“Because he’ll end up groping Trinity and we’ll have to watch. It’s better this way,” Hope says.

“Shut up.” Trinity laughs and shoves Hope. “One time.”

“Every time,” Hope mutters under her breath.

I flick my gaze toward Jake, who’s watching us with an amused expression. He has player written all over him, but if Wrath trusts him with Trinity, then I guess the rest of us are safe.

“Thanks for letting me try this class out on you, ladies. We’re going to work on escaping from various kinds of choke holds. If someone is choking you against your will—”

Mara giggles.

Jake zeroes in on her. “Ah, I see who the troublemaker is today. I figured it would be Heidi.”

Heidi laughs and shakes her head. “Nope, I’m all ears.”

“If someone’s choking you,” he continues after he has our full attention, “it doesn’t take long to knock you unconscious. After that…”

Right. He doesn’t need to finish.

“I want you to fight back.” He slams his fist into his open palm. “Do whatever you have to, get free and find help.”

“How are we realistically supposed to get away from someone, say your size?” Hope asks.

“Size isn’t the only thing that matters. And this is self-defense, so it doesn’t have to be pretty. Whatever you need to do to get away.”

“Fair enough.”

“I’m not going to go easy on you.” Jake seems to shed his fun, flirty guy exterior and gets down to business. “I don’t believe that benefits anyone. It’s a waste of both of our time.”

“Oh, shit,” Mara mutters. She pokes Hope. “What’d you get me into?”

Jake curls his finger and calls Trinity up front. “I’ve worked with Trinity before, so she knows what to expect.” He jerks his head to the side and searches what he can see of the gym beyond this room. “And I think Wrath went out so he won’t kill me.”

Trinity chuckles. “Bring it on, Wallace.”

“So, we’ll start with something simple, a forward two-armed choke hold.” Jake strikes fast, wrapping his hands around Trinity’s neck. Instinctively, she grabs his forearms.

“Now, Trinity’s a strong girl, right?” He releases her neck for a second and pats her triceps. That has to be a joke. His arms are the size of her head, muscles flex and bulge just standing there. He gives her a subtle nod as he places his hand back around her neck.

She immediately grabs at his arms, trying to pull them away. Exactly what I wanted to do the minute he touched her.

“This is your normal response,” Jake says. “Your first instinct—pull the attacker’s arms away, claw at them, pry them off.” He pauses. “She’s never going to overpower me this way. Nothing against, Trin, but she can’t do it in time.”