Chapter 126 - Just Shoot Me

The sound of Leanne clearing her throat turned Jon and Cate’s attention back to her. She gave them a perky smile. “Okay, I’d like to get some footage of the two of you shooting the guns, if that’s okay.”

“Sure,” Cate answered. “We can fire the weapons.” Jon chuckled softly as Cate emphasized the proper terminology, subtly reminding Leanne that this was her territory. “What course would you like us to fire?” Cate gave Leanne a big smile, knowing the blonde reporter had no earthly idea how to answer that question.

Shelby came to Leanne’s rescue. “We-yell Cate… maybe y’all could do the Practical Pistol Course. That’s the one with the fancy one-handed shooting, right?”

Cate snickered at Shelby’s description. “Yeah, that’s the one with the weak and strong-hand shooting, but there’s no prone or barricade. Everything else is just standing.”

“Oh. We-yell…. Could you just do some of each?” Shelby asked. She turned to Leanne, who was staring blankly at Jon, utterly confused. “Honey, you want some action, right? Not just Mister Bon Jovi standing and aiming at a target.”

Leanne understood that. “Yes,” she nodded. “And I’d like some footage of Cate teaching him, too.”

“Well, most of the teaching is just me standing beside him and watching, then critiquing,” Cate replied. “Not very exciting.”

“Oh,” Leanne said, sounding disappointed.

“What?” Jon asked, feigning surprise. “You mean all those times you grabbed me and pressed up against me and pointed my gun you weren’t teaching me?” He gaped at Cate with fake astonishment. “I feel… violated!”

Oh Good Grief. Cate gave Jon a long look, catching the merry twinkle in his eyes. He was having way too much fun with this.

“Yeah, Cate. How about we do some video of you helping guide Mister Bon Jovi’s aim?” Shelby jumped on the bandwagon. “Ah’ve seen you instructors do that to students.”

Cate colored slightly as Jon gave her a big grin. “I’m game!” he agreed cheerfully.

“Oh, alright,” Cate relented. She had hoped to keep a professional distance from Jon during this taping, and he knew it. She wasn’t sure she could conceal her familiarity with him if she had to touch him, especially with full contact. She knew his body too well now; it would be hard to treat Jon like just another student. Cate couldn’t trust her own body or her expression not to betray their intimacy. And the last thing she needed was for the world to see her affection for him, in high-definition digital media.

“And hey… how about after that you pull the cruiser around and they can get some shots of us doing our thing with the lights going?” The double meaning of Jon’s gleeful suggestion made Cate blush even more deeply. He gave her another big, shit-eating grin.

“Yeah! I like that idea!” Leanne interjected. “Cate, would it be possible to get some footage of you and Jon with the police car?”

Jon couldn’t stop his laughter at that. Cate shot him a dirty look as he chuckled merrily. He knew she was mentally flashing back to her triple-check of the video recorders to be sure there was no record of their tryst on the hood of the cruiser.

“Sure,” Cate mumbled, turning away from Leanne and heading for the armory. “Let me get the keys.” She quickly moved for the door, leaving Jon to chuckle at the confused women. She retrieved the keys then strode back past the group, giving Jon a little glare. She couldn’t believe he was so overtly teasing her. But her glare softened as she saw the sweet affection in his gaze when their eyes met.

Cate raised the bay door on the side wall of the range and walked through it to the lot. She climbed in the cruiser, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath and collect her composure, then turned the key in the ignition. She pulled the big Crown Vic through the roll-up door onto the gravel range, pointing it toward the far end. Cate couldn’t resist flicking on the lights and hitting the siren. She smirked when she saw Leanne visibly jump at the loud whoop.

After positioning the cruiser Cate dismounted the vehicle and opened the doors. She gave Jon a long look as he grinned at her, his gaze flicking to the hood and back. Cate felt her cheeks again flush as her womb clenched at the memory of Jon slamming her down against the warm metal and taking her.

“Load up,” Cate instructed Jon as she moved over to him. “Two and two.” Jon nodded and walked over to the ammo can Cate had left near position fourteen. He crouched beside the can and took four full magazines from it, then stood. Jon slipped one clip into the pouch on his belt, tucked two more into the pocket of his jeans, and loaded his Glock with the fourth.

