Believing in Bad: A Badd Brothers Series

by A. L Inman

  “Okay, Abby. I’m going to shoot the target; you watch my form and how I keep my arms during firing. Notice I have the gun level and straight, not sideways like we’re in a bad 1990’s gangster film.”

  I snicker at that because that’s exactly how I thought I would be holding this gun. What can I say, I’ve watched Goodfellas way too many times.

  Archer hands me some ear plugs and as soon as I put them on he is standing ready to continue our lesson.

  I notice the strong muscles straining in his biceps and his back against his Navy t-shirt.

  He looks at me behind his black rims waiting for me to acknowledge that I’m ready.

  Archer Badd is good-looking, but nowhere near as good looking as Asher. Which is weird since they’re almost identical. Regardless, I can tell my boy apart from his twin.

  Once he’s received my nod he turns to focus on the target and unloads the clip into the target.

  Amazed, I realize he hit dead center on the chest every single shot. Holy shit that’s hot. He looks at me and his face blazes red, because apparently, I just said that out loud. Fabulous.

  Archer is the only one of the Badd brothers who seems to lack confidence with women, so I’m not surprised that my comment embarrassed him. If it was Bray he would’ve offered me a sexual innuendo.

  He goes out to change our target papers, putting a new one in place. When he comes back he watches me load my gun as he had showed me prior. I wasn’t by any means fast, but I did it right and I’m proud of that revelation.

  He gives me a nod of approval, which made me happier then figuring out how to load the gun in the first place.

  The first shot I shoot doesn’t even hit the target, causing my face to blaze with embarrassment.

  “It’s okay Abby. Let me help you.” Archer says as he helps me correct my stance. I feel the difference immediately compared to the first time I shot.

  He helps me guide my gun up to be level and when he instructs me to pull the trigger, I do. Much to my shock I hit the target right in the center of the bullseye. I cheer jumping up and down and the faintest smile plays on Archer’s lips.

  He instructs me to shoot the chest now on my own. I pull the trigger where I feel immediately disappointed because apparently, I have a perfect head shot when I’m aiming at the chest.

  Archer smiles at my stricken face and I swear I’ve never seen him smile. Too bad it was at my expense.

  “You should do that more Archer.” I tell him pointing at his smile.

  I immediately regret pointing it because the smile he adorned, falls. I guess making a connection with him would be harder than I thought.

  He nods back to the target and I adjust my gun to how it felt when he helped, giving me a sudden feeling of being a badass.

  I unload the clip into the target. When I look at where I shot, I see that every single round went straight through the chest, right where it should be.

  I look at Archer whose mouth is wide open before launching myself into his arms squeezing him tight. He tentatively puts a hand on my back, patting me like I’m a puppy.

  I know this is the best I’ll be getting from Archer, so I take it in stride. It’s better than nothing.

  “I seriously can’t believe you just did that. It took me 3 weeks to get Brayden accurate on rapid fire shooting and you just did it in 3 minutes.” He shakes his head but he’s smiling at me. Lord that makes me feel good.

  “I think you’ll be alright to hold your own Abby. Come on, let's get you up to the mats to work with Jaxon.”

  He shows me how to safely store my gun and we put a lock on it with numbers I could remember. 0508. Nick’s birthday.

  When we climb the steps, Jaxon is already waiting for me and good God almighty, these boys are gorgeous. It should be illegal.

  Jax is standing in a pair of black Nike’s shoes that look similar to my own and a pair of black workout shorts. He’s also sporting a tight, green, under armor shirt that hugs every curve of his excellent body.

  I can see that his chest muscles and abs are defined, deliciously so. I have to keep my mouth clamped closed to prevent drool from slipping through the cracks of my lips.

  He has a slight sheen of sweat already covering him that lets me know he’s already warmed up and his hair is hanging in sweaty chunks over his forehead. These boys look like Adonis God’s.

