“Eye, groin, throat,” she repeated. “One hit.”
Zach rose. “You’re on the ground, you’ve got great leverage. Take your heel, kick me in the nuts.”
She pulled back her knee and paused. “As hard as I can?”
“Do it.”
Jenna closed her eyes and kicked out with all her strength. Her foot hit flesh.
“Never close your eyes,” he growled. His hands clutched her heel. “Most attackers won’t expect you to fight back when you’re down. They think they have the advantage. Turn the tables.” He pulled her to her feet. “Again.”
Zach shoved her to floor. Jenna twisted and kicked with all her might. He jumped back, hips first, just in time to avoid her heel in his groin. She frowned, but Zach smiled. “You’re a natural.”
She couldn’t stop the pride rushing inside her. She faced him. “What if he grabs me?”
Zach took her through three more moves. She didn’t know how much time had passed when she finally stared in triumph down at Zach. Sweat dripped off her face, her entire body ached, but she’d tripped him.
“Yes!” She punched her fist in the air.
Zach grinned up at her. “You got it.”
She smiled back, then a horrifying thought raced through her mind. “What if Sam’s with me? He can’t run that fast. What if I need to really hurt Brad to protect Sam?”
Zach bounded up and put his hands around her throat. “What are the three areas?”
“Eyes, throat, groin,” she repeated.
“If you hesitate, you die.”
She nodded.
“Push your hands between his arms. Stick him in the eye with anything sharp. A pin, a stick, but visualize it going to the back of his head. Don’t hold back. Blind him.” Zach took one hand in his and folded her fingers at the second knuckle. “Make the attack surface small. He’s less likely to block you. Shove your knuckles at his Adam’s apple as if you’re punching straight through his neck. Put all your body weight behind it. You’ll break his larynx. He won’t be able to breathe. If he can’t breathe, he’s dead. That’s your death blow. There’s no halfway.”
She closed her eyes. No halfway. Could she do this?
His warm hand cupped hers and showed her the move, past his neck, even with the back of his throat. “Lean forward. Feel it?”
“My weight follows my arm.”
“Exactly.”
“If you go for his balls, you won’t kill him, but he’ll wish you had. At your size, the target should be within easy reach. Grab as much tissue as you can, then squeeze, twist and tear with everything you’ve got.” He twisted his wrist, mimicking his words. “Say it.”
“Grab, twist, tear.” She wrinkled her nose at the gruesome image.
“How do you think I feel? But don’t consider the damage. It’s him or you. Pull the rocks off him. No hesitation. Even through clothes you’ll hurt him. I guarantee he’ll fall to his knees.”
He lowered her hand to his groin. She didn’t even have to bend her knees to reach the vulnerable part of his body. Her hand brushed against him. His body quivered. Zach sucked in a breath.
She dropped her hand and stepped back.
Zach stared her down, his face unreadable. “Like I said, it’s a tender spot. Do it again.”
“What?” she squeaked.
He winked at her. “While I’d love to have you explore me to your heart’s content, we both know that’s a bad idea. I meant, let’s try the chokehold again. Last move. Then we head to town.”
“Come at me,” she ordered.
Zach charged. He grabbed her neck.
“Mommy!”
Sam ran into the room and jumped on Zach’s leg, pummeling him. “Stop. Stop. Stop,” he screamed, crying.
Her heart broke at her son’s desperation. She’d stayed with Brad too long.
Zach knelt to the ground and grabbed Sam. “Quiet, Sam. I’m not hurting her.”
Sam shook his head back and forth, closing his eyes, shoving his fists into Zach’s chest.
Jenna put her hand on Sam’s back. “I’m fine. Zach was helping me.”
Sam slowed his punches, then opened his eyes. “Really?”
He squinted at Zach, his look hopeful, and way too suspicious for such a little guy. Jenna swallowed down the regret.
“Your mommy needs to know how to fight off bad guys, don’t you think?”
“Like the Dark Avenger.” Sam bit his lip. “Yes, but so do I.”
