Bullets & Bonfires

“Okay.” His warning had been appropriate. It helps me keep an open mind instead of saying, “Fuck that, I’ll go where I damn well want.”

“Please don’t think I’m victim-blaming. Bad people are solely responsible for their bad actions.”

“No, I understand what you’re saying.”

“Good. I also like to tell women to prepare themselves for a fight. Consider different scenarios. ‘What would I do if someone were following me? Try to get into my car? Run?’ Visualize yourself escaping danger.”

My mind immediately flashes to an image of kneeing Chad in the groin and ramming the heel of my palm into his nose.

I wish.

But God dammit, if anyone ever comes at me again, I will be ready to defend myself.

“We can talk about weapons at a later time.” He glances at Liam. “But I should probably let the good sheriff or his dad handle your weapons training.”

Liam chuckles. “Already started.”

Sully nods his approval and then turns back to me. “Okay, Bree,” Sully says.

I drag my gaze from Liam to Sully.

“Come closer,” he says, waving me over.

I take a few steps toward him. His arm shoots out, wrapping around my bicep. He turns and pulls me tight to his chest in a bear hug. A startled scream rips from my throat.

Liam drops his arms and pushes off the wall.

“Now, we’re not strangers, Brianna.” Sully’s hot breath wafts over my ear, tickling my skin. “But if a stranger asked you to come closer, would you do it?”

While he keeps his arms around me, I consider the question. “Yeah, I probably would.”

“Okay. Good,” he says, releasing me. “You’re being honest. Most women are conditioned to be nice, polite, and obedient. I want you to retrain yourself to always listen to your gut. If a man approaches you and you even think he means to do you harm, use a loud, strong voice to tell him to stop.”

My eyes widen, not sure if I can just yell at strangers on the street.

Sully seems to understand my hesitation.

“Better to be safe and a little embarrassed than sorry, right?”

“Right.”

“Make it known you’re not an easy victim.”

His words sink in, hitting me on a deeper level. Chad must have sensed I was an easy target. My gaze goes to Liam. Maybe that’s why he’s not attracted to me. A man like him needs a strong woman by his side. Someone more like his mother who’s not afraid of anything.

Sully pulls me against him again. “Now, if you’re grabbed like this.” He squeezes me tighter for emphasis. “The easiest thing to do is lift your arms up and out to the sides, while at the same time dropping to the ground.”

I don’t wait for him to finish speaking. I jam my arms up, breaking his hold, while at the same time going boneless, melting to the floor.

Sully smiles down at me. “Good job. Since you’re down there, it’s the perfect opportunity to jam your elbow into the attacker’s groin.” He takes a step back. “I’m going to ask you not to try that at the moment.”

Pressing my palms into the mat, I power up off the floor and chuckle.

“Quick reflexes. Nice,” he says with an appreciative nod.

This is fun. The subject matter unnerves me, but Sully’s easy demeanor pushes my negative feelings aside. A quick glance at Liam confirms he’s watching every move. He hasn’t gone back to his casual pose since I yelped earlier.

“Let’s try that again,” Sully suggests.

He steps up behind me, wrapping his arms over my chest, pinning my arms to my sides.

Panic stirs in my belly, but I suck in a deep breath, lift my arms and slide down.

“Good. Now you could use your elbow. You could also pivot and ram the heel of your hand into his groin. No matter what, you want to disable him so you can either get away or get to a weapon.”

Sweat trickles down the side of my face, and I flick it away. I haven’t done enough to be sweaty. I peel off my sweatshirt and toss it in Liam’s general direction. Sparks fire in his eyes as his hungry gaze roams over my newly bared skin. For a moment I can’t move.

“The bear hug escape is one thing, but what if an attacker knocked you to the ground?” Sully asks, breaking the spell.

An unpleasant shudder works through me at the thought.

“You’re flexible and have good reflexes. But if you can’t get back on your feet, the best thing is to maneuver onto your back.”

“Isn’t that worse?”

He nods, understanding. “I know why it seems that way. But from your back you’re in a position to use your legs as weapons.”

With caution, he flips me onto the mat. I roll to my back and wait for instructions. Sully kneels over me. “Tuck your knees in and kick out hard to keep him off you. Kick the crotch, shins, knees, head, whatever you can get at. If you’re wearing heels, jab them into his shins. Then get up and run.”