  Jax raises an eyebrow at me and I know from that gesture, he must’ve caught me staring. Archer chuckles beside me, obviously witnessing the same thing, before shaking his head and climbing up the stairs.

  We start to work with stretching and then he lets me warm up on the treadmill by myself, since he’s already warmed. I’m not extremely out of shape per say, but after 3 minutes I’m already a little winded.

  I figure Jaxon is used to running like 15 miles a day with a body like that.

  Jax lets me hit the bag some before we get started sparring. He’s a big guy and I have a hard time defending myself, but he shows me the correct ways to block, punch, and defend.

  He spends time emphasizing as much on offensive moves as defensive moves. He definitely doesn't want me running from an altercation, he wants me to be able to fight- and fight well.

  Unfortunately, this training is an important aspect for me now, especially after the attack from Lil-J in the bathroom at the mall.

  When we really start to go at it I notice that I’m out of breath breathing like a pack-a-day smoker, while Jax is barely sweating or breathing heavy at all. This is child’s play for him.

  I would swing with all my might and he would skillfully dodge, causing me to just swing into air. It was highly frustrating.

  After a few minutes of punching air and getting really irritated, Jax decides to let me have a break by getting some water and sitting down on the couch.

  I can honestly say I've never been so happy to be on a couch in my freaking life.

  “Abby, we need to talk about Emilio's tomorrow night. I hope you understand how dangerous of a situation that you're being put into. You are solely there to play the role of Asher’s girlfriend. Not be involved in business. I wish that we were able to train you longer than one day, but unfortunately, we aren't. I'm impressed with your instinct to protect yourself and Bray this afternoon at the mall. You're a strong girl, but you need to know Emilio's crew is not one to mess with. Tomorrow you need to be with one of us at all times. No exceptions. Do you understand?”

  I nod at him because I wouldn't dream of going off on my own at Emilio's tomorrow. As confident as I was in the shooting range an hour ago, I'm no longer feeling that confidence.

  If push came to shove, would I really be able to defend myself with a gun or hand-to-hand combat? No, probably not.

  My job is to protect Nick- how can I do that when I can't even protect myself?

  Jaxon must since my doubt because he puts a hand on my shoulder to reassure me.

  “Sweetheart, we're going to be okay Abby girl. We all will be there tomorrow to protect you. I just needed you to promise that you wouldn’t go off on your own, even if it's just to go to the bathroom.”

  I nod my compliance once more and then stand up to take the ass beating that I know Jax is ready to deliver for the next thirty minutes.

  I recognize right then that I needed to work harder than ever before, because without me, Nick would be alone. I can’t bear that thought.

  ASHER- Chapter 19

  I pick Nick up from school at 3 o'clock and he instantly has a look on his face that I can only decipher as panic.

  “What's wrong Bud?” I question him.

  “Where is my sister?” he asks back. Ah, now I know why he looks panicked, he’s worried about Abby.

  “She's at the house getting trained by Archer and Jax in gun handling, shooting, and hand-to-hand combat. We had, um, an incident today at the mall. We need to make sure that she can protect herself fully tomorrow.”

  It kills me to say this because there was a chance today that I could have failed Ab
by by not protecting her.

  I know that’s illogical thoughts because I wasn't there, but with her being my girl it made it my responsibility to ensure her safety. I feel like I’ve failed her.

  From the look on Nick’s face I can tell that he thinks the same thing. If something were ever to happen to Abby, Nick would blame me and I wouldn't blame him for that.

  “What happened to my sister?” he questions in a voice that is a little too calm for comfort. He should be raging mad.

  I swallow the lump in my throat, because even though Nick is smaller and younger than I am, I would never underestimate the power he could wield in fury over worrying about his sister.

  It’s the same feeling I get when one of my brothers is in danger, or being threatened.

  I explain to Nick confidently and calmly that Abby is okay, but that she was attacked at the mall.

  Nick reaches over and decks me right in the jaw. I’m in complete shock. Damn, that hurt like a bitch.

