Connor smiled. “I think everyone who really knows her feels the same way. She’s right, though. You are one of us.”
Josh beamed, but Damon spoke as Caleb hugged Kat and Violet and shook the men’s hands. “So Dad let you two monkeys take the day off school?”
Lucas and Heather smiled and answered simultaneously, “Family first.”
Lucas continued. “Violet’s catching the six o’clock flight tomorrow morning. We wanted to spend the day with her and help where we could. You all have five minutes to shower and put your gis on. We’ll start signing them in.”
Kat smiled at her mum wearing a Knightly Karate singlet and shorts. “I’m so glad you accepted the job.”
Dominique beamed back at her. “Me too. I get to spend more time with you, and the cert three is interesting.”
Damon beamed. “You’re one of us, Dominique, and if your aerobics classes are half as good as your daughter’s …”
“No promises, but I’ll try. You better go shower. Not all of you are ex-military,” Dominique smiled.
Damon chuckled. “I’ll give them a three-minute head start and still beat them.”
Kat ran down the stairs and glanced into the office to see it decked out in computers. It’s great having Dad working from here instead of home.
Kat and Damon started running back to her place. “I appreciate you driving me to my course, but you’re probably needed at work.”
He smiled and shook his head. “You’re more popular than I am these days. You know Connor takes the early class on Tuesdays. I’ve got plenty of time to get there by nine-thirty. Besides, you’re driving, and I enjoy our Tuesday pancakes.”
Kat beamed. “Me too. Thanks.” They ran inside. “You take the ensuite, I’ll take the bathroom. I know you’ll beat me, but I won’t be too long.”
Damon smiled. “You’re actually not too bad for a girl, especially one with really long hair.”
Eric made his goofy face. “Lucky, she’s having a shower. When she takes a bath, it’s a completely different story.”
Kat rolled her eyes, “Daaad.”
“See, you are a teenage girl. You better hurry up, princess. Mum’s making pancakes.”
Kat came out of the bathroom, dressed and ready for her course to find Damon setting the table and talking with Dominique and Eric. “Not too long I hope.”
“Perfect timing. The first batch is ready.” Dominique pointed to the plate which Kat took to the table. “Eat up while they’re hot.”
“These are delicious, Dominique,” Damon said after he finished his first.
They finished their breakfast and helped clean the kitchen. Kat hugged her parents. “See you this afternoon. Good luck with Laura, Mum. Her classes are so good!”
Dominique bit her bottom lip. “She says I’m taking most of it.”
Kat hugged her again. “You’ll be awesome.”
“Yeah, you will be.” Damon smiled at Dominique and handed Kat his keys. “My chauffeur awaits.”
They put the L plates on and Kat drove to the freeway.
Damon watched her find the gap and merge with traffic. “Well done, Kat. You’re really improving.”
“Thanks. I don’t feel as nervous...” she eyed the red Holden ute coming up fast behind her. “He looks familiar.”
“Yeah, he’s the bully who tried to make you go faster on our first drive together. Take it down to eighty and let him overtake you. There’s plenty of room in the right-hand lane.”
Kat grinned. “With pleasure. Let’s see how low he forces me to go.”
The red ute drove even closer behind Kat.
“Tap your brakes.”
Kat giggled and did as she was asked.
The red ute backed off but slammed his car horn three times and gave them the bird while he kept one hand on the steering wheel.
“He’s not happy. We’ll wait and see what he does. I could point my gun at him, but that may make him crash rather than back off. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
“I keep forgetting about your gun. Please don’t point it at him. It may make me crash! Is there anything else we can do?”
Damon took out his phone and took a photo of the red ute so they could see his number plate. “If he bothers us anymore, we know two detectives and a cop who could possibly help.”
Kat sighed. “That’s so much better than your gun!”
“He’s backed off for now. Slowly go back up to the speed limit. We don’t want to annoy anyone else.”
“Very true.” Kat went back up to a hundred. The man driving the red ute stayed behind them and followed them when they turned off the freeway. “This can’t be good.”