Jenna opened her mouth to protest. Zach shut her down with one look. “You want to be a Junior Avenger?”
“Please.” Sam nodded his head so hard he could very well have shaken it off.
Zach straightened. “Stand in the middle of the mat.”
Her son did and looked expectantly at Zach.
“If a bad guy comes after you, Sam, there’s one place that you can hit him that will really, really hurt.”
“Where?”
“Before I tell you, you have to promise me something. Deal?”
“I promise.” He crossed his heart.
“If someone tries to hurt you or your mommy,” Zach said, his voice serious, “you need to run away.”
“I won’t leave Mommy.”
“Until you’re a grown-up, you need to find someone bigger to help, Sam. Someone you trust.”
“Like you, Dark Avenger.”
Zach ruffled Sam’s hair. “Like the Dark Avenger.” Zach planted his feet in front of her son. “If the bad guy comes at you, and you can’t run, don’t wait. Hit him really hard before he can even grab you, but not on his leg.” Zach pointed between his legs. “Right here. As—”
Sam reached out and slugged Zach.
“Humph.” Zach’s face paled, and he bent over and cupped his groin.
“Like that?” Sam asked.
Jenna winced and squeezed her legs together in empathy. With eyes full of pain, Zach reached out for a high-five from Sam.
Who did that? Once again, he amazed her. He would make a wonderful father.
“Exactly like that,” he coughed. “Good job. What do you do next?” he said, his voice breathless.
“Run away,” Sam said, chest stuck out with pride.
“And go for help,” Zach added.
Sam whirled around. “See, Mommy, I did it. I’m a Junior Avenger.” He ran to her and threw his arms around her.
“Good job, baby.” Jenna kissed his hair then met Zach’s gaze. “You all right?” she mouthed.
“I’ll live.” The words came out slowly with a whoosh of air. He straightened, adjusted himself, then shook his head at Jenna. “Your son certainly knows how to ruin a mood.”
Jenna scanned the discount store aisle once again, her entire body tense. Even though they’d done nothing to attract attention, she couldn’t stop the edginess that had settled over her. Her muscles ached after Zach’s workout. She wished she had another week with him, but they only had a few hours left together.
The melancholy she’d been fighting since they arrived in Hidden Springs tugged at her. She’d only known him a day, and yet somehow Zach Montgomery had wormed himself into her life. She wouldn’t forget what he’d done.
She’d never forget him.
Zach grabbed a bottle of baby aspirin from a shelf and dumped it into the cart. The mound had exploded into a mountain.
“It’s too much,” she argued.
He turned on her and crossed his arms over his chest. “Haven’t we covered this already?”
“You went overboard,” she muttered, her jaw tightening.
They passed by the toy aisle, and Sam paused, peering at the overflowing selection of sports toys.
“Want something, Sam?” Zach asked.
He knelt in front of her son, and Jenna sighed in appreciation. Zach’s jeans cupped his backside in all the right places. She’d spent two hours this morning touching most every inch of him. Those muscles weren’t airbrushed. Granted he’d thrown her down and choked her, but in the process she�
��d explored every definition of every muscle. She couldn’t stop staring. He was gorgeous, but she’d met drop-dead handsome men before. Her old neighborhood had been full of them. None of them had tempted her like Zach. He was sigh-worthy, all right. And not just because every woman in America wanted him.
Because he cared. He refused to tell her why he had an escape plan for himself, but she recognized he was sacrificing his arrangements to give her and Sam a shot at a new future.
His soul tempted her much more than the eye candy of great pecs and abs.
Besides, she couldn’t deny the wicked grin and mischievous expression in his eyes didn’t hurt. Neither did the concern with which he looked at her son.
Sam eyed the baseball mitt with a longing that couldn’t be missed.
Zach picked it up. “You want the glove?” he asked.
Sam bowed his head. “My dad plays ball with me. We were going to a game. What’s today, Mommy?”
“Friday, June twenty-ninth.”
“Daddy’s taking me to the baseball game on Saturday. Is that why we’re leaving?”
Zach met her gaze over Sam’s head.
