Savage Cinderella (20 page)

Brinn darted a glance between her mother and
father. “Once I stopped crying and letting him see my fear, he
stopped...touching me. He beat me, but he didn’t...he couldn’t...he
just left me alone.” Exhaustion hit her like a wave and her face
fell into her hands. “I think he was planning to kill me before I
even ran away that last time. He said there were plenty of others
like me that he could have any time he wanted.”

Her mother stood and came to her side. “I
understand what you’re saying. In your own way, you stood up to
him. That’s the kind of courage it will take to face him again. Can
you do that, Sweetie?”

Brinn slouched numbly on the plush dark
couch. Her legs remained tucked under and her palms were scored
with red half moons. “I have to, don’t I? It’s the only way to end
this.”

“
That’s enough for now,
John.” Her mother slid onto the cushion beside her and wrapped an
arm around Brinn’s shoulders. She looked hard at her
husband.

He nodded, let out a breath, and sat back in
the chair.

A delicate hand stroked Brinn’s cheek,
brushing her hair away from her face. “I know how difficult this
has been for you. I’m so proud of you.” Her mother smiled through
dried tears and a reddened nose. And then the smile faded, her
expression growing somber again. “Everything that man said to you
was a lie—do you hear me? Nothing that happened was your fault.
There wasn’t anything you could have done differently; you need to
believe that.” Her mother pushed aside the curtain of dark hair
that shielded Brinn’s face. “Most importantly, nothing you have
said changes how we all feel about you.”

A deep ache wrapped around Brinn’s heart and
squeezed until tears flooded her eyes and her voice cracked with
emotion. “Thank you, Mama. You have no idea how much that
means.”

Fighting Spirit

The next morning, dressed in sweats, a tee
shirt and her comfy worn boots, Brinn faced off with Cody in the
basement gym of the Hathaway’s home. The spacious room was equipped
with a weight bench, dumbbells, and several pieces of aerobic
machinery. The floors were padded and there were full-length
windows that let the morning sun flood the room with warm
light.

Although her father had increased security on
the property, Brinn was uncomfortable with the idea of a strange
man lurking about as her personal bodyguard. Cody offered his
services instead. Since he was currently “free,” he didn’t mind
staying with Brinn while her parents were at work. He insisted on
spending some time training her in combat techniques. The idea of
learning to defend herself gave her a new focus. Justin seemed less
than enthusiastic about the arrangement, but agreed with her
parents that she was in capable hands.

“
Just hit me.” Cody squared
his shoulders and readied his stance, pointing with one finger to
the center of his body just below his ribs. “Aim right here, for
the solar plexus.”

Brinn cringed. “You’re not serious. I can’t
hit you. I’ll hurt you.”

He looked doubtful and then smiled, “I’m all
healed up, see?” He patted his ribs firmly. “You won’t hurt me.
Pretend I’m a big dummy.” His smile was bright, amusement lighting
his green eyes. “I need to see if you have a fighting spirit.
C’mon, do it. Just hit me.” When she continued to hesitate, he let
out a frustrated breath. “I understand that you’re used to being on
the defensive, but you can’t stand around waiting to be attacked.
If you’re feeling threatened, you have to act.” When her shoulders
sagged, his tone softened. “I saw you that night in the bar. I know
you have it in you to defend yourself.”

Brinn couldn’t imagine striking anyone with
her hands. The thought brought a wave of fear curling through her
insides. “Can’t we just work on knife skills? I can hit a tree from
twenty paces dead on.” She pulled the knife from its sheath at her
hip, flipping it end to end in her hand. The six-inch blade found a
natural balance in her palm, as if it were an extension of her
fingers. The familiarity gave her confidence. She wouldn’t be
caught without it again.

With a movement so fast Brinn had no time to
register anything but the sharp tingle in her wrist, Cody had
knocked the weapon from her hand. He’d barely made contact, but an
instantaneous numbness made her lose her grip. The knife flew up
into the air and landed a few feet away. Brinn flinched at how
easily he’d disarmed her and went to pick up the knife. Before she
could fully squat to retrieve her weapon, however, a large
black-booted foot pinned it to the floor. In camouflage pants and a
forest green tee shirt, he vaguely resembled a tree, his legs as
thick as trunks. Brinn glared up at the towering Marine, whose
expression was that of smug satisfaction.