“Park a few blocks from the college. We don’t want him to know you go there.”
“Good idea. Hopefully, it’s just a coincidence.”
Damon’s brow furrowed. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Kat indicated and pulled over. “I hope you’re not…” The red ute parked behind them. “Fuck.” She looked at Damon ready to apologise.
“Don’t. I was thinking the same thing. Get out of the car slowly. I’ll only use my gun if he’s got one. Believe me, I’ll be a better shot.”
Kat smiled weakly. “You’d think I’d be used to confrontation by now.”
“The people I know who enjoy confrontations start looking for them. That’s never a good thing.” Damon got out of the passenger seat and started walking towards the red Holden ute.
The driver was bigger than Damon in every way and started strutting towards him until Kat got out of the driver’s seat. “Oh, fuck. You’re that girl on the news. You’re Katerina Chase!”
Kat stopped herself from giggling as the huge man’s expression changed from aggression to awe. “Yeah, that’s me.”
He turned to Damon. “That must make you Damon Knightly, her karate instructor and ex-military hero?”
“I don’t know about hero, but the rest is true. You shouldn’t be bullying learner drivers,” Damon warned.
“Yeah, I get that now. My wife, I mean ex, was, is, a driving instructor and left me for one of her students. I know it doesn’t make it right, but it did in my warped brain at the time if that makes sense. You’re the only ones who didn’t pull over to let me pass. It felt good in a dumb sort of way.”
Kat looked at him with clear green eyes and talked to him in a tone Dominique used on her when she was little. “Do I need to tell you not to do it again?”
“No, ma’am. Um, may I get a selfie with you both? You two are awesome.”
Both Kat and Damon laughed and joined him for a selfie.
“Thanks, guys. I’m Rick. I need to join your gym. See you there.”
Kat smiled. “See you there. No more bullying learner drivers or anyone else, okay?”
“Okay, Miss Chase, or do I call you Sensei?”
“In the gym, Sensei. Out of it, Kat’s fine.”
“Thanks, Kat. Thanks, Damon. I better let you go and get to work myself. Bye.”
Damon laughed as they watched him drive off. “Way to go with the mum voice, Kat. Are you okay to drive the last few blocks?”
“I’m fine, and thanks.” Kat opened her door. “That ended really well. It’s good not needing to hurt someone.”
Damon did up his seatbelt. “Absolutely.”
Kat saw Evan standing on the footpath near where she usually parked. She pulled over next to him. “Is everything okay?”
Evan smiled warmly. “Yeah, I don’t need rescuing. I’m turning twenty-one, and I’m having a party Saturday, next week.” He handed Kat an invitation. “I’d love you both to come.”
Kat handed Damon the invitation and looked at him for approval.
Damon smiled and nodded. “We wouldn’t miss it for the world, Evan. We’ll both be there.”
Damon watched his students leave the dojo. “At least fifty less than when Kat teaches but still pretty fucking good.”
Josh laughed. “You’re almost a diffe
rent person when girls aren’t around. I’d love to know what goes on in your mind when they are.”
Connor shook his head. “Damon’s mind is the last place I’d want to be. Between all the loss and special ops training and missions, it’s got to be a pretty dark place.”
“It used to be. It’s getting lighter. When girls and kids are around, I still swear, just in my head. There are a lot of words worse than fuck. If it’s this quiet upstairs, I’ll check in with Mal. He’s helping at a school not far from here.” Damon looked at Josh. “We’ve been tracking him. So far he’s been true to his word. He’s trying to make it up to the world.”
Josh smiled cheekily. “So I may not be the only reformed bad boy here?”
Damon chuckled. “You’re already not. Connor and I have both had our moments. We haven’t pushed girls off bridges. I’ve shot a couple of men on bridges. They fell off, but they were dead already.”
Josh’s eyes widened. “Fuck. You’re not joking, are you?”
“They were both work-related while I was in the military. One was kill or be killed. The other was trafficking little girls. The military wanted him taken out. I volunteered.”
“Fuck.” Josh fidgeted while he thought. “Sensei Connor wasn’t exaggerating when he said you’d probably kill me with my own knife, was he?”
