Did she realize she’d said “he” and “him” several times? Soon he’d know the name of the bastard stalking her and the hunt would begin. Eddie liked her idea of surveillance cameras. However, whatever security system she ordered online would be subpar. He didn’t vocalize his thoughts. Being proactive boosted self-confidence and she had to stop fearing this bastard to beat him. Eddie planned to help her do it, starting with using the latest surveillance gadgets in the market, the kind the average Joe didn’t see coming.
For a moment, there was silence as they ate. Eddie reached for his glass and guzzled half of his orange juice, his eyes not leaving Amy. As usual, watching her eat was mesmerizing.
“Have you thought of taking self-defense lessons?” he asked.
Amy rolled her eyes. “I’m too small to pit my strength against a grown man. The Glock will have to do.”
“When you say a grown man, are you talking about someone my size?”
“Shorter,” Amy said without looking at him, scooped more oatmeal and placed it in her mouth. “And not so perfectly proportional,” she added softly.
Eddie grinned at the veiled compliment. “Are you saying I have a perfect body?”
She threw him a disgusted look. “Perfectly proportional. Not the same thing. And you don’t need compliments from me. I’m sure you hear them all the time. Even Lauren called first dibs when she saw you shirtless.”
He couldn’t have possibly heard that right. “First dibs?”
She shrugged then sipped her orange juice. “Breakfast was great, thank you.”
“The two of you discussed me?” The thought pleased him.
“You were parading half naked in front of the whole lake front community. So why did you bring up self-defense?”
“Because I plan to teach you a few moves. If you can take me down, you can take down anyone. I wasn’t parading.”
“Me? Take you down?”
“Without breaking a sweat.”
She sized him up, her gaze running up his arms, across his chest before returning to his face. Her cheeks reddened for some reason. “I appreciate your confidence in me, but I think I’ll pass. I have my gun. That’s enough for me. And yes, you were strutting your stuff, Fitzgerald. No one removes their T-shirt the way you did, in slow motion. Then you flexed your muscles.” His orange juice went the wrong way and she had the gall to get up and thump his back. “Are you okay?”
“I did not…” Her grin said she was screwing with him. “Forget it.”
“I wish I could,” she teased, then started gathering their bowls.
“Leave them alone.” He drained his orange juice and got up. “You bring your lovely gun to the garage. I’ll show you a thing or two.”
She eyed him with a slow grin.
“Defense moves,” he added, feeling his face grow hot. A woman had never made him blush in his adult life. “Oh, and wear tennis shoes.”
She pursed her naturally pouty lips then shrugged. “Why not.”
Eddie gathered their breakfast and followed her. “First dibs, huh?”
She rolled her eyes and started for the house.
“What did you tell her?”
“That she is an adult and free to do as she pleased,” she threw the comment over her shoulder. “You do know she’s waiting for you to call her?”
Eddie frowned. Why was she trying to push him into her friend’s arms? On the other hand, Lauren was more his type of woman. Career-minded, confident, not afraid to go after what she wanted. She did talk a lot though, but he could work around that. Yeah, maybe what he needed to give his libido a kick was right here.
“I’ll do that.” He placed the tray next to the sink. “Don’t touch anything. Just go and get the gun. I want us to do this before Raelynn wakes up.”
***
Amy watched him walk toward his bedroom. He wore gray sweatpants that rode low on his hips and a white tank top that hugged every inch of his chest. For three days, she’d tried to ignore him while focusing on her book and reading up on the surveillance gadgets she’d ordered. As if one would ignore a caged panther. She’d reached a point where she wanted to confess everything just so he could stop watching her like she was an escaped convict.
Interestingly enough, Raelynn seemed to be thawing toward him. She’d even asked for his whereabouts twice while he was out of the house. Except for today, Eddie often went for morning runs then spent the rest of the day working on the boat. Every time he fixed something, he always found something else wrong. His hard work finally paid off. He took the boat out yesterday without the engine stalling.
