Breaking Steele (Sarah Steele Legal Thriller)

Chapter 30

Since home wasn’t safe, I wanted to spend my time at a bed-and-breakfast in the suburbs until Tuesday. That would keep me off the radar, and hopefully Hank’s attention would shift somewhere else. I didn’t know what I’d do if he was still terrorizing me when I got back home.

There was something I needed to learn before Tuesday.

I reached in my purse and took out the sticky note with Solomon’s number. I stared at it for a long second and dialed.

 “This is Solomon.”

The voice on the other end of the line was deep and had a commanding air.

“Hello, this is Sarah—Sarah Steele. I was referred to you by—”

“Yeah, I know who you are … You know Monroe, right? He’s a nut. Good detective, but a nut. He thinks everyone should carry a gun, that the world would be safer if everyone knew how to shoot.”

I smiled. “Maybe the NRA pays him a little something extra each month.”

“Well, aren’t you a cynic,” he said.

“No, I’m a lawyer.”

He laughed. “What can I help you with? You’re looking to learn how to shoot, I take it.”

“Yes.”

“You have a gun?”

“Yes.”

“You know anything about it?”

“No,” I said. “It’s a Lady Glock. Uh … I got it from my dad.”

“Well, you have the right guy. I like teaching newbies. It’s a challenge.” I cleared my throat at his condescending tone. “Let’s set up a meeting,” he continued. “I can go over how I work, and you can tell me about your plans and what you want to get out of the lessons. Sound good?”

“Sure. I’m going to have to go on a lesson-by-lesson basis. I don’t have much free time and my hours are very hectic.” At least, they had been before today.

“Well, watch yourself,” he said. “Once you start shooting, it’s hard to stop. It’s relaxing, in a weird way, and very satisfying.”

The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I can see how blowing things up would be satisfying.” I bit my lip. I never said things like that. Out loud.

But he didn’t hesitate. “It sure is. Can you meet Saturday morning at eight?”

That caught me off guard. Tomorrow morning—it was so soon. But with a pang of sadness, I realized I had nothing else to do. Besides, the sooner I learned how to handle a gun, the better.

“That’s pretty early. Do you provide coffee with the lesson?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said. “For you, I will.”

I wondered what he meant by that. Did he know who I was? I agreed on the time, he gave me the address, and we ended the call. Solomon had this way of speaking that reminded me of my father. As if he was so sure of himself, never doubted anything, and would meet any situation with a grin.