“I hope I’d never kill a kid, and that’s what you were. You’re growing into a good man. I probably would’ve broken your arm and stabbed you in the leg with your own knife. I have no idea what I’d do in that situation now.”
Josh smiled. “You’ll never find out from me. Go check on Mal regardless of how busy we are. We’ve got this.”
Connor smiled and nodded. “We do.”
Damon walked into the school grounds to see Mal running around the track on the outside of the oval with a boy about sixteen. The boy was pushing himself as hard as he could go, and Mal looked like he could run at that pace all day. He watched them do one more lap and finish.
“Well done, Charlie. Fourteen fifty-eight! A sub fifteen for five Ks. That’s fantastic!”
“I don’t think I could’ve done it without you.”
Mal smiled. “You did it. I just gave you some encouragement. You should be able to make the state team with that time. When you do it once, it’s much easier to do it again.”
“You’ve got sub thirteen, haven’t you, Mal? Oh I wish I could do that one day,” Charlie said.
“It doesn’t count. I did the wrong thing. I was on performance enhancers. My PBs thirteen zero three. I wanted to get sub thirteen. It wasn’t worth throwing everything away.”
Damon smiled and walked over. “You can build back up, but I don’t think you’ll get back on the Olympic team.”
Mal smiled. “I just want to help people now, but a sub thirteen without cheating is a personal goal.”
“I’ll do my best to help you do both. You’ve got a job with us when you want it.” He turned to Charlie. “I’m Damon. You’ve got a pretty good coach.”
Charlie beamed. “He’s the best.”
Mal beamed even brighter than Charlie. “Thanks, Damon. I’m very grateful, but I also want to keep helping kids like Charlie.”
Damon smiled at both of them. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Kat took the black wet look playsuit out of her wardrobe. It is gorgeous. Am I brave enough? She put it on and looked in the mirror. Long sleeves covered the scar on her left forearm. The high neck with cut out shoulders and a tight bodice showed her small, athletic figure. The shorts looked like a skater’s dress instead of shorts and with her black block heel sandals showed off her slender, well-muscled legs. She brushed her hair and left it out. Kat smiled and nodded at the mirror, I’m brave enough.
She walked into the dining room to find Damon talking with her parents. “Wow, Kat, you look amazing. I now know why Evan invited me. He won’t be as tempted to try to come onto you.”
Kat blushed and giggled. “I’m sure he likes you, but at first he avoided me when he found out my age.”
“You certainly don’t look sixteen tonight. I should scare off most guys without having to do anything.” Damon smiled, highlighting his dimples.
Eric beamed. “They won’t bother competing with you and will be happy to go after other girls. You so need to take Kat to every party.”
“She’s good company, so I’m happy to. Have you got the card, Kat? I’ve got the present.”
“Thanks, Day. Here’s the card.” Kat showed Damon the card with a weight lifter on it and a huge twenty-one. “What did you get? You said you had the perfect present.”
“I do. Money.” Damon put one hundred dollars in the card. “That’s a good present from both of us. Let’s go.” He turned to Dominique and Eric. “She’ll be safe with me. Enjoy your time together.”
“Thanks. Have fun, you two.”
Kat hugged her parents and left with Damon.
He handed her the car keys. “You’re driving. I’ll help you put the L plates on.”
Kat pulled up outside the same hall as the Christmas party. “This should be fun. I hope there’s dancing like last time.”
Damon smiled. “Me too. Let’s go in and find Evan.”
Evan’s eyes widened when Kat walked into the hall. He rushed, beer in hand, to meet them. “Wow, Kat! You sure as hell don’t look sixteen, but thankfully you look like a couple because, damn, you look hot.”
“Thanks, Evan. Happy birthday.” Kat hugged him and handed him his card.
Damon spoke before Kat could continue. “It’s from both of us.”
“Thanks. Pity she’s too young for you because, seriously, you’d make a great couple,” Evan said and took a few mouthfuls of his beer.
