Christian (Vampires in America: The Vampire Wars Book 10) by D.B. Reynolds Page B

father had introduced her to the martial art as a child . . . “just in case.” That would be just in case she was in a situation where neither he, nor either of her giant brothers, were around to pulp any horny boys into submission.
    She sighed and slumped back against the wall. She’d never had to deal with any of those horny boys, because her brothers always got to them first. And they hadn’t been much of a danger anyway. But at least the training was excellent exercise. She could say, with perfect modesty, that she’d always been in great shape.
    These days, her work at the dojo still helped her keep fit, but it also burned off the stress of a job that involved staring at numbers all day long, trying to translate the story they told of crooked vampire lords and unscrupulous bankers. She loved her job. It was challenging, but also sometimes exhausting. Which was why she often ended her nights with an early morning visit to the dojo, before heading home for a hot shower and a few hours of sleep.
    “I don’t know how you do it.” Her friend Janette Baldwin was sitting next to her, and punctuated her words with a jaw-breaking yawn, which told Natalie what the it was. Janette was a night person forced to live the life of an early bird. She ran a very successful daycare and preschool in downtown Houston, which meant she had to be there to greet all the earliest moms and dads when they dropped off their children. Natalie had met her at the first gym she’d joined in the city, and then Janette had followed her to the dojo when she decided the gym wasn’t what she needed.
    “And I don’t know how you chase a bunch of rugrats around all day and still have the energy to get up an hour early to come here,” Natalie told her. “Don’t you get enough exercise at the prison?”
    “Nat! Stop calling my school a prison! Someone will hear you and think I’m a screw at the big house or something.”
    Natalie laughed. “A screw at the big house? You’ve been watching too much reality TV.”
    “Besides, I like coming here,” Janette said quietly, her gaze riveted on Alon’s muscular form as he efficiently put every single member of the advanced class on the mat. Krav Maga might not be elegant, but Alon sure was. Natalie could appreciate his beauty, even though he didn’t ring her particular bell. They’d tried dating once, early on. But there was no heat between them; they were better as friends.
    Janette, on the other hand, had a major crush on Alon, but was too shy to do anything about it. Unfortunately, Alon seemed blissfully unaware. He was always friendly, always respectful, but that was it. Much to Janette’s continued dismay.
    “Stop ogling Alon, and talk to me.”
    “I can’t talk to you until you tell me what’s going on.”
    “I’m not sure . . . I don’t know how much I can say.”
    “Okay, so it’s vampire stuff.”
    “Janette—”
    “Come on, Nat. I know where you work, that’s no secret. And there’s no other reason for you to be so stressed about it. Tell me what’s up. Pinky-swear I won’t tell anyone else.”
    Natalie bit her lip, thinking hard. She had to talk to someone, or she’d go nuts. And Janette was one of only two people in her life she could really talk to, especially about the vampire stuff. She didn’t even tell her family how she felt about working for Anthony, because (a) she didn’t want to upset them, and (b) she didn’t want to get them on Anthony’s shit list. So there was Janette, and there was Alon. And that was it.
    “Okay, but not a word to anyone. I don’t give a shit about Anthony, but I don’t want you to get hurt.”
    “Those vamps probably don’t even know I exist.”
    Natalie snorted. “You’d be surprised, so not a word.”
    “Fine, fine, what’s going on?”
    “Okay, so there’s this new guy—”
    “Oh, my God,” Janette exclaimed, clutching Natalie’s arm. “A new guy? An actual guy with a penis and everything?” she said,