when those videos were leaked?”
Thwack.
“Or what about their families that fell apart after the scandal hit? Or maybe the families of the girls who were killed while I stood by and did nothing?”
Thwack.
She landed a series of jabs in quick succession, then paused, breathing hard as she bent over with her hands on her knees. “I’m not even saying I wouldn’t deserve it if someone tried to come after me. It’s just… there’s been nothing for two years. Why now?”
Jack shook his head, his mouth tightening as he saw a look of self-loathing cross her face. He hated that shewas still eaten up with it, that even though she’d moved on with her life, a big part of her still believed she deserved everything that had happened to her now.
“You were as much a victim as any of those girls,” he said, his jaw clenching as she shook her head in mute response. He wished he could make her forgive herself, but he knew a few words of reassurance from him weren’t going to erase it.
He couldn’t fix her, but he could do his damnedest to fix what was happening. All he could do was try to look at the situation objectively and see what they could come up with. And take whatever measures he could to help keep her safe.
“Who else knew about the gardenias?” he asked. She’d never mentioned it, and he’d never seen any flowers around the club.
“No one but David. And Rosario, sort of, but she’d never do something like this.”
Someone was definitely trying to fuck with her, no doubt about it. His first instinct was to scoop her up and tuck her away someplace safe where he could watch over her 24-7 and make sure no one got within a hundred feet of her. But he knew that wasn’t an option, mostly because there was no way she’d go for it. And even if she would, Jack couldn’t just drop everything at work and leave Danny and the rest of the guys holding the bag.
“Come on.” He led her into one of the empty studios where Gus taught his group classes. “We’re going to brush up on your self-defense moves.”
Talia grabbed a towel and wiped her face. “I train almost every day—”
“Yeah, not like this. It’s one thing to know how tofight, but you need a refresher on how to take a guy down if someone comes after you.”
“I’ll start carrying my Taser again.”
“You won’t always be able to get to it.” Without warning, he swept her feet out and came down on top of her, pinning her hips with his as he pressed her hands into the floor.
“Hey.” She squirmed underneath him. “I don’t like this.” She thrashed harder.
He held her there. “See, like this, you feel totally helpless, right?”
“Yes.”
He could hear the undercurrent of real fear in her voice, knew she was starting to freak out at the sensation of being pinned down.
“First thing, you have to stay calm. You can’t panic.”
“Get off me!” The muscles of her arms bulged as she strained against his hold.
He could feel her hot puffs of breath against his skin. “Do you see how easy it is for me to hold you down?”
“Because you’re a fucking monster!” She bucked again, her breath coming in harsh pants.
“Any guy, even one a lot smaller than me, is probably going to have more upper-body strength than you do. Come on, Talia, think. You can’t panic in this situation.”
“How can I not panic when you’re pinning me to the floor?” she asked, her voice breaking a little.
He felt a pinch in his chest but he wouldn’t let up. He couldn’t. He leaned in closer. “If you’re this scared with
me
, what’s going to happen if someone’s really trying to hurt you? Take a deep breath. I know you know what to do because I taught you myself.”
He could see the moment the fear drained from her eyes, replaced with determination.
In a split second her head snapped up. Jack barely jerked back in time to avoid her head smashing into the bridge of his nose.
As it was, her forehead bumped the tip hard enough to bring
Thwack.
“Or what about their families that fell apart after the scandal hit? Or maybe the families of the girls who were killed while I stood by and did nothing?”
Thwack.
She landed a series of jabs in quick succession, then paused, breathing hard as she bent over with her hands on her knees. “I’m not even saying I wouldn’t deserve it if someone tried to come after me. It’s just… there’s been nothing for two years. Why now?”
Jack shook his head, his mouth tightening as he saw a look of self-loathing cross her face. He hated that shewas still eaten up with it, that even though she’d moved on with her life, a big part of her still believed she deserved everything that had happened to her now.
“You were as much a victim as any of those girls,” he said, his jaw clenching as she shook her head in mute response. He wished he could make her forgive herself, but he knew a few words of reassurance from him weren’t going to erase it.
He couldn’t fix her, but he could do his damnedest to fix what was happening. All he could do was try to look at the situation objectively and see what they could come up with. And take whatever measures he could to help keep her safe.
“Who else knew about the gardenias?” he asked. She’d never mentioned it, and he’d never seen any flowers around the club.
“No one but David. And Rosario, sort of, but she’d never do something like this.”
Someone was definitely trying to fuck with her, no doubt about it. His first instinct was to scoop her up and tuck her away someplace safe where he could watch over her 24-7 and make sure no one got within a hundred feet of her. But he knew that wasn’t an option, mostly because there was no way she’d go for it. And even if she would, Jack couldn’t just drop everything at work and leave Danny and the rest of the guys holding the bag.
“Come on.” He led her into one of the empty studios where Gus taught his group classes. “We’re going to brush up on your self-defense moves.”
Talia grabbed a towel and wiped her face. “I train almost every day—”
“Yeah, not like this. It’s one thing to know how tofight, but you need a refresher on how to take a guy down if someone comes after you.”
“I’ll start carrying my Taser again.”
“You won’t always be able to get to it.” Without warning, he swept her feet out and came down on top of her, pinning her hips with his as he pressed her hands into the floor.
“Hey.” She squirmed underneath him. “I don’t like this.” She thrashed harder.
He held her there. “See, like this, you feel totally helpless, right?”
“Yes.”
He could hear the undercurrent of real fear in her voice, knew she was starting to freak out at the sensation of being pinned down.
“First thing, you have to stay calm. You can’t panic.”
“Get off me!” The muscles of her arms bulged as she strained against his hold.
He could feel her hot puffs of breath against his skin. “Do you see how easy it is for me to hold you down?”
“Because you’re a fucking monster!” She bucked again, her breath coming in harsh pants.
“Any guy, even one a lot smaller than me, is probably going to have more upper-body strength than you do. Come on, Talia, think. You can’t panic in this situation.”
“How can I not panic when you’re pinning me to the floor?” she asked, her voice breaking a little.
He felt a pinch in his chest but he wouldn’t let up. He couldn’t. He leaned in closer. “If you’re this scared with
me
, what’s going to happen if someone’s really trying to hurt you? Take a deep breath. I know you know what to do because I taught you myself.”
He could see the moment the fear drained from her eyes, replaced with determination.
In a split second her head snapped up. Jack barely jerked back in time to avoid her head smashing into the bridge of his nose.
As it was, her forehead bumped the tip hard enough to bring
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