Damon chuckled. “I’m happy with best friends.” He pointed to Evan’s beer. “I’m guessing you’ve had a few with a lot more to go.”
Evan raised his beer. “Oh yeah. It’s an open bar if you want to drink, Damon.”
“Na. I’m the supervising driver. We should form a group and hit the dance floor.”
“I’m in!” Evan raised his voice, “Come dance with the birthday boy!”
Most of his guests didn’t need to be asked twice. Five guys hesitated, who were dragged by the girls they were with onto the dance floor. The three who didn’t, joined them when they realised there were only three not dancing.
Damon started to relax, noticed a few guys look at Kat, look at him and look away. I am a good deterrent. He looked at his watch at just after eleven-thirty. “Wow. It’s later than I thought. You look like you’re still having fun. Do you want to have a drink and dance some more? I’ll drive if you’re tired when we leave.”
“I’m happy to stay, maybe to the end, depending how late that is. I’m having a ball.”
“Yeah, me too. Water or soft drink?” An alarm on Damon’s phone went off. Fuck! “That’s a distress signal. We need to check that. Let’s go outside.”
Kat pointed at Evan. “We should say goodbye in case we don’t make it back in.” She grabbed Damon’s hand and rushed over to Evan. “We just got a message that a friend’s been in an accident. We’re going outside to call and will come back if they’re okay. Otherwise, we’ll go to them. Have a great night?” Kat hugged him.
“Can I help?” Evan asked.
Damon shook his head. “We’ve got this. Enjoy your twenty-first.”
Damon checked his phone. “Sky hit the alarm. She works at Black Velvet. It says she’s twenty-two minutes from here. I can make it in less than that. Let’s go.”
They ran to his Ford Territory and took off the L plates. True to his word, Damon caught up with the GPS coordinates much sooner than the system indicated.
Kat bit her bottom lip. “We’ve only been driving for ten minutes and we’re almost on top of them. They must be heading our way.”
Damon almost growled as he stopped at the red traffic lights. “Show me.” He took his phone from Kat. “They’re only a few blocks away. I don’t wa
nt to use you as bait, and it’s not a sure thing, but the best plan I’ve got. You know I’ll kill him before he can lay a finger on you?” He tapped his hip. “My gun’s right here.”
“Yes! I want to help! What do you want me to do?”
“You are stunning and look at least eighteen. With your long golden hair, you have a similar look to Sky. Here’s what we’re going to do…”
Damon took off as soon as the lights turned green. He changed lanes and pulled over. “Get out of my car, you filthy whore!”
“You need to pay me!”
Damon laughed. “Not likely. Get out before I mess up that pretty face of yours.”
Kat got out and slammed the door. She watched Damon speed off and turn the corner and a red Falcon do a U-turn and pull up beside her. “Hey, baby. I’m John. It looks like his loss is my incredible gain. I’ll pay you upfront. Is two hundred dollars okay?”
Before Kat could answer, a loud thumping came from the boot of John’s car. “Run! Run! Get out of here! Run!”
John shook his head. “I didn’t think she’d be that loud or that selfless. Most whores just cry for help.” He pulled out his knife. “I wonder what you’ll do. They call me the Hooker Killer.”
Kat kept one eye on his knife and watched for any movement. “They call me Emily Jones.”
“Fuck! I’m just after sheep. You’re not a sheep anymore. I don’t know what you are.”
“Put the knife down or I’ll be the person who ends you.”
“You’re not a killer! I am!” The killer who called himself John lunged at Kat with his knife.
Damon was about to put a bullet through his head when he saw the attacker lunge and knew what Kat was going to do. They had practised this many times.
Kat caught his forearm and brought her palm heel strike into his humerus, pushing the bone through the skin. She then forced him to stab himself in the opposite shoulder and brought the blade of her foot into his lower leg, breaking the tibia and fibula. She let go and watched him fall to the ground. They both sprinted to the boot. Damon beat her to the driver’s door and popped open the boot. He got there first, partly because of Kat’s block heels.
Our Cause (Let the Monsters Live in Fear Book 1) Page 32