  I don't hit him back though because I know he needed to do that to show me how he felt about me letting his sister down.

  “You promised you asshole! You promised that my sister would be protected! What are you going to do to make sure this doesn't happen again? I can't live without Abby!”

  Even with his tough words I can see in his eyes the fear and I notice the shake in his voice. He is terrified of losing his sister just as much as I’m terrified of losing his sister.

  He needs reassurance that I’m man enough to take care of Abby. I told him the truth of the attack and dealt with the consequences from disappointing him. Now I need to hand him a different set of truths.

  “I understand that you don't believe it, but I love your sister and I've loved her every day since I've met her and I will love her every day for the rest of my life.”

  “I know this seems soon to you, but I’ve loved Abby for three years. When all this is said and done and when she's ready I'm going to marry your sister and I'm going to protect her, and you for the rest of my life.”

  “You don't have to like it or trust me, in fact I don't blame you one bit. But never question my loyalty to your sister and my plans on keeping her safe. I would rather die than allow anything to hurt her. Got it bro?”

  Nick is staring at me with wide eyes; I know I have his attention finally. He shakes his head, continuing to look out the window.

  I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding and pull out of the school parking lot. A few minutes down the road, Nick quietly asks me if I promise. When I turn and look at him I see the fear on his face and the questions in his eyes.

  “Everything I said is true Nick.”

  “So, you promise you’ll protect her? You promise you’ll love her every day for the rest of your life?” I nod, but he isn’t done.

  “Do you promise you’ll care for her and treat her well and never, I mean NEVER lay your hands on her unless it’s with love?”

  I search his green eyes that were so similar to Abby’s and I promise to him that I will never, ever, hurt Abby on purpose. I let him know I plan to love her for the rest of my life.

  He lets out a shaky breath before turning to look back out the window. I recognize I have some big expectations to fill for her brother.

  Truthfully, I’m scared to death to fill them. I need to though, Abby is my world. Even before she knew I was interested, I knew one day I wanted to get that girl.

  ABBY- Chapter 20

  After being dismissed by Jax from our training session, Nick came in from school and wrapped me in a big bear hug.

  It wasn't like Nick and I didn't hug, it just wasn't very often. A lot of times I held Nick at night in the closet when we were younger, but very rarely did we hug for a “just because”.

  I know Asher told Nick about what happened and that's why he was hugging me so fiercely.

  Granted, I’m a little irritated that he told him without asking me, because Nick doesn’t need the stress of worrying about me, but it was nice to know that Nick is concerned.

  I go upstairs to take a shower and wash off the grime from the day.

  Afterwards, I make my way into the spare bedroom because that's where my new clothes are. Even if I plan to continue staying in the room with Asher, there isn't enough closet space for both of us.

  When I walk in I see there is a box on the bed with a little note that says:

  Babe-

  Meet me downstairs in the garage at 7, wear this dress and expect a good night.

  Love A.

  I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't extremely nervous and extremely excited. To be honest this is my first date.

  With the events of today I had forgotten all about the date with Asher tonight.

  I pull out the dress, gasping at the beautiful gown.

  It’s a deep purple, strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline. There are little emerald jewels around the neckline, only expanding on its elegant factor.

  The dress is cinched tight around the bodice causing it to cling to my hips, before ending a little above my knees.

  I know Brayden picked this dress out, it has his style all over it.

  There are also a pair of emerald heels that are definitely a 12 on the 1-10 scale of neck-brake. But I know my legs will look fabulous, and I have no doubt that Brayden knew it too when he picked them out.

  I take out a black lace panty and bra set that was bought yesterday too and slip the dress on over them. Like I predicted, it fit me like a glove.

  I’ve never felt sexier in my life. I don’t know why I needed the lace underwear to go with it, but I did know that having them on made me feel amazing.

  I like the idea that if Asher were to strip this dress off of me he would see all of my curves encompassed by the lace.

