Thieves Like Us by Starr Ambrose Read Free Book Online Page A

of her head as he spoke, and she went weak all over. It seemed he had a few unorthodox weapons himself.
    “She can reach for my face,” he told the women. She followed his direction, reaching back over her head. Her fingers touched his nose and cheek. “Don’t hesitate,” he stressed to the audience, adding, “I’m not talking to you, Janet. You can hesitate.”
    She held her hand up to his face and watched thirty women grin at Rocky as he told them how to gouge and rip at an attacker’s face. They looked eager to try it. When he instructed them to inflict vicious pinches on whatever body parts they could reach, she saw avid interest in the gazes that followed her hand down to his thigh, where she clutched a handful of denim-clad muscle.
    “Your feet are weapons, too,” he told them. “Especially if you’re wearing heels. Stomping a three-inch heel into someone’s toes can be pretty effective if he isn’t expecting it.”
    This part she already knew. Ever since the horror of seeing Ellie held tightly against Banner with a gun in her side, she’d wondered what she would have done if it had been her. Along with her teeth, her feet had seemed the strongest weapons. She was ready for Rocky’s next move.
    “If you’re wearing something soft, like Janet’s tennis shoes, you can always bash away at his shin. But no tentative moves, make it a good hard kick.”
    She did. Not enough to hurt him, but she didn’t aim at his shin, either. That was for old ladies with limited range. Lifting her leg, she sent a sharp jab sideways, hitting the side of Rocky’s knee.
    Taken by surprise, he stumbled, giving her enough room to duck out of his grip, and push him off balance. She turned with a triumphant look, just in time to see him land on his butt.
    His startled expression turned into a rueful grin as the audience laughed and clapped at her success. “That works, too,” he acknowledged.
    She covered her smile with one hand. “I’m sorry! I thought you were ready for that.”
    “No, I wasn’t. But I guess that makes my point, doesn’t it?”
    She was afraid he might be embarrassed, but his eyes sparkled as he got to his feet. “I think Janet’s ready for more advanced lessons,” he told the ladies.
    They laughed again. A few gave her envious glances.
    A warm feeling spread through her, along with a bit of apprehension; it was becoming far too easy to like Rocky Hernandez.
    She shoved the feeling aside and played her part as he showed them how to deal with an assault from the front, demonstrating both a choke hold and a bear hug that pinned her arms to her sides. She figured out one valuable hint on her own—don’t look your attacker directly in the eyes. It could distract you to the point that you forget what you are supposed to be doing. The only advantage this time was that it seemed to be a bit distracting to him, too.
    By the time the lesson ended, Rocky had the Sparks asking if he did martial arts demonstrations, too. While he mingled with his new fans and passed out business cards, Janet wrote down a couple appointments for home security assessments for the following week. More promised to call over the next few days. It was nearly ten thirty, forty minutes after the meeting ended, when they finally hauled his sample alarms and motion detectors out to the car.
    She took a deep breath of the cool, night air. It had gotten a little warm in there. Twenty-nine was too young for hot flashes, but she could have sworn she’d had a few during the self-defense demonstration.
    Rocky slid the sun roof back as soon as he started the car, and she relaxed in the passenger seat, content to watch the stars.
    “Thanks for your help tonight.”
    Her smile was sincere. “It was fun. I think you and Ellie have stumbled into a gold mine. Those women loved you, and they’ll be talking about it to their friends. Red Rose Security is going to be busy.”
    “It did seem to go well. They’re interested in martial arts