"Here," Coach hands me a handgun and I grip it loosely, unsure and way too aware of what it can do. It's uncomfortable holding something so dangerous.

"Is this necessary?" I ask.

"Are you interested in dying?" He throws back and effectively shuts me up. Beside me Asher snickers.

"Relax, Emerson. This can't be that hard." He lifts his handgun and aims it at the target several feet
away, pinching one eye shut.

"Really?" Coach tosses him a dry look. "Go ahead then. Shoot."

Asher steadies his fingers over the trigger and then clicks it, firing a bullet. The kickback of the gun forces him to take a step back just as the bullet shoots off and lands on the wall above the target, nowhere near where he was aiming. I snicker into my fist and Coach rolls his eyes, looking at me.

"You next, Emerson. Do exactly the opposite of what Pryce did."

"I meant to do that," Ash mumbles and steps aside for me.

I take his place behind the ledge that separates the shooting range from the rest of the building. I raise the gun at shoulder level and aim it straight ahead.

"Stop," Coach says before I can so much as move my finger over the trigger. He stands beside me, fixing my stance. He kicks my legs apart and forces me to lean my upper body the slightest bit forward. Then he takes hold of my hands on the gun. "Tighter. Your grip will make or break your shot. You need to keep the gun grounded in your hand because it has more strength than you realize. You don't want to fumble your grip when you shoot, like Pryce did. Grip it hard and use your other hand to support your hold."

I readjust the way my hands are poised and tighten my grip, holding the gun as hard as I can. Coach nods.

"Good. Now use your dominant eye to aim."

I pause. "My right eye?"

"Could be. Here, follow this."

He uses his thumb and index finger to form a circle and aims it where the target is. "Look through the circle." He instructs. "I'm going to bring it close to your face and whichever eye you look through the circle with first is your dominant eye."

Slowly, he brings his hand closer to my face and the target grows more clear through the circle. Immediately I'm looking at it with my left eye without meaning to.

"Left," I say.

"Your dominant eye. Use that to aim and you'll make a better shot. Lastly, squeeze the trigger but only put pressure on the front and not the sides. As soon as you feel resistance let go. Move with the kickback so it doesn't push you away. Your steps falter, so does your shot. Now try it."

I pinch my right eye closed, using my left eye to aim the head of the gun at the target. I poise my finger over the trigger, tighten my grip and dig my feet into the ground, and take a deep breath before pressing on it. It gives for a second or two before I feel the push so I let go and the gun kicks back. I move back with it but make sure my feet stay in place and the bullet goes off. It doesn't land on the centre of the target but it does land close by, on the second circle away from the red dot. Coach whistles low.

"Not bad. Pryce, get over here and do it the way I showed you."

Asher takes my place behind the ledge and this time he's serious. His gaze is intense and focused as he raises the gun and points it at the target, pressing on the trigger without hesitation. The bullet lands maybe a millimetre from the red dot. Coach and I both blink in shock from the accuracy of his aim.

"I was fucking around with you guys the first time," He grins and lowers his gun. "Only good thing my deadbeat birth dad ever did for me was show me how to shoot. Told you I meant to do that when I missed."

Coach scoffs and turns to me. "Now that Pryce is done bragging about his dick size, you and I will work on this some more."

"Come on, Coach. I was playing."

"Shut up and call Mitch. Make sure he has the safe house ready for today."

That sobers all of us up. I almost can't believe tomorrow we're going after Kane. I've waited for this moment for how fucking long? Decades. I was so used to looking for him that I can't even process not having to do that anymore. After tomorrow I can put this behind me for good. I just hope I come out on the better side of things.

"Okay, Emerson. Again," Coach instructs when Asher walks away with his phone to his ear. Coach notices the look on my face, getting in front of me and crossing his arms. "Something wrong, boy?"

I don't know why I've never questioned my actions before this moment. Maybe it was because up until now it was all theoretical. I could go crazy about finding my parents' murderer but so what? I wasn't actually going to do anything about it, right? Except now I am and this all feels more real. I can't shake what it is we're about to do.

"Am I doing the right thing?" I ask quietly. I swallow hard and look down at my shoes, embarrassed. I spent such a long time making a big deal out of this and now I'm having second thoughts. "We're taking a life tomorrow. How am I any better than Kane if I do this? What if he has family that will mourn him when he's gone just like I've mourned my parents? What if I become someone's Kane?"

Coach curses under his breath and puts his hand in my shoulder, guiding me to sit on one of the benches. He takes the seat beside me and levels me with a serious stare.

"Nothing about taking a life is easy. Even if the person deserves it or has done horrible things it still goes against human nature to take someone else's life. It ruins something inside of you. Humanity was never meant to kill or hurt each other and getting even only makes things worse. I understand your hesitation."

