My father was always the kind of man that would not take any action against someone, unless they did wrong against our family. I wasn’t fond of causing problems with others either, but this time I was going to let my killer instinct out to play. No, I couldn’t say for sure that the Kruse brothers killed my parents. Things were too cleanly done for it to have been just anyone though. I’m going to make a move on them once I plan everything out. I’m not stupid. I know my chances are slim, but thankfully, my father had made sure I knew what I was doing.

“Rosie, that is not how you hold a sniper rifle. Have you learned nothing in these past two months here? Ay dios, here let me show you,” he commanded as he took the SR-25 from my hands.

I thought I was doing well, honestly. I could hit my targets… most of the time but, of course, my father being here to watch me made me nervous.

“Alright, see that target?” He asked, handing me the binoculars.

“Si Papa,” I responded, looking at it from my vantage point.

“What you want to do is be sure that you fire on the exhale. Not on the inhale, because then you are pulling up on the rifle. Got it?” He questioned.

Nodding my head, I quietly said yes. Why couldn’t I have done this perfectly in front of him?

“And fire. There you go Rosie. Now, you try it again,” he motioned for me to take control of the rifle.

Being sure to take a few breaths to find my rhythm, I slowly exhaled, pressing the trigger. Target hit.

“Perfecto! I knew you could do it!” He cheered.

Smiling up at him, I felt like I was on top of the world. After that day, I managed to blow away my instructor with my sniper accuracy. I was made to use this weapon. For my graduation from Trident Weapons, my instructor actually gave me my SR-25. I named her Belinda.

I needed to shoot something. I really wanted to shoot someone, but that wouldn’t go over well with the men in this house. Unlocking my gun cabinet, I pulled out Belinda. It had been a while since I used her. The best thing about this rifle model was that it was lightweight compared to all the rest. As a woman, that had been a selling point to me. All the men who were at Trident Weapons with me went for the flashy new models. I preferred Belinda.

Glancing at my phone, I saw that Tony wanted me ready to go at eight pm. It was only six now so I had time. I decided to change into my date night clothes and then go to the range. It would give me plenty of time but I wouldn’t be using the sniper rifle. It would be handgun shooting since I couldn’t lay down in a dress as easily. With a sigh, I put Belinda away and pulled out my .9mm Kimber Solo instead.

Dressing in a pale pink, knee-length dress along with my scarlet red heels, I fixed my hair into a messy bun, held together with my Chinese hair pins. The pins were a purchase I had made in China on a stop for my father a few years before. One end had a single pearl while the other was a metal rod shaped into a fine point that I could stab someone with. I loved this set. I had nowhere to wear them to normally, but I loved the way they seemed so unsuspecting, just like a woman. I wanted to look pretty tonight for Tony, but as a mafia woman I would never be unarmed if I could help it. Tucking my phone into my small pocket, I left my room, gun in hand. Making my way to the inside range I lined my targets up. Much to my mother’s displeasure I never wore the ear protectors or any eyewear. I saw no point since, in an actual shooting I wouldn’t have that as protection.

Lining up my target in my sight, I fired over and over again until I needed to reload. Deciding that I should practice with my left hand as well, I switched my target and unloaded an entire six bullet clip. Damn, I had missed two shots. I was spending too much time closed off in my office and not enough time training. Reloading a clip, I thought about the fact that I was here in a dress and heels, shooting at a range when most women would be getting their nails done. Laughing to myself, I changed my target to a full body sheet. A whistle caught my attention as I raised my Kimber again. Turning around quickly, I saw both Roman and Tony standing at the door to the range. A grin spread across my face as Tony reached down to readjust himself. Roman just nodded at me as he turned to leave. I heard Tony tell him thank you as he closed the door behind him. Leaning against the booth wall, I waited for him to make his way to me. Looking down range, he took in my clean target.

“May I?” He asked, indicating he wanted my gun.

“Sure. I have an eight round clip if you prefer that to the six,” I said as I handed him the gun.

Testing the weight in his hand, he lifted the Kimber and proceeded to shoot. I never looked at the target until it came back to us. He was a sight with a weapon in his hands. Biting my lip, I imagined what it would be like to be side by side in an all-out gun fight with him.

“Not bad at all. I like the feel of that gun, I must look into it later on. Right now, we have a dinner date to attend ma’am,” he said laying his target on the booth counter.

Glancing down at his target, I saw that he had done very well. There were two shots to the head and the other four were in the chest.