Amy raced to her bedroom to find sneakers and socks. Raelynn was still asleep, so she made sure she didn’t make any noise as she removed the gun from between the mattress and the box springs. She slipped it into the small of her back and carefully closed the door behind her.
Eddie was in the garage eyeing the sole occupant with annoyance. Baron and Kara had shipped out a Honda CV-R and often used it whenever they visited.
“Do you have the key?” Eddie asked.
“Just a second.” Amy retrieved the key from the kitchen drawer and they removed the SUV and parked it next to Eddie’s.
“Where’s the gun?”
She reached behind her and pulled it out. Amy bristled when he eyed the gun in her hand with a frown. “What?”
“Is it loaded?” he asked.
“Maybe.” Amy gripped the weapon with both hands and pointed it at him. She grinned when uncertainty flickered in his eyes. “You really think I’d keep a loaded gun around Raelynn, Fitzgerald?”
“Even the best intentioned parents forget. Where did you learn to handle a gun like that?”
“Shooting range. Lauren took me as soon as I arrived here.” Amy studied her hands. Her right hand gripped the handle tight, her finger on the trigger and the rear end was cradled between her thumb and forefinger, while her left wrapped around the first.
“Your grip is perfect. Now I’m going to show you how easy an intruder can disarm you if he is well-trained.” He raised his hands. “Pretend I’m the intruder. What do you do first?”
She shifted, firmly anchoring her feet on the ground. “Don’t move.”
He grinned
“What’s funny?”
“You’re facing an intruder. I know you can do better than that.”
He wanted ruthless? She held the gun with her right hand, tilted it so the handle was sideways the way inner city gangsters did on TV, then she copped an attitude.
“Get the hell out of my house, homey, before I put a cap in your butt. You know what I’m sayin’.” She thumbed her nose then posed.
Eddie’s jaw dropped, then he laughed. Not a chuckle, but the deep, no-holds barred laughter that went on and on until he was out of breath.
“You are completely insane.”
“Thank you.” She saluted Eddie with the gun.
“For future reference, homey is what you call a friend, not an intruder, and it’s ‘put a cap in your ass’,” he corrected.
“I know. I just didn’t want to use the a-word. Okay, let’s do this.” She held the gun with both hands. “One false move and you’re dead,” she snarled.
“Don’t shoot, please,” Eddie faked a plea, shuffling closer. “I have a family.”
“I said… Do. Not. Move!”
He moved as though he was about to drop down on his knees. “Please—”
Then he attacked. Moving to her right, he pushed the hand holding the gun away from him and inwards. In seconds, he had pried the gun from her hand and pushed the magazine release button to disengage the gun.
He stepped back. “You see how I didn’t give you time to think, I just attacked? First, I distracted you with pleas then attacked. I pushed your hand gun away, but in most scenarios I’d strike the hand hard, either forcing you to drop the gun or stun you before prying the gun loose from your hands. If the gun drops, I would kick it out of the way. If not, I release the magazine. Remember, to
disarm a person holding a gun, always attack the hand holding the gun, not the supporting hand.”
“Why?”
“Because turning toward the primary hand holding the gun is not as fast as turning toward the support hand.” He demonstrated then handed the gun and the empty magazine back to her.
Amy snapped it in place. “Do it again.”
He rushed her again. This time, he grabbed the gun, pressed the base of her thumb and twisted her wrist up and away. He moved her arm to an awkward angle, forcing Amy to her knees.
“How did you do that?” she asked. “I was expecting the same move you pulled before.”
“Rookie mistake. Watch.”
He looked so sexy demonstrating every move, his muscles rippling with each gesture. Amy forgot why they were in the garage as he moved closer, his hand gripped hers then he pulled her against him. His warmth wrapped around her senses and his musky scent awakened a hunger deep within her. When she sunk to her knees, her face close to his crotch, her imagination went wild.
“Are you focusing?” he snapped.
“Of course.” She got to her feet and prayed her face didn’t give her away. “Can you do it again?”
He showed her the move again. This time she paid attention.
