Stripped (Wolves of Mule Creek #2)

by Katharine Sadler

  “Cool, dude,” he said. “What are we going to do with all the girls, though?”

  I looked to Zane, but he was also nonplussed. “They'll go home.”

  Rixton's ubiquitous grin slipped. “Not if they're in thrall, they won't. We'll need to kidnap 'em and take 'em somewhere until the venom works its way out of their systems.”

  “Venom?” Zane asked.

  Rixton huffed, impatient. “Dude, that's how vamps put humans in thrall for the long haul. They can get you there by looking in your eyes, if they're powerful enough, but they can't keep you that way for longer than ten, twenty minutes unless they suck your blood and inject you with some of their venom. If you want the girls to stay away from the vamps, you're going to have to force them to do it.”

  “I've never heard of that,” Zane said. “And I know vampires.”

  Rixton stared at him, looking more serious than I'd ever seen him look. “You know how vamps and wolves work together, man. They have a whole different kind of effect on humans.”

  I looked at my four-door sedan and Rixton's two-door and realized we would need more help. “Do you know anyone with a van?” I asked. “And somewhere to take everyone?”

  “We'll take them to the pack,” Zane said. He looked to Rixton. “We just need something big to get them there.”

  “Yeah, man,” Rixton said. “I know a guy.”

  While he stepped aside and made a call, I turned to Zane. “Even if the vamps run out here to escape the fire, they aren't going to just let the women go. We'll still be fighting a bunch of vampires.”

  Zane rubbed his jaw. “A lot of them will just high-tail it out of here, but it might not be a bad idea to have a back-up plan. Got any ideas?”

  ***

  “We are so going to get arrested,” I said, as three fire engines, lights flashing and sirens blaring, pulled into the parking lot. “And it will be a miracle if this actually works.”

  Zane grinned like he was excited about the circus that was about to descend upon us. “Avoiding violence is never easy, but it is always right.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay, Confucius. Let's just hope Rixton gets that fire alarm pulled in the next ten seconds, or we're going to have some crazy kind of explaining to do.”

  Just then, the fire alarm began blaring inside the building. Rixton was still in there, with a few friends, and he would stay in there and try to separate as many women from the stampeding herd of vampires as he could. Zane had called 911 as soon as Rixton had gone inside, because he wanted as much confusion in the parking lot as we could manage. He'd also lied and told dispatch that the flames were roaring and people were trapped inside. There was no way we weren't going to go down for this if they had traced his call.

  Zane and I watched from the side of the building, behind us was our getaway vehicle, a tractor with a hay wagon attached. We weren't going to get anywhere fast, but we'd get everyone there together.

  The fire trucks plowed into the parking lot and swung to a stop in the fire lanes in the front of the building. Ambulances and police cars followed the fire trucks and found parking wherever they could.

  “The vamps aren't going to be able to make their getaway,” I said.

  “They also aren't going to beat us up or kidnap anyone with cops and human witnesses here.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Leopold is totally crazy enough to do that.”

  He shrugged, his eyes lit, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Yeah, but the other vamps aren't stupid enough to help him. It'll be fine.”

  I stared at the door to the club, my heart racing as I waited for something to happen. “They aren't coming out. Why aren't they coming out? Do you think they ran out the back?”

  His grin widened. “I barred the back door while you were helping Rixton park this thing.”

  The first firefighters reached the door to the club just as it swung open and vampires started pouring out. The firefighters jumped out of the way of the mob, face masks in place, eyes wide as they registered the pale skin and fangs. EMTs moved into the crowd, looking for wounded. I scanned the crowd, looking for dancers.

  I saw a blond head bouncing through the crowd and I darted forward. Luckily, she was at the edge of the crowd and I didn't have to wade through many vamps to get to her. I grabbed her wrist and yanked. She spun on me, bright white fangs flashing, and hissed. I let go of her wrist and jumped back so fast I ran into someone behind me. That guy also hissed and shoved me forward into another vamp. I managed to stay on my feet, but the vamp I hit shoved me back the other way.

