Page 33 of Stripped

“You won't know until you ask. If you stay here, you might be tempted to work for Leopold and I'm afraid, if you did, you'd never get away from him.”

“I don't know.”

“If your cousin won't let you stay with her, get your own place right away and take whatever job you can to hold you over until you get something more permanent. You'll be so much safer in the city, and you don't want to be like me, do you? Always saying you're going to move and never doing it.”

“I'd be lucky to be like you,” she said. “But I'll go, I promise.”

I hugged her. “Call me when you're settled. Let me know you're okay.”

She hugged me back and went to the other end of the hangar to wait for a ride to town with the others.

Lizzie had a situation that wasn't in any way as simple. She'd been dancing at my club for three years, but she'd had a drug problem for the first year. She was clean and wanted to be a personal trainer, but I was worried that a major change, losing her job and the income she needed to reach her goal of becoming a personal trainer would send her back to using again.

“It's fine,” Lizzie said, before I could speak. “It'll just take me longer to get certified. I can move in with Roxy or Alice and I'll get a job waiting tables or…”

“How close are you to your goal?” I asked. Lizzie didn't have a car, so she'd need money for transportation to get to her training classes.

“Abby. I'll be fine. Really.”

I shook my head. “Leopold came after me,” I said. “If I hadn't brushed him off, if I'd been nicer to him, I'd still have a club and you'd have the money you need in two or three months. If you stay and get pulled into Leopold's club, I'll never forgive myself. How much more money do you need?”

“What he did is not your fault,” she said, her expression livid. “He has the problem not you.”

She was repeating words I'd said to her when some jerk at the club got too handsy or suggested she was a cock tease. “You're right. But I still want to know you'll be okay. How much more money do you need?”

She sighed. “I've actually almost completed the online course, and I've got the money to travel for the certification sessions. I was saving to move out of Aspens Whiten. There just aren't a lot of job opportunities here. I didn't want to tell you, because—”

I was practically bouncing in my seat. “But that's perfect. You can move to Denver with Roxy. You two can get a place together.”

“Abby—” She stopped herself, as though my words had finally hit her brain. “That's actually an amazing idea.”

“And if you have any problems, I'll be in Denver soon and I'll be around to help.”

She leaned in and hugged me, before racing over to fill Roxy in on her plan. I leaned back, feeling like maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay.

And then Zed stalked over to me, exhausted and pale. “You think Carly was compelled to stick by that asshole Leopold? You think she wasn't in her right mind?”

“Yes. I think she'll feel terrible about the way she treated you, if she even remembers it.”

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “If she'd gone with him… If you hadn't…” He met my eyes. “He didn't hurt you, did he?”

“He wanted me to be fully aware of what I was doing when he bent me to his will. He just locked me in a dog kennel overnight.”

He nodded. “Thank you for what you did for Carly. I'll never forget it, and I'll make sure she never does, either.”

“What will you do?” When he wasn't a bouncer at the Booty Carousel, he worked as a graphic artist for several of the businesses in Aspens Whiten.

“I doubt the vamps will come after me, but…” He shook his head. “I know Carly and I haven't been dating very long, but I'm hoping she'll move with me. I've got family on the East Coast. I just… I don't want her anywhere near that guy.”

“I think that's a good idea. If there's anything I can do—”

“Nah,” he said. “I've got this. Do you think I could stay with her? At the jail or wherever she is? I need to know she's safe.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

***

“She seems so happy that Roxy will be moving with her,” Zane said. “You did good.”

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