Three
THREE
Cierra
“We’re thinking of coming home early.”
My stomach lurched, even as I sat in my car in the school parking lot, waiting for it to warm up.
It was Tuesday afternoon, and I’d just finished my workday. Earlier today, I’d gotten a call from my mom, asking me to give her a call when I had a chance. The second I made it to my car, I pulled out my phone. My mom got straight to it and revealed what she and my dad were considering.
“No. No, that’s not necessary.”
“Your dad is beside himself and would feel better being home.”
I should have suspected as much.
This was the problem with being so close to my mom. I talked to her regularly, didn’t hide things, and was, perhaps, a bit too eager—or terrified—that I shared with her the news I’d learned from Briana on Friday about Richard Lynch being paroled.
I hadn’t been able to keep it to myself. Feeling that overwhelming urge to tell someone, my mom was the first person who came to mind. She listened, taking it all in, and it was likely she’d been unable to ignore the hints of fear and trepidation in my tone during that phone call.
It seemed she’d gone on to share her concerns about it with my father, and apparently, my parents had discussed it over the weekend and decided.
Now, I felt nothing but guilt.
Because Glenda and Darin Wallace were snowbirds. They had retired three years ago, doing it early, and decided to spend their winters in Florida before returning to Pennsylvania for the spring and summer months.
If they came home now, they’d be changing their plans and returning to the cold at least two months earlier than they’d have even considered if this situation with Richard hadn’t ever popped up.
“I don’t want you two to do that,” I shared. “It’s just overkill.”
“Not if you feel afraid,” she reasoned. “You know your dad and I would do anything to help you feel safe.”
I smiled inwardly, something warm hitting the center of my chest. “I know you would. But other than being close, there’s not much you can do for me once you get here. It’s not like I’m going to leave my house and move back in with you.”
“You were terrified, Cierra. And even if you’re thirty now, you’ll still always be our baby.”
Perks of being the only child, I guessed. I could have been fifty years old, and my parents still would have done anything for me that they had the means to do.
More guilt washed over me.
I’d done my best to sit with the news Briana had given me and considered my options. But by the time I woke up on Saturday, I couldn’t hold myself back. Sadly, I was too caught up in all the fear and worry I felt over learning that Richard was getting out; it was no surprise my mom had picked up on it.
And the reality now was that I still felt just as terrified. The only thing that helped me was being at work. When I was at school and with my students, all the fear melted away. I was glad about that. I liked knowing I didn’t need to force myself to put on a brave face for them.
But when the day was done, and I had to return to life outside of that building, all the panic hit me square in the chest. It was so strong; I was surprised I’d managed to accomplish anything.
Even if I felt as though I was in a constant state of anxiety, dreading what would happen once Richard was free and knowing that alarm would only increase once he was actually out, I still didn’t want to disrupt my parents’ plans.
“I’m doing much better now,” I assured her. “When I talked to you on Saturday, it hadn’t even been a full twenty-four hours at that point. If I’d taken some time to sit with the news before calling you, I’m sure I wouldn’t have sounded so awful.”
“You shouldn’t be feeling fearful at all, though. That’s the problem.”
She had a point.
I shouldn’t have needed to feel this way, not when I hadn’t done anything wrong. Unfortunately, we were dealing with a criminal, a man seeking retribution. No matter how much I wanted to believe he’d learned something from the years spent in prison, I couldn’t just accept that was the case.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t feel that way. That’s why I’m doing something about it.”
“What? What does that mean?”
“Self-defense.”
There was a long pause, the silence stretching between us. “Self-defense?” My mom’s voice was soft, hesitant.
Even though she couldn’t see me, I nodded. “I should have done it a long time ago. It’s not like I didn’t know this day would eventually come, even though I thought it would be a few years from now.”
“I… I don’t understand. What are you planning to do?”
Surprisingly, I felt a wave of confidence wash over me, something I’d noticed when I’d made this decision a couple of days ago. “I don’t want to suspect the worst is going to happen, but I do think I need to be prepared for it. So, I decided to take some self-defense classes. The hope is that I’ll never need to use them, but at least I can feel confident and safe when I’m out and about.”
“What… where are you taking these classes?”
Soft laughter escaped at my mom’s stammering. Obviously, I wasn’t happy that she seemed so distressed, but I had a feeling she was just trying to imagine her daughter, who was not at all inclined to doing such physical activities, suddenly taking up classes that would teach her how to defend herself.
“I haven’t taken any classes just yet,” I explained. “I did some research over the weekend, and believe it or not, there’s a local place here that offers lessons. I’d planned to go there as soon as I left work today, but I decided to call you first.”
A heavy silence hung between us once more. It stretched on for so long, I worried I’d only made things worse.
“Mom?”
“I’m here,” she rasped. “I just hate that you’re going through this, that you even need to do something like this.”
My heart hurt for her, and while I would never want to hide things from her or my dad intentionally, there was a small part of me that wondered if perhaps it would have been better to keep the news of Richard Lynch’s parole to myself, at least until my parents had come home later in the spring.
