Page 43 of Close Protection

‘Yes, I’ll be fine,’ Daphne answers. ‘I’m only gonna do a few more laps then I’m coming upstairs.’

I nod, swimming to the edge of the pool, concluding that I’ll keep an eye on her through the security cameras until she’s back in her room.

‘Milosh?’ Daphne starts when I grab my towel and throw it around my shoulders. I turn around to face her, to hear the rest of her question, but she shakes her head and offers me a small smile instead.

‘Goodnight, Mr Petrov.’

‘Goodnight, Miss Green.’

19Daphne

‘Come on, Miss Green,’ Milosh goads, trapping me with his arms either side of my face.

His eyes trail down my body as he smirks. ‘You can do better than that.’ I huff as I wrap my legs around his waist, pushing at his arm until it gives way, using that momentum to roll us, leaving him on his back with me now on top of him, legs either side.

I smile, imitating a blow to his head, lightly tapping instead of actually punching so I don’t hurt him. ‘That was good, right?’

‘It was better,’ Milosh agrees as I go to swing my leg off him, but before I do he captures my thigh in one hand and my hip in the other, locking me in place. ‘But if that punch didn’t work, they would be able to use their very free hands to hold you in place, and you do not want that.’ I momentarily tune him out, trying to level my breathing.With the feel of his hands burning into my body, I become all too aware of our current position.

I’m straddling him. I’m straddling Milosh Petrov, pinning him down with my body, while his hands dig into my flesh.

This is inappropriate. Yes, I’ve had romantic interests before, but I’ve never really made it past kissing and this position suggests a whole lot more than that. But with it being his firm, warm body underneath mine, it makes me feel a little safer. He’s not going to take advantage of me or the situation we’re in. Actually, I’m ninety-nine per cent sure he’s completely unaware of our position. He’s in training mode, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Milosh, it’s that he’s a professional.

‘You need to disable them in every way and as fast as possible,’ he continues, loosening his grip on me, signalling me to get up.

See? Professional.

‘Restrict their arms and legs to prevent their movement and give you time to run away. Let’s try this again with a few different scenarios.’ He walks over to the table of assorted weapons, picks up a rubber replica of a knife and tucks it into the waistband of his cargos.

‘What I want you to do is jog up and down the length of the backyard. At some point I’m going to attack youand you’re going to have to disarm me and run away. This time let’s go with the pretence that once you have me where you want me and “knock me out”, I pass out, giving you enough time to run away. We’ll try different scenarios a number of times so you can get a better understanding of how to handle yourself in different situations.’

After we warmed up today, Milosh told me to put on some normal clothes so that I know what it’s like to fight someone if I’m caught off guard, so I’m currently wearing a light pink flowy dress with my hair up in a curly ponytail and he’s wearing his usual black T-shirt and cargos combination.

‘Okay.’ I nod. ‘I’m ready.’

He nods in return and I take off in a light jog towards the end of the garden. Our back garden is vast, with trees lining the bottom overlooking a heavily wooded area, but a tall fence divides that section from our well-manicured lawn. It takes me a couple of minutes to actually reach the far end, but before I can turn to jog back up an arm clamps around me, locking me in and pulling my back close to the attacker’s front.

Inhaling, I instantly feel at ease, recognizing Milosh by his clean, warm scent. I know he won’t actually cause me any harm, but that doesn’t stop him from securing his arm around my neck. I start to panic, thinking back to the lasttime I was in this position, but unfreeze when I remember it’s only Milosh.

Before he clamps his arms around my neck, I bring my hands, palms facing outwards, to my throat, ensuring he can’t cut off my oxygen supply.

I push to try to break free from his arm, but that proves useless because he’s too strong.Arms and legs.I think back to what Milosh taught me about restricting movement, and swiftly wrap my leg around the bottom of his, pulling forward, causing him to lose balance for a second, resulting in a looser grip around my neck.

I break free and turn round to face him. Milosh has recovered quickly from the minor imbalance and now has the rubber knife in his hand.

‘Good job, Daphne.’ The mix of his praise and him using my first name gives me the encouragement I didn’t realize I needed as he slowly approaches. ‘Now, you need to get this knife off me, and defuse the situation.’

He strikes first, but I use my speed and co-ordination to dodge him, or so I think, until the knife pokes the side of my waist before flattening against just under my ribs. ‘That would’ve been non-lethal, so continue, but slow your movements down because if this were real, you’d be hindered by the pain.’

I nod, adjusting my speed while still trying to evadethe knife. He aims for my side again but I move forward and capture his hand in my arm, twisting it until the knife drops. I kick the crevice at the back of his knee, which makes him buck, but not enough to fall. When I go to try again he beats me to it, swiping with his other leg, knocking me to the ground. I fall with a thud, looking up to see a flash of discomfort in his eyes when I wince in pain. I know he would’ve supported my fall if I hadn’t asked him not to at the start of practice today.

If this was real, my attacker wouldn’t care about my safety so I need to prepare for that, not be coddled.

Milosh picks the knife up from the ground and walks over to me. ‘Whoever you’re fighting will determine what happens next. A lot of men are stupid and they’ll take their time walking over to you, taunting you as much as they can. Women are usually a lot smarter and will either throw the knife from a distance, or use their speed to quickly slit your throat. We’ll go through all scenarios later, but for now let’s play into the whole cocky guy thing.’

He sinks onto his haunches and runs the knife across my face. ‘You do have a very pretty face, Daphne,’ he murmurs, dragging the knife down my neck lightly. I reach out and grab his feet, jerking them forward, causing him to drop to the floor with a thud.

I shoot up and knock the knife out of his hands, kickingit even further away. Before he can move, I straddle him again, locking him in, my knees pressed tightly against his obliques.

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