Bullets & Bonfires

by Autumn Jones Lake

  “I think I might get my hair cut.”

  “Why? It’s so beautiful.”

  That snaps me out of my sleepy trance. I sit up straighter. “You think my hair’s beautiful?”

  He slides his gaze over me. From my bare toes, up my legs, and I swear heat sears my skin everywhere until he stops at my eyes.

  “Yes, Bree. Everything about you is beautiful.”

  I grab a bunch of my hair, combing my fingers through it to hide the way my body’s trembling. “It’s so hot and heavy.”

  “You’ll be just as pretty with it shorter.”

  I risk glancing into his eyes again. “Do you want me to move so you can go to bed?”

  “No. You’re fine.”

  “You can always take Vince’s room and I’ll sleep out here.”

  He’s shaking his head before I finish the sentence. “Absolutely not.”

  My phone buzzes and I reach behind me to grab it. “Ugh, another voicemail.”

  He leans forward and takes the phone out of my hand. “Chad’s brother?”

  “Yup. What a jerk.”

  “I’m sorry. Blocking it only means it goes straight to voicemail. I’ll listen to it after you go to bed.”

  “Thank you.”

  He stares at the phone but doesn’t listen to the message. “Might need you to sign some papers when we file the restraining order.”

  “Okay. Whatever you need me to do, Liam.” I let out a yawn and, as much as I want to keep talking to him, I decide it’s safer to go to bed.

  As soon as Bree shuts the bedroom door, I listen to the message Chad’s brother left.

  “Listen, Bree, my parents are willing to pay if you drop the charges. Let’s meet up—”

  “Hell-fucking-no,” I mutter as I forward the message to my phone and delete it from Bree’s.

  I tap out a text to my buddy, Sully, then head into the bathroom for a quick shower. Before returning to the living room, I stop and listen for any sounds of distress. She’s been sleeping better since the first night, but every time she gets one of those messages I worry about it stirring stuff up in her head.

  She left the door slightly open and I push it wider to steal a glance at her.

  Christ, I’m turning into a creeper.

  It’s a king-size bed. Plenty of room.

  Before my mind wanders any further down that path, I shut the door.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  My bedroom door’s shut the next morning.

  One of us can’t take a damn hint. I’m just not sure if it’s him or me.

  After breakfast, Liam places his hand over mine, so I don’t leave the table.

  “Come take a ride with me?”

  “Where?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  I nod at his hand. “I don’t think you’re ready for another fishing adventure.”

  He chuckles and squeezes my hand. “Not yet.”

  I glance down at my leggings and fitted T-shirt. “Let me change.”

  “No. You’re perfect like that. Grab some sneakers.” He runs his gaze over my shirt again, lingering on my breasts. “Maybe a hoodie.”

  Curiosity has me following his instruction. I jam my feet into a pair of Skechers and tug on one of Vince’s sweatshirts that’s so big, I have to roll up the sleeves.

  Liam’s waiting for me on the porch and his mouth turns up when he sees me. “Perfect,” he says, taking my hand and leading me to the truck.

  Do just friends hold hands?

  After our kiss—that we never talked about again—it weird to have him touch me more than necessary.

  Once we’re on the road, it’s time to pry more information out of him. “Will you tell me now?”

  “Nope.”

  I glance over. He’s straining to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up.

  “What are you up to, Hollister?”

  “You’ll see, Avery.”

  I let out an aggrieved huff of air and force my own lips to stay in a firm line. This is much better than the awkwardness of the past couple days. It was beginning to wear me down.

  He pulls the truck behind a gym with an attached martial arts studio, kills the engine, and turns to face me. All the questions fade from my mind when I see how serious he is. “I want you to meet a friend of mine.”

  I hesitate before answering. “Okay. Why didn’t you say so?”

  “He owns the studio and works with the department from time to time, teaching self-defense classes.”

  “Oh.” What am I supposed to say?

  “I asked him to give you some lessons.” He pauses and glances out the window. “I gave him a few details about your situation.”

  Clearly, Liam’s worried I’ll be mad at him. And yes, I don’t want my business spread around. But how could I ever fault him for worrying about my safety? “Thank you, Liam. This is a really sweet thing to do.”

  He arches an eyebrow. “You’re not mad?”

  “No. Not at all.” Unless he plans on leaving me here by myself. “You’re going to stay, though, right?”

  He exhales and seems to relax. “Of course.”

  “One of the counselors for the group suggested self-defense classes.”

  “I know,” he says in a low voice.

  Right. Because he works in law enforcement and deals with victims like me all the time.

  That certainly tamps down my enthusiasm.

  He leads me to the back entrance and knocks on one of the office doors.

  “Open,” someone shouts.

  Liam pushes the door wide. “We’re here.”

  “Hey, Hollister!” The guy inside greets us in a booming voice that seems bigger than it should, considering he’s only a few inches taller than me.

  He comes closer and slaps palms with Liam. “Sully, this is my friend, Brianna Avery. Bree this is Sullivan Wallace. Biggest badass I know.”

  Shaking his head, Sullivan chuckles. “This one’s the biggest bull shitter I know.” He holds out his hand. “Vince’s little sister, right?”

  I take his hand, impressed with his firm grip. “Yup.”

  “He’s a good guy.”

  Wondering how he knows my brother, I follow Sullivan and Liam to the main floor. It’s an impressive studio. Light, shining hardwood floors cover one half of the space and blue plastic gym mats cover the other half. Full-length mirrors run along three walls.

  Feeling too self-conscious to stare in the mirrors, I turn away. Liam gives me a reassuring smile and squeezes my hand.

  I’m trying so hard to remember the positives in my life. Sure, I’d been in a bad relationship. I’m out. I’m taking charge of my life and moving on. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.

  Now, I just need to repeat those statements a thousand more times and maybe I’ll actually believe them.

  Sully clears his throat, capturing my attention. “So, first I like to tell my civilian clients a few things before I teach them how to be dangerous.” His mouth quirks into an irresistible grin.

  I like this guy.

  My gaze drifts to Liam, who’s standing a few feet away, arms crossed over his chest, watching our every move.

  “Every place is safe, until it isn’t,” Sullivan says, drawing my attention back to him.

  Isn’t that the truth. Including my own home.

  Between my overprotective brother and Liam’s own fierce protective streak, I spent my teenage years feeling a bit bulletproof.

  Dangerous thinking once I went out into the world on my own.

  Sully watches as I work through my emotional epiphany. When I give him a quick nod, he continues. “The most important thing you can do is be aware. Keep a clear head. Pay attention to your surroundings.”

  “Gotcha.”

  He takes on a more serious expression. “Now, the next thing a lot of women don’t like to hear. Avoid danger when possible. Think about it, do you really need to put yourself in potentially dangerous situations?”

  I cock my head, invitin
g him to elaborate.

  “Do you need that late-night run to the drug store? Do you need to go jogging at night? Keep yourself out of dangerous situations like dark alleys, parking garages, bad areas of town. Be wise when making your plans and consider going out with friends so you’re not alone.”

  “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.