Chapter 5 #2
As Ruger leads the men through another training exercise, she takes a cautious step out from behind the tree. Furtively, she glances around her to make sure no one is watching. She creeps forward, wanting to get a better view.
Suddenly, Shade materializes in front of her with a gun pointed right at her chest.
She sucks in a startled breath. Where the hell did he come from?
“Don’t just freeze,” Shade instructs her. “You must learn to react. Attack or escape, those are your options.”
Hoping to take him by surprise, Ulayna ducks low and lunges at him. She plows her shoulder into his knees and tackles him to the ground. She’s elated with a sense of victory for a brief second until she feels the cold metal of a gun pressed to her temple.
She freezes.
Shade lowers the gun. “Good. But a surprise attack with a gun pointed at you will only work if you’re sure your opponent wants to take you alive. If their goal is to kill you, you’ll be dead before you can reach them.”
They both climb to their feet. Ulayna brushes some dirt and leaf litter off her pants.
“How’d you find me?” she asks.
“Your blond hair is easy to spot in the shadows. You’ll need to account for that from now on.”
“Oh.” She’s disappointed by his reasoning. She’d dressed carefully in dark, neutral tones with the intent to camouflage herself, but she hadn't even considered her hair.
Shade steps back to where he was before she tackled him and nudges her to do the same. “Now, let’s try that same scenario again. This time, pretend my goal is to kill you. Think through how you would escape.”
Ulayna walks back to the tree where she had been hiding. Feeling a little foolish, she peeks out from behind it and takes a cautious step forward. Shade steps out from behind a tree and points the gun at her.
Expecting it this time, she darts to the side behind another tree. She listens carefully to hear his footsteps, but she can’t hear anything over the sound of her breath rushing in and out. She tries to still her racing heart and control her breathing.
“You can’t escape by just running.” Shade’s soft voice seems to resonate from every direction, giving her no clues about his location. “You have to assume that your opponent is an excellent marksman. At this close range, most shooters would be able to at least wound you.”
“So what do I do?” Ulayna asks him.
“You need to distract me or disable me.”
“But how?”
“Use your environment.”
She looks around her. “There’s nothing useful within reach.”
“Then you should have brought something with you as a failsafe for this type of situation.”
Ulayna mentally kicks herself. She’d dressed in dark colors and had assumed that would be enough.
She hadn’t bothered to bring a weapon or anything useful because she’d been sure no one would see her.
She thought she wouldn't need it. If Shade had been a real enemy, that assumption might have cost her her life.
She should probably start carrying that gun Alexi gave her. It does her no good sitting in her nightstand drawer.
She hears Shade holster his weapon and step closer to her. Frustrated that she failed this test so badly, she grabs a handful of dirt from the ground. Balancing on the balls of her feet, she waits until he walks around the tree.
He steps in front of her. “In the future, you’ll need—”
She tosses the dirt in his face and sprints off in the other direction.
“Ah!” She hears his startled exclamation from behind her.
Knowing it won’t take him long to wipe the dirt from his eyes and draw his weapon, she dodges to the side. She changes direction every few seconds, ducking behind trees.
“Very good!” he calls out from behind her. “Never assume your opponent is done.”
Realizing he’s not following her, she slows down. She risks a glance behind her, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Just like last night when he broke into her bedroom, she’s not entirely sure she didn’t imagine it. That man is so stealthy it's spooky.
—
“What would you like to do tomorrow?” Alexi asks Ulayna as he pushes his empty dinner plate into the center of the table and relaxes back into his chair.
It’s been a week since he started the new training program, and things seem to be going well.
His team is putting the men through their paces and giving him regular updates on who is doing well and who has dropped out.
It’s added one more thing to his already full plate, but it will be worth it in the end.
Despite the many demands on his time, he makes a point to have dinner with Ulayna as often as possible. Sometimes it’s the only point in his day when he gets to relax for a few minutes. He’s come to love the quiet moments they spend together each evening.
He takes a sip of his wine and studies the young woman.
He can’t pinpoint what has changed with her over the past few days, but she seems more confident.
Not that she lacked confidence before. But previously, it seemed more like defensiveness.
Now, it seems more like self-assurance. Whatever has caused the change, he’s happy about it.
“I’d like to go to the beach tomorrow,” Ulayna says. “The weather is supposed to be warm. I know Lake Michigan isn’t the ocean, but I’d still like to go.”
“You’d enjoy it.” Alexi nods in encouragement.
He’s been so busy this past week, he feels like he’s been neglecting Ulayna, and except for a handful of driving lessons, he’s not sure how she's been spending her time. Unfortunately, he doesn’t anticipate having time to take her to the beach tomorrow.
He frowns, knowing how important it is to her that she get to experience all the things she’s missed out on in life.
Alexi gives her a pained look. “Sadly, I don’t have the time to go with you tomorrow, so you’ll need to take security with you.”