Bound by Honor by Diana Palmer Read Free Book Online Page A

muttered. “He’s so close to the ground already that he doesn’t have far to fall!”
    â€œPoor old lady,” he chided gently.
    She glared in his direction as she swept her arm forward and threw herself down again. “I’m not old. I’m just out of condition.”
    He looked at her, sprawled there on the mat, and his lips pursed as he sketched every inch of her. “Funny, I’d have said you were in prime condition. And not just for karate.”
    She cleared her throat and got to her feet again. “When did you start learning this stuff?”
    â€œWhen I was in grammar school,” he said. “My father taught me.”
    â€œNo wonder it looks so easy when you do it.”
    â€œI train hard. It’s saved my life a few times.”
    She studied his scarred face with curiosity. She could see the years in it, and the hardships. She knew very little about military operations, except for what she’d seen in movies and on television. And as Jess had told her, it wasn’t like that in real life. She tried to imagine an armed adversary coming at her and she stiffened.
    â€œSomething wrong?” he asked gently.
    â€œI was trying to imagine being attacked,” she said. “It makes me nervous.”
    â€œIt won’t, when you gain a little confidence. Stand up straight,” he said. “Never walk with your head down in a slumped posture. Always look as if you know where you’re going, even if you don’t. And always, always, run if you can. Never stand and fight unless you’re trapped and your life is in danger.”
    â€œRun? You’re kidding, of course?”
    â€œNo,” he said. “I’ll give you an example. A man of any size and weight on drugs is more than a match for any three other men. What I’m going to teach you might work on an untrained adversary who’s sober. But a man who’s been drinking, or especially a man who’s using drugs can kill you outright, regardless of what I can teach you. Don’t you ever forget that. Overconfidence kills.”
    â€œI’ll bet you don’t teach your men to run,” she said accusingly.
    His eyes were quiet and full of bad memories. “Sally, a recruit in one of my groups emptied the magazine of his rifle into an enemy soldier on drugs at point-blank range. The enemy kept right on coming. He killed the recruit before he finally fell dead himself.”
    Her lower jaw fell.
    â€œThat was my reaction, too,” he informed her. “Absolute disbelief. But it’s true. If anyone high on drugs comes at you, don’t try to reason with him…you can’t. And don’t try to fight him. Run like hell. If a full automatic clip won’t bring a man down, you certainly can’t. Neither can even a combat-hardened man, alone. In that sort of situation, it’s just basic common sense to get outof the way as quickly as possible if there’s any chance of escape, and pride be damned.”
    â€œI’ll remember,” she said, all her confidence vanishing. She could see in Eb’s eyes that he’d watched that recruit die, and had to live with the memory forever in his mind. Probably it was one of many nightmarish episodes he’d like to forget.
    â€œSometimes retreat really is the better part of valor,” he said, smiling.
    â€œYou’re educational.”
    He smiled slowly. “Am I, now?” he asked, and the way he looked at her didn’t have much to do with teaching her self-defense. “I can think of a few areas where you need…improvement.”
    She glanced at Stevie, who was still falling on the mat. “You shouldn’t try to shoot ducks in a barrel,” she told him. “It’s unsporting.”
    â€œShooting is not what I have in mind.”
    She cleared her throat. “I suppose I should try falling some more.” She brightened. “Say, if I learn to do this well, I