Author's Notes: Since True Blood is skipping a week and we don't get to watch more Alcide, we can read more Alcide. It's almost as good. A big thank you to chiisai-kitty for agreeing to beta STK for me. If you aren't reading her stuff, go do so now. Well, after you finish this chapter. If you are interested in contests, check out the A/N at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: I checked and I still don't own SVM. Not only would my bank account be bigger, I could give Alcide a starring role. Guess we'll have to depend on CH for that.

Secrets That Kill

Chapter Ten

APOV

"What do you mean Lattesta is in town?" I demanded as I jerked upright on the couch. It was two days after discovering Quinn's body in Jason's pond and my partner just showed up with his big news.

Jason made an impatient noise in the back of his throat. "I mean, Lattesta decided to come on down to the Shreveport field office to 'check in' with us after the whole debacle with Dearborn."

Well fuck me sideways. Lattesta never left Quantico. Ever. I could count the times that he's left his cushy office on one hand and still have a couple fingers left over. Lattesta was not a hands-on kind of guy. He preferred to do his work from behind a desk, which suited most of his agents just fine. He had a way of getting in the way when he was around.

"Son of a bitch," I griped, "this just..."

I groped around trying to find the words to accurately describe my feelings on the situation. Jason shot me a shit eating grin. "Fucking sucks? Gets your goat? Oh I know, makes you see red?"

"I'm not pissed about it," I said with an eye roll, "I'm annoyed. We've barely made any progress on the case, which is just going to set him off. Now we won't make any progress at all with him underfoot and having to play to his tune."

"Oh that isn't the worst part and you know it," Jason chuckled and made a gesture towards my face. "Your beard."

Oh fuck. The beard. I hadn't forgotten. Goddammit. I gave Jason a pained look and buried my head in my hands. Lattesta was retired military and as a result he had his own strict grooming code. The way he carried on sometimes, you'd think that the world depended on us being clean shaven. He would not approve of the beard. In fact, he didn't approve of any facial hair beyond a neat and trimmed mustache and goatee. If you weren't undercover on a case that demanded facial hair beyond those parameters, he'd chew your ass out so fast you got whiplash.

None of us liked it, but we went along with his unofficial grooming code because Lattesta, for all his annoyances, was one of the best damn supervisors in the Bureau. He used to be one of the best field agents before he decided that politics were more his thing and that he wanted to run the Bureau one day. We all knew that Lattesta would ride the big desk one day, and that being on his good side could mean wonders for our careers. We might accept his little rules, but we still bitched.

I was fond of my beard. This was the first time in years I've had a chance to grow one out. I don't get out from under Lattesta's radar long enough to grow a beard. It was a representation of my freedom. That and women think it's hot.

I looked up at Jason and noticed that he had already shaven. Of course it was no big deal for him and he was grinning at me with unholy glee. I glared at him when he offered me a box with clippers and a razor in it. "What, now?"

"You know it. Lattesta wants us to report in two hours. Best get to clippin', buddy," he chortled.

I kept glaring at him even as I rose from the couch and snatched the box from him. He followed me into the bathroom and leaned against the door frame. I spared him a glance as I began the process of removing my beard.

"He's real pissed. He was tense over the phone," Jason said conversationally.

"What do you expect?" I asked as I plugged in the clippers. "One of his agents was accused of murder and there really isn't anything he can do about it without blowing our cover."

"Which he won't do. This is the closest we've been to the Virgin Killer since we've been on the case," Jason sighed and rubbed a hand over his head. "I hate this. I hate being under suspicion."

I said nothing was I ran the clippers over my face. There really wasn't anything I could say. Jason had been the good guy for years and now he was being seen as the bad guy. The worst part of it was that no one would know that he was the one who caught the bad guys. No one would know that it was eating him up on the inside. I knew that Jason was capable of violence; I'd seen him shoot a suspect who tried to shoot me. I've seen him tackle and take down a suspect with his fists for resisting arrest. I've seen him at the gym, sparring with another agent, and I knew that he could kick ass.

Just as I knew that, anyone who knew Jason would know that he was incapable of committing the heinous act of torture that John Quinn had gone through. Whoever tortured and murdered Quinn was cold and empty. Thanks to the computer techs at the Bureau, I'd seen the autopsy photos and they turned even my stomach and I've seen some pretty gruesome things in the past.

I set the clippers down and re-wet my face before smearing on shaving cream. Before I started with the razor, I looked at Jason. "Listen man, it sucks, the position you're in. But the thing to remember is that Dearborn is doing his job. Once he pulls that baseball bat-sized stick out of his ass, he'll realize that it wasn't you and he can move on to doing the real work."

