"What do you mean 'physical pleasure'?" Nick stared at Lacroix in disbelief, had he really just said what Nick thought he said.

"Isn't it obvious Knight?" Vachon snapped "It means he had sex with Tracy, because you asked him to!"

"That's impossible, Tracy is still alive you couldn't have had sex with her Lacroix."

"Nicholas," Lacroix said "do you really think after two thousand years I would not be able to control myself? Unlike you, I am completely accepting of what I am. This acceptance gave me the ability to learn control. Tell me Nicholas did you ever stop lamenting over your lost humanity long enough to actually listen to any to any of the lessons I tried so hard to teach you?"

Nick glared at Lacroix, he was in no mood to berated. He wanted answers.

"What exactly happened Lacroix?" Nick demanded.

Tracy walked into her apartment, her stylish shoes and trench coat were covered with frozen dirt that would soon melt into mud. She threw her coat to the side, not caring where it landed and walked towards the bathroom. She wanted the filth off her skin, out from beneath her fingernails and washed from her hair. But a part of her didn't, she knew once it was gone, Vachon would be too. The proof of his existence and death would flow down the drain and then she would be alone. Tracy stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, her face was smeared with dirt and tears. The tears, a reminder that Vachon was gone, was more than she could handle so she opted to shower. She would wash everything about him away in hopes the pain would go with it. And the water would hide her tears, so she wouldn't have to admit she was crying.

Tracy stepped out of the shower, dried her body and hair with a towel and put on her fluffy white bathrobe. It felt good against her sore muscles and she needed to feel good right now. As she was combing her hair the doorbell rang. It was well after three a.m. so she had no idea who it could be, other than Vachon. He was the only one who would show up this late. But it wasn't him, it would never be him again.

Who was at her door surprised as much as Vachon being there would have; on the other side of her door was Lucien Lacroix, the main suspect in her current case.

"Can I help you Mr. Lacroix?" She asked

He smiled at her, which made her very uneasy. Smiling seemed to be unnatural when he did it.

"I was hoping to discuss the unfortunate events of yesterday evening with you Detective Vetter." He said

"Perhaps over a glass of wine?"

Tracy nearly slammed the door in his face, she was in no mood for this. But if he was offering her information and she pissed him off she would regret it later.

" , I appreciate the offer, but nothing you tell me outside of the station is official. Now if you would like to come down tomorrow and give another statement, I would be happy to help you."

She tried her best to smile and be pleasant as she said these things, she really did want any additional information he could give and any other time she may have taken him up on his offer. (Assuming she was armed.) But not tonight, not after burying the man she loved. (In freezing temperatures.)

"I understand that Detective, but after the grizzly events of last night, I'm not sure how comfortable I would be. That is why I wanted to come and talk to you first. I'm not armed,… feel free to check if you don't believe me."

As he spoke, Tracy felt compelled to believe him. She knew he was probably the killer, but for some reason she wanted to believe every word he said. She quickly shook those thoughts from her mind.

"I'm sorry ," she said as she shook her head and cleared the fog that was trying to settle on her mind "But letting a murder suspect into my home in the middle of the night is just not a good idea. Please leave."

She started to close the door, but Lacroix put his hand on it and pushed it open.

"This is very important Detective," he said, as he once again caught her gaze "This is something that needs to be done now."

Tracy tried to fight him but she was sore, exhausted and upset over Vachon's death. She didn't have the energy, (emotional or otherwise) to fight him. She was vulnerable in this state and Lacroix took full advantage of it. She stepped back and let him in.

"Wait Lacroix," Nick interrupted, "If you could get her to let you in why couldn't you make her forget?"

"Because Nicholas,"Lacroix replied in an annoyed tone "you neglected to tell me that she not only loved the the reckless Iberian, but also blamed herself for his death. She was so stubborn in her guilt, she reminded me of you. "

"But you brought alcohol." Vachon pointed out "Wasn't that enough?"

Lacroix smirked.

"Enough to get into her bed, but no further."

Vachon's eyes darkened, he knew Lacroix was purposefully egging him on. He would never fight Lacroix, he wasn't strong enough, Lacroix knew that and took advantage.

"So how exactly did you make her forget?" Nick pressed

Lacroix pulled his head back, trying to capture Tracy's eyes as she writhed underneath him. Under less pressing circumstances, he would let her pleasure take over and sweeten her blood, but this was not a dinner date. He led her face to his and kissed her, she was close and he needed to time it right. Tracy arched her back and yelled out in pleasure just as Lacroix looked her in the eyes. Her body went slack and her face became blank, she would do whatever he told her.

"Detective, Vachon did not die, he left. It became too difficult for him to continue living here after the death of his rat sucking friend. He is gone and he will not be coming back, ever."

Tracy stared at him for a minute, her eyes became glistened with unshed tears. Then she blinked and looked away, coming back to herself. Lacroix started to get up and leave before it became annoying and she became awkward, but before he could, Tracy grabbed his arms, rolled over on top of LAcroix and pinned him to the bed. She moved on top of him, hard and fast. Lacroix gritted his teeth as she once again neared climax. There was no purpose to distract him now and the sweetened scent of her blood was getting to him. Tracy leaned back and closed her eyes, her hand traveled in between her legs. She gasped and shudder, with her eyes closed, Lacroix took this opportunity to bite his wrist. The blood would sate him until he could get back to the club.

Vachon and Nick stared at Lacroix, unable to process what he had just told them. Tracy had had sex with Lacroix, a murder suspect, a second time without alcohol or vampiric hypnosis. Angry and confused, Vachon was about to go off on Nick when a piercing scream cut through the air. Always the police officer, Nick followed it, Vachon and Lacroix behind him. Out on the street was a teenage girl, covered in blood and holding a bloodied butcher knife.

