Protecting Max

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

“What’s on your schedule for tonight?” Max asked when he and Jack had finished supper and were cleaning up.

“Going to the library. I have an English paper to write and need to do some research.”

“I remember those days. I’m glad they’re behind me.”

“I wish they were for me,” Jack grumbled as he dashed upstairs to get what he needed. When he came back down, he said, “Don’t forget to set the security when I leave.”

Max rolled his eyes. “I may be a few years older than you, but I’m not senile yet.”

Jack laughed, tipped him a salute, and left. He was feeling guilty when he didn’t head to the campus library, after he drove out of the driveway onto the street. Not guilty about what he was doing, but because he’d lied to his uncle. If he knew, he’d tell me I’m over reacting again. And maybe I am. But better safe than sorry. I’m not taking a chance that Tony won’t come after him. All the security in the world won’t keep him out of the house if he’s plotting revenge.

Ten minutes later, Jack was parking beside Young’s Gun Emporium, a gun shop a classmate had recommended—one that had a shooting range as well, so he could not only buy a gun, but also learn how to use it.

As he approached the front door of the building, he wondered if he should turn around and go home. Taking a deep breath, he decided he had to do this, for Max’s sake.

“Can I help you?” the man standing behind one of the display cases asked when Jack approached him. He was, Jack thought, in his late thirties—tall, with very short dark hair, and not bad looking.

“I…I hope so. I need a gun.”

The man smiled. “Then you’ve come to the right place. What kind?”

“Hell if I know.”

“Okay. Let’s start at the beginning. Have you ever shot a gun? Why do think you want one? For self-defense?”

“No, and yes.”

Grinning, the man said, “I take it you mean no, you’ve never used one and yes it’s for self-defense.”

Jack nodded.

The man held out his hand, saying, “I’m Deacon Young. I own this place. And you are?”

“Jack. Jack Willis.”

“How old are you?”

“Nineteen. Does it matter?”

“Not at all.” Deacon studied him for a moment. “Why are you worried about having to defend yourself?”

“It’s not me. It’s my uncle.”

“Then why isn’t he here, instead of you?”

Jack chewed his lip. “I guess because I don’t think he’d be willing to do this and someone has to.”

Deacon rested his hands on the counter, asking quietly, “Has someone threatened him and you’re afraid they might carry through on it?”

Since there was no one else in the shop to overhear him, Jack decided to tell Deacon what was going on. “When I was six, I was dropped in my uncle’s lap, so to speak, when my parents were killed in a car accident. He was living with someone at the time and things weren’t going well. So, a year later, Max, that’s my uncle, decided it was time to get out of the situation.”

“I take it the woman in question didn’t take well to that idea.”

“Man,” Jack replied. “And no, he didn’t. After we moved out, he came to where we were living. He was drunk off his ass and attacked Max, putting him in the hospital. He, Tony, was arrested for aggravated assault and ended up in prison. He’s getting out in two weeks.”

“I see. You’re afraid he might come after your uncle, again.”

“Yeah. We both are, but Max thinks he’s safe enough since he had a lot of new security put on the house.”

“Safe there, maybe, but what about at work?”

“He owns his own business and works from home except when he visits clients.”

Deacon frowned. “Then not really safe at all. How do you think you can protect him, twenty-four-seven? I’m presuming you’re either in school, or working yourself.”

“In school,” Jack said. “You’re right; I can’t be with him all the time, but at least, if Tony tries to break into the house at night, I’ll be there, with a way to stop him. I know that no security is fool-proof, if he thinks he can get in and out before the cops show up.”

“Did Tony use a gun when he attacked your uncle?”

“No. A knife and his fists. Mostly the knife. But that doesn’t mean he won’t have a gun this time. I mean, if he does come after Max.”

“Very true. Okay, let’s start with the basics. First, what’s your budget?”

Jack grimaced. “Maybe…a hundred, a hundred and fifty.”

“No problem. You can get a good starter gun for that price. I recommend a twenty-two caliber, semi-automatic, like this one. It comes with a waistband holster, or IWB as we call it.” Deacon took a gun from the case, handing it to Jack. “It’s small, but dependable and will get the job done.”

Jack gulped, wondering if he had it in him to shoot someone. If it’s Tony, and he’s trying to hurt Max, I can.

Deacon showed him a couple of other guns before they both decided the first one would be the best for Jack. From there, Deacon gave him a lesson on how it worked and how to take care of it, then took Jack in back to the four-lane shooting range. It didn’t take long for Deacon to decide that Jack would be better off if the gun had a laser sight. When he added it to the gun, Jack was finally able to hit the target where he wanted to—most of the time, when his hands stopped shaking.

“With more practice, you’ll do fine,” Deacon said after calling a halt for the night. “Now comes the most important part.” He looked dead-on at Jack, not smiling. “You have to convince Max to come in. I don’t care how he feels about the idea, you can’t be with him all the time. You said so yourself. If this Tony guy is intent on hurting or killing Max, he’s not going to wait until you’re there to defend him. Quite the opposite. He’ll attack when he knows you’re not around.”

Jack sighed, scrubbing his hand through his brown hair. “I know that. But damn, Max isn’t going to like the idea. Not one bit.”

“Do whatever it takes to convince him. Hell, bring him down here and I’ll talk to him, if that’s what it takes.” Now, Deacon smiled. “I can be pretty persuasive when I have to be.”

“I’ll try,” Jack said.

“No. You’ll do it. I can tell he’s very important to you, or you wouldn’t be here. Make him understand that it’s for his own good—and yours. You don’t want to lose him because he’s got an insane ex coming after him.”

“That’s for sure.” Jack took out his credit card, asking, “How much do I owe you?”

Deacon told him, adding, “I’ll throw in the lesson for free, given why you’re doing this.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to. Don’t argue. Just get him down here, one way or another.”

“I will.”

Before the sale was finalized, Jack had to fill out a form with all his pertinent information. Then Deacon ran a background check on him, which took about fifteen minutes. When Deacon had finished, he grinned. “I guess you’re not a wanted felon, which is a good thing.”

That brought up another question for Jack. “Tony won’t be allowed to have a gun, will he?”

“If he’s on parole, he can’t. If he’s served his full sentence, he can try to get one legally, but it will be hard since he was convicted of a violent crime.”

“But illegally…”

“Yeah. If he gets one that way, and isn’t stopped and searched, he’ll be okay. Not something you wanted to hear, I’m sure.”

“Not at all.”