"I can't believe he's still holding a grudge just because I might have fooled around with his daughter and I might have blown up a dumpster," Jason muttered.

I jerked and damn near sliced my throat with the razor. "You blew up a dumpster?"

Jason gave me a sheepish look. "Well it wasn't just me and we didn't exactly blow it up."

I pointed the razor at him. "Explain, please. I gotta hear this."

"It was a bunch of us, we were like seventeen. Just shooting the shit one night and Rene got the bright idea to stuff a small dumpster outside the police station with a bunch of cherry bombs and set them off."

I could see where this story was going and I snorted. "Oh, go on."

He flashed a grin at me. "Well we lit the fuckers up and almost blew the damn lid off the dumpster," he chuckled. "Hell it made a racket like a bunch of guns going off. Dearborn and one of his deputies came running out, guns drawn, all Rambo type shit. When they realized it was us, well, let's just say that was the first time I ever heard Gran cuss when I got brought home."

By the time he finished I was clutching the side of the sink to hold myself upright I was laughing that hard. I had known that Jason was wild in his younger days, but setting off cherry bombs in a dumpster outside the sheriff's office? No one in Bon Temps would believe that he was FBI, not with those kinds of memories.

"Christ, Jase, you were lucky you didn't get arrested," I said as I finished shaving and rinsed the shaving cream residue off my face.

"Don't I know it. It was the first time I got caught doing something like that, so he let me off with a warning. Gran, however, did not. I think I cleaned every damn inch of the houses that summer. She put my ass to work, saying if I worked until I dropped, I wouldn't be going and getting in trouble with the law."

I patted my face dry and looked at him. "Well, was she right?"

"Yeah, that summer went a long way to straightening me up. I think the shock of going to jail got me," he answered before looking at his watch. "Go get dressed. We'll stop and grab some lunch to bring in."

"Good plan. Lattesta will keep us there for hours." I tossed the towel into my hamper and pushed past him to head to my bedroom. I dug deep in my closet and pulled out one of my suits. I had not missed wearing these and given the choice, I would have just worn jeans and a t-shirt if it had just been us going in to check in. Instead it was a meeting with the boss and I might as well look the part.

I got dressed quickly and headed back into the living room. I found out why Jason had carried up a garment bag when he arrived when I saw him in a tidy black suit. We could have been twins as I was wearing a suit nearly identical to that, only my tie was a bright blue and his was red. I went for my keys.

"Truck or SUV?"

"SUV," Jason answered and grabbed his own keys.

I made sure I had my cell phone, and that my gun was secure at my side, my wallet and badge were tucked into my back pocket, and followed him out, locking the door to my apartment behind me. I lifted a hand in greeting to my neighbor and followed Jason down the short flight of stairs. The sun was high in the sky and beating down on us. It was a relief to get into the SUV and start up the air conditioner.

We spoke about the case as he pulled into traffic and headed towards the I-220 east. I think we were both frustrated since our only good lead on the case turned up dead. It was no coincidence that John Quinn's name showed up in our files then was killed. The locals might think that it was just a burglary gone wrong, but Jason and I knew better.

Jason hit the gas as he got on the I-220 and before too long we were pulling off onto North Market Street. We had a quick conversation about where to stop and eat and he pulled into the McDonalds. It was packed and we sat in the drive thru for almost ten minutes.

Jason turned his head to glare at me. "I told you we should have just gone to Wendy's."

"Hell Jason, it's lunch hour. Any place would have been packed. Just stop bitching already," I grumbled.

Of course he didn't stop bitching until we got our food and was back on the road. As we entered the stop and go traffic, I turned the conversation to Sookie. I had been careful not to mention her until now because every time I thought of her, I flashed back to the kiss in her kitchen, which led to a raging hard on. I hoped that now, stuck in traffic, with Jason, that I'd be able to control myself. Plus, I was curious as to how she was doing.

"So, how's Sookie?" I asked cautiously.

Jason made a face and zipped in front of a Toyota. "Hell, the town has been gossiping non-stop about Quinn being found at my place. She went into work last night."

"You don't think she should have?"

"Hell no. Merlotte's is the only place to drink in Bon Temps. You can't even being to imagine the kind of crap that was being said and Sookie had to hear every word of it." Then he started to laugh.

I looked at him. "What?"

"Hoyt called me last night." he started, "Some dead beats showed up in the bar and started harassing Sookie over me. Well she stood up to them and then this woman I used to date, Maudette, showed up. I guess she must have said something to Sookie about me that pissed Sookie off because Hoyt told me that Sookie hauled off and punched the shit out of Maudette."

