Page 52 of Beautiful Revenge

Watching the pure joy and determination on her face while she teaches these classes brings me a feeling of contentment. I am beyond proud of the woman she has become. The strength she’s held onto in order to battle her demons is something else.

“Alright! I want you to watch the next move, then try it on someone your size,” she states, before turning to face us. “Devon, would you like to be my prop?” she teases, and he smirks at her.

“I’ll be your prop anytime, babe. Where do you want me?” he asks as he walks over to her.

This class is full of women that have mainly been here before, so we’re mixing some reminder techniques with some new ones to make sure they have an arsenal behind them in case they need it.

“Come up behind me and wrap your arm around my neck,” she instructs, turning to face the class.

A lot of the women look afraid and uneasy, but she smiles at them with love and sincerity.

“Don’t worry, guys. I know this is a position some of you may have found yourselves in at one point or another. When I show you how to do this, you don’t have to practice it if it doesn’t feel safe. Just watching and remembering the moves can help you if you ever need it, okay?” she soothes, and they all nod, some of them breathing a sigh of relief.

“And I would never hurt Briar,” Devon says quietly, not wanting to seem intimidating. “In fact, the only person that’s about to hurt is me and my poor old-man back,” he says.

Laughter fills the air as the women and children realize there really is no threat to them inside of this room, and that we aren’t going to force them into any situations that will make them feel uneasy.

“Okay,” Briar begins. “If any of you have seen the movie Miss Congeniality, this will look familiar to you because it’s a solid stance of self-defence.” She smirks. “But I like to throw my own little twist on the end because it will help debilitate the attacker.” She takes a deep breath.

Dylan wraps his arm around Briar’s neck, and I see a few of the women flinch in fear, but she doesn’t let them get too lost in their heads.

“If someone ever attacks you from behind, the first thing you absolutely need to remind yourself to do is breathe. The second you panic, they gain the upper hand and control. Once you’ve taken a quick breath to remind yourself of the absolute badass you are, follow S.I.N.G. Stomach, instep, nose, groin.”

Briar works through the moves, elbowing Devon in the stomach before stomping on his inside toe and throwing her hand up to punch him in the nose, then twisting her body and elbowing him in the dick.

I wince when he grunts, loosening his grip on her and giving her the chance to use her body weight to throw him over her shoulder.

“Now, once your attacker is on the ground, grab hold of their arm and twist it behind their back while pushing them onto their stomach with your foot.” She shows them how to do just that before sitting on top of him and looks at me.

“Right. We only suggest this if you’re in a place where you can easily find a way to immobilize them so you can call the police. If you’re not in a position where that is an option, toss them over your shoulder and twist their arm just long enough to use the pepper spray that you will receive tonight. If they’re injured and can’t see, it will give you the time you need in order to run,” I tell them as Briar helps Devon stand, and he takes over.

“Never put yourself in danger by trying to do more. Only do what absolutely needs to be done in order to protect yourself,” he says, and they all nod.

“What if you’re too small to do any of that?” a little voice in the back of the room asks.

Briar moves through the group until she reaches the little girl and kneels in front of her.

“Then you fight like hell with what you’ve got. The groin area is going to be a big focus for you because it will immobilize even the strongest of guys. It will hurt women too, okay?” she says, and the little girl’s eyes go wide.

“Really?” she whispers loudly, and Briar smiles.

“Really.” She looks around the rest of the room. “Groin and eyes will be your biggest advantage points. If you need to get away, poke them in the eye, then hit them where it hurts.” She turns back to the little girl. “See this here?” she asks the little girl, holding her own hand up and pointing to the bottom of her palm.

“Yeah?” the little girl says, tilting her head inquisitively.

“If they’re coming at you and you get scared and panic, use the palm of your hand and hit them in the nose with it like this.” She angles her palm, directing it upward in the air. “Make sure you hit them at the bottom of the nose and shove your arm up with all the force you can muster. Even someone little can have a lot of power as long as they know how to use it. Okay?” Briar asks quietly.

“Okay,” she whispers, with tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Alright everyone, that’s it for tonight’s lesson. Practice amongst yourselves for the next little while.” She smiles. “There are donuts and some juice in the other room. You’re welcome to stay as long as you need to.”

When the others disperse, Briar leans forward and whispers into the little girl’s ear. I already know what she’s about to say because she’s offered this to another family in the past, but no one has ever called. We always turn the bastards in before they have a need to use it.

“If you and your mommy ever need some more lessons, call this number. I will help you no matter what.” She pulls back, holding her hand out to me, and I hand her the card with our burner number on it.

“Promise?” the little girl asks, looking up at her mother.

“Promise. You need help, calling that number will make sure you get it. Okay?” Briar asks, before looking at the mom. “Is that okay, Mom?”

The woman looks stunned but nods her head. “Yes. I don’t know that we will ever need it, but I… thank you.”

Briar nods and stands up to shake the woman’s hand before she takes the little girl into the other room with the food and drinks.

“Look into them, Dylan. I want to know exactly what that little girl is afraid of.”

“You got it, Brie.” I pull her into my arms and kiss her gently before pulling back. “You can’t go after him, though. You know that, right?” I remind her.

“I can still wreck his fucking world from behind the scenes, Dylan. And you’re going to help me do it.” She looks up at me with fire and determination, daring me to tell her no. Which I would never do.

“One life to ruin? Coming right up.”

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