Page 79 of Stripped

I pressed a kiss to his furry snout, which wasn't nearly as weird as I'd thought it might be, and stood. “I'm going to head out,” I said to Julie and Axel. “Lock up behind me.”

“Abby,” Julie said. I met her gaze and she studied my face before she sighed, her expression sad. “Thank you for everything. Keep in touch.”

I nodded, having no intention of contacting her ever again. It would hurt too much to hear about Zane when I couldn't see him.

I unlocked the door and stepped out into the dark night. A cold wind blew, making me shiver. We'd run out of the house without coats, but I hadn't felt the cold until that moment. It smelled like there would be more snow soon.

I jogged past the vampire corpses on the ground outside the jail without looking at them and down main street to Zane's house. I needed to hurry. if I lingered, if Zane asked me to stay, I wasn't sure I'd leave. I needed to leave. Needed to get to Denver and a new start.

I let myself into Zane's house. I didn't bother to look around, but hurried back to his room, grabbed a bag and filled it quickly. I took my car keys and my purse from the floor next to the night stand and turned for the door.

Someone was standing in the doorway, moonlight at their back, so I couldn't see their face. I backed up until I hit the night stand, my heart thumping loudly.

“Abby,” Iris said, stepping into the room. “It's alright. It's just me.”

“Iris,” I said. “Are you and Zeke okay?”

“A few scratches, but we're fine. Are you hurt? Where's Zane?”

“I'm fine. Zane was hurt, but he shifted to wolf and he's sleeping it off. Axel said he'll be fine.”

Iris flicked on the overhead light and I blinked, my eyes watering. She gasped and rushed over to me. “Your neck. What happened?”

I touched my neck, wincing at the soreness. “A vampire tried to choke me to death.”

She leaned in and studied my injury. “You should let Alexis look at you. You might be okay now, but if there was serious damage done to your neck, your airway could become blocked.”

“I'm fine,” I said, promising myself to stop at an ER on the way to Denver. “I'm actually in a bit of a hurry.”

She took a step back and frowned. “You're running away.”

“I'm moving to Denver and making a good life for myself. It's been the plan all along.”

“It's not weakness,” she said. “To let someone care about you, to let them take care of you. My husband and I, we take care of each other, we always have.”

“And I'm sure it's wonderful. But it's not what I want. Love might be enough for some people, but it's not enough for me.” My parents had loved each other and they'd struggled every day of their lives, until they lost their lives. I wanted more than that.

“So, you do love my son,” she said, taking me totally off guard. She smiled. “There's hope, yet.”

“No. There's no hope. Your son deserves someone who'll be happy with small town life, who'll be happy to have a small job and raise his kids. That's just not what I want.”

She shook her head. “I thought you knew my son better than that. You two have spent too much time in bed and not enough talking to each other.”

And that was my cue to leave. “I'm sorry. I won't give up my dreams. Not for anyone.”

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