Henry's first breath of the evening brought him the faint scent of Vicki next to him. He inhaled deeply to permeate his senses with her delicious smell. He smiled when he thought of their lovemaking both in the bed and the shower. He shook his head when he thought of the moment he told her he loved her and she's only responded with "I know." He would accept that for now. Letting him love her was big, very big for her and he had to be happy with that alone right now.

After dressing for the evening, he noticed his answering machine was blinking. Pressing the button, he listened to a strange voice.

"Yes, I have some information for a Henry Fitzroy, writer. If this is him, be at Nightcrawlers by ten this evening," then silence and a click.

Henry tilted his head "Nightcrawlers," he said aloud. Grabbing his cell, he rang Vicki but it went to voicemail.

"Hey, it's me, you know, the person you called, leave a message.." Henry told her where he was going and what time. Glancing at the clock unnecessarily as he pretty much had a built in one, he saw it was already eight thirty and decided to feed before going to the club. He hoped Vicki would get his message before ten.

Sadly, she wouldn't.

**

Vicki laid down to rest on her couch and when Coreen got ready to leave at five thirty, she covered her up, tip-toed out and locked the door behind her. She knew this was routine for her and thought nothing of it. Vicki slept through her cell phone ringing but heard the beep of having a message when she awoke at nine thirty.

After listening, she said, "Shit!" and ran to take a shower and change clothes. When she finished, it was already ten and hoped Henry would wait before entering the bar.

He didn't.

**

Henry entered Nightcrawlers at precisely ten p.m. Maura was across the room with her cronies, all but Thor that is. He was being punished for killing the captive. Maura used them for blood transfusions and because versions were so few and far between, she was doubly angry she lost another good one.

"Thor no longer gets rewards unless someone is watching, "Maura told the three men as she sipped her drink. The men all refrained from making faces but their stomachs churned with the thought of watching Thor defile some young woman. He was mean, rough and messy.

"Yes, my Queen," one of them obediently. If someone had not said this statement, they would all be punished. The other two nodded toward him in unspoken thanks.

"Now, I think our night walker just walked in," Maura smiled wickedly. They all looked toward the door and saw Henry walk through. Because they had searched him prior to coming here they recognized him immediately.

"That's him alright, now, how do you propose we get him?" the dark haired one she called Marcus asked.

"I have something special in mind," she pulled out a vile that glowed green.

'Which is what? They don't drink, remember?" Marcus pointed out.

"They don't drink anything but blood," Maura tipped the vial and drank.

"Won't that affect you?" Marcus asked with wide eyes.

Shaking her head as she licked her lips she replied,"No, but it will bring him down in about ten minutes so you must be ready. I will start the spell right after I have him drink from me."

"Won't he sense your magic?" Jax uttered. Jax was a small man but strong. He seemed slight but was one of those men you could never underestimate.

"No, I've put up a shield but I will be able to get him to drink," she told them.

The men looked at Marcus as if to say 'ask her'. Marcus cleared his throat and bravely said, "What if he won't?"

It seemed that time stood still for a moment and all eyes were on her, "That is not a possibility," she said firmly. The frozen second started again and the men breathed out a collective sigh o f relief that they weren't hurt by her anger and their questioning her ability.

Henry peered around the club of young partygoers but saw no one that matched the young man's description of a big busted juicy lipped woman. He knew, of course, that she could be here and he would not be able to tell. He ignored the bevy of hot young women that tried their best to get his attention. His mind was really only focused on one, Vicki. Glancing back to the door, he wondered where she was and what time she would be there.

She would be too late….