“
What are you doing?” She
asked, knowing full well what he was up to and not liking it one
bit.

“
You have become too
dependent on your little friend.” He said, glancing down at the
razor-sharp survival knife.

Brinn stood and watched as Cody lifted the
blade with the tip of his boot and kicked it up into the air,
catching it by the worn hilt before she could snatch it from the
air. He set it onto the table and faced Brinn with a stern
expression. “You will learn to fight hand-to-hand if it kills
me.”

Brinn felt the large room close in. Her eyes
roved wildly around, taking in every detail at once. Her knife sat
on the gaming table that occupied one corner of the room. The
weapon lay beyond her reach, useless .

The focused look on Cody’s hard-edged
features sent Brinn’s pulse racing with apprehension. She felt
trapped. “I-I don’t want to do this. I’ve changed my mind.” She
darted for the door. Her escape from the room was thwarted by the
looming presence that blocked the doorway ahead of her.

Cody smiled mischievously, leaned against the
doorframe, and pulled a lollipop from his pocket, sucking it into
his mouth. He was ardently trying to quit smoking and had replaced
his habit with the pops, his scent now a pleasant mix of fruitiness
and soap. “We can do this the hard way, or you can be
cooperative.”

Brinn sidestepped into the center of the
room, creating distance between them. She began pacing as she rung
her hands together, aware of her desire to clench and unclench her
fists again.

“
I won’t hurt you, Brinn.
And it’s unlikely that you’ll hurt me.” Cody smiled reassuringly.
”Trust me, this is the best thing for you. You’ll feel much better
after you let off a little steam.”

“
So, all you want is for me
to hit you, huh?” She slowed her pacing and then stopped to face
him. He was obviously too stubborn to give up on this ridiculous
idea.

Cody took a few strides, closed the distance
between them, and stood firm in the center of the room blocking her
from the doorway...and her knife. “You got it. Now, just a few
tips. If you’re going to hit a relatively soft area of the body,”
he pointed to his solar plexus, “you can use a closed fist or an
elbow. But don’t try to punch someone in the face, because you’ll
just hurt your hand.” He eyed her up and down. “What do you weigh,
about a hundred pounds?”

“
A hundred and ten,” Brinn
watched him warily, dreading what she would have to do.

“
It’s safe to assume then,
that anyone who attacks you will be bigger and stronger. So you
have to learn to strike vital areas and use your opponent’s weight
and size against them. You need to learn to get under their guard;
catch them by surprise; do the unexpected.”

Cody stalked around Brinn. Her nerves fired
and twitched as she followed his every movement. For a man his
size, he moved with the grace of a large cat, sure-footed and
fluid. He pointed out the vital areas as he circled her. “The eyes,
ears, and throat are vulnerable to attack with fingers and
open-handed strikes.” He mimed the various hand positions she could
use to damage the sensitive targets. He pointed again to the solar
plexus and then to the groin, a smile lifting the corners of his
mouth. “Of course the quickest way to stun your attacker is to give
him something else to think about besides hurting you, such
as...breathing.”

Brinn’s face flushed and she couldn’t help
but smile a little, despite the electricity that thrummed through
her body. “You don’t want me to hit you there, do you?”

“
I’m pretty good at
defending my vital organs, but let’s focus on body shots for now.”
He motioned with his hands to indicate the target zone was from
shoulders to hips. “Just remember, a man has two natural fears
during combat—blindness and castration.” He grinned down at her and
then stopped circling. Brinn came to stillness as well. “He can’t
protect both areas at the same time. But first, you have to get
close enough to do some damage.”

He took another step toward her and Brinn
instinctively backed up. She realized all at once that other than
her father and Justin, and maybe Mr. Hoffman on occasions of
necessity, no man had actually touched her since...her heart began
to race as Cody took another step closer. She matched his distance
by stepping back again.

