He stepped between them. "I'm not losing my job over this. Release!"
His hand remained locked on her forearm.
Rage burst inside him, and he roared. With his left hand, he shoved her back on the table. As her legs flew up, feet toward the ceiling, her one remaining stiletto caught the hem of his kilt and pulled it up.
"Ye bloody witch from hell!"
"Were-what?" Leah repeated when Abby hesitated.
"Were-panthers." Tino watched her balloon float back to the ceiling. "Do you want me to get it back?"
A chill skittered down Leah's spine. "Panthers? As in big killer cats?"
Tino frowned. "They're nice. My aunt is a were-panther. You want to meet her?"
The room swirled, and Leah grabbed onto the table edge.
"Take it easy." Abby approached her slowly. "We were going to tell you as soon as we thought you could handle it."
Tino winced. "Did I mess up?"
"It's okay," Abby assured him.
"It's not okay." Leah struggled to breathe. "There are some big killer cats in the room with us?"
"Were-cats," Abby said. "Or were-panthers, to be precise. I'm not sure if Rajiv is here. He's a were-tiger."
"What does that mean?" Leah pressed a hand against her chest. Her heart was thudding wildly. "They're half cat?"
"They're fully human right now." Abby touched her arm. "We call them shifters. Werewolves, were-cats, were-bears. I even met a were-dolphin in Hawaii. They shift once or twice a month when the moon is full. I can get you some blood work from one of them if you'd like to study - "
"I don't want to study them!" Leah stepped back, raising her hands. "I want my world back, my safe world where humans stay human!"
"I'm sorry." Abby gave her a sympathetic look. "I know it's a lot to take in. But once you get to know everyone, you'll see how nice - "
"I don't want to know everyone!" Leah yelled. She winced when the crowd across the room looked her way. Oh God, the vampires and shifters were staring at her now.
She stepped back. Great move, Leah. Make the pack of supernatural creatures angry.
"Relax," Abby whispered softly. "No one is going to hurt you."
Tino gazed at her sadly. "I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you already knew everything. My dad said you were going to join us."
Join them? Leah gulped down some air. "I-I need to . . ." Escape. But she could hardly say that out loud. "Is there a ladies' room nearby?"
"In the hallway across the foyer." Abby pointed toward the entrance. "I could go with you."
"I-I'm fine. I just need to be alone for a few minutes." Leah ran for the foyer. Breathing heavily, she glanced back. No one had followed her. Thank God.
But they were watching her. Her skin crawled with gooseflesh. She looked up at the camera by the front door. The red blinking light mocked her. No escape. Her gaze lowered to the front double doors. Locked, most probably.
How about a window? Maybe she could sneak out from a vacant room. She crossed the foyer calmly so it would look like she was simply on her way to the restroom. She sauntered into the hallway and tried the first door on the left. Locked.
The second doorknob moved with a tiny click. Bingo. She pushed the door open and froze.
"Ye bloody witch from hell!"
The room was dark, but she could see enough to recognize the man in the kilt. The volcano had erupted.