CHAPTER TEN #2
He positioned himself in the center of the mat. "Annie and Dawn are going to demonstrate some basic techniques. I'll be playing the role of the attacker."
Annie stepped forward, a determined look on her face. She was slight compared to Jude, which made her the perfect person to show that size wasn't everything.
"The first thing to understand is that your attacker will almost always have a physical advantage," Jude explained. "But you have other advantages—surprise, leverage, and targeted strikes."
He lunged toward Annie, reaching for her arm. In a fluid motion that happened almost too quickly to follow, Annie sidestepped, grabbed his wrist, and used his momentum against him. Before Jude knew it, he was looking up at the ceiling, the impact of hitting the mat knocking the wind out of him.
“Are you okay?” Angela asked, coming to look down at him.
“He’s fine,” Annie said as she stood on his other side. “This isn’t the first time I’ve put him on his back.”
“Really?” Angela sounded incredulous.
“Really. He made me practice over and over again until I was capable of doing that.”
The women stepped back as Jude got back up to his feet. “Annie’s correct. She has done it many, many times. And now, her reaction to me approaching her is second nature. Instinct.”
"The most important thing about self-defense," Dawn added, "is believing you can protect yourself. Regardless of your opponent’s size. Many attackers count on your hesitation or fear."
Jude nodded. "That's right. One of the reasons I asked Annie and Dawn to be here today was to show you what’s possible."
He positioned himself in the center of the mat again. "Annie? Up for another demonstration?"
Annie stepped forward with the confidence of someone who'd been through the exercises many times before.
"An attacker will often grab you from behind," Jude explained. "I'm going to demonstrate, and then Annie will show you how to counter."
He placed his arms around Annie in a bear hug, pinning her arms to her sides. For a moment, he glanced at Angela. Her expression was a mixture of concern and intense focus.
"Ready?" he asked Annie.
She nodded, and in one fluid motion, she stomped her heel down on his instep, dropped her weight to create space, then twisted and drove her elbow back toward his solar plexus, stopping just short of contact.
Jude released her immediately. "Perfect. Again, we can see that despite her size, she has the ability to maneuver herself into a position where she has the opportunity to break free. The goal isn’t necessarily to win a fight.
It’s to create enough space and time to escape.
" He looked directly at Angela as he spoke.
"Run. Get to safety. Get help. That's always the primary objective. "
Angela nodded, though her hands were still clasped tightly in front of her. The demonstration should have been reassuring for Angela and Kiara, but Jude could see the tension in Angela’s shoulders. The way she held herself was as if preparing to flee.
"Let's start with some basic stances," Dawn said, stepping forward. "Angela, would you like to go first?"
"I… okay." Angela moved onto the mat, her movements cautious.
"Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart," Dawn instructed. "Good. Now bend your knees slightly. You want to be balanced but ready to move."
Jude watched as Angela adjusted her stance, noting how she seemed to shrink in on herself despite Dawn's encouraging tone. He'd seen this before—people who'd lived with fear for so long that the idea of fighting back felt foreign, almost wrong.
"Perfect," Dawn said. "Now, Angela, I want you to practice a simple palm strike. Target is here." She gestured to the center of the padded target she held in front of her. "Using the heel of your palm, drive up and through."
Angela hesitated, her hand barely making contact when she attempted the strike.
“Harder," Dawn encouraged. "Remember, this person is trying to hurt you."
Angela tried again, with slightly more force, but Jude could see her holding back.
"May I?" he asked, stepping closer.
Handing him the target, Dawn stepped aside as Jude approached Angela, keeping his movements slow and deliberate.
"I know this feels unnatural," he said, his voice low enough that only she could hear. "But think about Kiara. If someone was threatening her, what would you do?"
Something flashed in Angela's blue-green eyes—a protective instinct that Jude had been counting on.
"I'd do whatever it took," she said quietly.
"That's the mindset. This isn't about aggression. It's about protection. Yours and those you care about."
He positioned himself in front of her, holding up the padded target. "Try again. This time, think about creating distance between a threat and someone you love."
