Page 24 of Faking it with the Green Beret

His blood froze. “Good idea.” Damn. He should have consulted her first. He’d picked Elizabeth to run through scenarios, thinking it might be traumatic for Wren and Ariana, but he hadn’t connected the dots that this mission of hers might have come about because she was a survivor of domestic abuse. If her father abused her mother, it wouldn’t be a stretch for him to abuse his kids too.Son of . .. “Tell you what—you putmein a choke hold, Ariana.”

She switched places with Elizabeth and hesitantly put her hands to his throat.

“If I pound on her arms, it pits strength against strength. That might work for me, but a better technique is for you to dip your chin as low as you can and take advantage of the thumbs being the weak point. Hold tighter.”

In a flash he was free.

“Whoa,” Ariana gasped.

“Yeah, but you’re three times stronger than her,” Wren said.

“Doesn’t matter. You okay to try?” he asked Ariana.

He waited for her consent before lightly gripping her throat. “What I did was step back on my strong side and simply bow down using my whole body to break the hold.”

She followed the instructions in a practice run-through.

“Now, let’s try it for real.” He placed his hand around her neck again, tight enough to simulate an actual threat.

And she slipped right through his hands. “I did it!”

He chuckled at her exuberant smile. “Told you. You can try it on each other.” He waved a hand toward Elizabeth and Wren.

Lastly, Wren helped him demonstrate what to do if an attacker grabbed both arms to shake or pin them against a wall. “You have two options,” he explained. “Pushing your arms out against their hands doesn’t work as well as pulling up against their thumbs.”

Wren pulled free to prove his point.

“Or you can bring them closer and grab their arms. Now, you’re in a position to knee him in the groin.”

“Can I try?”

“O-kay,” He released one of Wren’s arms and covered his junk before letting her try.

“Don’t trust me?” Wren raised an eyebrow.

“I’m really sorry about the security lights going off last night.”

“Three times!” Wren scowled.

“I readjusted them this morning.” He put both hands on her arms, hoping for mercy and that her instincts didn’t kick in like Elizabeth’s or he’d be singing alto.

“I wouldn’t do that to you—because if that adjustment still isn’t right, they’ll keep waking me up if I kill you.”

She executed the maneuver and got free from his grip, simulating, but not actually, kneeing him.

“Thank you.” He released the breath he’d been holding. Elizabeth hid a smile behind her hand, but amusement shone in her pretty blue eyes.

“Now, I’d hit him with the Taser,” Wren said.

“In the time it takes to dig your Taser out of your purse, an assailant may pull out a weapon. It’s best to get away. The goal is not to inflict pain or vengeance. The goal is to not be a victim.”

“I guess you’re right,” Wren agreed.

“That’s enough for today. Don’t feel like you need to remember everything we covered. We’ll review again in a few days. If there are any situations you want instructions on how to handle, let me know and we’ll cover those too. What kind of animal do you have?” he asked Ariana since he hadn’t seen her walking or playing with a dog.

“A cat. But now I’m kind of wishing I had a dog.”

“Yeah, even yappy little dogs can be good because of all the barking. Something for you to think about,” John said.

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