Page 134 of Tactically Acquired

“Audrey!” I could hear Spencer’s footsteps as he raced toward me. I was just about to call out to him when he tripped, falling into Slider and hitting the floor with a hard smack. His sweats were around his ankles and his shirt was only pulled over one shoulder.

“It’s okay, Spencer. It’s just a lunatic in my bed.”

His head popped up and he rubbed a spot on his forehead with a groan. “We’re really gonna need some kind of signal if you’re okay.”

“Maybe not yell,” Slider grumbled.

“Hey, it’s not my fault,” I said indignantly. “I woke up to the bed shaking and a crunching sound. It freaked me the hell out!”

Slider’s head swiveled to Fox. “Are you going to say anything?”

“Me? Nope, I didn’t hear any crunching,” Fox said calmly. “You can trust me. I’ve been here for hours.”

My eyes bugged out at that. “Hours? What the hell have you been doing here for hours?”

He cocked his head at me, shooting me a funny look that made my lips twitch. “Watching you, silly. Protective detail. Frankly, you sleep too much. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up so we can watch a movie.”

“She shouldn’t be watching TV,” Spencer grumbled, getting to his feet. “Not without her glasses. It’s hard on her eyes.”

“No problemo, amigo,” he grinned. “I’ve been dying to get the lass out in the field. Teach her some of my moves.”

“What moves?” I asked curiously.

“Throwing knives. Your set arrived yesterday! I have it embossed with your name—not that you’ll be able to see it, but you can run your fingers over it.”

“You bought me throwing knives?”

He snorted. “Of course. It’s a thing. Well, my thing. Every new girl gets a set of throwing knives. I mean, I could get you steak knives for the kitchen, but that would be boring. Besides, Slider is already a chef, so we don’t have to worry about you going near the stove.”

I chuckled at that, holding up my hand. “Lesson learned.”

“Right? These are so much safer. Well, not for the other guy. By the time I’m through with you, you’ll be able to skewer someone from a hundred yards with deadly accuracy.”

“A hundred yards?” I asked, a little disbelieving over that.

“Well, that may be a stretch, but you get the point.”

“Fox!” Slider snapped. “Maybe you shouldn’t teach a blind person to throw knives.”

“Harsh, bro,” Fox jumped to my defense. “Don’t hate on the blind. She could be the first blind world champion in throwing competitions. You have no idea of her potential.”

“Yes, I do. I’ve seen her shoot.”

That got my hackles up, but before I could say anything, Fox beat me to it. “You’re just saying that because you’re jealous. She’s coming into her own, finding new challenges andexperiences. This is all about using your senses. We just have to teach her to open those up and use what the man upstairs gave her.”

“She could kill someone,” Slider snapped.

“Hey! I could be really good at this.”

Slider actually looked offended that I wanted to work with Fox. He turned to Spencer, who was sitting against the wall, half asleep. “Spencer, tell them you disagree.”

“Um…just don’t throw any knives at me.”

I beamed at his support for me. He was such a good friend. “I’ll get dressed.”

“I’ll get the Funyuns!” Fox said, jumping out of bed.

Before I could get dressed, Slider was beside me, gripping my arm lightly. “Audrey…think about this. Fox is a little out there.”

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