This is dedicated to Prepgirls. Thank you for all your support and encouragement :D
I looked at Gabe with doubt written all over my face.
"What kind of training does Luke want to do which requires my hair to be out?"
He raised a brow and stepped behind me, quickly ripping the pins out of my bun and unfurling my hair, running his hands up through it, lightly scratching his finger nails over my scalp and fluffing out my hair. My head half dropped forward and I swallowed a groan. It felt amazing.
I sluggishly pushed myself forward and swung my chair around to face Gabe, pushing one side of my hair behind my ear,
"You can't distract me, what kind of training?"
He flicked my nose and walked away, "You'll see."
I huffed in frustration and spun around to my desk again. A quick glance confirmed he had walked off with my hair pins again. I'd have to start invoicing him for them if he kept this up.
It had been a busy morning.
Luke had stayed the night and it felt like we were establishing a routine. Picking up take-out on the way home and who showered first. I had gotten up the courage to ask him when the locks could be installed and he had confirmed they were going in today. Tonight would be my first night by myself again.
I was looking forward to it with mixed feelings. I felt it was the right thing to do. Having them come home with me at night brought all kinds of conflicting feelings into me. It was the right thing to do, but I already knew I would miss them.
Luke had waited until I had gotten into bed then opened the door and slipped in too. Remembering Mr. Blackbourne's bodyguards words and not wanting to send him conflicting messages I had told him it wasn't appropriate to sleep in with me. His answer was a grunt and he pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me and muttering "This way we'll both sleep better Sang."
I lay awake with my head pressed to his chest listening to him breath. It was deliberate. We were, in the rational time of night, deciding to sleep in the same bed together.
The warmth and security of him quelled my doubts. The knowledge that this was the last time I could have this settled me.
He'd mentioned this morning that he would be doing some training today but had remained annoyingly vague about it ever since.
Gabe also hadn't cracked under my questions. I shot the direction he had disappeared into a glare, the phones shrill ring startling me.
I answered the phone quickly, mentally going through the location of all the men if I needed to direct the call.
The response was abrupt, "Tell Victor to call me."
The crash of the phone back into the receiver and muted beeps confirmed that the caller had hung up.
I pressed the phone back into the base quickly before dialling Victor's extension.
"Sang?" His baritone voice was smooth and unhurried.
"Sorry to disturb you. I just had a caller ring up and say 'Tell Victor to call me', I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to grab their details, they immediately hung up."
"Huh. It's Peter again. That's no problem Sang, he usually does that or leaves an obscure message on the answering machine. I'll give him a call shortly."
I held onto the phone indecisively, maybe Victor would know what training I was doing this afternoon.
"I have some training this afternoon, I'm not quite sure what time or where..." I trailed off and left the sentence hanging hoping he'd finish it for me.
His laughter sounded through the phone. "I'll be helping Luke with the training, don't worry, I'll show you where to go."
"And where is that exactly?" My curiosity urging me on.
"You'll see." His reply was as vague as Gabe.
I narrowed my eyes at my notebook. I knew it wasn't important and I'd find out soon enough but the not knowing was eating away at me.
"Is anyone else joining me in training today?" I asked.
"Luke and I are taking the training. You and Jacqueline will be training together."
A satisfied smile appeared on my face. Now I was getting somewhere. "Thanks Victor, I'll see you then." I hung up the phone with a grin.
What could Jacqueline and I both need training in?
Jacqueline seemed much better today. It was obvious she had a lot to work through, but her smile wasn't so broken and her eyes held hope.
I had dropped off the promised muffin this morning after messaging Anon to organize it. She'd met me at the bakery door, slipping me a box of freshly baked muffins on the way to work. Luke had been quite happy to stop on the way, especially when a triple chocolate muffin was in the selection.
Jacqueline was due to be moved this evening so it would be good to spend some time with her before she left, even if it was just in training.
~~~
I stared incredulously at the bright pink lipstick case Luke was holding out to me.
Luke and Victor had dragged Jacqueline and I down a previously unknown staircase to an underground gym and training room beneath the staff carpark to train us in lipstick application?
I reached out and took it from Luke's outstretched hand. He passed Jacqueline a lavender shade. We looked at each other and our lipsticks before turning back to Luke, a smirk all over his face.
He stepped back from us and gave us both a nod. "What you have there is something you should carry on you at all times. It is personalized pepper spray. It has come to our attention," he paused and gave me a pointed look, "that it would be beneficial for us to have a session on this."