"So, you agree?" I twist my hands together anxiously. Coach's words only made me feel worse.

"Not necessarily," He blows out a breath, pausing like he's looking for the right words. "Kane...he took your life too, son. You might be alive but at what cost? You lived your life in fear, never speaking a word because of the trauma he caused, and as a result you lived detached from the real world. It's like you've been sleep walking and now you've finally woken up. You've embedded yourself back into life and naturally, you want answers. I think a man has a right to get his answers. So I tell you what — when we confront him tomorrow, you can decide what you want to do then. Maybe you want to take it all the way, maybe you want to make your peace and go. Either way this is dangerous until we know all the facts so let's not decide what you want to do just yet."

"Okay," I mumble. That makes more sense. It's true that I need to find answers and get some fucking closure from all this. I guess I really won't know what to do about this until I come face to face with him tomorrow. I glance over at Coach. "Thank you. I know you are risking your life and I'm sorry I put you in this position."

He squeezes my shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't help you sooner. You know your grandfather spoke to me just a week or so before he passed?"

I suck in a breath at the mention of Gramps, turning to Coach. This is the first I'm hearing of this. Coach has always known about Gramps but I didn't think they ever made conversation.

"Great man," Coach continues fondly. "You'd just finished college and he was proud as hell of you. He came to see me, asked to speak with me in private. I don't know how but I guess he felt his time was coming. Said he was getting too old and it was only a matter of time. He asked me to look after you and make sure you weren't alone and I promised him I'd take care of you. So yeah, I'm happy to risk my life for you, Emerson. I do it out of respect for your grandfather and because you're like a son to me. All five of you assholes. You knuckleheads are my responsibility but it ain't no job. It's a privilege."

"That's adorable," Asher grins from a few feet away. I don't know when he got here but he's full of shit. I can see the sheen in his eyes from all the way here. Coach scowls and throws his keys at Ash who gets hit square in the face. He groans in agony while Coach turns to me calmly, a hint of a smirk on his face.

"Back to practice. We have a lot of work to do."

***

"I hate this," Melanie mumbles for the millionth time as she takes a look around the room she's staying in for the next day. We got to the safe house not even ten minutes ago and she's sulking big time. I come up behind her and wind my arms around her waist, leaning down to kiss her cheek before settling my chin on her shoulder. She sighs heavily. "What are my chances of chaining you to the bed and making sure you miss your flight?"

My lips tug up into an amused smile. She's been coming up with all kinds of ways to stop me from leaving all day, including on the hour and a half drive over here. At one point she even sucked me off while I was driving and promised she'd never do it again if I went to airport. I have to admit it almost worked.

"This is so stupid," She groans and turns in my arms to punch me square in the chest. I fight to keep my smile at bay because I know this is just her way of expressing how worried she is. "You're stupid. Don't I always tell you that? You see?"

I cup her face and try to kiss her but she puts her hands on my chest to stop me and pushes me back. I sigh deeply as she makes her way to the bed and lies down on it, glaring at the ceiling. Yeah, I have some serious grovelling to do here. I know she supports me and understands that I need to do this but I also know she's upset that these have to be the circumstances. And that's fair. How many people has she lost already? Everyone. She just doesn't want to add me to the list and I have no interest in joining it either.

I go to the door of the bedroom and make sure everyone is downstairs where we left them before closing it. With Aria and Mitch here I haven't been talking out of fear of being overheard. I'm sure they know I talk now but that's something I'll get to another day. I'd say I have enough on my plate already. When I walk back to the bed, Melanie is muttering something under her breath. It isn't until I lay down beside her that I realize she's counting.

"What are you doing?" I ask quietly. Paranoia makes my voice a whisper at most.

"Counting backwards," Her answer confirms what I'd guessed. "I do it whenever I'm trying to stop myself from crying. It helps."

Shit. I wrap an arm around her waist and turn her so that she's facing me. This time she doesn't push me away as I catch her chin and tilt her face closer to mine. "I know this is very hard on you. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Her smile is wry. "This is harder on you. You're about to come face-to-face with your parents murderer. Are you okay?"

I think about it for a moment. "Yes and no. I've wanted this all my life but I'm afraid I still won't find peace afterwards. I'm afraid I'll have caused all this chaos for nothing."

"It's not chaos. You said yourself you're still not sure what you're going to do when you actually see Kane. Either way, you need your answers to move on. Not everyone has the chance to make peace with their pasts but you do so you should take it. It's a privilege and everyone sees it that way."

"Even you?" I ask, knowing how upset she's been.

"Especially me," She says softly. "I'm in your corner remember? I'm your teammate."

I roll over so that I'm on top of her, holding my weight up with my palms and looking down at her. "I love you, baby girl. You're the best fuckin' teammate I've ever had."