Angela took a deep breath, adjusted her stance as Dawn had shown her, and struck the pad with the heel of her palm. The impact was solid enough to mildly jar Jude.
"Good," he said, approval in his voice. "Much better."
A small smile tugged at Angela's lips, and Jude felt something shift in his chest—pride, but also something warmer he didn't want to focus on right then.
He gestured for her to try again, and then again. Each time her confidence inched up.
"Now it’s Kiara's turn," Dawn called after a few minutes, gesturing for Kiara to join them on the mat.
Unlike her sister, Kiara approached with barely contained enthusiasm. "I've been waiting for this my whole life," she said, bouncing lightly on her toes.
"Glad to hear it," Dawn said with a laugh.
Jude gave the padded target back to Dawn, then stepped out of their way.
As Jude watched Kiara throw herself into the training with enthusiasm, he couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between the sisters. Where Angela approached with caution, Kiara seemed to have been waiting for permission to fight back her entire life.
"Whoa, easy there," Dawn laughed as Kiara's palm strike nearly knocked her off balance. "Save some for the actual attackers."
After a few more strikes, Dawn motioned for Annie and Angela to join them. "Let me show you both a technique that works particularly well for women. This is about using your opponent's weight against them."
For the next little while, Jude observed from a few feet away, arms crossed over his chest. Though Annie was participating in the training, she was definitely not her usual self. During the moments when Dawn was explaining things to Angela and Kiara, she was distracted, often pulling out her phone.
Jude was concerned, but he didn’t know what to do to help her. He wondered whether he should have a conversation with Duncan about it.
But was that his place? Her aloofness obviously wasn’t a security concern, but he really did view her more as a younger sister than just part of the job.
Annie wasn’t the only one he was struggling to maintain a professional relationship with.
His gaze kept drifting to Angela and noticing the way she bit her lower lip in concentration. How her eyes widened when Annie demonstrated a particularly effective move. How at times she seemed to be talking to herself. Perhaps psyching herself up.
"Jude, we need you again," Dawn called, interrupting his thoughts.
He stepped forward, mentally chastising himself for his wandering attention. "What do you need me to do?"
“Go on the attack," Dawn said. "I think we need to practice breaking holds of someone larger now."
For the next hour, Jude played the role of attacker while Dawn and Annie taught Angela and Kiara various defensive techniques. By the end, their faces were flushed from exertion, but they looked pleased with their progress. Especially Kiara.
He was proud of Angela for continuing to engage in the training, even though it was clear that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with it the way Kiara was.
"You both did well for your first session," Jude said as they took a water break. "We'll practice again tomorrow."
"Really?" Kiara asked, excitement clear in her voice despite her fatigue. "Daily lessons?"
"For the first little while, yes," Jude confirmed. "Then we'll scale back these practices and move on to something else. The more you practice, the more instinctive these movements become."
“Driving next, right?” Kiara asked eagerly.
“Yes, driving.”
“I can’t wait to learn,” Kiara said.
Angela took a long drink from her water bottle, her gaze flicking between Jude and Annie. "Will you both be teaching us the self-defense stuff each time?"
"I should be here most of the time," Jude said, then glanced at Annie, who was checking her phone again. "Annie?"
She looked up, slightly startled. "Sorry, what?"
"Will you be able to help with training tomorrow?"
Annie hesitated. "Maybe." She slipped her phone into her pocket. “I need to go now, but I’ll let you know later about tomorrow.”
“I’ll go with you,” Dawn said.
“No need,” Annie told her with a wave of her hand. “I’m just going home.”
Dawn glanced at Jude, who just gave a single nod, accepting Annie’s desire to be on her own. Since they were on the estate, she was safe.
Jude watched her go, making note again of her distance. Something was definitely going on with her.
"How did we do?" Angela asked as she approached him while Dawn and Kiara discussed a particular technique a few feet away.
Letting thoughts of Annie go for the moment, Jude gave Angela a smile. "Better than I expected for a first session. Especially you."
"Me?" Surprise colored her voice.
"Yes. I could see how uncomfortable you were at the beginning, but you pushed through it. That takes courage."