I felt my blood rush to my cheeks at his look, remembering me throwing a can of pepper spray at him. He obviously hadn't forgotten either.
"Pepper spray in the hands of someone who isn't trained in its use makes it virtually useless."
I bit my lip at the memory, I couldn't argue with that.
Victor pushed himself off from the wall he had been leaning against, his white shirt and black slacks slightly at odds with the training room and mats around us. He walked towards us and held his hand out to me, I placed my pepper spray into his hand.
"Sang and Jacqueline, the first thing you should do is not rely on pepper spray. Be hyper vigilant and smart with your choices. Don't park your car in a deserted location. Organize a buddy system with going to your car. Change your schedules regularly so someone can't pick up your routine easily. All these things should become natural to you. You need to always be aware of your surroundings." Victor flicked off the lid of the pink lipstick case and revealed the spray nozzle.
"Pepper spray is useless, if it's in the bottom of your purse, at home in a drawer or on your keyring. In a surprise attack you won't be able to get to any of those places fast. It's best to always carry it on the same place, either a belt loop or an outer pocket of a jacket. Practise getting it out and aiming, it can make all the difference."
I nodded my head, soaking up the information they were offering. I needed to know this. I had to know more about protecting myself, I couldn't rely on others.
Victor continued, "If going through a dark parking lot or an isolated place, and I don't want you to ever do that, carry it in your hand ready with your finger on the trigger. If it's not in your hand you won't have time to retrieve it quickly."
He picked up my hand and curled my fingers around the spray. I looked across to Jacqueline and saw she had also removed the cap. I placed my finger on the trigger, mimicking her.
Luke picked up a black, slightly larger can from a crate beside him. He wrapped his fingers around the can and placed his thumb on the trigger. Turning his hand around he showed us his finger placement.
"Always put your thumb on the trigger, not your forefinger. It's stronger and will make it harder for the spray to be knocked from your grasp. It also gives you the added benefit of your hand forming a first if you also need to defend yourself that way."
We both adjusted our grip, the case the perfect size to fit snugly in my hand. Victor walked up close behind me, his arms coming around me and stretching out my arm slightly to aim the spray.
"When you use the spray, make sure your arm is bent slightly at the elbow for more control, bring your other arm up to potentially defend yourself and guard the spray."
My mind blanked at his arms around me and I gazed at his hand on my right arm stupidly. I slowly turned to Jacqueline to see that she had assumed the same pose, a smile playing across her lips as she watched us.Victor stepped back, his long fingers trailing lightly across my arm and back. I fought a shiver back, blinking and trying to concentrate on what I was suppose to be doing.
I raised my gaze to see Luke's brown eyes intent on me. I gave him a small smile, raising the spray in what I hoped was the correct manner.
He nodded his head slowly before turning his gaze to Jacqueline. Stepping forward he gently raised her arm slightly. Stepping back he looked at both of our poses once more before nodding again.
"Now these sprays have a minimum of five uses. Each time you use the spray, count it. You only need to press it down for one second. A good one second burst can affect someone for 45 minutes without sustaining permanent damage. That's what you need to aim for."He stepped back until he was a few metres away.
"These sprays are effective from 3 - 10 feet. It's far better to use it when they're ten feet away than 3 feet as they can still grab, punch or kick you when they have been sprayed. Normally the instinctive reaction when sprayed is to drop to the ground and rub your eyes, but it's not always the case. The spray isn't as effective on drug addicts, drunks or hysterical persons. You need to be prepared after you use it for what to do next."
He gestured to the space between us, "This is ten feet. Anytime between now and arms length you can use the pepper spray. Look at this distance closely, see how much movement you have. Know this distance so you know when you can use it the most effectively."
We trained at assessing distances. Moving around the room and having Victor and Luke approach, posing and giving a shout when they reached the 10 foot mark.
Once we had consistently grasped the distance and pose Luke came close, tugging the black pepper spray he had used earlier for demonstration out of the crate again. Tossing is from hand to hand he approached. "Now pepper spray is legal for personal defence in all 50 states, however, the size of the pepper spray varies, as well as the type of pepper spray. A can this size," he held up his on his palm, "is illegal in South Carolina. But what you've got there," he nodded his head towards our hands, "is legal in all states. I've got a couple of each I can give to you both. I don't want you caught without it in your hand."
