by Terri Reed
“Namely, hobble an attacker,” Chase added.
Kaitlyn grinned. “Yes, and there is one particular move that’s my favorite. A blow to the knee does the trick nicely. Let’s unpack and then we’ll have a lesson.”
Giddy anticipation raced through Ashley’s blood. Finally, she was doing something proactive, something that would keep her as safe as she could be without her bodyguards watching over her.
They made quick work of unpacking their supplies and arranging the cots for later when they would sleep.
They headed outside and found a patch of cleared ground.
“Okay.” Kaitlyn rubbed her hands together. “First off, let’s talk about the parts of your body you can use to defend yourself with.” She touched her elbows. “You have two very hard pointy objects with which to jab.” She drew her bent elbow back. “Strike or ram.”
Keeping her elbow bent, she made a sweeping motion that brought her elbow up and around, plowing into an imaginary foe. Then she lifted her other elbow and swung her arm in a downward motion, like a hammer.
Rubbing her own elbows, Ashley could envision the blows would hurt, both the attacker and her.
Kaitlyn then held up her hands and hit the heels of them together. “The heel of the hand is an effective tool for a head shot, too. You’ll want to aim for the nose, the ears and under the chin.” She motioned to Chase. “Come at me.”
Ashley held her breath as Chase faced Kaitlyn and reached for her. Kaitlyn’s cocked wrist thrust upward toward Chase’s nose, stopping a hair’s breadth before contact.
Chase didn’t flinch. The man had nerves of steel.
Ashley blew out a breath. “Wow.”
“You can also go for a knee or the groin. Grab your attacker by the shoulders, using his body for leverage as you ram your knee into the vulnerable spots.” Kaitlyn demonstrated on Chase.
Ashley winced. Hurting someone went against every grain in her body. She’d have to get over it.
Kaitlyn turned around so that her back was to Chase. “If your assailant grabs you from behind, trapping your arms...”
Wordlessly, Chase put his arms around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides.
“Immediately, stagger your stance and bend your knees.” She demonstrated. “This will draw your attacker off balance. At the same time twist and pivot from your feet until you can get at an angle.” She moved as she spoke and then brought her heel up and touched it to the outside of Chase’s knee. “At this point I’d ram my heel here. He’d buckle because knees aren’t made to bend from the side.”
“Or she could also stomp on her assailant’s foot,” Chase said, releasing Kaitlyn.
“True. The heel on the instep or a kick to the shin will also be effective.”
“Now your turn.” Kaitlyn stepped aside.
Ashley’s mouth went dry. “I don’t think I can do that.”
“You can,” Chase said. “The other thing you should know is how to break a hold if someone grabs you by the wrist.” He reached out and took hold of her arm a few inches above her wrist. “What do you do?”
She tried to move away and jerk her arm free but he held on tight. “Okay, that’s not working. What do I do?”
He released her. “You grab my wrist.”
She grasped his left arm. He immediately pinned her hand to his arm, stepped toward her and swung the arm she held around in a swift move that put him in control and twisted her arm backward at an awkward angle. Then he pushed her so that she had no choice but to sink to the ground.
“Whoa,” she breathed out.
“From here, with your attacker down, you could kick or knee the guy to give you a few more moments to get away.” He released her.
Excited by the simple yet effective move, Ashley jumped to her feet. “Teach me that move.” She held out her arm for him to grab.
Over and over, she practiced the various self-defense tactics until it grew too dark outside to see. Kaitlyn had left them to work together while she went to the creek for water. Chase was patient as he repeated moves and instructions, making sure she understood the techniques.
She couldn’t have asked for a better instructor. Despite her best effort, she was falling for him. She had to fight it with every fiber of her being, yet the question that kept playing through her mind was, how was she ever going to leave this man?
* * *
Chase stared at the darkened ceiling, his hands cradling his head while he lay stretched out on a cot near the door. The ladies were sleeping side by side in the far corner. Every once in a while one of them would move, their cot creaking, the blankets rustling. No doubt Ashley couldn’t sleep. They’d spent several hours vigorously training.
His heart was still pumping fast, though he acknowledged it wasn’t from the physical activity but from spending extended amounts of time with Ashley. She was so determined and eager to learn. It made his heart ache with dread, knowing she would be gone from his life soon. He wished there was a way she could stay in Bristle Township. But there wasn’t.
The best thing for her was to go into the WITSEC program where she’d have a new identity in an undisclosed location.
He could go with her.
The thought pounded through his head.
No. He had a life in Bristle Township. Friends, Lucinda and a job he enjoyed. He couldn’t give that up. His tender emotions for Ashley would fade with time. And if he said it enough to himself, he might one day believe it.
The shrill ring of the satellite phone exploded in the silent cabin. Chase jumped from his cot and hustled to grab the device from his pack.
A flashlight beam illuminated the room as Kaitlyn joined him.
“You got it?” Kaitlyn asked.
“Yep.” He lifted the antenna and pressed the button to answer. After a few seconds of silence while the phone connected via satellite, Chase said, “Hello.”
“Chase.” Daniel’s voice came through the line. “We have a problem.”
