Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
During the forty-minute drive into the city, every thought Victoria had was filled with both yearning and fear.
Kyle’s nearness created an unbidden stirring that called to every part of her. Yet she shouldn’t be anywhere near him, and he shouldn’t be anywhere near Father Sergei or the church. An ominous feeling stole over her. If she wasn’t careful, her life could spiral out of control again.
“And?” For the last four days, she’d been catching up with other clients and hadn’t had the opportunity to follow media coverage of the trial. “What was the verdict?”
“The jury convicted Kolbayev on all counts.”
“That’s a relief.” Life should be a lot easier on Aly with her husband in prison for the foreseeable future.
He parked in front of a gymnasium and shut off the engine. “Alyona sends her regards, by the way.”
“Is she okay? Can I talk to her?” That day in the courthouse garage, they’d barely had the chance to say goodbye. Not following up with a client, particularly one who’d gone through the emotional trauma Aly had, hadn’t sat well with her.
“No. Sorry.” The expression on his face evidenced genuine regret. “She and her mother are in a safehouse, at least for a while. At a minimum, they’ll move to another part of the country.”
“Safehouses suck.” But at least Aly and her mother were together, and they were safe.
“I can’t imagine what it was like.” When he looked at her, there was an emotion in his eyes she couldn’t quite decipher. Understanding?
“Be grateful you can’t.” She opened the door and got out, unwilling to relive that awful time.
He held open the door to the gymnasium. The smell of rubber from the dozen or so exercise mats on the floor hit her first, followed by echoing laughter.
At the front of the gym stood Jack—Kyle’s brother, whom she’d met at the courthouse—and three women she didn’t recognize.
Jack had his arm around one woman’s waist. He leaned in to whisper something in her ear, and she responded by giggling and standing on her tiptoes to land a kiss on his cheek.
“C’mon,” Kyle said. When he touched his hand to the small of her back, a delicious shiver raced up her spine, another sign her body would betray her whether she liked it or not. “I want you to meet some friends of mine. They help me teach the class.”
“Morning, Kyle,” the women said as a unit.
“Morning, ladies,” he said. “And Jack,” he added to his brother.
“Good to see you again, Victoria,” Jack said without missing a beat, as if he’d been expecting her.
“Thank you.” She noted the woman Jack still had his arm around wore a giant Chocolate Diamond ring on her left ring finger.
“This is Victoria, a friend of mine,” Kyle said to the women. “She’s taking the class today.”
He introduced her first to Gina, a stunning woman with shoulder length chestnut hair and beautiful big brown eyes. Margo came next, with the cutest pixie cut blond hair she’d ever seen, then Annabelle, with piercing green eyes and curly red hair that bobbed every time she moved her head.
“Our fourth partner in crime,” Gina said, “couldn’t be here today, but hopefully you’ll meet her next Saturday.”
Next Saturday. She had no intention of being here again, next Saturday or any other Saturday after that.
“That would be Kinsey, by the way,” Annabelle said. “She’s in Kenya, managing her family’s chocolate farm.”
Margo rolled her eyes. “It’s called a cacao plantation.”
“I know.” Annabelle nodded. “I’m just jealous. All that chocolate…” She put a hand to her chest and made a groaning sound deep in her throat.
“Jack, give me a hand with the mats,” Kyle said.
He followed Kyle but not before dropping a quick kiss on the top of Gina’s head. The gesture seemed so natural.
Would she ever have that kind of deep, emotional love? Maybe it was too late for her. Perhaps life had taken her down such a twisted, winding path that she’d never find that kind of connection with anyone.
On the other side of the gym, Kyle tugged his sweatshirt over his head and set it on the bleachers.
He wore jeans and a black T-shirt with the FBI initials visible on the upper left portion of his chest. Every movement rippled the muscles in his forearms and biceps.
Jack’s physique was equally impressive, but it was Kyle who drew her complete attention.
“So, how do you know Kyle?” Gina asked, a slight smile curving her lips as she nodded to where he pulled more rubber mats from the wall.