“I know you do. And I love you for it. But it’s the situation now, and I think these classes could be good for me. Even if I get my wish and I never have to put any of what I learn into practice, I have to believe I’ll gain some confidence from taking the classes. If there’s one thing that I know to be true, it’s that you and Dad wouldn’t find any harm in me doing something to make me feel more assured in who I am and what I’m capable of doing.”
I knew I’d get her with that.
My parents had always done their best to instill a sense of confidence in me—maybe that was the reason why I’d wound up in this situation at all. I hadn’t been able to sit back and do nothing when someone needed my help, so I stepped in without thinking twice about it.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t feel better with us coming home early?”
I smiled, feeling relieved I’d convinced her. “You know I love when you guys are home and I’m able to stop by for a visit, but I honestly don’t want you to come home early simply over this. I’m going to take the necessary steps to keep myself safe, and hopefully, it’s all just going to be overkill anyway. I want you to stay there, to enjoy the last few weeks you have there. I promise I’ll be here and safe when you get back.”
“Well, I’ll do my best to convince your father,” she murmured. “That’s going to require some work on my part.”
“If he would feel better talking to me about it, have him give me a call later this evening. I’ll do what I can to ease his conscience.”
“That might actually be the better option. I’ll talk to him over dinner, and maybe we’ll call you afterward.”
“That works. I should probably get going now, so I can go see what I’m getting myself into with these self-defense classes.”
“Sounds good, Cierra. I’m so proud of you, and I’ll talk to you later.”
“Thanks, Mom. Talk to you tonight.”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
We said goodbye and disconnected our call. I let out a small sigh of relief, which was only the result of knowing I’d done enough to convince them to stay where they were. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say I felt any confidence about the reality of my situation just yet. I was still just as terrified as I’d been that day Briana showed up at my place on Friday. With any luck, these classes I intended to take would put me in a better frame of mind.
On that thought, and with my car now fully warmed up, I pulled out of the school’s parking lot and made my way toward Harper Security Ops. And on the drive, I said a little prayer, hoping I’d get what I’d need from this place. If not, I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage over the coming months.
My thoughts had been running wild all throughout my drive to Harper Security Ops that by the time I’d arrived, I felt even less confident about my safety and more concerned about what would happen to me if I got into a class and couldn’t pick up the material with some ease.
Could they turn someone away if they believed that person was on the verge of losing her mind or had virtually no skill in performing even the most basic of tasks?
I walked through the front door and was greeted by a beautiful woman I believed was somewhere in the middle of a pregnancy. She smiled brightly at me. “Hello. How can I help you today?”
“Hi. I was curious about getting some information on self-defense training.”
She blinked in surprise. “I take it you aren’t planning to join a class today.”
My brow arched. “Pardon?”
“You look like you’re ready to go to work in a corporate office,” she reasoned. “I’m all for wearing whatever makes you comfortable.” She placed a hand on her rounded belly. “I understand that now more than ever with this baby growing inside me. But I’d be lying if I told you it’d be ideal to take any self-defense classes wearing what you’re wearing now.”
“Oh. Right. That makes sense. Yeah, no, I wasn’t expecting I’d be taking a class today. I merely wanted to stop in and see if I could talk to someone about the options you have available, the costs, and what I can expect. I’ve never done anything like this before, so I’m not sure if I need to have any qualifications before I can join.”
“Well, I can assure you that you don’t have to have any prior experience, so you don’t need to worry about that. Let me see who’s available from that team right now, and I’ll have someone come down to talk to you?—”
“Cierra?”
At the sound of my name being called, I tore my attention away from the woman in front of me and shifted my gaze to the man approaching behind her. My body tensed at the sight. “Greyson?”
“You two know each other?” the woman asked, the question clearly directed at Greyson.
Greyson shook his head. “Yes. No. I… well, we met yesterday.”
“Oh?” The woman’s eyes widened with delight as she leaned in with interest and rested her chin on her closed fist.
He dipped his chin. “Yeah. Cierra… Miss Wallace… she’s Tucker’s librarian. She stayed with him for a few extra minutes after school yesterday when I got the call from Morgan asking me to pick him up.”
The woman stood, extended her hand to me, and said, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Avalon.”
I shook her hand and gave her a nod in return.
“So, what are you doing here?” Greyson asked me after Avalon lowered herself carefully into her seat again. “Did something happen with Tucker?”
Immediately, I shook my head. “No. God, no. I… I didn’t even know you worked here.”
Something dawned on his features, his head tipping slightly to the side, but he didn’t say anything in response.
“Cierra was looking to talk to someone about self-defense lessons,” Avalon interjected.
Surprise, and perhaps a bit of concern, leaked into Greyson’s features. He studied me for a few beats before he turned his attention to Avalon. “I’ll take care of this.”
For some strange reason, Avalon’s expression brightened in response to Greyson’s declaration. Perhaps she was merely relieved to not need to find someone who was available from the self-defense team.
Greyson turned his body to the side and swung his arm out in the direction from which he’d just come.
