AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I mean, it was three hours away from where I’d lived all my life, but it was still close. And considering they were as good as I had learned they were, I felt both relieved and fortunate.
When I finally pulled into the parking lot outside the Harper Security Ops building, the relief I felt turned to something else.
Determination, maybe?
This was it.
This was the final missing piece to my plan. It was the one thing that was going to help ensure my safety. Or, at the very least, it would be the one thing that made it possible for me to be able to defend myself in the event someone came after me.
There wasn’t a moment to waste.
I got out of my car and made my way to the front door.
No sooner did I step inside when I was welcomed by a gorgeous woman at the front reception desk.
With a blazing smile on her face, she greeted me. “Hi, how can I help you?”
“Hi, I was doing some research and found your company, and I was hoping I could speak to someone about self-defense,” I answered.
“Sure. Have you ever taken any self-defense classes before?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I’m afraid not. Is that going to be a problem?” I worried.
“Absolutely not. Our guys work with individuals of all skill levels, and I should note that most of the people who do come in for the first time have never had any formal training,” she shared as she stood from her chair. Extending her hand to mine, she added, “I’m Avalon.”
I reached for her hand and returned, “Ellery.”
“It’s great to meet you, Ellery. There’s a class that’s about to start right now. If you’d like, we do offer first-timers an opportunity to sit in on a class to see how we do things. You’re certainly more than welcome to join the class if you’re feeling up to it, of course. But if you’d like to just talk to someone about it for now, I can certainly have Royce, who is the owner here, sit down and go over things with you.”
My eyes widened in surprise. I hadn’t expected I’d be starting this soon. “I can join a class today?” I asked.
She shrugged, a smile still plastered on her face. “Think of it as a trial run of sorts. It’s better that you know what to expect before you officially sign up and dive in. You might decide this isn’t for you.”
I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that no matter how tough this turned out to be or how badly I might struggle to learn the material, there wasn’t any chance I’d decide that this wasn’t for me. I didn’t have that luxury. Making sure I knew how to defend myself and keep myself safe were of the utmost importance.
“I’d love to try out a class,” I told her.
“Great. Come with me, and I’ll take you over to meet the guys who are teaching,” she instructed.
With that, I caught up and fell into step beside Avalon as she led me to wherever the class was being held. I had to admit that with each step I took, I grew more and more nervous.
I was going to do this.
There was an overwhelming amount of pressure I felt, but I was certain that had nothing to do with Avalon or being inside the Harper Security Ops building. I was willing to bet that all the pressure I felt was the result of me realizing just how real this was about to become.
This was my life.
And this situation was life-or-death.
Because if there was one thing I knew to be resoundingly true, it was that Patrick wasn’t going to just accept that I’d left him or that I wanted to be divorced from him. He believed I was his property, that I was his to keep, and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to make sure things stayed precisely how he wanted them to stay.
Yep.
There was pressure in this situation.
But I wasn’t going to buckle. I was going to stay focused, learn what I needed to learn, and be diligent.
Just as I had that thought and took in a deep breath, I realized precisely how difficult this was all going to be.
