He explained the situation

Valerie felt Hawk's breath on her neck, as he leaned in and quietly whispered to her. "Until I say so, you will nod in agreement to any question." She nodded. He had won and stripped her - she had no resistance left.

She heard Hawk step in between her and the security as they approached. "Good evening, gentlemen.", he greeted them. "Is there a problem?"

One guard, presumably the leader, coughed. "Sir, we've had multiple complaints related to public indecency. Are you responsible for this woman's, uh...state?"

Valerie felt blood rushing to her cheeks. Having someone directly refer to her only increased her humiliation. She felt the urge to run and hide - but her blindfold meant she couldn't see, her gag meant she couldn't talk, and her bound hands meant she was helpless. All she could do was stand there and listen to the exchange.

"Well, in a way, yes.", replied Hawk.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to untie her.", said the guard.

"I'm afraid I can't do that.", said Hawk. "You see, this is my girlfriend."

"Excuse me?", said the guard, confused. "Ma'am, is that true?"

Valerie nodded.

"You see, she has a gambling problem. She doesn't know when to stop! Losing all her money in the poker game wasn't enough. She then bet her clothes, and finally herself!"

"Interesting. Ma'am, is that what really happened?"

Valerie wanted to scream. That wasn't what had happened! She was trying to stay in the game so she could warn Hawk about Victor. His suggestions, coupled with the crowd had pressured her into doing all this. She hadn't wanted to be stripped and humiliated!

To her shock, she found herself nodding. She felt despair well up inside her - her own thoughts were powerless to resist Hawk's commands.

"See! I had to restrain her before the situation got out of hand.", continued Hawk.

"Be that as it may, sir, she still needs to be covered up.", said the guard.

"Ah, you see, there's another problem. When she's having these gambling fits, she gets really stressed out. It triggers some kind of compulsive behavior, and she absolutely cannot wear any clothes when she's in this state."

The guard seemed puzzled. "I've never heard of that before. Ma'am, is this true?"

Her mind didn't even try to put up a fight this time. She meekly nodded.

"In that case, sir, I'm going to have to ask both of you to leave.", said the guard with firm authority.

"Of course, that won't be a problem. We were going to leave anyway.", replied Hawk. He grabbed her arm and began to turn, when the guard interrupted them.

"One more thing, sir."