“I, um…” How to answer that question? Then again, if she really was done running and hiding from her past, there was no time like the present to do it. “We met a long time ago. In Chicago.”
“Chicago?” Gina’s mouth fell open. “Oh, right. He said he used to work there.” She nodded, as if catching herself from saying something she shouldn’t and giving Victoria the impression the woman knew far more than she was letting on.
“Did he tell you about me?” How could he have done that? Surely, he’d been bound by FBI confidentiality. Then again, hadn’t she just decided not to hide anymore? Yes, but she’d wanted it to be on her own terms.
The door to the gym opened as other women wearing sweat pants and T-shirts came in.
“Margo, Annabelle,” Gina said, indicating the door. “Why don’t you help get everyone set up?”
When they were alone, Gina rested her hand on Victoria’s shoulder. “He didn’t say much about you. Not really. Except that he had a friend he’d left in Chicago, one he hadn’t spoken to in a very long time.”
“Oh,” Victoria said, feeling like an idiot for making assumptions. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to leap down your throat.”
“It’s okay.” She smiled, something that seemed to come naturally.
“It’s just nice to finally meet you. You know, Kyle started teaching this class about that time.
Right after he came back to New York. From Chicago,” she added, then patted Victoria’s arm and left to join her friends at the check-in table.
Hmm. Either Kyle had said something to Gina, or the woman had ESP.
More women arrived and signed in at the door.
Had Kyle really started teaching this course because of her? Gina’s message had been clear.
He’d started teaching this course because of what had happened to her.
More importantly, it told her something she hadn’t quite believed until this very moment.
Perhaps she really had meant something to him.
The accusations she’d flung at him when he’d come to her office…
He’d been telling the truth. He had cared, enough that for the last ten years, he’d invested his personal time to teach women how to defend themselves.
That tiny fissure in her heart threatened to crack wide open.
Voices near the door grew louder. In all, she counted at least twenty other women.
“Ladies,” Kyle said in a voice loud enough to echo off the gym walls. “Let’s get started. Partner-up.”
Within seconds, it was obvious these women all knew each other and had pre-established partnerships. Watching them reminded her of just how long it had been since she’d had the luxury of socializing with friends.
Gina and her friends stood off to the side to assist. They struck her as being a particularly close-knit group of women.
“When the demo’s over, I’ll partner with you,” Kyle said as he led her to a mat in the front row.
“Lucky girl,” one of the other women whispered to her partner. “He doesn’t usually pair up with anyone. I’d partner with him any day.”
With his tall, strong build, Victoria had to admit…he was hot.
“As we discussed in previous classes,’ Kyle began, “none of you will ever overpower a man with strength alone. But with the proper technique, even the smallest woman can inflict serious injury to a large man. The key is in knowing where the vulnerable, soft spots are and knowing what to do to them. I’ll demonstrate on my lovely partner, Jack. ”
Snickers filled the air as Jack sashayed over.
“Jack is about to be taken unaware by an assailant approaching from behind.” Jack turned his back while Kyle placed an arm around his neck.
“This is one method by which attackers take control. At this point you have more options than you can imagine. The goal isn’t necessarily to render your attacker unconscious.
It’s to inflict enough pain so he lets you go, giving you the chance to get away.
The best time to inflict pain is immediately, when he’s not expecting you to fight back.
Don’t lay down and hope he’ll let you go.
He won’t. You have to react with overwhelming force and don’t stop until your assailant is on the ground or releases you.
That is the most valuable tool I want you to learn here today.
You do have the ability to fight back, and you can fight back. Now, Jack has many soft spots.”
Gina coughed. “Not really.”
This comment elicited several giggles, but most of the women remained silent, with stern countenances.
Victoria surmised some of them were like her, victims of domestic violence or other kinds of attacks.
Not feeling quite so self-conscious anymore, she began to relax and, with each passing minute, realized Kyle was a talented instructor.
His voice was strong and clear, while his instructional points were explained simply and were easy to retain.
