Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down (20 page)

“I remember.  So you miss him
a lot then?  I wasn’t sure how close the two of you were.”

“It never progressed very far, but I always had a soft spot for him in my heart.”

“You could always go visit him sometime, or he’s welcome to come and stay here for a visit, anytime.”

“Perhaps.”  She didn’t sound too hopeful though. 

“Is it the money?”

“No, it’s more than that.  Things have been difficult for him lately.”

“Oh?”

“Vetis has been all in an uproar since we left.” 

I didn’t want to hear about anything to do with Vetis, it made me think about Bishop too much.  But she’d listened to my stuff, so I tried my best to listen to her.  “What sort of an uproar would involve Tucker?”

“The Order’s completely divorced themselves of providing any personal protection for the ho
use, so it’s fallen on the were-guard to handle it all on their own.  That means Tucker’s been on a fair number of protection details and it doesn’t suit him very well.”

I remembered the shy boy with the painful stutter.  She was right, he didn’t seem well suited for security at all.  “Why doesn’t he quit then?”

“Where would he go?  The House rules not only the vampires but the shifter community as well.  He’s been ordered to serve in this manner, so he serves.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” I murmured, wondering if that was Bishop’s influence.  I knew he hated it that the Order had lost sight of its original intent and become little more than private security to the House of Vetis over there, but I could sympathize with Tucker’s plight.  “
Don’t worry, they’ll get more staff on soon enough and then maybe he can find something that makes him happier.”

“I surely hope so,” she sighed, neck arching gracefully as she held onto the bedpost. 

“It’s late.  We should both get some sleep,” I declared, rising to my feet before I got so tired I had to crash on her floor.  “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Sleep well,” she smiled,
escorting me to the door.  “And try not to worry about Rob.  I have a feeling he won’t be able to keep you at arm’s length for too much longer.”

“We should talk about self defense.”  Rob hadn’t said two words to me since I’d meandered into the kitchen and found him eating a gloppy mess that looked like lumpy porridge.  But now he opened the conversation like we’d been chatting for the past half hour as he carried his dirty bowl to the sink.

“What about it?”

“Part of why I’m here is to make sure you have all the skills you need at your disposal.  I’ll feel better about leaving if I know you can handle yourself if you’re alone.”

“I can handle myself
fine.  It’s not like people are openly challenging me to a fight or anything.  In fact, I haven’t had anyone try to kill me for over a month.”

“Still, I’ll sleep better if I know you’re protected against any eventuality,” he pressed, setting the bowl to soak.  It almost sounded like he cared.  “Now, you’re faster and stronger than most vamps you’ll meet, but a certain skillset will always give you the advantage.”

“There’s always a use for skill and finesse over age and brawn,” I quoted Carter.

“Yeah, where did you hear that?”

“It’s something I picked up.  So, what did you have in mind?  Do you want me to enroll in a Tae Bo class or watch old re-runs of Buffy or something?  ‘Cause I could totally get into a Buffy-athon right about now!”  I was pretty sure I could watch them instantly on Netflix.  That sounded like a way better night than going out to the Hart. 

The corner of his mouth twitched.  “You could do that if you like, but I thought I’d give you some more practical instruction to start with.”

“Oh, that works too.  Alright then, when should we start?”

“No time like the present.”

As much fun as some one on one time with Rob sounded, I had to remember his motivation in getting me in fighting trim.  “Of course, the sooner we’re done here, the sooner you can make your great escape, right?”

“Right.” 

I considered dragging it out then, to make it take longer, but part of me was itching to find out what he’d show me.  “Do I need to change or is this okay?”  I still had on my comfy sleep pants and a tank top.

“That’ll do fine, unless you prefer to change into exercise gear.”

“I don’t own exercise gear.”

“There you are then,” he allowed.  “I took the liberty of setting up some mats up in the attic.  It’s the only open floor space we have.”

“I like that plan, fewer eyes watching me fall on my behind while we’re at it,” I agreed readily, grabbing a scrunchie along the way to pull my hair back.  Rob had set up four large mats in the center of the attic space and I wondered when he’d managed to do it without the rest of us noticing.  Probably while we were all dead to the world during the daytime.  I promptly locked the door behind us, serious about not wanting an audience for what was sure to be a lesson in humility for me. 

Rob took off his shoes once we reached the mats and I slipped off m
y socks or I’d be sliding all over the place.  He also took off his shirt, leaving him in a black tank-style undershirt, highlighting his muscular arms and shoulders. 