“He may not be able to take you this time,” she lied softly.
“But he promised.” Sam crossed his arms. “Is he still in time-out? He’s been in time-out a really long time already.”
“How about you and I play catch at the cabin when we get back?” Zach tossed the ball from hand to hand.
“I don’t want to.” Sam stuck his lip out and threw down the mitt. “Besides, we’re leaving today. You don’t want me.” He stalked down the aisle.
“Sam,” Jenna called out, her cheeks flushing with as much embarrassment as regret.
Zach picked up the mitt, snagged a ball, and set it in the cart. “Just in case.”
“I’ll be back,” she said, and took off after her son.
Sam plopped down on the vinyl floor and kicked at a large toy car sitting on display, his arms folded.
Jenna walked down the hallway, frustration warring with sympathy. The last two days had been hard, emotionally draining, and Sam didn’t have any idea how their lives would change in the next few hours. Still, that didn’t justify his behavior. “What do you think you’re doing, Samuel Walters?”
“Why did you say Daddy won’t take me to the game? He always takes me after he’s been in time-out.”
“Your dad has to work,” Jenna lied again, biting her lip, hating herself, praying Sam would understand someday.
“Last time, you promised I could go to the game. You lied to me, Mommy.”
Man, her kid knew how to dissect her heart. How could she make him understand? “Grown-ups sometimes make promises they can’t keep,” she whispered, pushing back his hair. “I’m sorry you can’t go to the ballgame, but when you get big, sometimes you have to do things—”
“…you don’t want to do. I don’t like being a big kid,” he said with a pout.
She wrapped her arms around him for a hug. “Me either, Sam.”
Her son sat stiff in her arms. She rose and held out her hand. He glared at her. She didn’t budge, didn’t flinch. She could stare her son down, as long as it took. After a full thirty seconds—longer than she’d expected he’d last—her stubborn boy finally blinked.
“I give.” He rose to his feet.
“And…?”
“I’m sorry,” he bowed his head.
“That’s better. Let’s go find the Dark Avenger.”
A horrified expression twisted Sam’s face. “He’s going to think I’m bad.”
She ruffled his hair. “I think he’ll understand. I bet his dad—”
“The Dark Avenger didn’t have a daddy,” Sam said, knowingly. “It said so in the movie. Do you think he’s lonely?”
“I hope not.”
“Me too,” Sam said. “Everyone should have a daddy who takes care of them.”
Emotion clogged Jenna’s throat at her son’s words. They walked back to Zach, who had filled the cart even higher. She glanced down at the panties and bras…in just her size.
She flushed slightly. “You were…thorough.”
“Is everything all right?”
She pushed Sam forward.
He scuffed his shoe on the floor. “I’m sorry, Dark Avenger, sir. I didn’t mean to be bad.”
“We all have our days, Sam. You’re due yours.”
Her son’s brow furrowed, but Zach smiled and handed him the mitt.
“I can still have it?” Sam’s eyes widened with surprise and joy.
“Every kid needs a baseball glove.”
“Did you have one?”
Jenna studied the change on Zach’s face, the flash of pain he couldn’t hide. He sighed. “I wasn’t the baseball type.”
“’Cause of your daddy being gone?” Sam asked.
Zach stared at the boy, stunned. “What do you mean?”
“The Dark Avenger didn’t have anyone to teach him to play baseball. Not a daddy anyway.”
“Right.” Zach cleared his throat. “Something like that.”
Muscles throbbed in Zach’s jaw. Jenna distracted Sam with his mitt, but kept her gaze on Zach. For only the second time, she saw him lose that glint in his eyes. Whatever his relationship with his father, Zach hurt, and missed him.
Once they were in the checkout line, though, he acted as if nothing had happened. He teased Sam and winked at her when he threw her unmentionables on the conveyer belt. Finally, the last item crossed the scanner. Zach pulled out a wad of cash.
Jenna grabbed the receipt from him and stared at the number. “Oh my goodness.” She stared up at him. “I don’t know when I can pay you back.”