I kick out at half-power, catching Sully in the chest and knocking him backward.

He falls back, laughing. “Good job.”

I stay down, staring up at the ceiling to catch my breath and absorb what I’ve learned. As my heart rate slows, I sense the matt shifting under me. Both Sully and Liam appear, smiling down.

“Think you’ll come back?” Sully asks.

Liam holds out his hand and I grab it, but instead of letting him pull me up off the mat, I try to tug him down.

No such luck.

Too strong for me, he keeps his feet under him. But he does squat down next to me.

His eyes soften as they search my face. “Are you okay?” he asks in his smooth, rumbling voice that always makes my stomach twirl.

“I think so.” I stand and Liam pops up next to me, graceful as a panther. He pats my back before striding over to pick up my sweatshirt.

“I’m impressed, Brianna. For a first timer, you did well,” Sully says.

I cock my head. “I bet you say that to all the distressed damsels Liam brings you.”

He bursts out laughing and shakes his head. “No, you’re the first. You’re no damsel in distress either. You’re a strong girl, Bree.”

He moves in a little closer. “I give a longer class every Thursday night and on weekend mornings if you want to try one out. I even wear the protective gear so you can kick and jab at me as hard as you want.” The corners of his mouth twist into an irresistible grin.

Is he flirting with me? Would he really do that if he thought Liam had a smidge of interest in me?

“How can I say no?”

Unease—or annoyance—weaves through my chest as I watch Bree and Sully eye-fondle each other much too long for my liking.

Maybe the unease is from Sully’s lecture. Sure, I’ve listened to his speech dozens of times. Today was different, though. The words punched me right in the gut. How could Vince and I have been so damn stupid with Bree? I should have taught her some of these things years ago. Instead, we treated her like a little princess. Someone bothered her at school—Vince or I would go have a word with them. Bree didn’t want to learn how to use the most basic of shotguns—we thought it was cute. Vince scared away any guy who wanted to date his sister, so of course that’s the first thing she did when she got away from him.

More annoyance floods through me as I stand to the side, watching Bree flirt with my buddy. Even though I hate it, I don’t say anything. I want her to feel more confident about herself. I trust Sully. He’s a good guy. Would treat her like gold.

They seem to like each other.

Yup, that’s what’s bothering me.

In the truck on the way home, Bree’s quiet. “Did you have fun?” I ask to break the silence and keep m

y mind off the jealousy that settled in my gut.

No, I didn’t like Bree batting her long lashes at another guy. Not even someone I consider a friend.

She’s mine.

Except, I can’t have her.

She gives me a sideways glance and a knowing smirk tugs at the corners of her mouth. “Yeah. He’s a babe. Is he single?”

Busted.

“Last I knew, yes. Why? Are you interested?” I was aiming for a neutral tone, but fail miserably, especially the way I choke on the last word.

She doesn’t respond right away. Instead, she keeps her head turned away from me, watching the town speed by. When we pull into the driveway, she finally turns her big blue eyes on me.

“Maybe. I can’t keep pining for you forever, Liam.”

With those words, she shoves the truck door open, jumps down, and stomps into the house without a backward glance.

Well, I guess I deserve that. Should have kept my mouth shut.

I should go home.

Chad’s still safely behind bars.

Bree seems to be almost back to normal.

The longer I stay, the more my iron control crumbles. She doesn’t need me here.

Fuck it.

Stupid.

Yanking off my workout clothes, I toss them in the hamper harder than necessary.

Why’d I bait Liam like that?

I slip into a pair of shorts and fresh T-shirt and fling myself down on the bed.

I’d never, ever date one of Liam’s friends.

Date. I have to be out of my damn mind to be worried about dating.

The front door opens. There’s a pause and then it clicks shut.

The thud of Liam kicking off his shoes.

I exhale hard and realize I’d been holding my breath. Afraid I’d chased Liam away.

Scooting off the bed, I work out an apology in my mind. I stop and pull my hair out of its ponytail and brush it until it’s not as ratty.

I open the door and find Liam standing across the hall, leaning against the wall. Both arms crossed over his chest. The same way he’d watched me at the gym, except here in the house, he seems so much larger. His biceps and forearms bulge in a way that sends heat zipping through me.