He turned and gave us his back, my eyes drawn to the breadth of his shoulders in the pale blue shirt he was wearing, tracing slowly downwards.
"... so they don't know where you are."
I dragged my mind back to the conversation, frantically trying to think of what he had been trying to tell us. "Now show me." He commanded. Turning around he walked back towards me confidently. I raised the spray as shown, gave the shout and looked sideways to Jacqueline. She quickly stepped sideways. I took two steps quickly sideways and looked up at Luke triumphantly, hoping that was what I had been asked to demonstrate.
A grin tugged the corner of his mouth, "That's right. Once you've sprayed, leave the area and call the police, or us" he shrugged, "making sure you don't go immediately backwards as they know the direction you were in, but sideways so they can't follow you."
"Jacqueline." He called her name than approached her at a light jog. She hesitated for a moment before her eyes widened and she raised the spray. She gave a shout then squeezed the trigger.
He shut his eyes quickly and dropped, rolling away from the mist that was spreading through the 10 foot space in front of Jacqueline. She dropped her can in horror, her hands to her face.
I rushed around the cloud and over to Luke. He placed his palms flat on the ground and pushed himself up in a push-up like movement. I dropped to my knees beside him. "Are you okay? Can I get you anything?"
He looked up, his brown eyes clear and sparkling. "I'm fine Sang. I'd be crap at my job if I wasn't expecting that. I'd much rather be sprayed than have a pepper spray thrown at me."
I looked down, abashed. "Well... I'm glad I didn't spray you. That would have been horrible."
He stood up, leaning down and tugging me to my feet beside him.
"For the record Sang, I'd always prefer to be sprayed and know you knew how to defend yourself."
~~~
Zane clenched his jaw angrily. "You can't keep me from this. I'm going to see her safe Kota."
My gaze went from one to the other, feeling awkward for being present at such an emotional discussion. We'd come up the stairs after we had finished our 'training'. Feeling confident that we could handle a pepper spray with the best of them only to walk into a meeting between Kota, North and Zane.
They'd waved us to sit down before continuing their discussion.
"Zane, you'd be laying another trail to be tracked. You know this, I don't have to tell you. For you to see Jacqueline to her new place is a huge risk." Kota sat forward in his seat, rubbing his forehead.
Zane looked around the room before settling on Jacqueline. She smiled bravely at him, "It's okay Zane, you don't have to come with me to see me settled."
He shook his head, his gaze fierce, "Jacqueline, I am not letting you go without seeing you settled. Once you're there I won't be able to see you for potentially years, until this bastard is put away. I know how to track a trail, I can hide one too. I need to Jacqueline. I need to see you settled."
North straightened in his seat, his face decisive. "You do it then Zane." He nodded to Kota, and turned back to Zane. "Candi will be here in an hour to do the first leg of the trip. You can use the time to get yourself sorted."
Kota and North both rose and headed towards the door.
I stayed and helped Jacqueline pack up a small bag of her meagre belongings. Straightening the bed I looked across at her, slowly making her way across the room to put a glass on the sink. You could see the wear her body had taken in going for the short walk to the gym and the training we had done. Her movements were sluggish and stiff.
Both Victor and Luke had praised her spraying Luke, seemingly unconcerned at the close call. To hesitate was to be too late.
She had brightened up at that, instead asking the best ways to treat someone if they have been accidently pepper sprayed. In the crate beside the assortment of pepper sprays, three bottles of tearless baby shampoo were stored. Victor briefly gave us a run down on the best ways to remove the pepper spray if we were ever accidently sprayed.
I just hoped I'd never have to use it.
I was booked in for a session on stun guns next week while they had organised someone at where Jacqueline was going to continue to train her in self defence.
"Would you have any tape?" Jacqueline's voice dragged me from my thoughts.
I looked up and gave her a nod, "I'll go grab some from reception. Won't be long."I tapped on the intercom and waited for the door to open.
The click sounded and I headed to the reception rummaging through my drawers to find the tape I had seen yesterday.
The faint creak and shift of air alerted me to someone entering the reception.
I looked up to see someone slip through the staff carpark entrance.
She was gorgeous. Gorgeous and hard. Long black wavy hair hung down her back. She wore dark ripped jeans with a black leather jacket. The black boots on her feet didn't make a noise as she walked across the room.
I straightened from the drawer, "Can I help you?"She looked me up and down leisurely with a leisurely raised brow.
"Is Kota in?" she asked with a smug grin.