Free The Right to Bear Arms: BBW Military Paranormal Romance (Wild Operatives, #1) by Vivienne Savage Page A

I told her, I was toast.
    “You sound like Marta,” I grumbled.
    “She’s your sister, right? You haven’t said much about her. What’s she like?”
    “Well, she looks just like me but a little taller, skinnier, and prettier—”
    “Prettier because she’s skinnier?” he asked, raising his brows.
    “Well, yeah.”
    “How many damn times do I have to say you’re gorgeous, Daniela. Don’t you dare think otherwise for a second just ‘cause you got... a little more of you to love.”
    I stared across the counter at him, unable to take my disbelieving eyes off his straight face. It wasn’t the sincerity in his words that threw me off balance — it was the corny line. “There’s going to be a lot more to love after finishing these chocolates,” I quipped.
    His big grin spread a little wider. “Nothing wrong with that.” He fed me another chocolate.
    “You have no idea how great it feels to have a guy who loves to eat as much as I do.” I grinned and nibbled his fingers playfully. “Come on. Let’s go start up a movie.” I finally bought a sofa when I passed by a yard sale in town.
    With our candies in hand, I dragged Russ into the newly decorated living room. He wasn’t impressed by my tiny loveseat, and his furrowed brow made me burst into a fit of giggles.
    “All this space and you have this teensy couch.”
    “Hey! It was almost free!” Looking around my living room, I couldn’t argue with his observation. “To be honest with you, all my rooms are like this. Ian’s charging me a pittance for how much square footage I have in here. I use the third bedroom for storing my appliance boxes and stuff in case I have to move again.”
    There were two bedrooms upstairs across the hall from one another. I had one fixed up like a guest room in case my sister decided to swing into town, and the one downstairs held all of the boxes leftover from my new appliances.
    “Sweetheart, why don’t you splurge a little and get yourself some nice things. I know somebody who works on the sales floor at Ashley’s. She’ll cut you an amazing deal—”
    “We are not using your amazing connections.”
    “And why the hell not?” he demanded.
    Indeed. Why the hell not? My brow creased as we settled into place. “Fuck it. Give her a call. I should have insurance claims money left over after I pay the deductible for my car repairs.”
    “Great, I’ll let Roxella know that we’ll be—”
    My phone rang with an incoming call from my mother and father. I didn’t get a chance to say a word in greeting.
    “Why are you not calling the police, Daniela? The man is crazy. He could return and do anything. Call the police right this moment.”
    “Mama, please.” I sighed into the phone. “I know Marta made it sound worse than it is, but I’m fine. I have a shotgun and I will fill him full of holes if he comes back again.”
    “You have a gun now, querida ? Where did you get a gun? Daniela, I don’t know if you should be alone in that house right now.”
    “But I’m not alone, Mama. Russ is here. Besides, my vehicle is trashed and I can’t go anywhere right now without a car.”
    My dad didn’t waste a second. In the span of a heartbeat, he barked his own questions into the phone. “Who the hell is Russ and why should I trust him to keep you safe? Who is he?”
    I was going to wring Marta’s neck.
    “I should have killed that bastard Michael when he first laid his hands on you,” my father raged into the phone. He was beyond the edge of reason now. “Who is this Russ?”
    “Papa, relax. Russ is my neighbor and he’s an Army vet, okay? He’s been teaching me to shoot and...” I peeked over at Russ’ amused expression. “We’re dating.”
    That shut both my parents up quickly. I could hear them in the background though, speaking rapid-fire Spanish to one another. It sounded muffled, so I guessed one of them — likely my mother — had a hand over the receiver.
    “When were you planning to tell us you