Amy tried it. “Got it.”
“Good. Step back and aim at me again.”
He moved toward her, grabbed the wrist holding the gun with his left hand. With his right, he grabbed the barrel, pushed it toward her, rolling it against her thumbs until the gun pointed at her. He now held the barrel.
“If you’ve noticed, all my moves involved forcing the thumb away from the gun. The thumb might anchor your grip on the barrel, but it is also the weakest part of your hand. Now that I have the gun, I can remove the magazine and throw the gun away or hit you hard on the temple to stun you. You try it.”
She tried and he let her take the gun from him. He made it too easy. “You could try resisting.”
“I will. Right now, I want you to get the basic moves. Later, we’ll work on each move until you master them all.” He stepped back and wiggled his fingers. “Point the gun at me, except this time, use one hand. Pretend you are holding Raelynn’s hand with your other one.”
He waited until Amy complied then he grabbed her wrist with his left, faked a punch. “Hit the inside of the elbow as hard as you can. The intention is to break it or sprain it. The gun drops or you pry it from his hand, knee him as hard as you can and run.”
Amy nodded, but on the inside, she wondered if she had what it took to protect her daughter. She wasn’t sure what Nolan’s end game was.
“Listen, when you point a gun at someone, you’d better mean business. Knowing how to use a gun and actually shooting someone are two very different things, so I’ll ask you one thing. How far are you willing to go to protect yourself and Raelynn?”
Memories of what Nolan put them through flashed through her head. Her hand began to shake, but she stiffened her arm not to show it. “All the way.”
“Then show it.” Eddie stepped back and crossed his arms, his expression serious.
Egged on by the horror from her past, Amy lifted the gun. Eddie walked toward her, eyes fierce, lips curled back in a snarl, muscles bulging in his arms as his hands fisted. A feeling of déjà vu rolled through her. Light exploded in her head. The man bearing down on her was no longer a friend. No longer her trainer. In his place was a shorter man, curly light-brown hair, moustache twitching, hazel eyes gleaming with malice, mouth hurling taunts.
“Pull the goddamn trigger. If you mean it, you sniveling idiot, pull the trigger.”
Rage rose from deep inside her core, the echoes of it piercing the air in a yell as hands reached for her. Amy pulled an evasive maneuver she’d read about online—she dropped to her knees, raised the gun and pressed it against his stomach.
Surprise flickered in hazel eyes superimposed on gray. The mouth opened and closed, but all she heard was, “You don’t have it in you to do it. You are useless, Amy. You are less than useless. You are nothing.”
She pulled the trigger. The click sounded like a cannon in the silence and everything fell into place. Sanity returned as Amy recognized her surroundings and Eddie staring down at her in total shock. He sunk to her side, sat on the floor and pulled her into his arms. Her breath hitched. Eyes burned.
“It’s okay,” Eddie murmured. “You’re safe.”
She was shaking so hard the gun slipped out of her hands. The thud, as it hit the garage floor, reminded her she was supposed to be strong, the protector of her family. Yet she couldn’t find the strength to push Eddie away, to refuse the comfort his arms offered. She’d stay for a minute longer while she gathered her wits about her.
“Shh,” he murmured, tucking her head against his chest. “It’s okay. You did it.”
She didn’t know how she’d ended up between his thighs, her hands gripping his shirt. She became aware of his hot skin against hers, the pulse beating at the base of his neck, the way his shadow tickled her skin. Fear disappeared and desire leaped through her senses faster than a smoldering line of gun powder.
Heart pounding, she leaned back just as he did. Their gazes locked. Amy gulped at the answering heat in his eyes. He cupped her face, his eyes moving to her lips. Amy’s lips opened in response. She wanted to feel his lips against hers, needed the connection to another person even if it was just for a moment.
“Talk to me, Amy,” Eddie said. “I want to help you but I can’t without knowing what’s going on.”
His words were like a dunk in the Arctic. What was she thinking? She had enough problems to deal with without starting an affair with Eddie Fitzgerald.
