Page 44 of Sassy Embrace

“Claude,” he said. “More than ever, I need you to step up and take command.”

Claude nodded, feeling a sense of urgency flood his limbs. If there were ever a time for him to prove himself, it would be when someone was actively plotting against the coven.

Trevan stood next to Aria and ran a finger over Mai’s cheek. “Track down Kim and end this threat,” he commanded.

“I will,” Claude replied. Nothing else needed to be said. Claude returned to the kitchen to find Leigh lending comfortto Holly, nodding along as the other woman spoke about her experience.

“Leigh,” Claude said. She looked up at him questioningly.

“What are we going to do?” she asked. Her voice was full of purpose like she was ready to fight Kim herself immediately.

“I’m going to track down Kim. You, however, need to go with the others to Blue Creek.”

Leigh’s mouth dropped open. “What? No! We’re a team, right? We should do this together.”

“Leigh.” Claude reached out and took her by the shoulders, gripping tightly. He needed to protect her above all else. None of this mattered if Leigh didn’t make it out alive. “Go. Take care of them. This is my job, and I’ll do it alone. You need to make sure the others stay safe.”

Leigh looked behind herself, lingering on the image of Emma cradling baby Babs in her arms, and sighed before looking back up at Claude with immense hurt in her eyes.

“Okay,” she said meekly. It sounded nothing like the sassy wolf shifter Claude had fallen in love with, but as long as she was safe, he didn’t care.

TWENTY-TWO

LEIGH

Leigh fumed as she marched through her front door in Blue Creek. Tristan and Barbara wouldn’t leave until they watched her get inside and turn the kitchen light on, which was visible from the street. That was the all-clear sign for them.

She did so and slumped against the wall with her arms crossed, brow knitted in frustration.

“How dare he,” she muttered to no one. “I can take care of myself.” She punctuated this fact by –reluctantly– getting herself ready to go to sleep. It was late, and she was determined to get back to work the next morning. She’d already taken two days off, and who knew if the clubs were still functioning without her. If she couldn’t be part of preventing a war between her and Claude’s people, she could at least continue working to bridge them.

Leigh brushed her teeth, washed her face, changed, and collapsed into her bed. The tendrils of annoyance were still cloying at her mind, making it difficult to relax enough to rest. But somehow, she managed.

She woke early the next morning and immediately got to work. The day was packed, moving from one venue to the next and taking stock of everything that went on in her absence.

A dancer at the Naked Wolfe quit without warning. She made a note to put out a job listing immediately. A group of tequila enthusiasts crashed the Sassy Wolfe, drinking them out of everything except the most expensive tequila. And their usual vendor was on backorder for three months. And at the Horny Wolfe, a pair of shifters got a little too into the mood and destroyed a loveseat.

And those were just the easiest issues to address.

“Shit,” Leigh whispered under her breath, writing downreplace loveseaton her very long to-do list while vowing to never take another day off again. By the time she finished at the Horny Wolfe, it was long past dinnertime, and the sun was already setting. But she had one more stop on her tour.

Leigh got in her car and drove down to Embraced, hoping that maybe Claude would be there as well despite knowing he wasn’t. He was busy saving the day. Without her.

She parked, stepped out of her car while slinging her purse over her shoulder and walked toward the club’s entrance. Not three steps down the sidewalk, a pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders and wrenched her into the nearby alleyway.

Leigh stumbled, being caught completely off guard, and fell against a large dumpster. She frantically reached into her purse, only to feel dismayed when she realized she’d left her pepper spray in the car.

Finding no other options, Leigh turned to face her attacker. She found another woman with eyes wild and disheveled hair. Leigh almost put her guard back down, thinking this was some sort of misunderstanding or a run-in with someone needing help.

But then she got a better view of her assailant

“Kim,” Leigh said, choking on the name. “Listen, whatever’s wrong, we can talk this out.”

“Talk it out?” Kim laughed. It sounded deranged like acid hanging in the air. “My husband is dead, you mangy bitch. And your cozy little friends Aria and Trevan are to blame. And now, they’re sitting in my rightful place –my son’s rightful seat! And you think we can just talk this out?”

Leigh swallowed hard, feeling her back pressed hard against the metal container. She tried to assess her options but found them extremely limited. Mainly, she could try to run past Kim in the very narrow alleyway and risk being accosted again. Or she could stall for time and hope someone else would happen by to help her.

Leigh chose the latter.

---