A flush spread across her cheeks that had nothing to do with exertion. "It doesn't feel like courage. It feels like… survival."
Jude was drawn to her strength. To the way she'd found the determination to fight back despite everything she'd endured. "Sometimes those are the same thing."
Their gazes held for a moment longer than professional courtesy would dictate, and Jude felt that familiar tightening in his chest. He needed to step back, maintain boundaries. But something about Angela made that increasingly difficult.
"We should head back," he said, his voice rougher than intended.
"Of course." Angela stepped away, the moment broken. However, Jude caught the flash of disappointment in her expression before she turned toward Kiara.
As they gathered up their things, Jude couldn't shake the feeling that his carefully ordered world was shifting in ways he hadn't expected. And he wasn’t sure how to handle it.
Ignoring it seemed easiest, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be effective in the long run. The draw to Angela would just continue to grow.
The drive back to the mansion was quiet, with Angela staring out the window at the snow-covered landscape. Jude found himself stealing glances at her profile, noting the way her hair caught the winter light filtering through the windshield.
"Thank you," she said suddenly, breaking the silence. "For being patient with me today."
"I learned from training Annie, Elizabeth, and Benji that being patient is the best approach. This is important, so I’ll do whatever is necessary to equip you to take care of yourself."
“Will Kiara and I have bodyguards like Annie has Dawn?”
“Yes.” Jude wasn’t sure who would have the job permanently yet, but they had enough staff to cover them temporarily.
“Do you bodyguard?”
“Not so much anymore,” he said. “Before I became head of security, I was part of Duncan’s security entourage.
I was the leader of that team for about a year before he promoted me to head of all security.
The only time I travel with him now is when he goes to certain parts of the world.
For safety's sake, a bigger security team travels with him, and I’m usually part of that. ”
“He must really trust you.”
“Yes.” There was no doubt of that, since Jude knew that Duncan would never put someone in charge of his family’s safety that he didn’t trust completely. “And I don’t take that trust for granted. He’s been very good to me.”
“Did you ever want to work somewhere else?”
“Nope. I saw my dad’s love for his job, first as a cop and then working for Duncan. I wanted that same passion for whatever I did, and I’ve found that here.”
Kiara had been quiet for the drive to the house, and when Jude glanced back at her, he saw she was focused on her phone.
Jude swung the UTV around so that the ladies could exit closest to the back door of the house.
“Thanks for the lesson,” Kiara said as she slipped from the UTV. “It was a lot of fun.”
Flashing him a quick smile, she headed for the door while Angela moved more slowly.
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said as she stood outside the UTV.
“Yes. You will.”
He wanted to ask her how she planned to spend the rest of her day, but he held his tongue. It was none of his business, he reminded himself.
Duncan had outlined what his responsibility was when it came to Angela, and it had nothing to do with chitchatting with her about what she was doing with her time. He had to remember that.
Her expression was serious as she gave him a little wave, then turned and headed for the back door. She didn’t look back before disappearing inside the house.
Jude stared at the closed door for a long moment before turning the wheel of the UTV and heading for the security building.
Back in his office a few minutes later, Jude tried to focus on his work, but it was nearly impossible. His mind was caught up in Angela, and he couldn’t figure out what it was exactly that drew him to her.
It wasn’t a physical thing. Because if it was a physical draw, he would have been attracted to Annie, and that had never, ever been the case.
He’d never dwelt on what kind of woman might be his type, so he didn’t have a checklist to hold up against Angela.
Maybe if she hadn’t been his employer’s daughter. Maybe if she hadn’t been over a decade his junior. Maybe if she hadn’t been in the middle of a huge upheaval in her life.
Maybe then he might have considered seeing where things might go because he had a feeling that she had some sort of draw to him as well.
But it was all irrelevant because she was all of those things, and nothing could change them.
He had to stay focused on his job, regardless of how drawn he felt to her. He was responsible for keeping her safe and equipping her with the skills that her father demanded she have in order to survive in his world.
Nothing more.
Maybe if he told himself that enough, it would eventually sink in sufficiently to squash the feelings for her that had taken root in his heart. Maybe… but he didn’t think so.