Chapter Nine
The vampires were on the scene long before the police were. Eric was on his cell phone as soon as we were out of the car. Rasul arrived in Eric's Corvette not five minutes later, and Heidi pulled up in a black four door just after him. Eric shouted orders at them while I stared in disbelief at my new car.
Steam and an occasional spark was coming from the floor panel Eric had kicked out, and the car was bleeding fluids from at least three places. The top was curved up from where Eric had exited through the sun roof, dragging me out behind him. His door had been bent around the tree, so I suppose that the closest usable exit was above him. Ford obviously hadn't designed it for a man of his size, so Eric had expanded it on his way out. I thought that my door was probably fine, but Eric hadn't exactly given me a choice of exits. As the shock finally wore off, I began to cry for my dead car.
Eric's rage was making it impossible for me to calm down. He must have realized that at the same time I did, because he came over to me then, much calmer. He began frisking my entire body looking for any injuries, I supposed. Under different conditions, it might have been a turn on, but he was so clinical it just felt cold. He relaxed a little when he didn't find anything out of place.
Eric turned back to my car and shouted, "Report."
I looked over and was shocked to see Rasul holding the front end of my car at head height while Heidi stood underneath examining it.
"A small puncture in the cable for the brake fluid. Knife probably. Maybe a screwdriver." Rasul called back.
"The only scents here are you and humans. No Weres, no other vampires." Heidi said, coming out from under the car.
"Fairy?" Eric asked.
"No," she said.
Rasul let the car drop like a brick, and I gasped as two of the windows shattered on impact. He was thoughtful enough to give me an apologetic look.
"Go back to Fangtasia and secure Amar. Have Indira help if you need." Eric was addressing Rasul, then he turned to Heidi. "Find the human. I'll be there in an hour."
Rasul nodded and tossed a set of keys to Eric. Then he and Heidi got into the sedan and drove off.
Eric turned his attention back to me. "The police are almost here. Do you want to wait?" I guessed he could hear the sirens.
"Yes," I said. "It won't make any sense otherwise, and it'll just cause more trouble."
Eric pulled me close to him while we waited. I could feel his rage and knew he was dying to do something. He hated waiting. He wanted to go to Fangtasia and interrogate Amar, who I guessed was Aladdin. He was wondering if I would find out what he was going to do to him, and how I would react if I did. I suppose I must have still been in shock because it took me a long minute to realize I was reading Eric's thoughts, not his emotions. I automatically pulled away from him.
He fixed me with a questioning look, but then the police car arrived. The driver stayed in the car on the radio while the passenger rushed over to us.
"Are either of you hurt? Do you need a paramedic?" He moved to examine me first, but when he reached over to touch me Eric growled at him, he actually growled at him, and pulled me back.
The officer, Officer Hayes, stood alert and his hand flashed to his gun. He hadn't realized at first that Eric was a vampire, but he was certainly aware of it now. He was a little slow in the thoughts department and had never met a vampire before. I began to worry that this could go very poorly.
"I'm fine. We're fine," I told Officer Hayes, trying to defuse the situation before things could get out of hand. "My brakes failed when we were coming off the freeway, and we ran off the road into that tree. But we weren't hurt, just scraped up a little."
He was willing to take my word for it that we were fine, and now he need to follow procedure for the accident. He had a mental checklist that I could almost see him ticking down.
"Were there any other cars or people present?" he asked.
"No, only us."
He noticed Eric's Corvette and started getting suspicious.
"Some friends came by," I explained, "to check on us and bring us another car so we could get home." I was answering the questions in his head rather than the ones he'd asked, but I was too rattled to care and he was too slow to pick up on it.
"Why didn't they stay to help?" he asked.
"Because we're fine. We told them we just needed the car and to go on home. No point all of us standing out here in the middle of the night."
He couldn't find an obvious hole in my logic, because there wasn't one, so he moved on down his list.
"Which one of you was driving?" Check.
"Me," I handed over my license for him to inspect. Since I hadn't hit anyone and the tree didn't have legal status, he didn't need to take down my information.
"Miss, have you been drinking tonight?" He asked me with a stern look.
"No sir. Not a drop." I said.
"Can I ask you to step over here for a minute to take a sobriety test?" Eric's hands immediately firmed up their grip on my shoulders.
"That's fine," I told them both, trying to shrug out of Eric's grip. He let go, and I walked in a straight line, held my foot out straight and touched my finger to my nose. Officer Hayes had sense enough not to ask Eric to do the hokey pokey with me.
While Officer Hayes checked off the last few questions on his list, his partner came out of the police car and went to look at the state of my car. He let out a low whistle. He was trying to figure out how and why the passenger side floor was missing, but one look at Eric and he figured it was better not to worry about it. This man knew a thing or two about vampires.
After they stuck an orange card on my car and asked me to be sure to have it towed off soon, they got back into the squad car and drove off.
Eric could feel my sadness now that the anxiety of the police visit was over.
