nodded. “And fight to win, not to defend yourself.”
“Why wouldn’t I want to defend myself?”
“If you decide you like all this training, I’ll be happy to find you some sort of karate or jujitsu class so you can spar all the time—those spend a lot of time on defense. I can already tell that you’d be good at it.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Hell, yeah. Honestly, it would probably be good for the kids, too. You could all do it together.”
“It doesn’t instill violence?”
He shook his head. “No. If anything, the opposite. Self-control. Confidence to know you can handle most situations, which eliminates the need to flex and start fights in the first place.”
She didn’t look convinced and he realized she was worried about Sam. Worried that he might follow in his father’s abusive footsteps. “I think it would definitely be good for Sam, although Eva does not strike me as someone who’s going to get left behind while her big brother’s doing something fun and active.”
Marilyn finally smiled. “That’s the truth.”
“Okay, we can look into it if you want. But the discipline you would learn in those martial arts classes is not the same as what we’re going to learn here.”
He dropped his volume even though there was nobody else around. “I’m going to teach you how to put someone down. You need to be aware that these moves could possibly kill someone. And even more importantly, especially when it comes to Jared, you have to not care.”
“Why would I care if I hurt Jared or not?”
“I’m not talking about just hurting him. I’m talking about maiming, even killing.”
“Oh.” Those big eyes got even bigger.
“You’re small, and he thinks he knows you.”
A shadow fell over her face.
“What? Am I wrong?”
She shook her head. “No. He always called me predictable. And…”
“Say it, gorgeous. Don’t give him any power over you here.”
“Stupid. He always called me predictable and stupid.”
God, he wanted to pull her into his arms more than he wanted his next breath. But he couldn’t, not yet. Not until she was ready—if she was ever ready. All he could do right now was give her the gift of preparation.
“You use his ignorance to your advantage. Jared won’t be expecting you to fight back—particularly not with any sort of skill. You have to use that. You have to strike without mercy, not trying to defend yourself, but to take him out. Maim him. Worse even.”
“Rules two and three,” she whispered.
“That’s right, gorgeous. Fight to win, and don’t think of what you’re doing as dirty tactics. You cannot give one second’s thought about what damage you might do to him. You cannot go on the defensive and wait for him to attack. You have to move first and strike without mercy.”
She swallowed hard but nodded. “I… Okay, you’re right.”
“I know it goes against your nature, but it’s what you have to do. Even then, catching him off guard might only buy you a few seconds. You’ll have to strike as hard as possible, no matter what sort of damage it’s going to do to him. Then get the hell out of there.”
There had been way too many nights that he’d lain awake in bed thinking about Marilyn being hurt.
Noah was no stranger to pain, but he knew pain was only part of the issue when it came to what she faced with her ex. The debilitating fear could take her out of play just as quickly as a well-aimed punch from Ellis.
Noah never wanted her to have to go through that again. He wanted to give her a fair shot.
Jared Ellis was fucking lucky he was in jail right now. Noah didn’t think he’d be able to stop from giving the man a taste of his own medicine.
And he would gladly do it for Marilyn. But she needed to know how to protect herself. She was never going to be great at it—she wouldn’t be quitting her day job to become a mercenary any time soon—but he could get her close enough that she could escape. Not to have to be the victim again.
He led her toward the barn. “Come in here. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.” He held out his arm toward the hanging punching bag. It had a man drawn on it. “Meet Douchebag Jared.”
She glared at the bag. “I think that’s an insult to douchebags everywhere.”
Noah laughed. “Probably. But this bag is lined up so that you have an accurate representation of where Jared’s body would be