I stepped forward, but it felt strange. How weird was it that I’d met this man a day ago and now I was here at the place he worked?
“So, you’re looking for self-defense lessons?”
“I am.”
“Is there any particular reason for that?” he pressed. There was something oddly gentle about the way he asked that question.
In any other scenario, I might have answered truthfully. If I hadn’t met him yesterday and known that he was the uncle to one of my students, I would have freely shared the truth.
But I wasn’t so sure that was a wise idea now. What if I told him what was happening, and word got back to the school? If Greyson found out that I’d been threatened by a man who’d stabbed another woman years ago and now that man was getting out of prison, likely preparing to seek out his revenge, Greyson might not want his nephew—or any other student—to be put at risk.
Granted, I didn’t want any of my students at risk, either. But nothing had happened to this point that would even make me believe that there was a reason to be concerned about that.
I swallowed down the fear of not only being in physical danger but the possibility of losing my job and shrugged. “I… I just figured it was a good skill to have.”
He chuckled. “I should have known. With you being a librarian and all, you’re clearly a smart woman. Have you ever had any formal training or taken classes before?”
“I have not. Avalon said that wouldn’t be a problem.”
We’d made our way through the main part of the building where it seemed the private offices had been housed, and Greyson led me down a long hall. “It’s not a problem at all. We’ve worked with people of all skill levels, so rest assured you can be taught everything you need to know to defend and protect yourself should the need ever arise.”
Some tension eased out of my body as we made it to the end of the hall. We stopped there, and Greyson turned, lifting his hand to a glass window along the wall. I peered through it, noting two men at the front of the room offering a demonstration to the mix of individuals in the class. There had to be at least twenty-five people in the class.
“Is this a class?”
“It is. We offer group classes like this, where you’ll be able to work with others on learning the techniques that are crucial to any self-defense strategy. The two guys at the front there are Kane and Jake. They often teach together, as do Huck and me. We’ve got another guy named Brix that jumps in and rotates with all of us as well.”
I tore my attention away from the class and looked up at him. “I had no idea you worked here.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know why I thought you were here to talk to me about Tucker. I never mentioned I worked here, and unless they now equip librarians with the skills to find people within twenty-four hours of meeting them, I’m guessing this is all just coincidence.”
“Very much so,” I confirmed. I watched the class for a bit, feeling some uncertainty wash over me. This all seemed like a good idea in theory, but as the individuals taking the class—both men and women—executed the moves that Kane and Jake had just demonstrated, I balked. All the confidence I’d been feeling about how great this would be for me just flew out the window. “I… I don’t know if this is a good idea.”
“What makes you say that?”
Returning my attention to him, I lifted my hand to the side and pointed into the room. “I’m not sure I won’t embarrass myself in front of a group of people if I attempt to do that.”
“Well, we wouldn’t tolerate anyone making fun of another person, so you don’t have to worry about that. And trust me when I say, not everyone comes into this feeling confident about their ability to learn the skills. But if you’re shy about being in a group class, we can certainly offer you private lessons, as that is another option.”
Private lessons.
I hadn’t even considered the possibility.
Would I be working with Greyson only, or would it be one of the other guys he’d mentioned?
“How would that work?”
He shrugged. “That’s entirely up to you. We can look over our class schedule, find times that work well for you, and set up private training sessions that work well for both you and me.”
“So, I’d be working with you, specifically?”
Greyson gave me a nod. “If you’re okay with that, yes. I’m happy to teach you what you need to know. But if it bothers you that we’ve already met, we can discuss options to work with one of the other guys.”
Immediately, I knew I didn’t want that. There was something comforting about having even just that one conversation from yesterday between us. “No. No, it’s okay. I think I’d like to discuss the possibility of private lessons with you.”
He grinned at me, the happiness transforming him. “Perfect. I assume that during the day is going to be tough given the work schedule, so we can either plan for right after school, or I’d be willing to accommodate some weekends, if that’s better.”
My brows knit together. “Do you normally work on the weekend?”
“Occasionally, I do. It’s not frequent, but it happens.”
“I’d feel bad asking you to do that.”
“I’m offering,” he reasoned with a smile on his face. “How about this? Why don’t you tell me when you’d like to have your introductory lesson? Afterward, we can figure out a weekly schedule that works for the both of us.”
That was a reasonable offer. “You said you could make right after school work for you. Would tomorrow be an option, or should we plan for a different day?”
Greyson offered a reassuring smile. “After school tomorrow is perfect for me.”
My chin jerked down slightly with understanding. “Great. Thank you for being willing to teach me.”
“It’ll be my pleasure. Did you want to stay and watch the rest of the class, or did you need to get going?”
“I should head home. I’ve got dinner to make and things to do at home before work tomorrow.”
His eyes roamed over my face, his features softening. Then he tipped his head to the side. “Come on. I’ll walk you back out to the front.”
So, I fell into step beside him.
And somehow, despite all the distress I’d been feeling for days, in those few moments as we walked down the hall together, the fear had faded.