Irrevocable Trust (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller Book 6) (19 page)

She giggled but got serious again right away.
“
What about Bricker
’
s parental rights issue? They would just move the kids again and hide them from their admittedly insane and criminal father? Don
’
t they think that needs to be resolved?
”

“
Come on, Sasha. This is your post-September 11 government we
’
re talking about. Security trumps all.
”

“
Seriously? That
’
s
my
line. And need I remind you, you
are
them.
”

He shook his head.
“
No. Hank and I, we don
’
t let politics
—
national, office, or otherwise
—
cloud our judgment. You have to know that.
”
He grabbed her shoulders.
“
It
’
s important that you understand that.
”

“
Connelly, jeez, I was just giving you a hard time.
”

“
Sorry. I
’
m just a little on edge. First you tell me that dirtball Pulaski is representing Bricker, then we have that meeting.
”

“
It
’
s going to be okay. So what
’
s the plan for the kids while Hank
’
s not around?
”

He cleared his throat.
“
Actually, Hank asked me if we
’
d consider staying here with them until their situation gets straightened out.
”

“
Stay here? What did you say?
”

“
I said I had to talk to you, of course. But you should know he
’
s going crazy playing babysitter.
”

She could believe it. Hank was a confirmed bachelor. Former military. A man of routines.

Having grown up in a big family, one thing she knew was that routines flew straight out the window when balancing the needs of multiple kids came into the picture. Even Valentina, her fastidious mother, had thrown up her hands and gone with the flow on more occasions than not. Hank was hardly a go-with-the-flow kind of guy.

“
Live here?
”

“
Temporarily.
”

She considered fussing, but she knew she
’
d say yes in the end. And she had some things to take care of.

“
Okay. We
’
re going to need to get food. I fed this crew lunch, but the refrigerator is pretty empty.
”

He shrugged.
“
Why don
’
t you run out and get some stuff then we can ask Naya to come over and hang out while we go back to the condo, grab Java, and pack up some stuff?
”

Her brain was stuck on the first part of his suggestion.

“
What makes you think I know how to grocery shop for six kids any better than you do? My uterus didn
’
t come with instructions, you know.
”

He swallowed a laugh as Mark poked his head out into the hall.

“
Uh, hey.
”

“
Hey. How
’
s your sister?
”
she asked.

“
Sad, but better. Can one of you help her out? She grabbed some of my mom
’
s seeds before we left, and she really wants to plant them. Like a memorial or something.
”
He stared down at his feet.

“
Sure. I will. Sasha
’
s on her way out to the store.
”
Connelly tossed her the car keys.

She snagged the keys and gave Connelly a mock glare.

At least she knew how to grocery shop. She didn
’
t know the first thing about
gardening
.

“
I
’
ll be back in a bit. But I need to run an errand first.
”

He cocked his head.
“
What kind of errand?
”

“
I
’
m going to stop by and see Daniel. I want to borrow something from him.
”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Daniel re-sheathed the fixed-blade knife and weighed the weapon in his right palm for a moment before passing it to Sasha. She took it in her left hand and turned the sheath to the side then slid it out to examine the blade more closely.

“
Thanks again,
”
she said.

Daniel waved off her gratitude with an impatient gesture.

“
Don
’
t mention it. I mean that literally. If Chris or my father
—
or God forbid, your father
—
finds out I gave you a knife
…
I don
’
t even want to think about it.
”

“
I
’
m not going to tell anyone. In any case, it
’
s not as if I
’
m not perfectly capable of wreaking havoc without a weapon.
”
She shot him a look.

He matched her look with an irritated glare.

“
Right. But now you
’
re armed. Armed. Think about that for a minute. It
’
s antithetical to everything Krav Maga teaches, not to mention everything you believe. Your brother was killed
—”

“
Don
’
t.
”
She held up her empty hand, palm forward, in a motion that said
‘
stop.
’ “
Please don
’
t. Just walk me through using this, okay?
”
She was surprised to hear that her voice sounded forceful and even. She was shaking like a wet dog inside.

He sighed heavily.