Cate turned to the little group behind them. “You’re going to need eye and ear protection,” she announced. “Wait here.” Cate walked into the armory and returned a moment later carrying a small box containing earmuff-style padded ear defenders and plastic shooters’ glasses. She distributed them to Shelby, Sammy, Leanne, the cameraman, and the makeup girl, who had come out of the office to watch the show. After ensuring they had properly donned the protective equipment, Cate took over.

Jon chuckled as he watched Cate direct Leanne and the cameraman where to stand to remain safe while shooting their video footage of the firearms training. The cameraman was obviously an experienced professional, and he bristled slightly at Cate’s orders though he didn’t argue with her. Leanne was only too happy to follow Cate’s commands, her eyes wide and her expression serious.

Cate walked over to Jon, stopping so her back was to the group. “So, you ready?” she asked quietly.

Jon smiled. “Yep.” He lowered his voice to a murmur. “Just wanted to have a little reminder of the ‘training’ we did here the other night.” He glanced to the patrol car and back. “So when we watch this piece in the future, we’ll remember. It’ll be our dirty little secret.”

Cate couldn’t help but smile at that. “Like I’m gonna forget,” she breathed in reply.

Jon chortled agreeably. “Let’s get this done, okay? I’m already sick of these people.”

Cate nodded. “Amen.” She turned back toward the group. As she moved she again heard Jon’s teasing voice, loud enough for the benefit of their audience. “And no grabbing my ass this time, okay, Teach?”

Cate closed her eyes and bit back her reply as she heard the laughter. Professional. Be professional, she reminded herself silently.

For the next thirty minutes Cate put Jon through several firing exercises for the benefit of the cameras. They first simply fired downrange at the targets Cate had pre-set, then they did prone and over-barricade shooting. After the cameraman was satisfied with the footage he took of those activities Cate and Jon moved over to the patrol car and performed some drills with the lights engaged. Jon grinned throughout the exercise, giving Cate a little leer as he leaned across the hood and aimed his Glock downrange.

After finishing with the car as a prop, Cate and Jon again moved back to their positions on the firing line. This time Cate holstered her Glock and stepped up close beside Jon. “Stop smiling,” she ordered softly. “You’re supposed to look like I’m correcting you, like you suck at this.” She teased him a little with her last comment as she reinserted her earplugs.

Jon rumbled a little chuckle in response. “I may suck at this….” he started to brag.

“Shhh!” Cate cut him off. “You’re an actor, right? Get in character.”

Jon gave her one more smile and nodded. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment, his expression sobering. “Okay,” he announced, opening his eyes. He shifted his feet to a bladed Weaver stance and moved his hand to the pistol’s grip as he stared downrange at his target. “Ready.”

“Draw and aim,” Cate ordered quietly. She watched as Jon followed her direction, smoothly unholstering the Glock and pushing it forward toward the target. His muscular forearms bunched deliciously as he held his aim.

“Good,” Cate responded. “Now, pretend you can’t hit a fucking thing.” Jon snorted a chuckle, the corner of his mouth curling slightly upward.

Cate stepped forward to Jon, molding herself against his side as she rested her cheek against his left shoulder and looked down his extended arm toward the gun’s back sight. Her left arm raised to press alongside his as her fingers wrapped around his hand on the pistol’s grip. Jon let out an almost inaudible, happy sigh at the feel of Cate’s right hand at the small of his back, her fingers hooking under his belt, against his skin.

“Keep that up and something else will be pointing,” he teased under his breath. He felt Cate choke back a chuckle and couldn’t help but smile slightly. Damn, it felt good to have her here beside him, her breasts pressing against his ribs, her heartbeat pulsing against his muscles, and her soft yet strong hand wrapped around his.

“Okay, fire,” Cate commanded softly. “Double taps, until you finish the mag, then hold. No recovery.”

Jon nodded slightly then narrowed his gaze as he focused on the gun’s sights. He squeezed off a series of shots toward the target, savoring the feel of Cate’s body pushing against his, steadying him with each recoil. We fit together perfectly, he thought for the second time this morning.