I blinked at stared at him, not sure I had heard him correctly. "Sookie punched someone?"

"That's what I said. Hoyt wasn't close enough to hear what had been said, but it sure pissed Sookie off. She never takes a swing at someone, unless it's me." Jason turned onto Caddo Street, then to Commerce Street.

"Have you talked to Sookie?" I asked as he pulled into the parking lot and parked.

Jason shook his head. "No, not yet. She mentioned to Gran about hearing that Quinn was tortured and from the way Gran put it, she's pissed at me for not telling her."

"Ah, you are avoiding the wrath of Sookie."

"Damn straight. She's already punched one person and about broke their nose. I don't want to take the chance of her breaking mine."

I snorted at that and got out of the SUV. While I grabbed the fast food bags, Jason grabbed our files. The Shreveport field off was new, established after Hurricane Katrina and the destruction of the New Orleans office. The higher ups figured it was safer to have two field offices, though the Shreveport one was more of a back up, in case of another hurricane.

The field office was located at the corner of Commerce Street and Fannin Street, right across from the Sam's Town Casino and a barber shop. I checked out the casino before we started into the five story building. The receptionist at the front desk greeted us by name. I couldn't remember her name, but I think it was something like Carla or Darla. It didn't really matter since we weren't working out of the office. Jason flirted with her shamelessly until she was in a state of giggles and blushes. I had to shove Jason behind me to find out the location of Lattesta. I dragged him off to the elevator and punched the fourth floor while giving him the stink eye.

"Must you flirt with everyone you see?"

"Not everyone, just the women," he replied smugly. "Jealous?"

"Oh sure, if you go for the dinky brunettes with more breasts than brains."

Jason sneered at me. "Bet she's a bullet in the sack."

"Christ, Jason, you are a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen," I hissed under my breath as we were joined on the second floor stop by two female agents. He just snickered and checked out their asses. I resisted the urge to throttle him as we stepped off on the fourth floor and headed towards the back and the office the supervisor of the field office stashed Lattesta. I was ready for Lattesta to be in a bitchy mood for being stashed away like a dirty secret.

I was not disappointed when we walked into the office and saw him growling behind his desk. Lattesta was a skinny man, almost a beanpole. His head was topped with this curly mop of fiery red hair and complexion was pale, almost vampire pale. The kind of pale you get from spending all your time indoors and never going outside. A pair of wire rim glasses perched on his nose, giving him a really studious look. His cheeks were peppered with freckles, making him look almost adorable. Compared to his dorkish appearance, he was wearing a black Armani suit that had to cost at least five hundred dollars. It was hard to look at this man and think of him as one of the toughest agents the Bureau had.

"Supervisory Agent Lattesta, it's good to see you sir," I greeted as Jason and I walked in.

Lattesta fixed us with a hard look and gestured to the door. "Shut the door, sit down, and shut up."

Jason and I exchanged looks and did as we were ordered. I set the McDonalds bag at my feet and gave my boss my full attention. Jason did the same, though I could see that it was costing him not to make some smart ass remark. I could only pray that he held his tongue until we could leave.

Lattesta glared at us from behind his desk, keeping us in silence for several minutes while he composed his thoughts. "I don't care how they do things down here in Louisiana, but when I send my agents out on assignment, I expect them to do their jobs and keep their noses clean. I do not expect to get phone calls informing me that one of agents is under suspicion of murder and that a victim showed up dead in their backyard pond."

Jason opened his mouth to protest. "Sir, I did not murder anyone."

"They have no evidence that links Jason to John Quinn's murder other than the fact that Quinn was dating his sister and Quinn was dumped in the pond. There is no forensic evidence that links Jason to the remains nor is there any evidence that puts Jason at Quinn's apartment at the disappearance," I stated calmly. I was seething inside. I hadn't expected Lattesta to rehash the bullshit about Jason being a murderer. I thought the man had made himself clear over the phone.

"I never knew the damn man. The only time I met him was when we arrived at Bon Temps and went to Merlotte's to see my sister, who is a waitress there. I didn't even spend five minutes with the man," griped Jason.

Lattesta silenced our next words with a single glance. He may look like a nerd, but the man was crazy ass scary. "Regardless of whether you knew him or not, you are a suspect in a murder investigation. Do you know what this does to the case? How is going to look when it comes out that one of the leading investigating agents has been accused of murder and the body of a suspect in our investigation was the one murdered and turned up in your pond?"