“
Okay. First of all, it
’
s not a training knife. It
’
s a real combat blade, so bear that in mind.
”

Unlike the traditional martial arts, Krav Maga instruction didn
’
t include any ritualized weapons forms. No hamkudo, the Korean sword discipline; no staff fighting; no nunchuck training, so common in karate.

Instead Krav Maga emphasized street fighting and self-defense. The best weapon a Krav Maga practitioner could employ was her legs, to walk (or run) away from a brewing conflict. Second best was her voice, to diffuse the situation. A distant third was her hands, only when contact was unavoidable.

The philosophy was ingrained in both teacher and student.

But given Sasha
’
s recent past, they
’
d also agreed that some training in warding off knife and gun attacks was warranted
—
a not unreasonable position considering she
’
d been the target of both attacks more than once. That said, their training focus had been on responding to a weapons assault while unarmed.

After all, as a civil litigator, non-hunter, and urban dweller, Sasha was usually unarmed. Unless one counted the deadly geisha hairpin she occasionally used to twist her hair up into a knot.

This, however, was not a typical situation. She was helping to care for six children whose father may or may not be stalking them. It was beyond dispute that he was stalking her. She wanted a weapon. Not a gun, not with all those kids in the house
—
and not with the baggage of her brother
’
s death hanging over her. But a knife. A knife with a sharp, wicked blade.

“
I
’
ll be careful.
”

Daniel accepted her promise with a small nod.
“
You sure you
’
re going to be okay with this?
”

She followed his gaze. He was staring at her left bicep. The arm that Wally Stewart had slashed a year earlier, severing her carotid artery and nearly killing her. The scar was faint, nothing more than a thin, white whisper against her freckled skin. But Daniel knew. He
’
d seen how the wound had weakened her dominant side. He
’
d helped her rebuild her power over several long months.

Of course he
’
d be worried about her getting into a knife fight. Krav Maga worked by teaching students to react instinctively in a combat situation, not stopping and thinking. Would she be able to turn off her emotional reaction in the event of another knife attack or would her brain slow her down?

“
I
’
m not going to go out looking for a brawl, Daniel. I hope to never have to use it. But if I do have to, I
’
ll be fine. Remember, those idiots at the wedding had machetes and I didn
’
t freeze up.
”

She thought it was a persuasive point, but he surprised her by laughing.

“
Oh, you mean the banditos? Yeah, I
’
d forgotten all about the armed mercenaries at your wedding. I mean, it happens all the time.
”

She couldn
’
t suppress her smile.
“
See?
”

He rolled his eyes and then slid back into his all-business teacher persona.

“
Well, I
’
m glad to hear you aren
’
t going to be looking for a knife fight. That weapon is nothing but a hunk of metal wrapped in a big wad of false security. You realize that, right?
”

“
Yes, in a street fight, it
’
s highly unlikely that I
’
ll have time to draw it,
”
she recited dutifully.

“
It
’
s true, you know. I
’
ve only ever known one guy who was fast enough to defend himself using a knife.
”

“
Who?
”

“
My dad.
”

Larry Steinfeld was a sweet old guy, a retired civil rights and criminal defense attorney, a world-class bridge player, and a lethal weapon in his own right. He
’
d spent time in the Israeli Army, where he
’
d learned Krav Maga himself.

“
What happened?
”

“
I don
’
t know the details. You know him, he
’
s pretty low key about his past. But what I do know is instructive. One, he was carrying a sheathed straight blade, like this one. A folding knife is just too slow to get out. And two, he was in close quarters. If you have any distance at all
—”

“
Run. I know.
”

“
I have to say, I don
’
t know what you
’
re hoping to accomplish by carrying a blade. If you get jumped by someone who
’
s also got a knife, you
’
re much better off disarming him. Turn his own weapon on him. And if your assailant
’
s carrying a gun
…
well, you better just hope Leo
’
s nearby with his Glock.
”

His voice vibrated with frustration.

“
I know. Believe me, I agree with everything you
’
re saying. I can
’
t give you any details, but I think Bricker might be planning to come after me in a place where there are a lot of innocent people nearby. If I had to guess, I
’
d say he
’
ll have a gun. But he
’
s going to have to get pretty close to me to use it without killing a bunch of bystanders. So, what
’
s my play? Let
’
s just walk through it, okay? Gun versus knife in close quarters.
”