Unfortunately for Hawk, he does not immediately suss out my weak points, and instead tries to use his extra strength to shake me off. Instead, I just tighten my hold around him, as if I’m giving him a giant bear hug from behind. He leans forward, and I can already tell what his next move is going to be. As my legs leave the ground, I don’t hesitate to wrap them around his waist, only further securing my hold. Yeah, okay, unless my aim is to squeeze him to death, I’m not going to do any actual damage. It’s not like I could drag him off somewhere like this, but the aim of this exercise is just to shake off your opponent.
From his bent over position, he tucks and rolls, and I ignore the shouts from the guys, as the air is knocked out of my body and I suddenly find myself flat on my back, with the huge fucking weight that is Hawk Davenport on my chest. It’s a smart tactic, but I’m not about to give up that easily. With the way my arms and legs are wrapped around him, Hawk has no use of his arms, no matter how hard he tries to raise them and knock me off. That leaves him with just his legs, and now that we’re both on the ground, he can’t do anything more than shuffle around, and wait me out until I run out of oxygen. However, now that my legs are pinning his arms, my hands are free to do whatever I need them to do, like, say, place him in a headlock that will have him going unconscious long before I run out of air.
I do exactly that, making it clear exactly who is in control here—i.e., not him—before I let up, loosening my hold and letting my arms and legs go limp. Coughing, he quickly rolls off me, and the others rush over.
“Dude, you could have hurt her,” Mason snaps, helping me to my feet. I give him a soft smile, letting him know I’m okay as I brush the dust off my backside.
He continues to scowl at Hawk regardless, who promptly ignores him as he climbs unaided to his feet.
“Your turn,” I tell Mason, who only stares wide eyed at me. Before he can fob me off with some ridiculous excuse, or say something that will only backfire on him, I jibe, “Show me what you’ve got.”
Instead of backing out, he smirks at my challenge, and I quickly move in to tackle him. Having already watched me with Hawk, he’s much harder to pin down, but eventually he gives up, unable to break my hold on him, and I turn to Beck with a smug look on my face.
He just chuckles and shakes his head, stepping up to the plate without protest. Beck’s the only one of the three of them that I haven’t fought before, so I don’t know his fighting style, but he was able to take on Mason, so I know he’s more than capable, and given his background, he’ll most likely be scrappy.
He lets me get him into a chokehold—yeah, I’m bringing out the big guns—and the second my arm wraps around his neck in a tight hold, he sidesteps me, hitting at my groin and elbowing me in the chin. None of it is done with full force, but enough to let me know he knows exactly what he’s doing. Distracted, my hold loosens and he easily breaks free, but instead of stepping away from me, he spins, surprising me as he kicks my legs out from beneath me. His hand whips out, slowing my descent to the ground as he comes down on top of me, pinning me beneath him.
I gape up at him with wide eyes. “Is it completely inappropriate that I’m turned on right now?” I mutter, making him laugh darkly. He grinds his pelvis against mine, letting me know I’m not the only one affected by that act of dominance, and I have to bite back my groan. Now isn’t the time, Hadley!
He presses a quick kiss to my lips before lifting off me and helping to pull me to my feet, and we all break into pairs to practice a few more useful moves. I’m hoping none of them will ever need to know any of this, but it’s something everyone should at least be aware of.
When it looks like they’ve got that all down, I move to grab the few other things I brought with me. I still remember Cam’s bafflement over me carrying a knife, and I don’t like the thought of him walking around unarmed, especially with the threat of Maria coming after us. I know, after everything we’ve already survived, she’s just one person, but just because she doesn’t have any close connections with the mercenaries in her company, doesn’t mean she’s incapable of finding someone who will do her bidding. We need to be prepared for every eventuality.
Palming my own knife in my hand, I hold the other two I brought in a loose grip at my side and turn to face the guys.
“Knives?” Cam exclaims, and I can’t tell if he’s excited by the prospect, or nervous.
“Yup.”
“We already have the guns Cain gave us,” Hawk reasons, and I nod, knowing that.
“Guns are great and all, but they have limited use when your opponent is right up on you, whereas a knife can always be useful.”
I hand a blade each to Cam and West, who both hesitate before accepting them, and I quickly run through how to handle them, and point out the main things to aim for. Large arteries are the best. My personal favorite is the femoral artery. People seem to expect it less. The neck is an overrated, overused artery that any half-decent opponent can see coming a mile away, however people never seem to expect a dagger to the groin.
I also take each of them through the best places to wound an attacker; injuries that won’t kill them, but will incapacitate them, and make it much easier to get the advantage, or escape.
Despite appearing unsure, each of them listens intently to what I have to say, and I watch as they each practice a few simple movements with the knife, attempting to jab it into an invisible opponent.
When we’re done, I focus on West. “Does all of that make you feel a bit better, or is there anything else you wanted to know, or go over again?”
“No, that was great, Firefly. I’m a little scared of ever pissing you off, but what you’ve taught us tonight was amazing.”
He presses a sweet kiss to my cheek and I blush under his praise. When he goes to hand back his knife, I hold up my hand. “You keep that. I have a bunch more. Besides, you should really keep something on you at all times. It astounds me that you don’t.”
I bend to tuck my own blade back in my boot, and when I stand up again, I catch Cam’s expression. He’s biting on his lower lip, his pupils dilated with lust as he stares at where I tucked the knife away. Catching me looking, he gives me a dirty wink before giving himself a onceover, debating where to store his knife, before realizing he doesn’t wear comfortable, yet sensible combat boots like myself, and stuffing it in the pocket of his hoodie instead.
“There should be a couple of blades in my old room I can give to you guys, unless you grabbed them when you got my stuff?” I tell them, directing the question at Hawk.
“I didn’t even know you had knives in your room.”
“Well, I don’t want to remove the ones I have stashed around your dorm, and I don’t have any others just lying around.”
“You have knives placed around our dorm?” Hawk asks, sounding incredulous, but I can’t for the life of me understand why.
“Of course I do. And I’ve a couple at Beck’s place too.”