Dread and anxiety crushed Chase’s chest. “Tell me.”
“I found a listening device attached to the leg of a desk. We believe when the fake Detective Peters was in the station, he planted it.”
That was how Sokolov’s men had known where Chase and Ashley were when they’d left for Denver. The ramifications of this disturbing news hit Chase like a hoof to the gut. Sokolov no doubt knew where they were now.
“Uh, Chase,” Ashley’s voice trembled. She stood at the window. “There’s someone outside.”
NINE
Chase dropped the satellite phone and vaulted across the room, launching himself at Ashley, tackling her in a full contact embrace and taking her to the ground just as the world erupted in a barrage of gunfire.
Bullets pitted the wooden walls. Glass shattered, raining down on Chase’s back. Heart pounding in his ears, he braced himself for the painful impact of a bullet. He would protect Ashley with his body, with his life. He prayed Kaitlyn had found cover.
After a moment that seemed to last forever, the gunfire ceased. The ensuing silence was deafening. Breathing a small sigh of relief to not have a gunshot wound, Chase lifted his head slightly. “Are you okay?” he whispered against Ashley’s ear.
“Yes,” she squeaked.
He turned his head toward the spot where Kaitlyn had last stood. Embers in the cast-iron wood stove glowed eerily. “Kaitlyn?”
“I’m here, behind the stove,” came her whispered reply. “I let Daniel know we’re in trouble.”
Appreciating Kaitlyn’s quick thinking in picking up the phone he’d dropped and letting Daniel know what was happening, he eased away from Ashley, but he kept his hand on her shoulder to ensure she stayed down. “We’re going to crawl as fast as we can to the wood stove. You’re going to get behind it.”
He didn’t wait for her to answer, but prodded her forward. They s
crambled across the hardwood floor now littered with glass. The sting from shards of the busted window bit into his skin. When they reached the wood burning stove, he maneuvered Ashley behind it.
“What are we going to do? There’s only one way in and out of this cabin.” Ashley’s panicked question made Chase wince.
“And they know that,” Kaitlyn said grimly. “It’s only a matter of time before they come in and finish what they started.”
“No, we’re okay. There is another way out.” Chase groped the floor, searching for the lever. “The cabin doesn’t have a foundation because we’re on government land. The sheriff keeps the firewood under the floor. There’s a hatch here somewhere.”
“I’ll help you search.” Ashley’s scared whisper brushed against his neck.
“No. Stay put.” He didn’t want her exposed. “Kaitlyn, are you armed?”
“Yes.”
“Keep them busy. If someone comes through that door, shoot him.” He placed his hand on his own weapon and unlocked the holster so he’d have easier access.
“Roger that.” Kaitlyn moved to the window.
“We only want Ashley Willis,” a man’s voice shouted from outside the cabin. “Our business isn’t with you two deputies. Save yourselves and hand her over.”
“Not going to happen,” Kaitlyn yelled back. “You better take off or I’ll take you down.”
Coarse laughter met her threat.
“Keep them talking,” Chase said, as he continued searching for the latch to open the trap door in the floor. Sweat rolled down his back from the anticipation of their attackers breaching the cabin before they managed to escape.
“Who sent you?” Kaitlyn called out.
“Doesn’t matter,” the same man yelled back. “Send out the woman.”
“You know we can’t do that!” Kaitlyn replied.
Silence met her announcement.
“What are they doing out there?” Ashley asked.
“They’re going to wait us out,” he said. “Obviously, they’re in no hurry. They don’t know that we’ve called for backup.” His hand closed over the latch and he eased the hatch open. He lay on the floorboards and reached into the hole to find a large stack of wood. As quickly and silently as possible, he removed the short logs, haphazardly pushing them aside. A slight breeze blew through the opening as he created enough space for them to drop into and crawl out from beneath the cabin.
“Okay, ladies, get ready to move. We’ll have to crawl out from beneath the house.”
Ashley moved to his side and put her hand on his arm. “We can’t go out there. What if they see us?”
“We have to. My priority is getting you to safety. Staying here isn’t safe.”
“Getting all of us to safety,” Ashley protested.
“Yes. All of us.” He appreciated her concern. “I’ll go first, then you and then Kaitlyn.”
“And...then what do we do?” she questioned in a whisper.
Good question. “Not sure yet. I’m winging it here.”
“If I can make it to the corral and get to the horses, we can escape,” Kaitlyn said.
“Assuming they haven’t let the horses go,” he replied.
“Dancer, Othello and Buttercup won’t go far if they have been released,” Kaitlyn assured him.
He wished he had as much confidence in the horses’ loyalty. But the horses were Kaitlyn’s animals and he trusted her to know. “All right. Let’s go.”
He squeezed through the opening headfirst with his arms out for support. Once he touched the ground, he belly crawled to the edge of the cabin’s frame, on the opposite side from where the bullets had come from. When he was assured there was no one around, he shimmied out and gave a slight rap on the wall to let Ashley know it was her turn to crawl out. Crouched down, making himself as small as possible, he heard the faint noise of Ashley’s movements.
“Give me your hand,” he whispered, reaching out for her.
In the dark, her hand touched his, then held on as she made her way out from beneath the cabin.
