Page 31 of Stripped

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“This doesn't look like a barn,” I said as Zane led me into a cinder-block building.

“It's not,” he said. “This is our version of a prison. We're keeping Alice and Carly here for their own good. I thought you'd like to see them first.”

I stepped inside and into a single room containing cells, cages, and kennels of various sizes. Alice and Carly were in a cell together, watching something on a small screen, but they stood as soon as we walked in.

“Abby,” Carly said, her voice pleading. She was gripping the bars and pressing her face between them like she could squeeze herself out. “You have to let us go. Leopold needs us. He didn't force us to do anything. We need to be with him.”

I marched over to the cell, sick that I could have been them if Leopold had chosen to use his vampy magic on me. “You two were fighting over a hairbrush last week, and you want me to believe you'd willingly share a man?”

“It wouldn't be our first choice,” Alice said. She looked calmer than Carly, her gaze more focused and sober. Maybe she was closer to coming out of the compulsion. “But Leopold loves us both and we love him. We'll learn to share if it's the only way we can have him.”

There was no point in arguing with them. It would be like trying to convince a toddler on a sugar high to give up her lollipop. “I can't let you out. I'm sorry. Is there anything I can get you to make you more comfortable?”

“We just want Leopold,” Carly said, tears in her eyes.

“Could we get a shower?” Alice asked, another sign she was closer to being free of the compulsion.

I looked at Zane, who looked at a woman behind a small desk. I'd been so focused on Carly and Alice when we walked in, I hadn't even noticed her. “Whaddya say, Millie?” Zane asked, flashing a charming smile.

The woman, who was tall, curvy, and gorgeous, seemed to melt under Zane's attention. Her cheeks pinked and her smile was huge, like she'd just gained the attention of the supermodel she'd been lusting after. “I can't take them into someone's house for a shower, but I could get them a bucket of warm water, some washcloths, and soap.”

“That'd be great,” Zane said, his smile nearly as big as hers.

I turned to Alice and Carly. “I'll be by to see you in a bit.”

“Please, Abby,” Carly said, actual pain in her voice. “I need him.”

I gave her hand a squeeze. “I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know you want him. I'll figure out a way to make it better, okay?”

She nodded, hope in her eyes. “I just love him so much.”

After telling them both goodbye, I walked out with Zane. As we passed Millie's desk, I grabbed Zane's hand and laced my fingers through his. It was an impulsive, stupid move.

Zane just chuckled and walked me back out into the bright sunlight. He looked down at our linked hands. “I thought we agreed to no public displays.”

I tried to take my hand from his, but he held on tighter, his smile growing. “The poor woman clearly has a crush on you. I was protecting her.”

He pulled me flush against him and grinned down at me. “And what if I'm interested in her? You and I are just friends, right? I'd be free to date her.”

The very thought of Zane with Millie, with any other woman, had anger warming me. An anger followed almost instantly by gut-sinking fear. What the hell was wrong with me? The last thing I needed was to get attached. Especially to an unemployed, ex-yoga instructor who'd never leave his pack or Mule Creek. And yet I'd felt jealous, so jealous that I'd behaved like a lovesick teenager again. I jerked my hand from his and he let me. “You're right,” I said, my teeth gritted. “I'm sorry. You're free to date whoever you want.”

He turned and started down the main street. “I'm not interested in Millie, Abby. I'm only interested in one woman and she's not from Mule Creek, she's not part of my pack.”

I ignored the ridiculous flutter of my heart, and followed him down the street. He led me to the edge of town, up a forest trail, and stopped in front of a huge warehouse-like building that looked nothing like the big, red barn I'd been picturing. I could hear music playing and loud voices before we even walked in. “Are they having a party?”

Zane shrugged. “You said to get their kids, some of 'em wanted to bring their boyfriends or girlfriends, and one woman brought her grandmother. There's a lot of people in there.”

Huh. I'd kind of forgotten about that. I stopped at the door to the 'barn' suddenly feeling nervous. “What am I going to tell them? What can I do to keep them away from Leopold?”

Zane ran a hand through his hair and winced. “You have to explain to them what he is and what he can do. I'm pretty sure Leopold will leave them alone once you're out of town, but… Shit, Abby, I don't know. At some point, you've got to accept that they're adults and let them fight their own battles.”

I glared at him. “This isn't their battle. It's mine. If any of them are hurt by Leopold, it will be my fault.”

He put his hands on my shoulders and dropped his forehead to mine. “I'm on your side, Abby. I will support whatever you decide. If I have to guard all of them, I'll figure out a way to do it, okay?”

It felt good to have him there, his hands on me, his support. “Okay. I just… They're good people. I don't want to see them hurt.”

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