Page 32 of Gluttony
Every female jumped immediately to her feet, including Elena. The boys were slightly less accommodating, but they stood.
Elation prickled Bailey’s skin. Great.
“You don’t mind, do you?” she asked Tony. “It will only take a few minutes. Thirty tops.”
“Um.” Doubt flickered in his eyes.
“Please?” She leaned in until her lips hovered near the shell of his ear. “I’ve not been able to get them engaged all week, and you’d be great at this.”
Tony tilted his face until his cheek hit hers. Heat scorched along her face. His lashes fluttered closed, and he gave a soft nod. Then the actor replaced the reserved Tony. Excitement livened his expression, and he addressed the crew.
“You’re all in for a treat,” he started, eyes brightening. “You think I’m the best in this room, but this little lady here—” He pointed at Elena. “She will be the one to take me down. For reals. You wanna see?”
Cheers. Actual cheers burst out in the room, and Bailey almost cried. When Tony looked to her for guidance, she gestured for him to help shift the furniture around the room.
Nine
They had movedthe couches and television to the side for the class. Tony sat on the floor, cross-legged between a girl named Elena and a boy named Michael. For the past hour, he’d been helping Bailey show various scenarios. They’d lost a few of the group when it became clear Bailey would actually teach a class and not turn the session into some sort of exhibition of his celebrity. They were almost done.
“So,” Bailey said to the class. “We’ve learned about an active shooter, and now we will learn how to defend ourselves from an active killer with a knife.” She pointed at Tony. “Once again, first, I’ll demonstrate with Tony as the attacker, and then I’ll need a volunteer to do the same as me and take him down.”
Tony nudged the girl and leaned into her. “Your turn, right?”
She gave him a contentious look.
“Come on, Elena.” He smiled. “Give it a go.”
“Tony?” Bailey gestured at him. God, she was hot when she was all business like this. “You ready?”
He zipped his lips. “Sorry, coach. I’m ready.”
“Okay,” Bailey continued. She paced along the carpet at the front of the room. “As soon as you register the danger, you need to get up. Sitting makes you vulnerable.” She stopped pacing and raised her brows at Tony.
“Oops. That’s my cue.” He jumped up, and shook his hands out, grinning as he turned to the group. This was so much fun. “Roar. I’m a baddy.”
The kids snickered. But Bailey didn’t. “You’re not a lion. You’re a knife wielding fiend. Be serious.”
“Okay. One second.” He crouched before Elena and nodded at the cell phone in her hand. “Do you think that will make a good knife?”
She gave her cell an incredulous look, but handed it to him. Good. That was better interaction than before. He’d get her to open up and take part before the class was done. She wouldn’t be here if she didn’t want to be. She just needed a little push.
“Got it, coach.” He made a jabbing motion with the cell.
Bailey turned to the students. “When you notice an imminent attack, sometimes you need to shake other bystanders awake. Many people freeze in the face of danger. It’s normal. Inform others of the threat and leave if you can. Shout if you have to. If you don’t have time to escape, then this is what you do.”
She launched into a series of demonstrations involving different maneuvers. From kicks, to using furniture, to twisting the weapon out of his hand. It impressed Tony. And turned him on. It had taken all his focus to remain stoic every time her body brushed up against his. When she’d grasped his arm, twisted so her back was to his front, and he felt the cushion of her ass against his crotch, he had to think of baseball to stay unaroused. She had no idea how she affected him, and when it became time for a volunteer, he pointed at Elena, grateful for a respite from the sensation of Bailey’s body.
“Come on, Elena. You know you want to.” He took her hand and dragged her to her feet, despite the belligerent look on her face. Tony knew that look. He’d caught himself making something similar many times in his youth. It was self-doubt. She needed her confidence boosted, so Tony asked the rest of them. “What move do you think she should pull on me? The twist and body slam. The kick to the guts. The elbow to the face.”
A few shouts of suggestions came back, but it was Elena’s voice that had him.
“Kick to the guts,” she murmured, then immediately rubbed her arms.
Bailey stood back. “Good girl. Legs are longer than arms. Use your surroundings to give you an anchor. Tony will come at you, and you keep his body away by holding onto something, and then kicking.”
Tony lunged toward Elena, pretending the cell was a knife. She squeaked. But then glanced over her shoulder, shuffled back until she hit the couch, and when Tony came at her again, she braced and kicked him—right in the gut. It knocked the wind out of him.
Eyes watering, he grunted and went down, clutching his middle. He was only half-acting. She really did have a strong kick. On someone less trained than him, it would do damage.
