Kicking the Habit

by Kari Lee Townsend

  Always efficient.

  The words waste not, want not drifted through his head, and he fought back the urge to smile once more; then he frowned hard. Why did she affect him so? She brought out so many emotions in him: fear, anger, frustration, amusement, lust. Lately, he’d caught himself monitoring his choice of words several times before cursing. Then the other day, he’d even brought the rest of his dinner home in a doggie bag and ate it for lunch the next afternoon. She was definitely rubbing off on him. He just didn’t know how he felt and had no idea what to do about it.

  She gave him a curious look. “Are you okay? Now you’re the one who doesn’t look so well.”

  “I’m fine. Just a bit of indigestion. Must’ve eaten something that didn’t appeal to me.” He spun around and led the way to his truck without another word, mentally cursing every step of the way for good measure and, quite frankly, for peace of mind.

  Cece seemed to sense his need for silence as she climbed up into his truck, buckled her seatbelt, and stared out the window quietly.

  Halfway to the gym, he finally spoke. “You’re going to love Patty.”

  This time it was Cece’s turn to frown as she faced him. “Who’s Patty?” she finally asked.

  “Patty Calabria. She’s a good friend of mine. She’s a karate sensei, a personal trainer—a regular fitness guru, basically. I met her years ago at the gym when I took a class from her. She kicked my as—my butt. I couldn’t move for a week. Trust me when I say she’s the perfect person to teach you self-defense.”

  “She sounds a little intense,” Cece said, wringing her hands in her lap.

  “With all that’s happened, I’d say you need a little intense right now. Besides, Patty’s a sweetheart.” From the corner of his eye, he saw Cece’s head snap to the side as she gaped at him. He could feel her troubled gaze hot on his face. Nothing more, huh? His lips twitched, and her words from earlier suddenly didn’t sting as much.

  “Oh, okay. Whatever you think,” was all she said, looking back out the window.

  They pulled up in front of the gym, and Patty was just getting out of her car.

  “Speak of the devil. There she is right now.” He pointed to the petite dynamo dressed in her black and gold karate Gi. Her hair was a mass of brown and blond curls nearly as long and impressive as Cece’s. Patty scooped it up into a high ponytail before spotting them. A wide smile blossomed across her heart-shaped face as she waved at them.

  “Oh, wow,” Cece said on a breathy voice. “She’s pretty.”

  “She is a looker.” He grinned, feeling much lighter than he had when he’d picked Cece up.

  He could easily put her mind at ease by cluing her into the fact that Patty had been with her high school sweetheart David since forever, and they had three beautiful daughters to show for it. But Ace selfishly wanted to give his ego a little boost after Cece’s comment in the church the other day about how they weren’t a good match. Not to mention the fact that she seemed to brush off his kisses so easily. He knew she was right about the not a good match thing, but that hadn’t stopped him from feeling inadequate.

  “She’s almost as small as I am.” Cece studied the dynamo, wearing a doubtful expression on her face. “Don’t I need someone a little tougher?”

  Ace barked out a laugh. “Honey, you won’t find anyone tougher than Patty. A big guy like me might be stronger than either of you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be just as tough. Protecting yourself isn’t about out-muscling your attacker. It’s about learning where that person is vulnerable and knowing what to do about it. That’s why Patty’s perfect.”

  Cece watched her with a wistful expression on her face as she said, “She sure is.”

  He tweaked her nose, finally relenting. “Her husband sure thinks so.”

  Cece peeked up at him with a surprised look on her face, and he winked.

  “You will be too by the time she’s through with you. Come on.” He stepped out of the truck, jogged around to her side, and insisted on helping her down. Then he took her hand and pulled her along with him.

  Cece followed reluctantly beside him, looking unsure all of a sudden. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Where’s my spunky nun when I need her?” he asked, giving her hand a little squeeze, before letting go.

  “The spunk left when she took off the habit,” Cece muttered, shoving her hands in her zip-up jacket.

  “Not from what I’ve seen,” he snorted. “Your spunk just got a little lost after some bully scared it away. I say it’s time we found it and brought it home.”

