Dylan pinned Ryan with a glare. He clearly didn’t like how close to home that answer was, and I agreed. It was a dick moveto use that as the example when Juliette had been attacked by Dylan’s ex-wife in a parking garage.
“You can try to create a barrier between you and the attacker, and use any self-defense techniques you’re still able to. Think about which of your body parts you can use, and look for vulnerable areas on the attacker. Look for anything you could use as a weapon. Most importantly, stay calm and use your head. That’s why you need to keep practicing these techniques. The more prepared you are, the calmer you’ll be and the better you’ll react.”
Tears filled Juliette’s eyes, but she kept her head up proudly, nodding at Ryan’s words. Jenna and Nicky wrapped their arms around her, and Dylan stepped toward her, but Ryan stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder. With his attention still fully on Juliette and his features softer than usual, Ryan continued. “Sometimes, all you can do is try to attract attention and wait for help or an opportunity to get away. In that case, it may be best not to provoke him or her. Distracting or placating them and preventing the situation from getting worse is sometimes the best strategy. Sometimes it's just about surviving with the least possible damage done, and if you’ve done that, you should be proud of yourself. And you should be proud of yourself for being here, so you’ll be prepared going forward.”
Juliette nodded.
“Any other questions?” Ryan asked. With his hand still on Dylan’s shoulder, he muttered to him, “She’s fine. Let her work through it with the girls.”
Nicky cleared her throat. “What if you’re in a house with another woman and a child, and you could get out, but you can’t get them out too?”
“You’re talking about if someone in the house is a threat to you?”
“Yes.”
“How do you like it now, asshole?” Dylan murmured under his breath.
“So, you could get away, but you don’t know if you should?”
“Yes.”
I was worried for all three of them. Dylan was barely holding back a grimace from the pressure of Ryan’s hand digging into his shoulder. Ryan practically had steam coming out of his ears. And Nicky apparently had no idea how close she was to being hauled off and locked up.
“If someone’s attacking or threatening you, you get away. You. Get. Away. Then you can get help. You’re no good to anyone if you’re hurt or worse. Understand?”
“But—” Nicky started before Jenna cut her off with a nudge and urgent whispering. “Got it,” Nicky said instead, zero sincerity in her tone.
“Any questions from anyone else?” I said, jumping in before things devolved any further. I looked around at the dozen other women in the room, and thankfully no one had any. Although, I wouldn’t have minded putting off the next part a little longer.
“Alright then,” Ryan said, shooting another glare at Nicky before he schooled his expression. “Watch Dylan demonstrate how to get out of some holds from behind.” Ryan walked us through the steps as I held Dylan in an arm grab, a choke hold, and a bear hug.
Jenna watched with wide, worried eyes and a determined set to her jaw. She did awesome practicing the moves on Juliette and Nicky. The girls all did great.
Ryan addressed the class again. “Good job everyone. Now one of us will come around and you’ll do the same to us. Please remember it’s a simulation, especially the nutcracker. These guys want to have kids one day.”
Nicky’s eyes snapped to Ryan at that. I couldn’t take my eyes off Jenna, though. I made my way over and pulled her to me. “I’ll be with you guys.”
Jenna nodded, some of the tension leaving her body.
“Go first. Get it out of the way,” I said. I grabbed her arm, the hold that would be the easiest for her. She stepped and turned, leveraging her body weight to break free, just as she’d been taught. She did well for the choke hold too.
Then it was time for the bear hug. I turned her to face me first and gently traced her delicate jaw, smoothing my fingers over the tension in her forehead. “It’s just me behind you.”
“I know. I’m okay.” She didn’t look quite okay, but she did look fucking tenacious.
“I’m going to hold you tightly against me. It’s important you get to practice this.”
“Liam, I’m okay. I know what this is.”
I still hesitated. Shit. I didn’t want to use my body in a way that might trigger her. “You remember what to do?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
“Head butt, shin scrape, stomp, elbow, nutcracker.”
“Turn around, Firefly,” I said quietly.