"Do you want to have it towed to a garage tomorrow? It may be possible to repair the damage." He said, pulling me into a gently hug.
"What's the point?" I asked. "The only person who could drive it now is Fred Flintstone."
He looked puzzled. Vampires as old as Eric probably never watched Saturday morning cartoons.
"Never mind," I said, defeated. "Let's go. I'm tired."
Eric drove us the rest of the way to his house in his Corvette. We pulled into the garage beside a burgundy Lexus.
"Is Pam here?" She was the only other vampire Eric routinely invited to his home.
"No. That was for you."
I stared at the car in disbelief as Eric opened the door that led into the kitchen.
"You got me a Lexus? Hybrid?"
I was back in shock. Since when were vampires worried about global warming? If it meant more hours of daylight, I could see where they might have an opinion. But since temperatures never seemed to phase them one way or the other, I really couldn't see a vampire signing up for Green Peace.
"You worry about money. I didn't want the cost of gas to stop you from coming here whenever you wanted." He knew me so well.
When we got into the living room, he said "I have to go, but I'll be back soon. Bubba is outside." He kissed me and turned to leave.
"Eric, don't –" I called after him, but he was already gone. I wanted to ask him not to go, not to talk to Amar or whatever he planned to do to him. But part of me wanted answers, no matter what the cost. I was tired of being the target and the victim all the time. I was tired of people trying to kill me for some lame reason or another. I was just tired.
After pacing around the house for what seemed like forever, I figured there was no point getting worked up about whatever Eric may or may not be doing. I pulled out one of the books I'd left at his place and curled up on the long red couch.
Eric returned half way through Chapter 5.
"Well?" I asked, sitting up.
"It wasn't Amar," he said. He sat down on the love seat across from me.
"I thought Heidi said it had to be a human."
"A human cut the line, yes, but that means little." Sure, vamps can glamour people.
"Okay, but why did you think the new guy had anything to do with it?"
"Amar's visit is not a social call. He is here at the behest of his Queen. Given the Queen's proposal, he seemed a likely suspect. However, I am now certain that he would not do anything to jeopardize the negotiations. Not at this juncture, at least."
"Did you . . . is he . . ." I wasn't sure how to ask, but Eric knew what I was driving at.
"He is in one piece," Eric said with a sly grin that honestly made me a little queasy. He picked up on my mood and added, "His injuries will be healed by morning. I was not unnecessarily forceful." That wasn't as reassuring to me as he meant it to be, but I knew it was the best I was likely to get.
"What about the human who tampered with my brakes?" I asked.
"Heidi is attempting to track him. If she succeeds, we'll know more."
"I thought Heidi was loyal to Victor."
"She was sent by him, but she did not serve him willingly. He had certain leverage over her." Didn't I know it. Heidi was a relatively recent vampire and she had a living, drug addicted son. Victor threatened him to keep Heidi in line.
"After my ascension, she swore fealty to me," he went on. I wondered, briefly, if Eric used the same leverage over Heidi, but I decided not to ask.
"Eric, if she finds him, you have to turn him over to the police."
He fixed me with an icy blue stare, and I stared right back.
"Yes, if that is what you wish," he finally said.
"Thank you."
Eric then launched into questions about my hit and run. We both agreed there was no chance that the two were unrelated. I told him about the gas, too, and he became very quiet.
"How many vampires have an invitation to your house, Sookie?"
"I don't know. I don't exactly keep a tally by the door." I said, a bit defensively. "Though I think maybe I'll start."
"That isn't a bad idea." He said. "You should stay here until this is resolved."
"That's sweet of you to offer, but it's been hard enough getting back into the swing of things after those few days in New Orleans. Besides, Sam'll probably fire me if I ask for any more time off right now. He's been drowning in paperwork, and we're a little under staffed as it is."
Eric leaned toward me and said, "Then just stay." His tone was softer now, and I could feel his longing through the bond.
"Eric," I said, gently. "We've talked about this. I can't quit my job. I don't want to."
"Everything is different now," he argued. "You weren't certain then, about me, about us."
"I know, but –"
"You are mine," he said, cutting me off. Before I could protest, he added, "and I am yours. This is right."
My autopilot response was to argue, but my heart wasn't in it. After a long moment, I said "I don't know."
We sat there, looking across at one another for a while.
Then Eric leaned back against the love seat, stretching his long body in both directions. "Come here," he said.
I could feel where his mood was going. I stood up and walked around the coffee table to stand in front of him. When I looked down at him, it was pretty obvious he had arrived at the mood in question.
"Take off your dress, lover," he said in a soft voice with the slight accent he sometimes had.
I put my hands behind my back to unzip the dress, and then slid it down onto the floor.
"I forgot," I said, "I got you a present today."
"Mmmm," he said, if that can be counted as a word, "I noticed earlier." Right, when he'd frisked me for injuries.
"Turn around," he said.