Well when he put it that way, it did look bad. I cleared my throat and said, "Sir, with all due respect, we had no idea that Quinn had any connections to our case on the Virgin Killer until the day he was discovered missing."

"Yes, how is it that you had been down here for three days before even thinking of going in to question Quinn?" Lattesta asked, then he added, "Don't use that stupid moniker the media gave the sick bastard."

Jason's face turned multiple shades of red at the implication that we weren't doing our jobs. "Sir, that is not our fault. We did what we could with the information we had. The analysts did not send us the information concerning Quinn until that day."

"The minute we learned that he was on the list, we made plans to question him that day," I added quickly. Like Jason, I was pissed that Lattesta accused us of being lazy.

Our boss seemed pacified by that. "I'll make a note to speak to our analysts."

"As far as Jason being the murder suspect, sir, if I may speak plainly?" I said after shooting Jason a quick look. I knew he wouldn't tell Lattesta about the grudge Dearborn held against him. Lattesta gestured with his hand in a go ahead motion. "Sheriff Dearborn is just trying to pull a rabbit out of his ass. He got a search warrant to search Jason's house with no physical evidence to uphold the warrant. He got the warrant on pure speculation, it would never hold up in a court of law. Not to mention, Jason cooperated fully with the Sheriff in the issuing of the warrant. He found nothing in the house."

Lattesta gave me a dry look. "Herveaux, you and I both know that none of that means jack shit in these small ass backwater bumfuck towns."

"True," I acknowledged, "but the fact that Jason has a solid alibi the day it is assumed that Quinn was taken, the days that follow until the discovery of his disappearance, and when the body was found, holds more sway."

"His alibis were?"

Jason looked at me and shrugged. "I was with Alcide, my sister, and grandmother the night I met Quinn and I was at my Gran's house all night. I was with Alcide the day Quinn was found missing, at work for Alcide's father the days before that. The day the body was found, I was with my family all morning and afternoon. I did some repair work around the house for Gran then we went back to my place to cookout and I invited Alcide over."

"I know neither one of you are stupid. You just told me, Stackhouse, that your alibis are your partner and your family. No one is going to believe that they aren't covering up for you." Lattesta shifted in his chair and glared at us some more.

"It isn't just them. The construction crew I was working for alibied me as well. So did several people who saw me in Merlotte's. The day the body was discovered, two people, one of them a police officer, saw me going to the hardware store and later to the grocery store to pick up some steaks. Sir." Jason tacked the sir on to the end of his statement as an afterthought.

Lattesta thought about that for several minutes. "Well that is better, slightly."

I fought the urge to yell at him for wasting so much time on politics when we could be focusing on the case. "Sir, we all know Jason didn't do it. Let the locals waste their time. I believe that Quinn had something to do with the killings by our man."

"What makes you say that?" asked Lattesta leaning forward in his chair.

I stole a glance at Jason and he pulled out the files we put together yesterday. He started speaking even as he handed a stack of papers to Lattesta. "We went over the data sent to us on John Quinn. You'll notice that he was in each location that the victims were from. He lived in these locations for a time period ranging from two months to six months. He'd then leave town and a few weeks or so later, the murdered girl would be found."

"Do you think he's our killer?"

Jason and I had asked ourselves that very question. We were of two minds on it. Jason believed that Quinn was the killer and I did not. Jason and I answered Lattesta's question at the same time.

"No."

"Yes."

Lattesta looked at both of us with amusement. "Well, which is it?"

"I think it was him and someone found out about it and just tortured and killed him in a rage," Jason said with a shrug, "Maybe one of the victim's fathers found out, or Quinn slipped and said the wrong thing to the wrong person. Then the person just decided to deal their own justice."

"Herveaux?"

"Doesn't make sense. Our killer is smart and cold. He wouldn't slip up this far into the game. He's been doing this for six years that we know of and we've been after him for four of those years. He's very controlled, able to suppress his impulses. He only kills once a year and just one person at that. He moves around, ranging from the east coast to the west coast, north and south. None of the murders are exactly identical. The only thing that linked them together was the victim profile and the signature brand he puts on their foot before killing them."

I paused and shook my head. "No, I don't think he'd be stupid enough to screw up and let it slip he was responsible. If he wanted credit for the murders, he'd contact us or the media and he hasn't done either. The only reason we tracked him here is because of the trace particulars we found on the last two bodies. I believe that our killer is either from here or has a connection here. I believe that Quinn worked for or with the killer. Quinn must have done something to piss off the killer and the killer killed him to get Quinn out of the way."

"There is no evidence of two killers," Lattesta pointed out.

