Chapter 1
Elliot looked at her map again and made some calculations. According to her information, she was only a few minutes from her destination. She sighed heavily. What a god awful trek this had been. Three thousand miles, truck engine repair, stay-awake snacks of junk food followed by greasy meals in truck stop diners, and too many nights sleeping on the front seat of her truck.
Never again would she travel such a long distance without a man, she promised herself. It wasn't that she needed a man to defend her--it was that the sight of a man would be a deterrent to unsavory bastards looking to mess with her. She'd shown the muzzle of her sawed-off shotgun to more than one such individual. She wasn't eager to use her gun but if anyone or any reason provoked her into pulling it out from behind her seat, she did so knowing she'd use it if pushed.
When she found motels where she could watch her truck and trailer from her room, she slept in a real bed and showered with delightfully hot water. When she couldn't find motels with acceptable views, she found a well-lit place to park, locked up the cab of the truck and laid down on the seat with a blanket over her.
She'd driven hard--pushing the limits and driving fourteen hours a day. This trip had taken a long time in preparation, and once she was on the road, she couldn't get to Bon Temps fast enough.
If things worked out according to plan, by the time she was ready to go home, Louisiana would be short at least one vampire.
She picked up her mobile phone and dialed Sookie's house, letting the phone ring for a long time. Okay, no answer, she thought. Hmm, what to do?
She shuffled through her papers and found the address of Bill Compton. Within a few minutes, she pulled into his driveway and began negotiating the bumpy terrain leading to his house. There were lights on inside. Good, he's home, she thought. Perhaps meeting Bill before she met Sookie would be best anyway.
She parked the truck and trailer off to the side of his house and walked up onto his large wooden porch. She took a deep breath of misty night air and knocked on the door.