“This is gonna hurt,” I muttered while he went through some simple stretches, and I followed along, not sure if I needed them or if my vampire muscles would care one way or another. 

“Now then, I think your instincts are good, I’ve seen you move.  Like I said, you’ve the advantage when it comes to strength and speed.  But despite your strength, there are certain positions you might find yourself in that might be harder to get out of.” 

“Like what?”

One moment we were chatting about training and the next he had my arm twisted up behind my back, my wrist locked in an uncomfortable position.  It didn’t particularly hurt, but I couldn’t move much either without a sharp pain zinging up my arm.  “Alright then, try to break free.”

I twisted in his grasp the best I could, but any direction I moved in caused almost immediate pain.  “I can’t, I’m stuck like
this.”

“You’re completely forgetting the bottom half of your body,” he replied.  “You’ve the power to crush my foot into a pulp with yours.  A simple stomp on the foot will do.  And your head’s free.  Never underestimate the power of a good head
butt.  If you aim it right, you can smash my nose in – that’s guaranteed to make me drop my hold on you.  Plus, your other hand’s free.  Instead of trying to twist free, you’ll want to be thinking about what other pain you can inflict to make me let go of you.”

I never in a zillion years would have though of all of those ways to fight back, but they made perfect sense.  “You want me to try one of those now?”

“That’s the general idea, yeah.”

“But I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Not that I wouldn’t appreciate you holding back a bit, but you go ahead and try to get out.  Don’t worry about me, I’ve had plenty worse.”

“If you say so…” I murmured, stomping on his foot tentatively.  Rob didn’t so much as budge and I tried it again, a little harder.

“You’re holding back too much.”

“Well
, I’m sorry, I don’t like the idea of causing you pain.”

“We’ll be here all night if you don’t step up and try harder.”

Not that I had much better to do, and the attic was nice and cool, but the air was stuffy, and could benefit from some open windows.  Of course, the only way to open them was to shake him off.  “Alright, you asked for it…” I muttered, lifting my foot again.  Only instead of stomping on him, I drove my free elbow back into his stomach hard enough to make him loosen his grip, and I twisted myself free the rest of the way.

“I did it!” I crowed, jumping up and down in an impromptu victory dance while Rob rubbed at his middle. 

“Yeah, you did at that.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”  He straightened, and to his credit he didn’t look any worse for wear.  “Alright, let’s go again.”

“Are you sure?  You don’t need more time to recover?” 

Instead of answering, he grabbed hold of me again, this time twisting around my other arm, his hold on me slightly closer, with one arm wrapped around my waist.  “I think I’m ready to go, yeah?”

We tussled for a good half hour or more,
and I grew increasingly bolder in my strategy, anything to avoid actually causing him pain.  I found I had a harder time getting him to let go when I assaulted his foot or his thighs and the head butt made me dizzy for a few seconds but he still hung on.  All the while he tossed out pointers on where the tender spots could be found on the human body. Besides the obvious groin area, he pointed out the vulnerabilities of the throat, the eye sockets, and the knees, along with the effectiveness of a good ol’ broken nose. 

While we worked together, he forgot to be quite so distant, becoming more of the Rob I remembered with every grudging compliment and the elusive
half-smile.  He also held me closer, maybe to make it harder for me to escape, and maybe because he’d gotten more comfortable around me again.  Whatever the cause, I felt more at ease with him than I had in weeks. 

“Is this all we’re going to work on?” I asked, trying to figure my way out of a particularly tight hold.  “I’m sure it’s handy and all, but what are the odds someone will attack me this exact way?”

“No, it’s just a start,” Rob replied at my ear.  “There’s plenty more for you to learn, never you fear.”

“Good.”  I improvised and instead of trying any of the attacks I’d attempted before, I slammed my hips back and leaned forward throwing us both off balance.  Using my body weight, I toppled us to the ground, and we landed in a tangle of limbs on the mat. 
“There, I got you to let go without hurting you at all this time,” I crowed with success. 

“Only because I didn’t want to break your arm when we fell,” he pointed out, jumping up, light on his feet to offer me a hand up.  “I give you full marks for improvising though.  It does bring up another point I wanted to go over.  You’ve done pretty well so far, but you’ve also neglected to try the one other sure way to break free.” 

“What’s that?”

“Bite the bullet and take the pain.”

“What do you mean?”  That didn’t sound at all pleasant.

Rob caught me up into a hold again, and I waited to hear what was different this time.  “Why can’t you break free?” he asked.