“
Stop retreating, Brinn.
You have nowhere to go.” His voice was deep and resonated around
her, his features sharp with concentration. Brinn felt panic rise
in her chest. Her breath grew shallow. Sweat tickled her brow and
she suddenly imagined another face and body stalking her. She shook
the picture from her mind, focusing instead on Cody’s familiar
features.

“
I can’t hit you, Cody.
I...I won’t.” Her back hit the wall behind her, knocking the last
of her breath from her lungs.

When he placed one huge hand on the wall next
to her and trapped her in a corner with a long muscled arm, Brinn
almost fainted. Dark spots flashed behind her eyes. The heat of his
body radiated against her in the inches between them. Fear seized
her limbs. His voice was barely above a deep whisper, the gravelly
tone at odds with the handsome face and the lollipop sticking out
of the corner of his mouth.

“
Are you ready?” He bit
down hard, grinding the candy and tossing the stick into a nearby
trash-can. His cool gaze dropped back to hers. “How would you
escape if someone had you trapped like this?”

Brinn fought to think and breathe, but her
mind fogged with unwanted images. A tingle crawled along her skin.
Escape was her only goal. She bent to duck under his arm, but he
was too fast. Cody grabbed her, spun her around, and locked her
into the steel circle of his bulky arms. He pinned her hands across
her chest, crushing her back against the concrete wall of his body.
The breath exploded out of her, replaced by sheer panic.

Cody’s hard body encased her, holding her
helpless. Her limbs began to shake with a mixture of fear and rage
as she struggled with no effect. His voice whispered softly on her
hair, sending shivers along her spine. “Don’t panic. Breathe.
Think. React.” Cody said the next words with cold, clear intent,
“Or are you too weak to stop me?”

Somewhere deep inside and far away, she knew
he wouldn’t hurt her, but every fiber of her being felt the fear
and rage of being held against her will, and something inside of
her snapped. Giving in to the adrenaline that rushed through her
system, Brinn let her instincts take over.

With the force of a hammer, she raked the
edge of her boot down his hard shin-bone and slammed it onto the
instep of his foot. Cody grunted but didn’t release her. Blood
surged in her ears, a deafening roll of thunder that crashed
against her mind and escalated her fear. The hands that restrained
her brought a flood of images raging to the surface. Memories rose
of hard cold hands that held her down and touched her in places
that made her hurt inside.

She went wild. With both knees bent, she
sprang upward. The top of her head met his chin with a shuddering
crunch as his teeth collided. A throbbing pain shot through her
head. She took advantage of the momentary weakness in the vice-like
grip that held her hands, wrenched one arm free, and plowed her
elbow into his solar plexus with all of her might. As his massive
frame gave way and he lost his breath, she pushed backwards with
the full weight of her body. His balance tipped.

When her opponent crashed to the floor,
taking down the table and chairs as he went, Brinn lunged for her
knife. The world faded into a hazy, slow motion movie in her mind.
Her only clear thought—knife. Before rationality could take hold,
Brinn jumped on Cody. She straddled his chest, grabbed the short
layer of sandy hair on his head, and drew her blade to his throat.
A hiss escaped from between her clenched teeth.

In the next second, Cody latched on to her
knife hand. In one deft move, he rolled her onto her back and
pinned her arms to the floor, his eyes wild with exertion and
intensity. The knife clattered across the floor out of Brinn’s
reach. The full length of his body covered hers, stifling any
further struggle. Brinn’s hair curtained her tear-stained face.

Wild with fury, she screeched at him in an
ear-piercing, animal shriek until a familiar voice vibrated in the
air and brought her back to the moment. Her eyes darted toward the
sound, instantaneous relief sweeping air back into her lungs.

Justin stood in the doorway, his eyes dark
with rage. “Get off of her!”

Panting for breath, Cody looked sheepishly
from Brinn to Justin. He climbed to his feet and then reached down
a hand to Brinn, who reluctantly latched on. He drew her up to
stand, steadying her as she wobbled. “Sorry about that. We got a
little out of hand with our self-defense lesson.” He lifted a brow
toward Brinn and rubbed his jaw, “I think our girl here is even
tougher than we thought.”