Jack mocked slamming his foot down on Kyle’s toes. The impact of his foot on the mat echoed loudly, making some of the women up front, including her, jump back a step.
“Stomping your attacker’s toes is one way to distract him enough so he loosens his grip.
” Kyle repositioned his arm around Jack’s neck.
“The second soft spot is my rib cage.” Using his elbow, Jack imitated a brutal blow to Kyle’s ribs, causing him to release his hold.
“The next is a blow to a man’s most sensitive area, and one that I’m sure you ladies are all perfectly aware of.
Now, be kind, Jack.” He feigned a forceful hit to Kyle’s groin.
Kyle described other vulnerable areas, including the eyes, the throat and many natural pressure points, such as the area just under the nose. He explained how a woman’s fingers, or even car keys or a pen can be used to jab and apply pressure to any of these areas, inflicting extreme pain.
Jack, Gina, and the other instructors went around the mats, assisting the women in simulated attacks.
“Your turn.” Kyle positioned himself behind her. Heat from his chest radiated straight through her clothes to her skin. Being pressed against all that warm muscle put her body at war with her brain and common sense. “Ready?”
Ready? Not a chance. Not with every square inch of her that he touched on red alert, burning, while he apparently felt nothing at the forced closeness. She blew out a nervous breath. Hitting someone wasn’t in her genetic makeup. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
He slid his arm around her neck, tugging her against him and backing her bottom tightly against his thighs.
When he tightened his grip around her neck, she stiffened, feeling completely helpless.
She understood his intent was to simulate an attack, and that he wouldn’t actually hurt her, but her fears escalated out of control.
Panicked, she froze and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Fight back,” Kyle said gruffly. “Remember the pressure points. Pick one, and go for it.” Still frozen, she couldn’t move. “Victoria, please. Do something,” he whispered in her ear. “Confront your fears. Don’t quit on me. Don’t quit on yourself.”
He readjusted his grip. “Lady, I’m going to steal your money and steal your car,” he hissed. “Are you going to let me do this to you, or are you going to fight back?”
She began trembling. “Please, don’t do this,” she said softly.
“He’s coming for you,” Kyle rasped low in her ear. “He’s going to find you. He’ll take away everything you’ve worked so hard for, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”
Those last words seeped into her consciousness, reminding her how precious her new life was and how unwilling she was to relinquish it. She began struggling, twisting in Kyle’s arms but not enough to extricate herself. All the tactics she’d learned moments ago were a distant memory.
“Use what you learned,” he prodded. “Hurt me. Hurt me, or he’ll hurt you!”
She fisted her hand, pumping it upward, then down with as much force as she could gather and jabbed her elbow sharply into Kyle’s ribs. Instantly, he released her. She spun to see him massaging his side.
“Ouch,” he said, grinning. “You did it.”
Her chest heaved at the effort it took to escape her would-be assailant. Gradually, she perceived her triumph. The adrenaline charging through her system made her feel powerful.
Everyone else in the room clapped, making her face heat. But that triumphant feeling remained. Maybe it had been worth coming here after all.
“Are you okay?” she asked Kyle. This was a demo, and she really hadn’t meant to hit him so hard.
“I’m fine.” His smile broadened. “You did good. Don’t ever underestimate yourself.” He tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, sending a shiver of awareness skittering up her neck.
When their gazes met, she couldn’t stop the grin forming on her lips. He, of all people, understood how deeply meaningful this one little symbolic mock-triumph was to her. Funny, how he was the one person who knew. Funny…
And frightening.
As he launched into another demo, the triumphant feelings she’d experienced moments ago flip-flopped, and her stomach churned.
It was dangerous for him to know so much about her. She ought to stay away from him. If only everything he did and everything he said, would stop making her fall for him all over again. Maybe more so now.
Survival instinct to run warred with her desire to explore where this undeniable chemistry would take them.
That churning in her belly worsened, along with the dark storm brewing in her head.
Sooner or later, she’d have to make a decision. This was a dangerous game she was playing, and one she might not win.
If she made the wrong choice and lost, she had everything to lose.
Including her freedom.