The girl was on her knees sobbing, the knife clutched in one hand. Nick reached for her but she screamed and slashed the knife at him.

"It's ok" Nick said backing away, he held his hands up to show he wasn't holding a weapon.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I'm a police officer."

"He wouldn't stop," she cried "I told him to stop, but he said he had paid my father for me! He wouldn't stop so I stopped him!"

The girl broke down into sobs and fell to the side; curling into a little ball on the sidewalk. Nick leaned down, his hand tentatively reaching for her. She made no attempt to stop him, she just lie there crying.

"What's your name?" he asked as he lightly touched her arm.

"Emily" she whispered.

"Alright Emily," Nick said, keeping his voice soothing and his movements non-threatening

" are you hurt? When you said he wouldn't stop, did he hurt you? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

The girl nodded, she was shaking now, her teeth chattering.

She's in shock, Nick thought.

"Emily?" Nick said "I need you to sit up so I can help you. You need to get warm. Emily?"

She nodded again and sat up, her arms shaking so badly she could hardly support her own weight. Nick took his suit jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders.

Lacroix had been standing behind Nick the entire time; watching the scene unfold. He wasn't surprised at the way Nick handled the situation, he had always enjoyed the ego boost from playing the hero, even if the end result was the victim becoming dinner.

The sound of a siren echoed in the distance, someone had called the police. It was hard to tell who since a crowd had formed around them. Lacroix was starting to get annoyed at his sons work interfering with his business, first he had arrived a couple of months ago with an entire legion of police officers when Divia had reappeared and now he was going to be questioned again, his club most likely checked and his whereabouts questioned.

A squad car and ambulance arrived, Tracy not far behind them in her own car.

"Nick!" she called as she ran through the crowd to her partner " I got a call from Reese he said your car was here when the call went out and asked me to head over. What happened?"

"I saw her walking on the sidewalk covered in blood." he answered.

Not a lie, just omitted truth.

"Well the ambulance is here, they can take her to get checked at the hospital."

The paramedics came over and started checking the young girls blood pressure, asking her her name and if she had any known medical problems. She didn't respond to their questions, instead, she just continued to cry.

"Emily" Nick said soothingly, "you need to answer their questions so they can help you."

She reached for Nick, wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder.

"Why don't I go to the hospital with her." Nick said to the paramedics.

They nodded, helped her onto a gurney and wheeled her towards the ambulance.

"Tracy!" He called back as climbed into the ambulance, "Could you get the witness statements?"

"Yeah" she called back, a little annoyed with being left behind, but still understanding of the situation.

Turning around, Tracy came face to face with Lucien Lacroix. He smirked at her and her face turned red.

"Mr. Lacroix," she said, collecting herself "is it just me or do situations like these seem to end up on your doorstep?"

"Well Detective, perhaps it will lead me to your doorstep again."

Tracy pursed her lips in agitation, trying very hard to keep her face from turning red and her body from turning on. She hated to admit it, but their night together had been a good one.

A low growl came from behind Lacroix, he didn't need to turn around to know the sound was coming from Vachon. While the younger vampire was angry at Lacroix for manipulating Tracy, the fact that Lacroix had been intimate with Tracy on a level he had not been bothered him more.

"Well Detective," Lacroix said, moving closer so his body could lightly brush hers, "I was in my club looking over the sales receipts of the night when I heard a scream."

Tracy stepped back, putting about a meter of distance between them.

" ," she said, annoyance filling her voice " a professional distance please. So you heard the scream. Then what?"

"I was concerned, so I came out to make sure there was no one injured or harmed."

"You were concerned?"

"Yes Detective Vetter, a crime scene could hinder my business."

Tracy rolled her eyes and directed him towards a uniformed police officer to fill out the official paperwork.

"What are you doing here" Tracy asked, focusing her attention on Vachon.

He nonchalantly pointed to the sign.

"Right" she said. "You're always here."

"Not always," Vachon said with a shrug, "Sometimes I'm at your place or at the church sleeping."

"Don't be a smart-ass."

He shrugged again.

"I thought you were off?" he asked

"I was," Tracy snapped, "I got called because my partner was on the scene!"

"So do you need to be here?" he asked, his voice taking on a soothing and concerned tone.

"No," she sighed "I don't."

"So why don't you let someone else take the statements and come over to my place and relax?"

Tracy smiled at that, she hadn't been to the church since Vachon had left. She hated to admit it, but she missed the place.

"Ok."

Walking over to a Sergeant, she informed them that she was off the clock and would be leaving. He shrugged and told her to have a good night. She and Vachon got into her car and drove the few miles to the church.

The dilapidated, old building was just as Tracy had remembered it. So where all the rooms, furniture and even cobwebs. Tracy walked down the stone steps, her hand on Vachon's shoulder. He led her to the couch and started lighting candles. After a few dozen were lit, he sat down across from her and picked-up a bottle of stale blood he had left sitting next to it.

"So," Vachon said "what did Lacroix mean by that?"

Tracy blushed and looked away, he would ask that.

"I was being stupid" she said, refusing to make eye contact, "I had had too much to drink. It happens."

That was all she was going to tell him. That was probably all she remembered. But Lacroix remembered it all, remembered the curve of her naked body, the smell of her blood as she climaxed. It made him incredibly jealous. He had been denied all of those things for months due to Knight! Worse,Lacroix had gotten to experience it per Knights request!

While it was obvious Knight hadn't known, it didn't change what had happened. Vachon moved forward and closed the distance between them. He moved his face just inches from hers and looked in her eyes; there were wide with surprise and uncertainty.

Vachon put his hands on her shoulder and gently turned her around. He pulled her back towards him and started rubbing her shoulders.

"You look tense." he said as she leaned into him and let him rub her sore and tired muscles.

For now, he thought, this will have to do.