Credit card? Knowing how easily such things could be traced, the Witness Protection agency had destroyed all her old ones and had issued her new cards in her new name. Now, since she’d left the program, Jewel had destroyed even those. She had none. She met the younger woman’s heavily made-up brown eyes and forced a smile. “Is cash okay?”
With a curt nod, Candy waved her over to a metal folding chair.
Jewel was nearly finished filling out the papers whenhestrode in. She felt him before she saw him. Crap. Her mouth went dry as she stared at him.
When their gazes met, he looked as startled as she felt. While part of her hoped he’d continue inside without speaking, she also wanted to talk with him again. Forcing a smile, she braced herself for the husky sound of his deep voice.
Instead, he continued past her with only an impersonal nod.
Shocked and strangely disappointed, she shook her head. Her entire body tingled as she stared after him.
Someone tapped her shoulder, making her jump.
“Hey, I know you.” The soft drawl was familiar. Jewel frowned up at the short, curly-haired woman before recognition kicked in.
“Reba!” The talkative Realtor had shown Jewel the cabin she’d rented. She wore stretchy pink shorts and a T-shirt with the words Go for It emblazoned in neon-green across the front. “How are you?”
Cocking her head, Reba regarded her curiously. “What are you doing here?”
“Self-defense,” Jewel said with a shrug. “Living alone and all, I decided I needed to learn. You?”
“The same.” Reba laughed, gesturing at a cluster of other women who were busy stretching and trying to pretend they weren’t eavesdropping. “We all decided to take this class when we heard about it.” She leaned closer and winked. “The instructor’s Max Hart. He’s a hottie.”
“Really?” Jewel had never met the man. “I didn’t know.”
“He is.” Reba’s grin widened. “Plus, the exercise will do us good.”
The instructor came in, clapping loudly three times to gain the group’s attention. He wore loose, khaki pants, a tight-fitting black T-shirt, and was barefoot.
“I’m Max Hart,” he said, making eye contact with each woman. While he spoke, Jewel studied him, sizing him up. A lean, muscular man, he had that particular look common to ex-special forces. Some of Leo’s bodyguards and hired thugs had come from similar backgrounds. Scrutinizing this man’s face, she searched for a hint of his character, then chided herself for thinking she could tell by a simple look. What did it matter, after all? As long as he could teach and she could learn, that was all she needed to know.
“Isn’t he hot?” Reba whispered.
Jewel nodded by reflex. “He’s all right.” While she supposed some might find his compact strength attractive, he had nothing on her handsome stranger.
Relieved her inability to change and simmering sexual need hadn’t made her completely man-crazy, Jewel decided Max Hart would do as an instructor. She wondered if he gave private lessons. She wanted to learn as much as she could, as fast as possible.
But first, she’d see if he was any good.
The class began with more warm-ups and stretches. For the next half hour, Jewel learned to twist and kick and various other methods of fighting off an attack. Each woman took a turn, and Jewel saw the surprise in the hard-edged instructor’s face when she effortlessly flipped him onto his back. She might not be able to change, but she still had most of her wolf strength.
Several of the women tittered nervously.
Leo would have been furious. Max merely cocked a brow and smiled, eyeing her with questions in his eyes. Holding out her hand, she helped him up.
“Very good,” he told her. “Where did you learn to do that?”
With a shrug, she ignored the question, instead returning to her place in line.
“You go, girl,” Reba chortled, punching her arm lightly. On her other side, two women whispered behind their hands, watching Jewel the way one might eye a particularly vicious animal.
If they only knew. Jewel flashed them a broad smile, the closest she could come to baring her teeth, amused when they instantly looked away.
A tingling on the back of her neck made her turn. Her mystery man stood in the front of the room, a towel draped around his neck, watching. His skin shone with perspiration from what must have been a workout in the gym next door.
Had he seen what she’d done? She flushed, part of her not wanting him to know she was preparing for an attack. The other part of her, feminine and apparently completely brainless, wondered if he found her strength unattractive.
Like she cared. Focusing her attention back on Max, she decided to ignore her stranger.
