Blood and Sand by Elizabeth Hunter

believe that was the job description.”
    “Don’t let me leave, huh?” Natalie cast her eyes around the room. “We’ll see about that.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

    Baojia was practicing his forms to the melodious background noise of Natalie banging on the door of the guest suite, calling him every vile name she could think of. As suspected, she had a rather vivid imagination.
    Cross. Thrust. Center. Draw back. Center. Sweep.  
    Center.
    Center.
    Center.
    He took a deep, meditative breath, trying to still his mind from the flurries of information all begging for attention.
    Rory had called at dusk.
    Then Paula.
    Then Ivan’s people.
    Luis had called from the house phone to tell him Natalie had spent all day inspecting windows and air-conditioning vents for means of escape before she had taken to simply banging on the door incessantly until she was let out so she could go home. His assistant had also been subjected to a rather thorough interrogation about the vampire world.
    I thought she was going to waterboard me!
    He was insane. There was no way any of this was going to end well.
    Cross. Draw. Center. Sweep.
    Humans were dying in the desert and he had no idea who was behind it. His sire was still angry with him and wanted him cooped up in San Diego. A human reporter had discovered not only that vampires existed, but also that San Diego’s premier nightclub was owned by them. The same reporter was locked in his guest suite, and the electronic lock system keeping her there was due to release in—he glanced at the clock—five, four, three, two…
    He heard the click followed by the tumble, followed by the rush of feet that ran down the stairs to—
    “Who the hell do you think you are?”
    Center.
    Baojia turned, swiveling in his stance until he faced her, still practicing his forms in nothing but a pair of loose pants. She noticed.
    “Good evening, Natalie.” He’d picked excellent clothing for her. The dark jeans hugged her hips and the blue-green shirt matched her eyes.
    Focus. There Vmemer. Twas an angry human in his practice room.
    “I said, who —”
    “I am Baojia, oldest son and chief of security for Don Ernesto Alvarez, immortal leader of Los Angeles and its territories.” The corner of his mouth lifted as he stood in a rigid stance. “And sometimes known as George. Welcome to my home.” He finished the combination, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes for a moment. Seeing her awake in his home put him in an oddly good mood. He tried not to wonder why. His introduction had taken a bit of the wind out, but he could tell she was still angry. “I apologize for not giving you a tour last night. You were rather exhausted.”
    “Probably because you did that creepy shit with your vampire power to knock me out.”
    “I didn’t actually use very much.” He opened his eyes and strolled over to her. “You shouldn’t have been unconscious. Have you had any extra stress in your life lately? Suffered from exhaustion?”
    “Are you asking about my health?”
    “Yes. I promised to keep you safe. If you have any health issues, I should be made aware of them so I can tend to you properly.”
    “Tend to me?” Now she was just blinking. “I… I’m healthy as a horse. Can we please—?”
    “That’s such an odd expression. You look far healthier than any horse I’ve ever seen.” He couldn’t stop his eyes skimming over her figure.
    “Oh… wow.” She shook her head. “You actually just did that. You kind of made a pass at me after you kept me prisoner for a whole night, you ass!”
    He shrugged and lifted a hand, flicking a finger so that the water bottle on the bench flew to his hand. Natalie’s mouth dropped open.
    “It was an observation, not a proposition. And I kept Luis prisoner, too. I didn’t want you to feel singled out.”
    “How…” She sounded out of breath. “How did you…”
    “Didn’t Luis explain that part?” He let the smug smile peek out. “He said you interrogated him very