She sighed. “It’s complicated,” she eventually said, forking the rest of her cool eggs in her mouth.
“Right,” Joker responded.
“So um, are you from around here?” she quickly asked, trying to change the subject.
“San Diego.”
“What brings you up into the mountains?”
He turned his eyes away. “Just needed to get away.”
“Are you running from something?”
“Nope. Just needed to be alone for a few days,” he muttered. Parker swallowed.
“Oh. Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” He pushed off the counter. “You have fifteen minutes to get ready before we start training. If you’re a second late, you’ll regret it,” he said and walked off. She quickly finished the last of her breakfast, washed her plate, and rushed to the bedroom to find something to wear. It wasn’t like she had much to choose from. She didn’t have much time to pack the things she’d wanted when she decided to leave in the middle of the night.
She dumped the contents of her bag and rummaged through them. Grabbing a pair of black leggings, a white tank top, and a pair of socks, she pulled it all on and retrieved her sneakers. She hopped from foot to foot as she made her way down the hallway, pulling on her sneakers along the way. Joker stood on the back deck with his back to the glass door, turning around to look at her when she all but tripped over the threshold as she opened the door.
“Here,” she said breathlessly. He gave her a look over, a slight smirk pulling at his lips.
“I heard you before I saw you. It’s nice that you managed to open the door instead of falling through the glass,” he teased.
She playfully rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. If falling through the glass would’ve gotten me here on time, that could’ve been an option as well,” she replied. His eyes slowly scanned her body, lust passing through his gaze. She cleared her throat. “Are we going to get started or are you going to continue your body scan? I promise I don’t have any weapons on me.”
“So you say,” he mused with a beautiful smile before turning and walking down the stairs to the grass. She followed behind him, feeling a mixture of nervousness and excitement. “We’re going to start with some basics first. You may already know them, but we’re going to do it anyway.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll start with an open hand strike. Are you familiar with that?”
She shrugged. “Kind of.”
“When you strike someone, you use the heel of your hand to hit the vulnerable parts of someone’s head, such as the face, eyes, and the front and back of the neck. But first, you need to be in the correct stance to pull this off.” He held his hands up, palms up as if he were surrendering to her and slightly spread his legs. “Look as if you aren’t looking for a fight and just want to retreat. That way, when they come forward…”
She watched as he demonstrated the move, moving so quick she would’ve missed it had his hand not been centimeters away from her face. He slowly put his hand down and nodded toward her.
“You try,” he said. She cocked her arm back, but Joker stopped her. “No, don’t pull back. You’re basically saying ‘I’m about to hit you, so prepare yourself’ when you do that. They’ll be able to block you and counter with their own attack. Hands up as if you’re surrendering.”
She followed his direction and copied his earlier stance, watching him. He took a step forward and Parker performed the move, hitting him in the nose.
“Oh God, I’m sorry!” she exclaimed, covering her mouth. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head.
“Don’t worry about it. You clearly know how to do that one. Let’s move on,” he said, returning back to his stance. “Kicks to the groin are also a good move. If you’re too far away, use the tip of you foot to connect, and use your knee for close attacks.” When Parker prepared to execute the move, Joker jumped back. “Whoa there, crouching tiger. I’m not crazy enough to let you demonstrate that while I’m not wearing a cup. I’m sure you know how to kick someone in the balls.”
Parker laughed. “Yeah, I think I have that covered.”
“Now for the 360 outside defenses,” he said. He spread his legs apart. “When you hold your hands up, you need to keep your fingers together. You don’t want them to get tangled up in their attack.” She copied his position and waited for his next command. “When someone attacks, you’ll use the side of your wrist to intercept it and then counter their attack with a similar one.”
She mimicked his movements and then practiced with him a few times, finally nodding in satisfaction. “Seems easy enough,” she mused.
They spent the next few hours going over more moves and practicing the ones she’d learned so far, except the groin kick of course. He showed her a few scenarios to test her skills and she cleared them all with ease. The more they practiced, the more confident she’d felt. Maybe I can really do this, she thought as she flipped Joker and pinned him to the ground once again, straddling him.
He smiled up at her. “You’re a fast learner,” he murmured.
“I think this being a matter of life or death greatly influences that,” she replied, her voice soft. He gaze was tender as he looked up at her and she became lost in his eyes.
Suddenly he rolled and flipped her onto her back, now straddling her. “One very important rule you should remember in self defense is to not become distracted,” he said, his voice low. Her breath came out fast, her lips tingling as his face hovered mere inches away from hers. Her eyes moved down to his lips, tempting her to raise her head to kiss him. Before the thought was even complete in her mind, he got up and pulled her to her feet.
“Now you know the basics. We’ll move on to weapons after we have some lunch,” he said and headed toward the deck.
“Weapons?” Parker repeated.
“Yep.”
“Um…what kind of weapons?”
“Guns and knives,” Joker called over his shoulder and disappeared into the cabin. Parker slowly headed back into the cabin, fear trickling back into her spirit. Everything was suddenly hitting her at once and becoming very real. There was a man looking for her that wanted to take her life. Learning self-defense was easy, but knowing Jarrod, simple defense moves wouldn’t save her. Even though guns made her uneasy, it was necessary that she learned how to use them.