Cate and Jon held their pose for a moment after he fired his last round, then she lowered her hand from his and stepped slightly away, unmolding herself from Jon’s side but leaving her other hand tucked against his back. At her command he dropped the muzzle of his weapon, performed a recovery scan as Cate had taught him, and reholstered the Glock. Jon turned his face to Cate’s and their eyes met. They exchanged a little smile, then Cate pulled her hand from his belt and stepped further away.

“That work?” she asked Leanne, turning to give her a little smile.

“That’s great!” Leanne replied enthusiastically, happy she finally had gotten a tidbit of close interaction between Jon and his female instructor. She would be able to use the footage as a tease for the piece. After all, their viewers would be more interested in the “new woman” in Jon’s life than they would be in the training he was receiving.

Jon turned to face the group as well, pulling out his earplugs and letting them dangle from their cords around his neck. “We done?” he asked, his tone making it clear that he was finished with this interview.

“Umm….” Leanne hesitated, her gaze flicking from Jon to Cate to her cameraman and back. She wanted to continue the interview, to try to get some juicy, exclusive morsel of information about Jon’s real relationship with Cate. They were obviously very comfortable with each other, telling Leanne that they had become friendly during their time working together.

Cate read Leanne’s expression and intervened. “Jon, we need to get moving,” she announced, checking her watch. “You have to be at graduation practice in about twenty minutes.” She gave him a direct look, silently telling him to play along.

“Oh, yeah.” Jon nodded, taking the hint.

“Graduation?” Leanne asked. “Will there be a ceremony for the end of your training?” She looked at Shelby questioningly. It was obvious she wanted an invitation to cover Jon’s commencement ceremony.

“No,” Cate chuckled. “He’s just a visitor here. We have a class of real agents graduating tomorrow. Jon has graciously agreed to sing at the ceremony.” She gave Jon a little smile. “It’s a closed event,” she added quickly as Leanne opened her mouth. “Families, invited guests only. Sorry.”

“Oh.” Leanne looked crestfallen. “Okay.”

“We don’t allow press coverage or even publication of photos of our new agents,” Cate explained. “It’s to protect their identities. Some of them will go to field assignments where they may work undercover or in sensitive positions. It’s a security precaution.”

Leanne nodded. “I understand,” she said unenthusiastically, then gave a little smile. “Well, thank you for your time today.”

Cate returned her smile and extended her hand to Leanne. “Nice to meet you,” she said, a little more kindly.

“You too, Cate,” Leanne shook Cate’s hand, then beamed as Jon stepped up to take her hand.

“Thanks, Doll,” he said quietly, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “It’s been a pleasure.” Jon gave Leanne a wink and flashed her his megawatt grin, causing Leanne to blush and giggle. Cate chuckled softly at her reaction. She knew exactly how Leanne felt.

“Jon, give me your weapon and I’ll clean it and put it away,” Cate said, holding out her hand. She decided the least she could do is give Leanne a couple more minutes to drool over Jon.

“I’ll do it,” Jon replied. “You’d make other students clean their own guns, right?”

“Yep,” Cate replied.

“Okay then. Far be it from me to shirk my student responsibilities,” Jon grinned, his eyes twinkling at Cate as he spoke. She saw in his gaze just why he was so eager to perform the mundane task.

“Well get to it, then,” Cate chuckled. “We gotta hurry.” She tipped her head toward the armory door.

“Yes, ma’am!” Jon raised his hand to his forehead in a goofy salute, then excused himself and headed into the armory.

“Shelby, I’ll take Jon to graduation practice,” Cate said, moving over to retrieve the ammo can. “You can go ahead and take care of the crew here.” She smiled sweetly. “That way you don’t have to worry about him. He has some things scheduled for this afternoon, so I’ll see that he gets back to his car, too.”

“Okay,” Shelby replied, a note of disappointment in her sweet drawl. “Thanks, Cate.”

“My pleasure,” Cate smiled, chucking inwardly. Quite literally. She turned and strode for the armory, following Jon’s path.