Page 49 of Deserving Cora
“As if Pipe actually needs a knife or gun to protect himself. Or anyone else,” Tiny added.
Cora flinched slightly, as if she’d forgotten they weren’t alone. Pipe felt the same way. When he was with her, he wanted to give her his undivided attention. And here with his friends, he could do so. Could let down his guard and not be on alert so much.
She turned to Tiny. “Really?”
“Yup. I mean, we’re all fairly good at hand-to-hand combat. But Pipe? He’s the master.”
Cora studied him once again. “Huh.”
He grinned. “That’s all you have to say?”
“Yup. Oh, wait, no. Can you teach me?”
“Teach you what?”
“How to protect myself if I’m attacked? I mean, I’ve learned some stuff over the years, kind of had to, but I’d love to be trained by a professional.”
“Absolutely,” Pipe said without hesitation. “The main thing you need to remember is to go for the weak spots.”
“Like a guy’s dick?” Cora asked.
Pipe’s friends laughed, but he kept his gaze glued to Cora’s. “Yup. Although honestly, guys are used to people aiming there. I was talking about the soft-tissue spots. Eyes, especially.”
Cora wrinkled her nose.
“I know, it’s gross. But I guarantee someone will let go of you immediately if you stick your finger in their eye. That gives you time to get the hell away from him or her and get help. That should be your goal—not standing and fighting, but getting away.”
She nodded, not offended in the least. “Do you teach a class on this kind of thing here?”
“No, why?”
“You should. I mean, if people are here because of some traumatic experience, they might want to know more about how to defend themselves if they’re ever in that kind of situation again.”
“She’s right,” Brick said with a nod. “That’s a great idea, and I can’t believe we haven’t already thought of it. Thanks, Cora. I’ll talk to Alaska and see where we can fit it into the schedule. Maybe we can offer a class twice a week or something, to maximize the number of guests who can attend.”
“I’m not as good as Pipe with hand-to-hand, but I’m happy to help,” Spike volunteered.
“Same,” Tiny said.
“I’m in too,” Brick said.
“Don’t look at me,” Owl said with a self-deprecating chuckle. “I had some instruction in Basic Training, but the Army was more interested in teaching me to fly a helicopter than meeting the enemy head on.”
“Right?” Stone said with a shake of his head. “Maybe if they’d trained us more extensively in hand-to-hand combat, we might’ve fared better when our chopper went down.”
Pipe frowned. His friends were still dealing with the aftermath of their time in captivity, it was obvious, and it sucked that they hadn’t been given the tools they needed to maybe evade capture in the first place. They might be some of the best helicopter pilots in the world, but that wouldn’t help them if they fell into enemy hands…something they’d learned the hard way.
“I’ll let you guys know if I hear anything back from Tex that might affect what happens in Phoenix. In the meantime, make sure you have everything you need for the trip, and if not, let me know and we’ll scrounge it up,” Brick said.
Pipe nodded. “Appreciate it.”
His friend sighed. “I’m beginning to understand why Tex doesn’t like to be thanked. When I needed you guys the most, when that asshole came to The Refuge to get Alaska, you were all there for me, no questions asked. So if you get to Arizona and find the situation is more fucked up than you expected, you’d better call us. We’ll be there in a heartbeat. The women can keep things running here without us. And you don’t ever have to thank me for doing what needs to be done for you and yours,” Brick said, staring intently at Pipe.
He nodded, gratitude swelling inside him. His friends didn’t ask what was up between him and Cora. They simply accepted what they could see with their own eyes, that she meant more to him than some random person he was doing a favor for.
Brick addressed Cora next. “You okay?”
“No. I’m overwhelmed. Angry at that asshole, Ridge. Scared to death for Lara. But also wondering what I’ve ever done in my life to be lucky enough to have you all on my side. And Lara’s.”