“Because you’re holding me.”

“And am I stronger than you?”

“Um, no, I don’t think so…”  I hadn’t tried brute strength to wrench my way out of his holds yet, largely because it hadn’t been the point of the lesson.  I wanted to learn how to get out of a hold from someone potentially stronger than me. 

“So what’s keeping you there?”

“It hurts when I try to move.”

“But what will happen if you do it anyway?  If you give a sharp wrench and pull away all at once.”

“Ah… my arm will break?”  That couldn’t be the answer he was looking for, could it?

“Yes, and then?”

“Then I’ll have a broken arm and it’ll hurt like hell!  What good is that in a fight?”

“Yes, your arm will likely be broken, but will it kill you?” he asked calmly, and I started to grasp the point.

“Well, no…”

“I don’t recommend it in every situation, especially given the other options we’ve talked about.  But it bears mentioning, the time might come when it’s the only option you have left.  If you push through the pain, it can set you free.”

“That sounds almost poetic.” I smiled over my shoulder at him.

“Didn’t mean it to be,” he said gruffly.  “Now then, show me what you’ve learned.  Break free.”

Breaking my own arm didn’t sound like a super lot of fun to me, but I was there to test my limits, right?  With a sharp, wrenching motion, I twisted my body as hard as I could, an inarticulate cry escaping my lips as white hot pain lanced up my arm.  But instead of the sharp crack of broken bone, I felt him start to give way, and I pushed harder, using my whole body to wrench free of his hold.  I stumbled out of his grasp, holding my arm close at first, but the sharp pain went away almost immediately. 

Rob’s face was frozen in a mask of shock for long seconds until he found his voice.  “What were you doing?  I didn’t mean for you to cause yourself that kind of pain.”

“You said to show you what I’ve learned.” 

“I only meant it as a talking point.  A demonstration that you always have options, even if they’re lousy ones.
  You were supposed to show me what else you’ve learned today.”  His voice softened, strong fingers probing my shoulder and upper arm lightly.  “How are you, are you hurt?”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Are you sure?  Maybe we should have a doc take a look at you?”  His hands probed higher, massaging my shoulder lightly.

“It’s okay, really, but you can keep doing that if you want to,” I sighed, as aches and pains I didn’t realize I had were soothed by his touch.  Unfortunately, he
let go of me like a hot potato the moment I said I was fine.  “I did what you wanted me to though.  Or did you let go of me this time because you didn’t want me to get hurt?”

“No, you surprised me too much for that.  You broke free on your own.”

I guess that answered the question of which one of us was stronger.  “You really weren’t holding back at all?”

“Not about that.”

“Huh?”

“Maybe that’s enough for today
.” He shook his head, shoulders rolling as he stepped away from me.

“No, I’m fine, really.  I can keep going.”  Apart from a slight twinge, it didn’t hurt that much.  “Unless you’re tired.”  His undershirt was damp with sweat, though I was still cool as a cucumber. 

“You’re sure it doesn’t hurt?”

“Want to arm wrestle and find out?” I waggled my eyebrows at him and he shook his head
again, this time with a faint smile.

“I think we can skip that for today
.  We’ve already settled you’re strong enough.” 

My insides gave a hop of excitement
– the smile more rewarding than busting free of his hold.  “Okey doke, what are we working on then?  Back to holds?” 

“Now that I’ve taught you how to push through the pain, let’s work on reducing your chance for injury. 
Make like you’re going to hit me.”  I clenched my hand dutifully and he clucked his tongue at me with a shake of the head.  “That’s the best way to end up with a broken hand.  But, if you position your hand like this…”  His fingers pushed mine up, leaving the palm open.  “Tuck your thumb in a bit… good, that’s it.  Don’t want it to get broke.”

“Oh, I’ve seen this in movies before.”  Jason Bourne, look out!

“They have the right of it, just like that.  Now, when you hit someone, don’t hit them with your hand, hit them with your entire body.  Let me show you.”  He let go of my hand to stand across from me, but I was too busy looking at the muscles on his shoulders to worry much about being hit.  “Look here, you see how my entire upper body pivots when my hand pumps out?  And how the weight in my legs shift?  You follow through with your entire body.  Quick in and back.” 

He moved with lightning speed, stopping about six inches from my nose.  “The better to be ready for your opponent’s next move, or even better, for your own.  Alright?  Let me see you try that.  Aim for this.”  He held up his hand, and I did my best to mimic his stance, feeling awkward and foolish for being so clunky at it.