  My heart was pounding so hard, I could barely see straight, so I just let myself fall backwards with all my weight, hoping to come out somewhere outside of the stream of vampires. I landed on another vampire, knocking both of us to the ground, but at least we were outside the mass of running vampires.

  “What the fuck are you doing? Get off me.” The vampire screeched at me.

  I didn't need any encouragement. I hopped off, and he got up and ran for safety with the rest of the vampires. Human patrons followed the vamps. I hobbled back over to Zane, who should have looked amused by my accident, but instead looked worried. “I haven't seen any dancers,” he said. “I haven't seen Leopold, either.”

  “Motherfudger,” I said. “Where could he have gone?”

  We watched the crowd of vampires and patrons vanish into the night, dodging firefighters, EMTs, and police officers as they ran. It would have been comical if I wasn't so worried.

  As soon as the crowd had thinned out enough, the firefighters stormed into the building. Zane and I watched the door. I was holding my breath and he wasn't making a sound, either. Finally, Alice walked out of the club, followed by the rest of the dancers, most I knew, some I didn't. Some of them were dancers who'd worked for me, but who'd quit or who I'd had to let go because of drug use or sex with customers or just because I could see the lifestyle was damaging their mental wellbeing. At the back of the line was Leopold, and behind him was Zed. I needed to act fast.

  I leapt in front of the group of women. “Hey, ladies,” I said. “The Booty Carousel was shut down, but I have an amazing opportunity for you, if you just come with me and—”

  “I don't think so,” Leopold said, storming up to stand next to me. “Abigail left you all unemployed and helpless. Are you going to believe anything she says?”

  I rolled my eyes and sought the gazes of the women I knew trusted me and had worked for me the longest. “I haven't gone anywhere. I'm right here. Leopold and the vamps destroyed my club, but I'm not going to walk away and let the rest of you become food for the bloodsuckers. Come with me—”

  “Is there a problem here?” An officer asked, joining our group. Three of the women had already broken from the group to move toward me. Zed was whispering furiously to Carly who was smiling at him blankly. Zane intercepted the women and directed them to the wagon.

  “I'm glad you're here, officer,” Leopold said. “This woman is harassing my employees. She pulled the fire alarm and called you here in a pathetic attempt to ruin my property. There is no fire and—”

  “There is a fire,” a fireman said, walking out with a man thrown over his shoulder. “A decent-sized fire in the men's room. This guy here passed out from smoke inhalation, but he'll be okay.” The fireman carried the guy, Rixton, to a waiting ambulance. I started after them, but Rixton's girlfriends shrieked and beat me there. I figured Rixton would have more attention than he could handle, so I focused on the angry vampire at my back and the suspicious cop in front of me.

  “I was here to see my friends dance,” I said. “My friend Zane offered to take us all on a moonlit wagon ride.”

  “Not on the main roads, you won't,” the officer said, scowling.

  “Of course not,” Zane said, all confident swagger. “There's a path that runs behind this place over to my friend's farm. The snow's not deep enough, yet, to be a problem.” We'd had two snows during the first couple weeks of November, but it hadn't stuck around lon
g. In another week or so, we'd get more snow, enough that we wouldn't see grass again until April or May.

  I looked at the women still with Leopold. “What do you say? Anyone else want to go with us for a moonlit wagon ride? I promise a good party at the end.”

  The rest of the women high-tailed it to the wagon, even the ones I knew had kids at home. They must have been uncomfortable with Leopold and the other vamps. Only Alice and Carly stayed back, still hanging on Leopold and looking at him with stars in their eyes. Zed called for Carly, but she ignored him and he stomped over to the wagon, thoroughly pissed.

  “Guess these two are staying with me,” Leopold said. He tipped his head to the officer. “I'm going to get them home before they get too cold. They aren't dressed for a wagon ride.” The women were barely dressed at all, and I felt sick as I watched them walk away with Leopold.

