you go for a pink one”

“You once told me when you were ten that you wouldn’t get married unless you’re husband gave you a pink ring.”

I remembered that conversation. He had been eleven at the time and told me with a scowl that no boy would buy a pink ring ever, like it was something to be embarrassed about. He had made me so angry I had stalked off after calling him a stupid boy.

“Why did you do that?” Just when I was convinced he didn’t care at all, he did this type of thing.

“I know this is not the marriage you envisioned and I at least wanted to give you a ring that would make that little girl, who believed in fairytales, happy.” He released my hand and pocketed the ring box. “If it’s not to your liking I can change it.”

“No, it’s fine.”

I didn’t know what to think. The ring felt heavy on my hand, and reminder of my decision to marry him. I straightened my fingers to look at the ring again as it sparkled in the light, liking that it held more significance than just an arrangement between us.

When I looked at it I would see the man who remembered the fairytale dreams of my younger self. It meant something to me.

I had chosen a plain titanium band for his wedding ring. To me there was nothing conventional about him and wouldn’t suite anything in a traditional gold.

He looked up from a document on his desk. “Is there something else?”

That was his way of dismissing me.

“No. I’ll see you later,” I said, leaving his study.

I headed to go clothes shopping with Jack, the guy from the night of the shooting who had looked after me in the study. He had been assigned as my bodyguard. I had refused any additional security other than a driver. I was going to be out in public and didn’t want a whole army following me. It was overkill.

All the stores Jack took me to held an account for Angel and everything I chose was charged to it. I didn’t pay for a thing. I still made sure to only buy what I really needed. Jack had a hard time carrying everything but he managed.

By the time I finished in the last store I was tired and ready to head back to the house. I stood outside the store with Jack who had just called the driver to tell him we wanted to head back.

There was a hotel next to us and while Jack spoke to the driver something caught my attention. It was James, I would have recognized that stiff posture anywhere. Then I watched as he opened the door to a sleek car and Angel got out.

What was he doing going to a hotel in the middle of the day? It was a little suspicious. I looked over my shoulder at Jack but he was still looking in the opposite direction to spot our car.

My curiosity was peaked and I knew I had to see what Angel was doing.

When Jack ended the call I touched his arm to get his attention, he pocket his phone and picked up my shopping bags.

“I just need to use the ladies. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I said. I turned and left before he could utter a word. He also held too many bags to follow me to the hotel and through the turn door.

Once inside the hotel I scanned the immediate reception as quickly as I could knowing I would only have a few minutes before Jack would come looking for me but I couldn’t see Angel or James. Where were they? Had they gone up to a room? The thought didn’t sit right with me. Who met up with someone in the middle of the day at a hotel? It screamed of something I didn’t want to consider but I refused to believe it.

The only other place I could look was the restaurant. There was a part of me that hoped he was in there because the only alternative was not something I wanted to be faced with.

I stood out of sight to the side of the entrance of the restaurant and scanned the tables to find my fiancé. I held my breath as I went from one table to the next feeling more and more anxious when I couldn’t find him until I finally caught sight of him.But my short relief that he wasn’t upstairs in a hotel room was short lived when I took in the fact that he was not alone and James was no where to be seen.

Beside him, sitting very close to him was a beautiful blonde women, who looked like she had stepped off the cover of a high fashion magazine. The sight of them hit me in the chest like a sledgehammer and I was winded as I leaned against the door frame.