After giving the wall another faint rap, he pulled Ashley behind him so that she was wedged between the cabin and him as they waited for Kaitlyn to join them.
“You two stay put.” Kaitlyn’s voice, barely discernible, came at him in the dark. “Let me check out the horse situation. If I can set them loose, then you two meet me in the woods behind us.”
“Copy,” Chase said, the one word barely above a whisper. It was important now that they stay as silent as possible so as not to draw the attention of their attackers.
Kaitlyn moved past him toward the edge of the cabin and then she was gone.
The whinny of the horses alerted Chase that Kaitlyn had reached the corral. He sent up a prayer that the men out front didn’t understand the noise was the horses greeting their owner.
“What’s got those horses spooked?” one of the men said, his voice carrying on the breeze that had kicked up.
“Maybe a copperhead snake,” another man said.
“Oh, man, I hate snakes.”
“Pipe down,” a third man demanded. “I’m going in.”
The sound of boots on the porch shuddered through Chase.
There was a rustling sound and then the pounding of hooves as the horses bolted from the corral, disappearing into the forest.
“What’s she doing?” Ashley whispered in his ear.
“Creating a diversion,” he whispered back. Kudos to Kaitlyn. The longer she kept the men from breeching the cabin, the more chance they had to get away.
“Hey! Who let the horses out?” one of the men shouted.
Not waiting to find out what the men decided to do, Chase tugged Ashley away from the cabin. “This way,” he whispered in her ear.
He tucked Ashley close and together they ran toward the shelter of the trees. They found Kaitlyn behind the trunk of a large Douglas fir.
“We need to reach the creek,” Kaitlyn whispered.
“What about the horses?” Ashley asked, also keeping her voice low.
“They’ll come running when we’re ready for them,” Kaitlyn answered.
Shouts of the men galvanized Chase into action. Their attackers had discovered the empty cabin.
“Lead the way,” Chase urged Kaitlyn.
He put Ashley in front of him so he could protect their flank. The going was slow in the dark. He kept a hand on Ashley’s shoulder to steady her when she stumbled.
The rush of the creek, swollen from the winter runoff, led the way forward. When they reached the edge of the canopy of trees, the moon shone bright on the rippling water of the creek a few feet away.
Kaitlyn let out a shrill whistle. “It will be a moment or two.”
“We should stay near the trees.” He didn’t like the idea of being exposed out in the open.
They took cover at the base of a tree that had large bushes growing up around it.
“Will the horses be able to find their way in the dark?” Ashley’s voice held concern.
“Yes. They have excellent night vision,” Kaitlyn replied.
“That’s a relief.”
Chase smiled to himself at Ashley’s innate concern for others, even horses. She was such a caring and generous woman. One of the many things he’d come to admire about her.
“What was Daniel saying to you on the SAT phone?” Kaitlyn asked.
Remembering the disturbing news, a fresh wave of anger coursed through Chase’s veins. “He found a listening device in the station house.”
Ashley gasped softly. “How did it get there?”
“Only way I can think of is when the fake Peters showed up, he must have planted it,” Chase told her.
“That’s how they found out we were here.” Kaitlyn’s tone held a sharp edge. “I figured it had to be something
like that. These bozos wouldn’t know how to track anybody on their own.”
Ashley made an irritated growling noise in her throat. “Mr. Sokolov has known our every move. He’s insidious.”
Chase slipped his arm around her shoulders. “He won’t be privy to any more information on you now.”
She leaned into him. “I hope not.”
The bobbing of flashlights moving through the trees sent Chase’s heart slamming against his rib cage. “They’re coming.”
Kaitlyn pushed away from the tree she’d been leaning against. “We need to cross to the other side of the creek.”
Deciding it was better than waiting to be found, Chase urged Ashley into the knee-high flowing water. Through his shoes and pant legs, cold zapped his flesh to the bone. He kept a firm grip on Ashley’s biceps as she sucked in a sharp breath of distress at the icy temperature of the creek.
She slipped, letting out a muted yelp, and he pulled her firmly against him. “Steady now.”
“I pray we get out of this alive,” she whispered. “And with all our toes.”
“We will,” he told her and sent a prayer heavenward that he wouldn’t be proven a liar. Moving slowly over slippery rocks and against the current’s tug, they reached the other side of the creek and hustled to the cover of more trees.
Kaitlyn let out another soft whistle that sounded more like a bird’s call. A few moments later, the three horses appeared, their hooves splashing in the water as they ran along the creek. The three horses stepped onto the bank and moved toward their owner with Dancer in the lead.
Kaitlyn held up her hands. “Whoa,” she cooed gently.
The three animals slowed to a halt.
“I didn’t have time to put their saddles on,” Kaitlyn told them. “Only their bridles. Not ideal but we’ll have to manage.”
Chase kept an eye on the light bobbing through the forest. They were getting closer every second. Worry chipped away at his confidence. Urgency sharpened his tone. “We need to go.”
“I don’t know about this.” Ashley’s voice was low and uncertain.
“It’s not much different than with a saddle,” Kaitlyn said. “Grab some of Othello’s mane near his withers.”