Page 32 of Stripped

He stepped back. “Then we'll do everything we can to make sure they aren't.”

He reached for my hand, laced his fingers through mine, and we stepped into the building together. I should have yanked my hand from his, but I appreciated his support, the comfort of his hand in mine too much to let go. Inside, the building was vast and looked like the interior of an airplane hangar, maybe two or three airplane hangars shoved together. Throughout the large space were sleeping areas with air mattresses and sleeping bags. It looked like everyone had split up into groups. Some with just two or three people, some with more.

“Abby,” Lizzie shouted. She raced to my side and threw her arms around me. “Thank goodness you're okay. We were so worried about you.”

My nerves eased. These were women I'd known for a long time. We'd figure this out, together.

I hugged Lizzie back and moved into the middle of the area where the most people seemed to be hanging out, eating and chatting and listening to music. More women stood and joined us, hugging me and seeming happy to see me, as I made my way over. “Hey, everyone,” I said. Someone turned off the music and the room quieted. “I need to talk to you about what happened last night and, hopefully, figure out a way to fix it.”

Everyone found seats around the spot where I stood and I told them everything I knew about Leopold, about what he'd done to Alice and Carly and what he'd done to me. Some of the women paled, others shook their heads in disgust, but some of them straightened their shoulders and stuck out their chins. They thought they could take him, they thought they were strong enough to resist his charms and they saw money in a strip club frequented by vamps. Those would be the women who'd break my heart, because they wouldn't listen to me, no matter what I said, and their chances against the vamps weren't very good.

I wanted to suggest to Zane that he lock up those women, that he keep them in Mule Creek until… And that was the problem, because there'd always be vamps in Aspens Whiten. If these women chose to work for Leopold, there was nothing I could do to stop them, just as I hadn't been able to save Emily from her blood-sharing addiction.

“I can't stress strongly enough the threat of the vampires,” I said. “They can control you and force you to do whatever they want you to do, they will own you. I will do everything I can to help you find another option, to find a way out. I know that the options and the ways out will be individual to each of you so, if you want, I'll talk to you separately and figure out a way forward that works specifically for you.”

The women murmured amongst themselves and many of them, the women who hadn't worked for me in months or longer, packed up and left without speaking to me. Zane helped them find rides back to Aspens Whiten. The first three women who sat down to chat with me about their options all had day jobs and were willing to give up stripping. I told them what to watch out for with the vamps, but they assured me they weren't worried about Leopold coming after them.

That left me with Zara, Roxy, and Lizzie, all of whom needed stripping to achieve a necessary life goal they'd been working hard to achieve. I spoke to them as a group. “Are any of you in a position to give up stripping?” I asked, but no one raised her hand. None of them had won the lottery in the past twenty-four hours. “Then I'll help you figure out a way to get what you need, so you won't have to work for Leopold. Zara, why don't you talk to me first?” With her mother and her daughter depending on her, I knew she'd want to stay away from the vampires, but I also knew how badly she wanted to provide a better life for them all. She walked over and sat next to me.

“If you didn't strip,” I said. “You could get a job at one of the restaurants in town.”

She sighed and bounced her daughter on her lap. The little girl had her thumb in her mouth and looked sleepy. I suspected neither of them had gotten much sleep the night before. “The tips are miserable in the winter, but it would be something, I guess.”

“I know you want to get that new house sooner, but Lila's happy with your mom. She's doing well in school, right?”

Zara smiled down at her daughter. “Yeah. I just wanted to be able to do more for her.”

“Just be there for her,” I said. “Once I find a job in Denver, I'll send what money I can.”

She paled. “No. I don't need charity.”

I patted her shoulder. She was wearing an over-sized sweatshirt she'd gotten from one of the pack members. “It's not charity, Zara. It's the money I would have owed you if I'd closed the club the way I should have. A severance.”

“Abby, really…” She held up her hands. “I don't need it.”

“It's my fault,” I said. “I pissed off Leopold. Let me do this.”

She hesitated, but her daughter sighed and snuggled deeper against her and, when Zara looked up at me, she nodded, tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”

I hugged her and she left with her daughter and her mother. I gestured Roxy over next. She'd been saving to move to Denver herself. “How much longer were you planning to save before the move?” I asked.

“Six weeks,” she said. “I need every penny I can get before I go.”

“I know you have a lot saved already.” I also knew she was a worrier and an overachiever. She'd want to have a six-month emergency fund and three back-up plans before she left. All of which hinted to me that she was terrified of leaving Aspens Whiten and setting out on her own, but I wasn't going to say that to her.

“I do,” she said. “I've already got enough for rent for three months, I'd just hoped to have more.”

I put a hand over hers. “I understand your need to be sure you're covered financially.” Like me, Roxy had grown-up in a financially insecure home. “But I promise I'll be here for you. If you ever need anything, you call me and I'll figure out a way to get it for you.”

“I can't do that,” she said, twisting her fingers in her lap. “You're my boss. And you have your own problems. I can't—”

“Have I ever let you down before?” I asked. “When you needed extra shifts at the club, I always found them for you and when you needed cash for—”

She nodded. “Okay, I'll call you if I need anything.” She clearly didn't want to be reminded of the time she'd dated that jerk who'd stolen her on-hand emergency cash. She hadn't really needed the money, but it'd made her feel better and she'd paid me back almost immediately. “I'll just work at the drive-in until—”

“Why don't you move now? You said you have a cousin there, maybe you could crash with her until you can move into your own place and get a local job.”

She nodded, her eyes wide. “She's a distant cousin. She's actually fifteen years older than me and I don't think—”

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