  “And I say be careful what you wish for, Detective. You might not like the end result.”

  Ace thought about that for a minute. She might be right, but at this point, anything was better than seeing her cower.

  ***

  One hour later, Cece stood beside the matt, feeling overwhelmed and nervous. They were in a private room in the gym, full of mats and mirrors. Patty had gone over a bunch of safety tips about how to be aware of your surroundings. And then she had told Cece there were about eighty moves when it came to defending oneself, but she’d chosen six moves she thought would be most effective for someone like Cece. So Cece had spent the last half hour practicing them, but it was hard to keep them all straight. She was terrified her mind would go blank the second someone confronted her. Now Patty wanted her to test them. Cece had no idea what that meant, and good Lord in Heaven above, she was terrified to find out.

  “Um, what exactly do you mean by testing them?” she asked with a hitch in her voice.

  “Test them out on a fake attacker. Let’s take Ace for instance.” Patty motioned him onto the matt and positioned him in front of Cece so he was facing her. “He’s a big strong guy,” Patty said, giving his huge bicep a squeeze, “but if you know what to do, you can fend him off.” She gave him a jab to his ribs and he grunted, then chuckled and rubbed his side.

  “If you say so,” Cece said, looking up the impressive length of him doubtfully.

  He peeled off his hoodie and tossed it aside, making her swallow hard. Her throat was so dry suddenly. He had on faded gray sweatpants and an emerald green tank top, making the sea-foam green of his eyes pop. His skin was still tanned from the end of summer, and his muscles were much bigger than she realized when they weren’t covered by his usual sport coat. Add to that his flattop hairstyle along with the Ranger tattoo on his shoulder, and his intimidation factor went up tenfold.

  Cece unzipped her warm-up jacket and tossed it to the edge of the mat with the detective’s sweatshirt, her skin much paler than his, as she hadn’t had a suntan in years. His eyes flickered and his gaze dropped lower, then quickly snapped back up to her face. Her V-neck T-shirt was the same pink as the stripe on her warm-up pants, as well as the pink on her nails and toes. Not having worn it in a very long time, it was a bit snugger than she remembered. She tugged at the hem discreetly to no avail and then curled her bare toes self-consciously. Patty had suggested she take her socks off so she wouldn’t slip on the mat, but Cece somehow felt naked and vulnerable. She bit her bottom lip, and Ace’s green gaze softened.

  “Remember, it’s just me,” he said gently, the familiar tone of his voice resonating deep inside and calming her. “I’m not going to hurt you, but I don’t want you to worry about hurting me. I want you to think of me as a real attacker and do everything you can to fight me off. Besides, I’m wearing rib pads and a cup.” He knocked on his cup, and she could feel the blood rush to her face and her ears burn hot. “See? It’s all good.”

  Oh, my. She took a shaky breath. Good Lord in Heaven.

  “Okay, Cece.” Patty smiled reassuringly and patted her back. “You’ve got this. I want you to focus. Soften him up whatever way you can, and then do the moves to escape. If you forget something, remember that it’s better to do something than do nothing. Always fight back. Ready?”

  Cece nodded, feeling anything but ready.

  Patty called out in a loud voice, “The Wedge!
”

  One minute Ace was standing before Cece, just staring at her intensely. That was scary enough, but then he reached out lightning quick and wrapped his huge hands around her throat in a choking move. Panic seized her, even though logic told her he wouldn’t hurt her, but that didn’t stop her adrenaline from soaring. With heartbeat hammering in her chest, she quickly assessed her situation.

  He was too tall for her to reach up and chop her hands down at his elbows. Instead, she clasped her hands together, making sure her fingers were not intertwined so it would be easier to get out of the hold if he grabbed them. Straightening her arms, she formed a wedge shape and swung up as hard as she could, which broke his hold on her neck. Then she swung her clasped hands back down, grazing the front of his nose. She quickly pulled them in and punched forward as hard as she could until she hit him square in the chest. Surprised, he stumbled back a couple of steps.

  Cece blinked, her lips parting slightly. Did she really just do that?

