Yet she knew without looking the exact moment he left the room.
Finally, the hour was up. Several of the other women decided to head over to the Mexican restaurant down the block and invited Jewel to join them. Immediately, Jewel accepted.
“Jewel Smith,” Reba said, clapping her on the back. “You did well today. Made us all look like amateurs.”
“Beginner’s luck,” Jewel said, which was a partial truth. Her unusual strength had helped, but she hadn’t had the faintest idea how to easily flip a man before the class.
“You have an unusual name,” one woman said. “I like it.”
Unusual and pretty had been the reasons she’d chosen it. Jewel was close enough to her real name, Julie, but different enough that no search engines would turn it up. Especially with Smith as a surname. Call her paranoid, but she knew Leo’s goons would still be looking.
“An unusual first name to go with an ordinary last name.” A deep voice stopped her in her tracks. Several of the others twittered and giggled.
“Hey, Colton.” Reba turned on the charm. “We’re about to go have lunch. Care to join us?”
He declined, claiming other plans. The timbre of his voice sent shivers up Jewel’s spine. Colton. That was his name. She kept her back to him, though every instinct she possessed wanted her to turn and face him, to ascertain if he was really a threat, and to defend herself if necessary.
Instead, she pressed closer into the circle of flustered women, staring at the floor until he’d moved away.
Reba noticed and slipped an arm through hers. “Hungry?” she whispered.
“Starving,” Jewel whispered back. “Why are we whispering?”
“Damned if I know.”
Jewel laughed, liking the other woman more and more. Though making friends had been another thing the Witness Protection Program had cautioned against, Jewel thought she and Reba might become pals.
A friend might help ease the stark loneliness of her situation. Since going on the run, she’d been completely and utterly alone. Leo had turned her into an outsider and, not knowing whom she could trust now, she dared contact no one. Her Pack back in Leaning Tree, New York, might as well be strangers. For all she knew, they considered her a traitor for testifying against Leo.
All wolves ran in packs and, since she was now denied access to both her pack and that side of herself, she needed some form of human contact.
A human pack.
Smiling at the analogy, she let Reba lead her and the others outside and down the sidewalk to the restaurant. As they reached the door, she glanced back over her shoulder.
Colton stood on the sidewalk staring after them, arms crossed and frowning.
Cheeks heating, she turned away. Her heart sank. It would be only a matter of time before he figured out who she was. Though she’d colored her hair blond and grown it long, her slender shape and unique facial features made her instantly recognizable, if the right person knew where to look. Did Colton?
Maybe making friends wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“Are you okay?” Reba asked, eyeing Jewel with concern.
“Just starving.” Another truth. Once inside the restaurant, the aroma of sizzling fajita meat made her mouth water. Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since her boiled eggs and rasher of bacon that morning.
They were shown to a large round table with mismatched chairs. Everyone took a seat, Jewel taking care to keep her back to the wall. While the others perused their menus, Jewel checked out the room. She relaxed slightly when she ascertained no threat—there were two young couples, several older couples and a few families with small children. No single men or pairs with the appearance of bodyguards or guns for hire.
The women were friendly, even though they gently teased Jewel about her northern accent. Jewel kept her mouth shut about their Texas twangs, wondering if they realized she sometimes had trouble understanding them.
She ordered beef fajitas, digging in ravenously once they arrived. Their table had gone through three baskets of chips and numerous bowls of salsa, but everyone seemed equally ravenous. Which was good, as Jewel couldn’t eat slowly if she tried.
Mid-bite, she froze. She ate as though her wolf-self was coming back. She could only hope that was the case.
The bell over the door jingled and Jewel looked up.
Colton entered and was shown to a booth near the back. Jewel couldn’t help but watch as he made his way across the room, pausing at a table here and there to exchange greetings.
“Popular man, Colton Reynolds,” the woman next to her drawled. “Too bad he had plans.”
