Page 1 of Redemption

CHAPTER ONE

“NO!”Roar!“NO!”

Ten little girls, ranging from junior kindergarteners to second graders, slammed their heels down. They gritted their teeth and pushed both hands in front of them.

“Good, girls. Keep your eyes open.” Victoria Massey paced the front of the focused line, mimicking their efforts, her hands also outstretched. “Remember to push with the bottom of your hands. You won’t get in trouble.”

A few kids tried the move over and over again. A couple recalibrated their insole heel step and smashed the floor of the community center at Sweet Hills’ town hall. From the side, the row of parents looked on in rapt attention, both uneasy that this was the world that caused self-defense classes for kids to be necessary and proud that their little girls were taking to it without the bashful, ridiculous thought thatgirls can’t do that.

Still, it had to stay age-appropriate and fun. Victoria walked to the side and grabbed the face mask made to look like a yellow smiley emoticon. “Remember, just because I look friendly”—she knocked the cheesy face with a closed fist to show it was padded—“doesn’t mean I’m a good person. Is anyone allowed to touch you without permission?”

“No!” the class yelled.

“Should a grown-up ever ask you for directions?” Victoria asked, tilting the cartoon-like face back and forth like she was bantering with the kids.

“No! Keep walking!” They didn’t even giggle, and she appreciated they’d listened and let it sink in.

“What if it’s a secret?” She leaned forward as if she was telling one.

“No secrets!”

“Okay, line up single file.” Victoria walked over and donned the rest of her protective gear. They might be kids, but she’d taught them to fight like hell with the expectation that they could.And they could. She needed that layer of foam.

After slipping on the boots and padding, she stepped to the first girl who had a huge smile on her face. “Ready?”

The smile turned into focus, and Victoria couldn’t have been prouder as the kindergartener nodded.

“Remember, I don’t know you right now.”

“I know. I remember.”

Last week’s class had done a great job their first time with the role-play. “Hey, sweetie. Have you seen a little puppy? I thought I saw him run down the street? But…” She looked around. “I can’t find him.”

The little girl walked away quickly, and Victoria followed.

“Sweetie?” She carefully placed a hand on the girl, cupping the kid against her hip.

“No!” The little girl spun in, both hands smashed together in an open-handed punch to Victoria’s crotch then ran away. “No!”

The move had a surprising amount of force behind it, throwing her off balance. “Good job.”

The parents and kids both clapped as the girl ran to the end of the line.

After the remaining kids did their role-play, they ran over to the table where the families had brought snacks and drinks for afterward. Victoria pulled off her gear. The mayor came over, all smiles. His boy had been in her class the day before.

“I can’t wait to have the joint class.” He turned around and saw the little girls, who were warriors mere moments ago, back to being little girls. “It’s like they take everything you taught them and tuck it in the back of their heads.”

“That’s the point.”

He nodded and popped a homemade snickerdoodle in his mouth. “You talk to the sheriff’s office lately?”

“Yup.”

“I willnotlet gunrunners take over the outskirts of my town just because they’ve found a nice partnership.”

“What is it that you want?” she asked.

“Lee Marrow is a pain in my ass. You know what he does?”

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