“Do I look worried?”
She stuffed the receipt in her pocket. “Well, I am,” she said as they left the store.
Jenna walked beside him. He pushed the overflowing cart toward the Range Rover. Sam skipped behind them.
A fast clicking noise sounded off to the side. “Hey, Zach. Why are you hiding out in the middle of nowhere? Is that your kid?”
* * *
Chapter Eight
* * *
THE PARKING LOT was an obstacle course of cars, shoppers, and carts. A paparazzo moved in closer. The clicking spree started again. Zach rounded on the photographer. With a surprisingly quick sidestep, the guy weaved between a plethora of parked cars toward Sam, camera pointed at the boy’s face.
The guy cleared the hurdles between him and Jenna’s son. He had a clear shot. Zach lunged toward Sam just as the little guy darted his way. Zach couldn’t stop fast enough. He ran over his Junior Avenger and knocked him into the pavement.
The kid held his hand against the back of his head, tears stinging his eyes, shock on his face. One more way Zach had hurt the boy.
The photographer dove behind a vehicle, snapping pictures as if he’d won the lottery.
“Get your son in the car,” Zach growled, careful not to use their names in front of the paparazzo. He shoved Sam into Jenna’s arms, forcing himself not to think about the boy’s tearstained face.
The clicking rolled on like a machine gun.
Jenna snagged her son, flung open the car’s door, and pushed him inside. Zach could hardly stand the fearful expression on the boy’s face.
Zach pivoted toward the man now hiding behind a Jeep, snapping pictures of all of them. With one smooth move, he slid across the trunk and swiped his leg along the photographer’s lower body. The man hurled into the hot asphalt. His camera skidded out of his hands. Zach scooped up the equipment and popped the SD card from its slot.
“You can’t do that!” the paparazzo screamed.
“I just did,” Zach said. “Now get out of here before I knock you out for invading my privacy.”
“You’re public property. Don’t complain about getting what you wanted.”
Jenna and Sam hadn’t signed up to be on display, though.
“I object now.” Zach tossed the camera across the parking lot, and it sh
attered into pieces. He let some bills fly at the man. “Clear out of here before I really get pissed.”
The man ran to his broken equipment. “You’ll pay for this,” he shouted.
“Not if you don’t find me.” Zach glanced past Jenna into the Range Rover. Sam’s eyes remained wide and terrified. Zach let out a slow rush of air. “Is he all right?”
Jenna flung open the door and Sam threw himself at his mother. She hugged him close. He whimpered when she explored the back of his head. “A bump,” Jenna said, her voice soothing, “but you’re tough, aren’t you, baby.”
Sam nodded and gave her a tremulous smile. She kissed his cheek, then turned.
Zach winced at the accusation in her eyes.
She closed the door on her son. “I promised him a movie while we pack. He’s a little freaked out. So am I. That guy took our picture. What if Brad—”
Zach raised the SD card. “I got the pictures.”
She kneaded the muscles at the base of her neck and met his gaze. “We can’t stay here, Zach. Not with you.”
The words were too true, and stung more than they should have. Zach rubbed his chest to alleviate the invisible pain. “I know.” If he’d imagined that Jenna and Sam wouldn’t have to leave today, the unrealistic hope had vanished in one click of the camera.
Zach scanned the parking lot. For such a small town, too many shoppers stood gaping. “We’re attracting attention,” he said, and pushed their cart toward the back of the vehicle. “Show’s over, folks,” he shouted.
At his confrontation, the looky-loos stared anywhere but at them and quickly packed up their groceries or disappeared into the store.
Zach thrust the first bag into the back of the Range Rover, taking his frustration out on the sacks of clothes and supplies Jenna would use when she left him for good.
Jenna passed him a sack from the cart. “How did the photographer find us?”
Zach took the merchandise and stowed it. “There was a couple in the clinic who recognized me. I’d bet on them.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “Let’s get out of here. This paparazzo, singular, may just be the first wave of paparazzi, plural.”
Behind the Lies (A Montgomery Justice Novel) Page 12