"Same here, big guy." She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down, her lips meeting mine. A moment later her legs lock around my torso and I pull her closer by the waist, crushing our bodies together and earning her pleased moan. She abruptly pulls her mouth away, panting. "How much time until you have to leave?"

"An hour," I kiss her once and pull away again. "I have to shower and pack too."

"Then let's shower together," She suggests and I feel my blood heat with excitement. We've never done that before but I want to. I really fucking want to. She must be able to tell what I'm thinking because she laughs, pushing me off her and rolling off the bed.

She starts backward for the bathroom, keeping her eyes on me as she grabs her shirt and pulls it off. Her jeans go next and when she's in just her bra and panties she tosses me a wink and runs inside. I suppress a smile as I grab my shirt collar at the back of my neck and tug it off. My pants follow a second later and then I'm shutting the bathroom door behind me and locking it.

I suck in a breath at the sight of Melanie naked in the shower, water beating down on her as she runs her hands through her hair. The shower is in a small enclosed space that has sliding glass doors I can see her through since there's no steam yet. Her eyes lock with mine, lips tugging up as her hands start to descend her body. I watch, rooted in place, as she cups her breasts and then slides her hands down her stomach. One of her hands go back up to one breast and the other moves between her legs, taunting me. I'm hard as fucking stone and I can't take it anymore. I practically rip off my boxers and stalk toward the alcove shower, gliding the glass door open and closing it behind me, shutting us inside the small space. I take a few steps forward and she takes a few steps back and when her back hits the wall, I'm on her.

I capture her breathless laugh with my mouth when it slams against hers. She moans softly when I immediately push my tongue inside to tangle with hers. Her hands settle on my shoulders, sliding down my chest and abs with a slow pace that tells me she's savouring me and I'm savouring her touch too. Her small and gentle hands on my skin undoes me, especially as they slide around to my back and her fingernails dig into me. I brace my palms on the wall above her head to steady myself because her touch makes me want to fall apart. I press her body into the wall with mine and we both groan at the sensation of our naked and wet bodies slipping against each other. I'm on fire and the steam rising around us doesn't help me in the least. My hands move to grab the back of her thighs and I lift her up, pressing her back against the wall as her legs lock around me.

Our kisses pick up pace, our mouths growing impatient as they lock with each other over and over again. Melanie's hands slide into my hair, pushing it back from my face when the wet strands start to get in my eyes. I grab her ass and squeeze, slowly rocking my hips into hers. I feel her bare centre brush against mine and it feels so mind-numbingly good that my blood boils over and I bite down hard on her lip. She gasps lightly into my mouth, her nails digging deeper into my skin and dragging down my back. I feel the sting of my flesh being aggravated and I welcome it because I love when Melanie gets rough with me. I use one hand on her ass to keep her steady and my other hand grips her throat, angling her head so I can kiss her deeper as my fingers clutch the column of her neck tighter. She moans because she loves when I get rough with her too.

"We didn't grab a condom," I mumble against her lips. I hadn't noticed until my cock rubbed against her folds and I felt her on my bare skin. It was like a spark of electricity that woke me up.

She pulls away just enough to look at me, breathing hard. "We could...not use one."

I blink. We've never done that either. I keep my eyes on hers as I ask, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I want to feel you like that. I'm not on the pill but you could pull out to be on the safe side."

I nod, cupping the side of her face. My heart thumps faster with anticipation. I've never felt her bare, never felt any woman bare, and the thought of it alone charges me up.

"You ready for me?" I murmur, slipping two fingers past her folds and pushing into her. Her body takes me immediately, wet as she is. Her head falls back and hits the wall as her mouth falls open when I start pumping my fingers in and out of her. I bring my lips to her neck, placing soft kisses and smiling against her skin. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Yes," She agrees, her fingers gripping my hair with a deathly hold. My lips descend on her body and I place soft kisses as I go. I take one pebbled nipple into my mouth and suck, the tip of my tongue circling the bud and flicking her piercing. Melanie hums low in her throat and arches her back into me. I capture her other nipple, playing with it as I push a third finger inside of her and feeling the way she stretches around me. Her wet walls squeeze me tighter as I continue pumping, tensing in anticipation because she's getting closer to climax. I release her nipple just as Melanie cries, "Wolfe. I need you inside me now."

"I'm here, baby girl," My mouth meets hers again and my arms wrap around her waist so I can hold her steady against me. I kiss her deeply, swallowing every breathless moan and pleased sigh and keeping them for myself. I can't get enough of her. I pull away to lock my gaze with hers.

We don't look away from each other as I start to sink into her. The tip of me pushes in and it's everything I can do to keep my eyes from falling shut. Holy fucking hell. I can't believe what a difference it makes to feel her on the bare skin of my cock. I didn't think the rubber of a condom would dim the sensation of sex this much but it does. I've never felt pleasure like this and I hold my breath as I sink into her the rest of the way. When I'm completely inside of her I finally exhale and my breath shakes. This is goddamn overwhelming.