She swallowed and found her voice. “You are already helping by teaching me self-defense.”
“It’s not enough. Who’s stalking you? Are you running from the law? Whatever you did, I can get you a legal team with one phone call.”
Amy scrambled from his lap. His expression was so earnest, the concerned look in his gray eyes real, but she couldn’t involve anyone in her mess. She tried with her parents and they’d ended up believing Nolan. She didn’t want Eddie to know how weak and stupid she’d been. Call her vain, but she rather liked the occasional flash of interest and admiration in his eyes. It had been awhile since a man looked at her like that.
“I can’t discuss this, Eddie. This is my problem and I will take care of it.” The piercing sound of the house phone resounded in the empty garage and Amy jumped, her eyes going to the phone mounted on the wall. Each ring was like a needle prickling her skin.
She knew she should answer the phone, but she couldn’t close the short space to pick it up. Nolan would be on the other end. Ever since she saw him at the grocery store, someone had been calling and then hanging up without saying a word. If she wasn’t expecting a call about her car, she would have unplugged all the phones days ago.
“I’ll deal with this,” Eddie murmured as he walked past her and yanked the receiver from its cradle. “Listen, you son of a bitch. I told you to never, ever call here again. You want to talk to her, be a man and show your face.” He slammed the phone back on the wall then turned around. “How long has he been calling?”
Amy’s eyes widened. “Since we dropped off the car. How did you know?
“He called while you were showering. Three times.”
The phone started again. Eddie cursed and reached for it. Amy gave herself a mental shake. He shouldn’t fight her battles. “I’ll answer it.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded, took the phone and brought it to her ear. “What do you want?”
“Mrs. Franklin?”
Amy frowned. “Yes?”
“This is Randal from Jack’s Auto. Your car is ready.”
“Oh, uh, thank you. When do you close?”
“Six o’clock.”
“I’ll be there before then. Thank you, Randal.” She put the phone back on its cradle, then unplugged it from the wall. Now, s
he didn’t have to listen to his heavy breathing. She planned to unplug all the ones inside the house too.
“Was that Randal from the auto shop?” Eddie asked.
“Yes. My car is ready. Do you think you can give me a ride into town before six?”
A pensive look crossed his handsome face. “Sure. In fact, we can leave after Raelynn wakes up. I have somewhere to go at four but I’m hoping you and I can go through some self-defense moves before I leave.”
***
Before going to pick up her car, Eddie stopped by the sporting goods store to pick up a few things. Randal was waiting for them with the keys when they arrived at Jack’s Auto Services. She left Eddie in the car with Raelynn and went inside the building to pay for the repairs.
“It runs very smoothly. We also changed the oil and rotated the tires.” He flashed a boyish grin. “Those were complimentary because we want you to come back.”
Hoping he wasn’t going to ask her out again, Amy pulled out her purse and counted several hundred dollars and offered them to the guy.
Randal shook his head. “He hasn’t told you?”
“Who?”
“Your brother. He came here the day we inspected your car and said he’s paying for it. He did this morning. We told him the car also needed an oil change and he offered to pay for that too, but we decided we wanted you to come back, so we threw that in as a comp.”
Eddie Fitzgerald. He must have called while she was in the shower or something. How many times did she have to tell him she wasn’t a charity case? Amy gave the service tech a tight smile. “He forgot to mention that.”
“He said it was a surprise. Great guy. Funny sense of humor. Tell him I’ll see him tonight at Eichardt’s Pub.”
“I’ll do that.” Great guy, my butt. More like dense and arrogant. Her anger at Eddie’s high-handedness grew with each step. It irked her that she couldn’t yell at him in front of Raelynn. And to imagine she was ready to tell him every ugly, dirty detail of her past life.
Stiffening her upper lip, Amy started her car and jacked up the AC then took a deep breath before opening the back door of the SUV. She unbuckled Raelynn and helped her down. When she turned around, Eddie had already unhooked the booster seat.
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