  Patty didn’t give her time to rest. Instead, she called out the next attack. “Hammering Buck!”

  Cece realized that in reality, if Ace were a real attacker, he wouldn’t just stop after one move. He would keep coming at her until he got what he wanted. She had to be ready for that, so she braced herself. He rushed forward and wrestled her to the ground. Not a hard task given that his six-foot frame towered over her five-foot one self. Next, he climbed on top of her, straddling her hips. Once again, he wrapped those big deadly hands of his around her throat. She felt even more vulnerable on the ground, with such a large attacker on top of her.

  Flashbacks of Sunday night hit her square in the gut, robbing her of coherent thought and air. Everything she’d felt that night came rushing back to crush her: the feelings of fear and helplessness and regret. She thought she might faint. Her mouth grew dry, and twinkling stars began to dance before her eyes, but then she locked her gaze with Ace’s sympathetic but firm one. Suddenly, she knew everything would be okay. Anger, not for him but for all she had felt that night, rushed through her, giving her strength.

  Patty’s words, “Soften him up,” filtered through Cece’s addled brain. She balled her hands into fists and jabbed them into Ace’s sides as hard as she could. Even through his rib pads, she heard him grunt. That spurred her on even more. She hooked her heels over the top of his feet and then poked him hard in the armpit with her straight, stiffened fingers. He flinched, and she didn’t hesitate. She grabbed his elbow with her other hand and lifted her hips off the floor, bucking hard and to the side as she pushed him off of her and scrambled to her feet.

  She smiled while panting, feeling strong and alive and brave. That feeling was short lived as Patty called out, “Cover the Flame!”

  Ace scrambled to his feet as well and from out of nowhere a gun appeared in his hands. It was fake, but it looked real enough to Cece’s untrained eyes. He pointed it directly at her head. She was stunned to realize she didn’t even have to think about it. She simply reacted on instinct, and the moves came to her.

  She dropped down below the gun with feet spread wide apart and knees bent in a sumo stance as she grabbed his wrist with one hand and the barrel of the gun with the other, pushing up hard all in one motion. Then she yanked his bent wrist down until it couldn’t bend back any further and wrenched the gun out of his hands, tossing it to the side and then turning around to run. Patty had told her Ace knew enough not to put his finger on the trigger, but the average attacker wouldn’t anticipate her fighting back. That move alone would have broken his finger.

  Cece hadn’t gotten very far when Patty yelled, “Turning the Flame!” The next thing Cece knew, Ace was behind her, with the same gun poking into her back this time.

  “Put your hands up where I can see them,” he growled, sounding menacing and scary.

  “Okay, okay.” She quickly thrust her hands in the air, making sure to keep them shoulder level, and glanced over her shoulder to see which hand the gun was in. Then she spun around to face him, wrapping her right hand around his wrist and twisting in an unnatural direction as she stepped forward with her left foot and pushed her left hand down on the back of his elbow. Since arms aren’t meant to bend that way, Ace had no choice but to drop to the floor or have his arm break. Once she had him down and vulnerable, she wrenched the gun from his hand and threw it aside once more, only this time she snap-kicked him in his cup a couple of times before running away again.

  Patty wasted no time calling out, “Rising Elbows!”

  Ace shot to his feet and gave chase, catching Cece in seconds and wrapping his arms around her from behind in a tight bear hug. For a moment, she forgot what to do. Her arms were pinned to her sides, helplessly, but then she realized her hands were free. The moves came back to her. She grabbed his hands with her own and held on tight, then lunged to the right in another sumo stance to throw him off balance as she slipped her left foot behind his and twisted her body to the left, tripping him. Tightening her core, she held her stance as he fell down hard to the mat.

  Out of breath and exhausted, she stood there panting, praying they were done. Patty started clapping, looking impressed, and intense relief flooded through Cece. Relief and pure satisfaction. Ace rolled to his feet a little more slowly this time and walked over to Cece’s side with a proud grin on his face. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a hug, and Cece’s gaze met Patty’s. Patty didn’t need to say a word. Her devilish grin said it all.