  If I asked them what they wanted to do, they'd say they wanted to stay with Leopold and there was no way to prove to the officer that Leopold had them under the spell of vampire magic. “Actually,” I said. “Alice, you need to get home to your cat. I know she'll be missing you. We can drop you there on our way.” It was a lame, desperate attempt.

  Leopold froze as Alice twisted in his arms and looked back at me. “Don't listen to her,” Leopold said. “She's just trying to get you away from me because she's jealous, she wants me all to herself.”

  “You're just trying to trick me,” Alice said to me, speaking more like a robot than a human being.

  Leopold gripped Alice's waist and hurried toward his car. Darn it. I needed something more. I needed… he opened his car door. The cop walked away. How the hell was I going to get them away from that leech?

  Leopold got Carly and Alice in his car and stalked back over to me. He leaned in and whispered all the things he was going to do to them, right before he drained all the blood from their bodies.

  “You wouldn't do that,” I said. “The cops have seen you with them, they'll know it was you.”

  Leopold laughed, a sick, twisted crackle of a laugh. “Someone would have to report them missing first, Sissy, and I can be very convincing if officers come around asking questions.” He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and pulled me tight against him. “But I might be willing to miss that meal if you agree to come with me.”

  My heart cracked and every part of me rebelled against the idea. I could feel Zane at my back, knew he'd finished helping everyone onto the wagon and was headed my way. “I'll go with you. I'll do whatever you want if you let them go.”

  Zane's warms hands gripped my waist and I felt like crying. I didn't want to do this, but I couldn't live with myself if I let Leopold take those women home. “You can't go with him,” Zane said. “He'll kill you.”

  “It's my fault they're with him,” I said.

  Leopold tightened his grip on my wrist until the bones rubbed together, a satisfied smirk on his face. I bit my lip not to gasp in pain. I'd get away from him. I wouldn't let him enthrall me… I didn't know how, but I'd figure out something. Maybe I'd get lucky and the head of garlic Zane and I had eaten before Rixton had pulled the fire alarm would help me against Leopold.

  Zane let me go with a growl of frustration. Leopold helped Alice and Carly from the car and passed them over to Zane. They cried and begged Leopold not to leave them, but he told them to shut up and go with Zane and they did. Leopold led me to his car and I got inside. I didn't look back, didn't think about what I was leaving behind. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the head rest.

  “This is going to be so much fun,” Leopold said as he turned the key in the ignition and started the car.

  ***

  “Can I offer you a drink?” Leopold asked. We were standing in his living room, a spare, undecorated room in a small, but clean condo in a decent part of town. He'd been nothing but a perfect gentleman since we'd gotten into his car. It almost felt like he was trying to charm me, to woo me. I wasn't sure if I should pretend to be wooed or attempt to kick his ass. I'd had to pretend when I was working in my club, had to smile and flirt even when the man standing before me was old enough to be my grandfather, but I wasn't accustomed to pretending in my personal life.

  “What's your plan for me?” I asked. “Do you just want one night? Or are you planning to keep me around for a while?” I tried to keep my tone light and teasing, but my voice shook. I wanted out of that condo, away from Leopold, but I had nowhere to go and no way to get there.

  Leopold paced the room until he was standing in front of me. I stared at his forehead, unwilling to risk him compelling me. “Oh, I intend to keep you around for a long while,” he said. “I could compel you, could suck your blood and make you my slave, but I want more from you, Sissy. I want to break you and make you beg.”

  I smirked. The guy was a serious narcissist if he thought he was going to get anywhere with me without some serious vampire magic.

  He frowned, his lips tight with anger. He wrapped one hand around my neck and gave me a little shake. “I could drain you dry in less time than it takes me to get dressed in the morning. You should fear me.”

  But he wouldn't drain me dry, because then he'd never best me, he'd never get me to admit I wanted him. I'd embarrassed him by turning him down and he couldn't stand to be embarrassed. The realization made me smile. I had the power here, as long as I didn't piss him off so badly he accidentally killed me in a fit of rage. “I thought you wanted me to love you,” I said, all simpering flirtation, like he was some guy at my club. Some guy I was looking to tempt into a bigger tip or a request for a lap dance.