"Oh my God," Melanie buries her face in my neck. I can feel her thighs trembling around my hips. "This...you feel so good, big guy. So fucking good."

I grunt in agreement because words just aren't possible right now. I brace one hand on the wall to keep myself upright as I start fucking her. I go slow at first, in and out of her at a pace that I can savour the way she feels gripping me like that. Her walls are soft, wet, and squeeze the hell out of my cock. I pause my movements, pulling in a deep breath because I don't know how long I'm going to last.

"Wolfe," Melanie begs. "Baby, I'm right there too. Keep fucking me."

And her words undo me. I growl low in my throat and start pounding into her. I thrust into her with fast and shallow strokes that earn her tortured cries, her arms going around my neck and clutching onto me. I can feel my knees growing weaker from the intense pleasure I'm feeling and have to grab the shower head to make sure I don't fall over. My other arm tightens around her waist and I hold her to me as my pace picks up, fucking her harder and faster.

"Oh, God," Melanie moans. Her face contorts and I know she's seconds away. "Fuck. I can't."

"That's it," I urge, my hips pushing into hers deeply each time her entrance reaches the base of me. "Want your sweet pussy coming all over my cock, Mel. Let me feel you."

"Wolfe," She cries. I never get tired of hearing her say my name like that. My name only ever feels important when it's falling from her lips. Lips that I crush my own against when I know we're both on the edge. I kiss her hard, deep, exactly the way I fuck her. She pants into my mouth, her thighs tensing and her hands gripping me almost painfully. I slam into her one last time and then she's squeezing my dick over and over again as she orgasms. I press my lips harder against hers to swallow her scream, taking that sweet sound all for myself like it should be. My dick pulses in warning and it's a miracle I manage to pull out at the last second, my cum shooting all over her stomach instead of inside of her.

"Shit," I bite out through gritted teeth and fight to keep myself from falling over. My grip on the shower head tightens as my body trembles with the force of my own orgasm. It's over a moment later and my forehead meets Melanie's, the both of us breathing hard and unable to move. I shake my head almost disbelievingly. "I didn't know you could feel so good with nothing between us."

She kisses my cheek sweetly, and then my jaw, and then my neck where she sucks the skin lightly. She pulls back to look at me, gaze intense. "I'm going to start taking birth control pills. I want us to have sex bare from now on. Is that something you want too?"

"Yes," I murmur without even thinking. Fucking Melanie like that all the time? It's a no brainer. I kiss her hard and quick. "Let me clean you up now."

I set her down back on her feet and grab a bottle of shampoo as Melanie turns towards the shower head so my cum washes off her body. With her back to me, I take some shampoo in my hands and start massaging it into her hair. I do it tentatively because I've never done this before but I read her body language to see if she's enjoying herself. Her shoulder drop, relaxing, and she leans back into me when I massage her scalp. So I keep my hands there and rub her temples with the pads of my fingers. She makes a noise of approval low in her throat and her head falls back against my chest. I lean down to kiss her forehead and her arms come up to wrap around my neck, holding me in place. My hands leave her hair so I can fold my arms around her waist instead. We stay like that for a while, just holding each other as the hot water beats down on us. The sound of the shower is the only noise in the small space. I don't think either of us knows what to say.

"I don't want you to go," She finally whispers and I feel the inside of my chest twist deeply. "But I also want you to kick that douchebag's ass and make your parents proud."

"Me too," I sigh and press my cheek against hers. "Do you think they'd be proud of me for doing this? Or disappointed?"

"Proud," She immediately answers and turns in my arms. She reaches up to cup my face, pulling me down so my face is level with hers. "Look at how far you've come, Wolfe. You turned your entire life around despite everything. And you never forgot the things your parents said and taught you. You never gave up on them. They were so lucky to have had you as a son."

"Yeah?" I manage through a thick rasp. Hell, I didn't even know how badly I needed to hear those words until she said them.

"Yeah," She kisses me tenderly, pulling me close. "You go make them proud and then come back to me. Understand? Come back to me, big guy."

"No matter what," I whisper and hug her back, crushing to me. Fuck, this is harder than I thought. As much as I want to go and confront Kane, it hurts like hell having to leave Melanie behind.

"I love you," She quietly muffles into my shoulder. "More than I thought I could love anyone."

Emotion tightens my throat and I can't find it in me to say anything back. So I raise one hand up, making the sign for I love you instead, and Melanie laughs quietly when she sees it. I know she understands everything I can't tell her with words. Nobody knows my silence like she does.

_________________________

A/N

It's happening! Who is ready for the big guy to finally come face to face with Kane? This is the moment people!

Please VOTE, comment and share if you liked this chapter!

Happy Reading :)