  Crossing Guard!

  Cece slipped her foot behind Ace’s, lifted her arm, and twisted to the side, easily tripping Ace as he fell back, landing hard on his hindquarters.

  “Sucker,” Cece said and couldn’t help but giggle.

  “Hey,” he responded on a laugh, looking at her with pride that warmed Cece’s heart. “I think you’ve created a monster, Dr. Jeckle,” he said to Patty, as he slowly climbed to his feet while rubbing his behind.

  “I prefer to be known as the Terminator.” Patty winked. “Great job, Cece. I’m so proud of you.” She hugged her hard. “Don’t forget to practice every day. Like anything else: if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.”

  “Thank you so much, Patty. I really appreciate everything. I feel so much stronger now. Much more capable than I did two days ago.” Cece was still afraid, but at least she felt like she had a fighting chance if anything ever happened again. And she owed it all to Ace.

  “Anytime, and remember I’m just a phone call away if you need anything at all. As for you,” Patty gave Ace one last jab in the arm, “I better see you in my class next week. You’re getting soft.”

  “The hell you say.” Ace shot her a fake scowl, but the twist of his lips gave him away.

  “To hell you’ll go if you keep cussing like that,” Cece interjected, shaking her head at him. “Don’t worry, Patty. He’ll be there even if I have to drag him there myself. I do believe I know how now.”

  “And she’s back,” Ace said.

  “I told you that you might not like the outcome, Detective.” This time she winked at him.

  “Oh, I like the outcome just fine.” He didn’t even try to hide the full-fledged smile that spread across his handsome face.

  Something told Cece that smile was far more dangerous to her well-being than any attacker would ever be.

  ***

  “Wow, looks like the whole town showed up,” Ace said, glancing down at Cece as they stood in the park the next day on Wednesday, just one week after the senator’s death. Her bruises were already turning yellow and fading a little. She looked prim and proper and totally vulnerable in her dark burgundy, conservative dress, but he knew better. She was ready and alert and capable. The biggest change was her confidence level after taking Patty’s self-defense class. He owed Patty big time for putting the sparkle back in Cece’s eyes.

  “I’m not surprised that everyone’s here,” Cece replied. “The senator was well liked and respected. People might not have approved of his affairs, but no one denied he did a lot of
good for this town. This tribute is a big deal.”

  “Put on by some very powerful people it would seem.” Ace looked around, pointing out various individuals as he talked. “Take Sloan Sr., for instance. He has the money to foot the bill for this shindig, not to mention there were plenty of donations by fellow wealthy businessmen like Allen Rutherford. Then there’s the mayor. He has the connections to bring in every politician from those of great importance right down to the senator’s campaign manager, Li Wang. And then there’s Councilwoman Reynolds. Her connection to the NRA and her pro guns stance put her in tight with some pretty hefty top-ranking military officials. The fact that she got U.S. Army General Bruce Montgomery to come is impressive.”

  “Do you know him?” Cece asked curiously.

  “I’ve never met the man personally, but I’d heard of his legendary accomplishments when I was a Ranger. He went to West Point, same as the senator, but instead of serving his time and going into politics, he was commissioned into the Army as a second lieutenant and later appointed to lead a surge in Iraq. He is a war hero and on the path to doing something great. I’ve heard he has his eye on the CIA.”

  “That is impressive,” Cece said, but then her forehead puckered in confusion. “Wait … the senator went to West Point and was in the Army? I thought his stance was anti-guns.”

  Ace was impressed with the way she listened closely and remembered details, always attentive and observant like a real detective. He had to keep reminding himself that she wasn’t a real detective and was still vulnerable. “His stance was anti-guns, but not until later,” Ace answered her question. “My sources say the senator could have gone wherever he wanted, but he didn’t want to use his old man’s money. He wanted to earn his way into politics through West Point and the military. His political views weren’t fully shaped until he took office.”

  “Going that route must have been hard given his sexuality.” Cece looked reflective, yet he noticed how she kept watching the crowd. Still on guard for her own safety.