Glory
It was three dayslater when I finally managed to get some time with Lenore, but it wasn’t just me who wanted to see her. It ended up being a class for the Phoenix old ladies. Once I’d mentioned it to Lissa in my therapy session, she’d jumped on the idea, saying she’d always wanted to learn how to defend herself, and then she got talking to the rest of the old ladies, and as a result, most of us were here. Sophie was missing, as was the wife of the other chapter’s VP, Cammy, but both had babies at home.
That left me with V, Elise, Grace, Alicia, Tori, Lissa, Jay, and Caroline, who was mostly hovering by the back wall, and looking awkward. Lenore had a couple of the big guys with her that we’d met before, but they promised us they were only there to help with demonstrations, and nobody would be touching any of us unless we agreed to it.
Marco, Deano, and Tony were the men here, and they were all massive and strong, so there was no way we were going to take them down, right?
The only reason our own men weren’t here in this room was because Ice and Grease had arranged with that Nige guy to have access to a camera feed in here, from outside. I mean, they were literally outside this training room at the charity’s building.They were possessive as hell, but at least they were possessive in the right way. Protective, loving, desperate to keep their women safe, and wasn’t that the best way? I knew Henley would throw himself between me and any threat, which was amazing after the man I’d trusted before, that wrong man. Honestly though? I didn’t want Henley to have to risk himself for me. I wanted to be strong enough to do that for myself.
“Okay, ladies, or is it old ladies? Okay, whatever,” Lenore grinned as a few of us giggled, “here’s the plan. You’re not going to be kicking any asses today, but what I’m going to show you is a few basic moves to deflect an attack. The key areas to aim for are the eyes, throat, and groin. The knee is another weak spot. No matter how big the man, those things are their weak areas. Don’t be afraid to play dirty and hit them where it hurts.”
Marco grimaced as she waved to him.
“Aw babe, are you afraid?”
He sighed. “Just don’t break my balls, because we need those later.”
His two friends started laughing, but I think they were mostly just relieved to not be the one about to take the hit.
“Okay, so what Marco’s going to do is come at me from behind.”
“Wahey,” Deano chimed in, setting us off giggling again. This was nice. We might have been together to try and learn how to not get attacked, but the atmosphere was good. It was right. It felt like a family learning together. And Lenore and the men with her weren’t scary anymore, because we knew they were on our side.
“Deano’s next, don’t worry.”
“Fuck.”
“Okay, so he’s going to grab me from behind, and I’ll fight him off.” She looked over her shoulder at the huge hulking guy, and he winked at her. “Surprise me, big man.”
“My pleasure,” he rumbled in that deliciously deep voice that made all of us women sigh a little.
Lenore grinned at us, not at all concerned by him being behind her, planning his attack.
“The key is to break free, and immobilise all in one go. You won’t get a second chance, so make it count. He’s the one who deserves to hit the ground, right?”
Without warning, Marco suddenly attacked from behind her, one arm looping around her throat as the other grabbed her right arm, and she moved instantly, twisting her arm against his grip, stomping back at the same time, and catching his foot. As he dodged to avoid getting his foot trampled, she used her free left arm to deliver a hammer blow to his junk, which I really hope she didn’t put too much power behind.
“And that’s how it’s done. Aw you okay down there, Marco?”
“Fucker went down hard, man.”
“And you’re next, remember.”
“Shoulda got a note from my mum or something.”
Lenore ignored them. “You see what I did there, the thumb is a weak point, so twist your arm to put pressure on it, and he’ll have to release. The arm around the throat is tricky, but you can just twist to the side to take the pressure off your throat. Stomping on the foot will give them a sudden ‘hell no’ moment, especially if you’re wearing heels of any kind. Now, if I’d wanted to really disable him, I’d have taken out his knee too, but I really want him able to walk later. Any questions?”
Alicia, or Ally as she’d insisted I address her, lifted her hand.
“What if he comes at you and grips both arms instead of your neck?”
Lenore grinned and encouraged Deano to step forward, and we all giggled at the wary look on his face.
“Evie likes my junk, okay? Just don’t hurt my boys.”
Marco leaned against the wall with Tony, still rubbing his wrist, and murmured something that set them both off laughing.
“Prick.”