I stepped out of my dress, now piled around my ankles, and slowly turned around for him.
"Do you like it?" I asked.
"Oh, yes."
I placed my knees on either side of him as I climbed onto his lap. His hands got busy exploring the teddy and his tongue got busy exploring my tonsils. He pulled me closer onto him, wrapped his arms around me and stood up. Then he carried me off to the bedroom to unwrap his present.
I loved that I could wake up to him in the mornings after I stayed over, even if he was a lifeless mound on the bed. I'd gone to sleep a while before dawn, knowing I had to work the lunch shift today. It was already 9am when I woke up, so I didn't have much time to dawdle. I flipped the switch on the coffeepot on my way into the shower.
I'd planned on staying the night with Eric, anyway, so I had my Merlotte's shirt and black shorts with me. Eric had gone back to my wrecked car to retrieve them after I'd fallen asleep. Once I was dressed, I went straight for the coffee and found a note from Eric under a set of car keys. I didn't want to accept that big of a gift from him, but it was either that or drive his Corvette back to Bon Temps. I opted for the Lexus.
I pulled into the parking lot of Merlotte's at 11:02am, which was way better than I thought I'd do.
"You're late," Sam grumbled when I grabbed my apron from his office.
"Hardly," I said. Sam had never fussed at me for petty things before, so after I got over the initial blow, I asked him what was wrong.
"I'm sorry, cher," he said, even his voice was exhausted. "I'm being audited."
Well that sucks. "But you keep all the paperwork in order, Sam, so you'll be fine. Right?" I tried to reassure him.
"I thought so, but they keep asking for more shit. Alcide's going through the same thing at his company." I saw the connection right away.
"That's not fair! So they're targeting y'all because you're shifters? That's just wrong."
Sam appreciated my indignation (Word of the Day), but it didn't take away the worry lines on his face. "Yeah, but don't worry about it. You go on out there and get to work. I'll get through it." He gave me a weak smile.
"Sam, if there's anything I can do to help," I started to say. Math was definitely a four letter word to me, but I had to offer. Sam had always been a good friend.
"I appreciate that, Sookie, but I'm good," he said.
I felt awful for not realizing Sam was in trouble before now. I suppose I let my own troubles take up all of my room for worry. Then again, I thought, there really wasn't much I could do for him. And somebody was trying to kill me, again.
After my shift, I went home to change. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do about Eric's offer to move in. I stood in Gran's living room, my living room, thinking about all the memories I had in this house. Gran would have been proud that all the ones that came to mind first were the good ones. I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to leave this house behind.
I compromised with myself and started packing a suitcase. I had the next two days off work, so it would be the perfect time for a short trial run at Eric's.
Claude drove up while I was loading one of my aluminum lounge chairs into the trunk of Eric's car (I hadn't decided yet if I would accept it, so I didn't want to think of it as mine). If I was going to stay with Eric for a while, I didn't want my tan to suffer for it.
"Moving out?" Claude asked sarcastically.
"No. But I am going to stay with Eric for a few days." I told him. "I trust you can hold down the fort?"
"Sookie," Claude was suddenly serious, "He cannot turn you."
"Claude, don't worry," I kept my voice gentle even though I felt like yelling at him. "Eric would never do that. I'm having some issues right now with people trying to kill me – again – and I think it would be better if I stayed with him in Shreveport for a little while."
I tried to lighten the mood by adding, "I thought you'd be happy, it takes you off rescue duty."
Claude didn't relax his tense posture. "He cannot turn you," he repeated.
"He won't," I said.
I gave Claude a tense hug, since he still wasn't relaxing, and finished loading up the car. On the drive back to Eric's, I wondered why Claude had been so upset. I suppose if I did become a vampire, which so wasn't going to happen, that it would mean the end of my friendship with Claude. Vampires and fairies really couldn't be friends.
I smiled at the realization that I thought of Claude as a friend, and that he was worried about losing me. Not that I wanted him to worry, but it's always nice to know that you'd be missed if you were gone.
I brought my bag into Eric's house and stashed the lawn chair in his otherwise uncluttered garage. I thought about unpacking, but I wasn't sure where to put everything, so I just left the bag in the corner by the closet. Then I climbed back into bed with my dead Viking.
I felt him wake up before he stirred. He reached his arm out to pull me closer to him, and kissed the back of my head. I felt him harden behind me, but he didn't move other than that as we lay there for several minutes, enjoying the closeness.
"What did you do today, lover?" He asked it in a way that was simply curious, the way anyone would ask their significant other about their day.
I told him about Sam's trouble with the IRS, and how the Were community was being targeted. While I talked his hands got a little playful, but he seemed to be listening.
"There does appear to be less acceptance for them," Eric said in a matter-of-fact way, like he was commenting on one color being more popular than another.
He gestured towards my suitcase in the corner and asked, "Are you staying?"
"For a little while," I said.
His arms tightened around me and I hugged them close in response.