Her survival depended on it.
Chapter 5
Joker
Joker leaned against the counter near the kitchen sink and observed Parker as she sat at the breakfast nook picking at the sandwich before her. He’d been impressed with how quickly she’d picked up on the self-defense moves he’d shown her. He wiggled his nose, greeted by an annoyingly dull ache. At least he didn’t have to worry about whether or not she was strong enough to inflict pain or damage.
“Not hungry?” he finally asked, finishing off the rest of his lunch.
She sighed. “Not really.” She looked up at him. “How do you know all this stuff? And why are you helping me?
Joker raised a brow. “Do you not want my help?”
“I didn’t say that. I just…you know things about me, but I don’t know anything about you besides your nickname. With someone out to kill me, forgive me for being a little paranoid.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Fair enough,” he said. “First, I’m in the military. Second, because you looked liked you needed help.”
Parker blinked. “That’s it?”
“That’s all you asked,” he replied with a shrug.
“Oh.” She picked at the crust on the sandwich. “Well, thanks for serving.” He nodded. “Um…what’s your real name?”
“Ethan.”
“Are you from around here?”
“San Diego.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Really? I grew up there before going to college on the east coast. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around.”
“It’s a big city.”
“True.” She lowered her e
yes to her plate. “Single?”
“Yep.”
“Such a shame. You seem like you’d make a great conversationalist. Straight and to the point,” she said sarcastically.
Joker chuckled and shook his head. “You hardly know me.”
“I know you’re at least a good person. If you weren’t, I don’t think I’d still be here,” she said, meeting his gaze.
He simply shrugged and put his plate in the sink. “We’re starting target practice in ten minutes,” he said.
“Actually,” Parker interrupted just as Joker was about to walk away. “Can we…can we do that tomorrow? Self defense was a lot to take in this morning and I’m a bit overwhelmed with everything.”
The sadness and fear harboring in her eyes made his blood boil for a completely different reason. He hated that there was a bastard out there somewhere that put fear in her heart and eyes. It angered him to know that once he left this cabin, she’d be on her own and that he had to trust she’d be able to protect herself whenever the time came. Most importantly, no matter how bad he wanted to save her, he wouldn’t always be around in order to do so.
He finally nodded. “Sure. Maybe it’ll be better for you if we find an actual shooting range for you to practice at,” he suggested. She nodded and stood from the breakfast nook.
“I’m sorry to waste food. I don’t have much of an appetite,” she said with a small apologetic smile.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Since they weren’t doing target practice, what was he supposed to do with her now? It was still early in the day. Had he been alone, he would’ve been off shooting in the woods somewhere or maybe wading along the edge of the lake. He didn’t expect to have to entertain another person when he wasn’t even in the mood to interact with other people, which was the whole reason for him coming up into the mountains.
“So…do you want to watch a movie or something?” Parker asked, moving next to him to put her plate in the sink.
“Not really.”
“Well, what do you want to do?”
He shrugged. “Entertaining someone wasn’t really on my itinerary for this getaway, so I don’t know,” he said.
“Right,” she said, her voice small.
Joker released a deep sigh. He knew he shouldn’t feel bad for still being a little annoyed about her crashing his trip, but damn if she wasn’t a pro at guilt tripping. He was tempted to kiss her pouty lips until she was no longer pouting, but instead opted to move over to the patio door. He looked back at her, unsure of how he felt about leaving her alone here. It was better to keep her in his eyesight for the time being. “How about we go walking along the trail? I need some fresh air,” he finally said.
“Okay,” she said and followed him out the door.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, the only noise around them were distance birds chirping and the faint sound of the small waves.
“I used to love walking on this trail with my dad when I was younger,” Parker finally said, fallen twigs snapping under her sneakers as she walked.
“Must’ve been nice. It’s beautiful out here,” Joker mentioned, taking in his surroundings. Tall, green trees were on both sides of them, slivers of sunlight slicing through the tops of the trees. The dirt path looked as if it hadn’t been traveled in a while, twigs and leaves covering it and making it hard to make out. A cool breeze wafted over them, bringing the scent of fresh Earth after a good rain.
“It was nice. I wished we could’ve lived out here instead of just coming here for vacation.”
“Do you have a good relationship with your parents?” he asked.
Parker shrugged slightly. “I did, but things kind of went sour when I started dating Jarrod. I thought I knew better than them and didn’t listen to their advice. Now look at me,” she mumbled.
Joker put his hands in his pockets. “Sometimes you have to learn things the hard way.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think the hard way would consist of running from someone who wants to kill me.” She was quiet for a moment. “I just want this to be over. There’s been times on my way over here that I thought about just telling him where I was and just getting this over with.”
Joker looked over at her, noticing her baby doll features were tight with anxiety. “Do you want to die?”