  Up until tonight I knew I could potentially love Asher Badd if I ever got the chance. But seeing him in this light of protecting, spoiling, and caring for me, I know without a shadow of a doubt that Asher Badd is it for me.

  And that makes me comfortable about thinking of a future with him, as well as a precious gift like my virginity that I’ve held on to.

  I curl my hair into soft curls letting them surround my face and flow down over my back. Putting on mascara and a slight gloss leaves my face look fresh.

  I could’ve went all out, but I needed this night to be pure. Especially after all that happened today. I needed Asher to see me with all my flaws and be okay with them.

  A few minutes before seven I head down the steps to see all the boys, minus Asher, sitting at the kitchen table.

  Brayden lets out a low whistle that has my cheeks firing up pink, while the rest of the boys sit there with mouths hung wide.

  “Wow Abby girl, you look beautiful.” Jax speaks first.

  Followed by Nick scowling telling me I couldn’t go on a date like that. I guess Nick thought he needed to step into a daddy role.

  I roll my eyes at his protectiveness. Even though he doesn’t look happy about my date, he stands to give me a hug anyways.

  “I’m just kidding Abby bear. You look great. I love you.”

  Tears well up in my eyes, resulting in Brayden slapping Nick’s shoulder, “Dude! You’re making her cry. She can’t go down blotchy face and mascara streaks. Seriously Abbykins- You. Are. Rocking. It. My brother is a lucky bastard.”

  I connect eyes with Archer who just throws me a wink and I beam back at him, because that was the first time Archer has really stepped out of our mutual acquaintance comfort zone. He gave me no words, but I knew he wanted me to know he appreciated my beauty as well.

  My phone dinged that it was 7 o'clock. So, I give a tentative wave and make my way down to the garage, stomach full of nerves.

  ASHER- Chapter 21

  Would you believe me if I told you I've never been on a date?

  I mean sure, I've had dates like “hey, let's jump into the sack dates”, and even those are few and far between, but as far as taking a girl out and making a night special, it's never ha
ppened.

  Needless to say I'm so ready. I’m vibrating with excitement waiting for Abby to come down the steps.

  At 7 o'clock I notice a faint noise of heels clicking upstairs in the kitchen. Not long after, Abby comes downstairs looking more beautiful than I've ever seen her.

  The dress she is wearing accentuates every one of her delectable curves in all the right places. I feel like a jackass for looking at her breasts, but with the way the dress clings to her body I can't help it.

  My girl is fine as fuck.

  My mind instantly drifts wondering how warm she would feel if I slid my hands up her inner thigh.

  When Abby notices how I’m looking at her, which is kind of like she is a fresh piece of meat and I’m a starving man, she blushes furiously.

  This is still my new favorite past time- making Abby Jacobs blush.

  When she hit the bottom step I can't control myself any longer, so I come forward wrapping my arms around her, pulling her up to meet my mouth.

  She puts her hands through my hair, tugging on my locks. It doesn’t even phase me that she is messing up the 20 minutes I spent on it- her pulling my hair is sexy.

  When she allows her bottom lip to barely brush against my mouth, I almost lose all control.

  In a passionate kiss I nip at her bottom lip before soothing it with my tongue, causing her to moan in to my mouth. That’s when the kiss turned frantic.

  I almost push her against the wall and mount her right there in the basement of the warehouse. I quickly pull away though because Abby deserves much better than a quick fuck on a wall.

  The first time that I have sex with her it will entail hours of appreciating her tight body and teaching her all the ways I can make that body feel good.

  When we break apart breathlessly, Abby looks at me with her eyes so green and passionate that I almost abandon the date all together and opt to take her upstairs. The only way I can describe the look in her eyes is pure lust.

  “Hey,” she breathes.

  I respond by kissing her lightly. “Hey baby girl.” She melts into me a little more.

  “Abby, we can't leave tonight especially after what happened today at the mall so I brought our date here. Is that okay?”