  He shook me, so hard I heard my eyeballs rattle in my skull. “You'll love me,” he said. “But fear and love aren't so different. I'll use one to get the other.”

  He shoved me away from him so hard, I bounced off the couch and onto the floor. I picked myself up, tasting blood where I must have bitten my lip when I fell. Forcing a smile, I sat demurely on the couch. “I'll have a soda, unopened.”

  He adjusted the sleeves of his suit jacket and sat in the leather armchair across from me. “I don't think so. Get yourself a soda and get me a vodka tonic while you're up.”

  My knee-jerk reaction was to tell him to go fudge himself, but I needed a strategy. I needed to play the wannabe player and do it better. I stretched and yawned. “Actually, I don't think I need the caffeine. If you could just show me where I'll be sleeping?”

  He smiled like he'd expected my response. “Of course. Please follow me.”

  He led me downstairs to a small, one-car garage. A garage that held a large dog kennel with a dog bed inside. He gestured toward it. “Your room.”

  I spun and glared at him. “You've got to be kidding me. You want me to sleep in a dog kennel?”

  “You've been sleeping with a dog. I thought it fitting.”

  I glared at him, hating that I couldn't walk away, that he could treat me this way and I could do nothing.

  His smile was slow molasses that made me skin crawl. “If I'd brought Alice and Carly home, they'd be sharing my bed. Would you rather sleep there?”

  Straightening my shoulders, I did my best not to shudder at the thought. I was here only as long as it took me to get away from him. Only long enough to be sure Alice and Carly were far away from him and no longer under his compulsion. “Can I at least have a blanket?”

  He ran his finger from my cheek to my lips, caressing me gently. I managed not to flinch, it was better he not know how much he was getting to me. “You can have a blanket when you start showing me the appropriate respect.”

  I couldn't fight him, it would be a suicidal choice. I couldn't run away. So, I shrugged. “I've slept in worse.” I got down on my hands and knees, and I crawled into that dog kennel and curled up on the dog bed. Leopold used a padlock to close the cage.

  “Sleep well,” he said, before he turned off the light and left the room. “I hope you're more amenable in the morning.”

  I suspected Leopold didn't really care if I was m
ore amenable or not. He'd love to break me, he'd love to own me, but he'd be happy if he just took from me everything that mattered and humiliated me.

  The garage was dark, but there were small windows in the top of the door that let in the light from the street. Once my eyes adjusted, I went to work trying to disassemble my cage. Unfortunately, Leopold had sprung for a high-end kennel. I couldn't get the damn thing apart, no matter how hard I tried. And I tried again and again. While I worked, I planned my strategy for dealing with Leopold, what I would do to ensure he didn't break me before I got away.

  Sunlight was filtering into the garage and I was still fiddling with the metal cage when the door between the house and the garage swung open with so much force, it bounced off the wall. “Would you like to explain to me why a police officer just showed up at my door asking questions about a missing woman?” Leopold asked.

  Oh, crapola. Had the dancers not let their families know they'd be out of town for a while? “She stayed out too late drinking?”

  He scowled and stomped over to the cage. “I remember the days when the police didn't have body cameras and humans didn't know about vampires.” He unlocked the padlock and glared at me. “You remember those days, Sissy? When a vampire who had a problem with a cop could make the cop and the problem disappear? Now I risk video evidence of me being able to compel a human and the fallout when humans realize we're the apex predators and they're the fucking prey.”

  When Leopold stuck his hand into the kennel, I hesitated to take it, because the way he was talking, it sounded like he'd lost his freaking mind. “I'm good here,” I said.

  He huffed, reached farther into the cage, grabbed my wrist and yanked me out. “I agree with you, Sissy, but I've got two cops here who say they need to see you. Apparently, your boyfriend called the police about you being missing, instead of facing me like a fucking man. I've got a call into the sheriff, but he's not answering so I've got to parade you in front of those cops like the happy bimbo you are.”