She scoffed lightly. “Of course not. But I’m tired of living in fear. I’m tired of running. What kind of life is it to live when you’re constantly going from place to place and unable to stay somewhere long because you’re paranoid that he’ll find you? What good is being alive a few days longer if you have to constantly look over your shoulder everywhere you go?”
“I can understand that,” Joker said. He remembered when he came home from his first deployment. He’d had nightmares about the first man he’d killed. He’d dreamed that the man’s friends or family would come to America, track him down, and murder him time and time again. He remembered feeling paranoid even when he had nothing to worry about, so he couldn’t even begin to imagine how Parker felt. It was different when your fears were made up in your mind from a guilty conscience. Parker’s threat was very real and was coming for her.
Joker stopped in his tracks. Parker looked over her shoulder and stopped when she saw he’d stopped moving. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Do you believe you’re a victim?” he asked.
She crossed her arms over her ample chest and cocked her head. “I would think so since my life is in danger,” she replied, her voice tight.
Joker took a step forward. “Being a victim is about a mentality. You think you’re a victim out of fear. If he were in front of you right now, would you succumb to him and be a victim or would you fight?”
“I’d fight,” she said softly.
“You’re capable of defending yourself, Parker, and I don’t think you’d let him win without putting up a hell of a fight. The only thing holding you back is fear right now. But one thing you have over him is the power to control your mind. Don’t let him control it by letting him instill fear in you. Prepare yourself for the battle you already know is coming.”
Parker swallowed hard and turned her eyes to the ground, wrapping her arms around herself. “Yeah, you’re right. I just wish my life were back to normal. I wish I had more nights like last night.” They continued walked again.
“You want more nights of someone pointing a gun at you?” he asked with a raise brow.
She gave him a soft smile and shook her head. “No. But last night was the first time in a while that I’d been able to sleep through the whole night. I actually felt…safe.” She met his gaze. “I can’t thank you enough for what you’re doing for me, especially when you don’t have to.”
Joker tore his gaze away and looked down at the ground as he walked. “Yeah,” he simply said.
Parker gave him a playful jab in the side. “You act like you can’t take a compliment,” she teased. He sighed deeply.
“Because wanting to help someone in trouble isn’t something that really needs a compliment. It’s basic human decency.”
She nodded. “But it’s also basic common sense to protect yourself as well. I told you that my psychotic ex boyfriend is looking for me because he wants to kill me. Most people would’ve sent me on my way because they wouldn’t want to get involved or hurt.”
“I’m not most people,” Joker answered. “I never run away from a fight.”
“That definitely sounds like the soldier in you,” she replied. “How long have you been in?”
“Almost eleven years. Went in right after high school.”
“Oh wow, that’s a long time. What branch?”
“Navy.”
“So then you must be a good swimmer.”
“I’d say so.”
“Hmm.” She took in a deep breath and let it out. “Nature is so beautiful. I almost wished I lived in it.
Joker chuckled. “Yeah, okay, Jane. Just know that Tarzan isn’t real.”
“Real
ly?” She looked up at him with a slight smirk. “Looks like Tarzan is standing right next to me.”
“I look nothing like Tarzan.”
Parker giggled. “Have you seen yourself lately? Muscles, tall, and I assume long hair if you’re able to throw it up in a bun like that,” she said, pointing at his hair. “But don’t worry. I had a crush on Tarzan growing up. You should be happy you look like him.”
“You’re about two seconds from being thrown in the lake,” he said with a chuckle.
She stopped walking for a moment, causing him to pause, turn, and look at her. She grinned at him and looked through the trees to the sparkling water yards away. “Throw me in the lake, huh? First you’ll have to catch me!” she exclaimed and took off through the trees. A small grin pulled at his lips as he chased behind her, watching as she pulled her tank top over her head. They ducked and dodged the tree branches as they moved closer to the shore, taking off their articles of clothing until they were down to their undergarments by the time they reached the clearing. His eyes raked along her body, appreciating the view in front of him. She was only in a black lacy bra and matching thong and it took everything in him not to stop where he was and stare at her. She looked back at him with a bright smile on her face as she tossed her clothes on the wet sand. Damn, she’s beautiful.
“Come on, grandpa! It’ll be tomorrow morning before you reach the lake at that rate!” she called out and continued sprinting toward the water, splashing along. Joker smiled and followed suit. He followed her into the water, wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her up.
“Watch yourself, sassy mouth. I’m years away from being a grandpa. Maybe I was trying to be nice and let you win.”
“Is that your go-to line when you lose?” she teased.
She squealed in delight when he spun her around, which was music to his ears. He had to give her credit. Despite what she was currently going through, she still found joy in life. He didn’t know if it was because she actually did feel safe with him or if she was simply just living life like every day was her last, but he knew he wanted to do anything he could to make sure she was happy while she was here with him. Now that he thought about it, it was probably a good thing that she was here. If he were by himself, he probably would’ve been sulking around the woods shooting targets, which probably wouldn’t have been the best way to cope with a loss. But having Parker around— a woman so full of life despite her reality— was enough to remind him that there was still something good to hold on to during a trying time.
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