Jason looked at me in surprise. When we had discussed this last night, I never explained my reasoning to him. Now he was wearing a considering look and then he surprised me by supporting my theory. "Sir, Alcide isn't saying that there are two killers. No, it is confirmed that there is only one. Alcide is suggesting that maybe Quinn helped pick out the victim, or scouted the area for the killer. An accessory."

I leaned forward and braced my arms on my knees. "If we can prove that Quinn was in fact an accessory to these murders, then the heat is off Jason. No one will believe that an agent murdered a man that could have led him to a crazy, sick freak who has been murdering women for the last six years."

Lattesta sat back in his chair and considered what we had said. "Just how do you plan on proving this?"

"Well the records place Quinn at each location, so that is a start. If we can find anything that links him to even one of the women, then we have it," I said.

"Good we'll do that this week." Lattesta made a note on a pad of paper.

Jason and I exchanged stunned look. It was Jason that said what we both were thinking. "This week, sir?"

Lattesta looked up from his note. "Yes, I'll be remaining in Shreveport for the remaining of the week. I expect to see you both working from the office this week. What with this situation in Bon Temps, you both need to fade a little into the background. Doing some grunt work will accomplish that and it will get some work done."

I suppressed a groan. Jason didn't even bother trying to hide his. Lattesta just smirked at us. "Good, I knew you'd like that. Now, stop drooling, get your food, and reacquaint me with the case."

I passed the bag to Jason and looked at our boss. "Uh, sir, we can't exactly work here in the office all week. We are undercover and we do have jobs."

"Yes, jobs with your father. Fix it so you have the week off."

"Right, will do, sir," I muttered under my breath. My father was just going to love that. I guess I'd be taking a trip to the family home after Jason dropped me off at home. Fucking. Fantastic.

Jason dug out my burger and fries and passed it to me. Then he passed the extra order of fries we got to Lattesta. We settled down, files spread across Lattesta's desk, as we ate and reviewed the case. It was a testament of how often we went over this case that we were able to look at the crime scene photos and autopsy reports and still be able to eat. We were way past jaded to be looking at the bright red of the blood and the twisted form of the mutilated women on paper and not have it affect us as far as our eating habits.

I wiped my fingers and picked up a piece of paper that detailed the connections between all the victims. "All the victims were waitresses at sports bars. All lived either alone or with an elderly relative. All were virgins, either single or dating, but not having intercourse."

Lattesta interrupted me, "They were virgins, of course they weren't having intercourse."

Jason snorted and said, "Sir, just because they were virgins doesn't mean they weren't sexually active."

Lattesta gave us a blank stare. "But they weren't having intercourse."

I had to hold back my laughter. Poor boss man never gets laid. "What he means, sir, is that they never had actual sex, with penetration, but they did engage in sexual acts, like hand jobs and oral. They were physically virgins, but not emotionally or mentally."

"Oh," Lattesta mumbled as the light dawned. I could almost see the light bulb go off over his head. He straightened up but his cheeks were a bright red, making his head look like an overripe tomato. "I know that."

"Of course sir, we were just being clear on the matter," I assured him. I exchanged a quick grin with Jason and went on. "Physically, all the women looked alike. Average or just below average height, long blonde hair, blue eyes, tanned..." I trailed off as I went down the list, my eyes going wide.

Jason had tensed up beside me as I fell silent. He gripped the arms of his chairs so hard that his knuckles turned white. I looked at him, saw the concern I felt in his eyes. Lattesta sensed that something had gotten to us and looked alert. "What is it, boys?"

"The description of the victims," Jason said in a choked voice. He tried to finish but couldn't, he just shook his head.

I looked at Lattesta and finished for my partner. "The vic profile matches his sister, sir. Almost to the letter."

Lattesta gave us a sharp look. "Are you sure?"

I nodded numbly. "She works at the local bar and grill, lives with her grandmother, blonde hair, blue eyes, tanned. It's all a match."

"She a virgin?" Lattesta asked. I swear, the idiot had no fucking tact.

Jason shot upright in his chair and glared at Lattesta. "That is my sister you are talking about!"

Lattesta gave a shrug. "I'm sorry about that, but we have to know."

"How the fuck am I supposed to know that? She's my sister! I don't go asking about her goddamn sex life!" yelled Jason, his face turning a bright red.

I reached over and grabbed Jason to prevent him from jumping up and throwing a punch. Lattesta waited until Jason settled down enough before he spoke, his voice like a glacier icecap. "I'll ignore this transgression, Stackhouse, because it is your sister. However, in the future, remember I am your boss and you do not get to yell at your boss in such a manner without consequences."

Jason nodded stiffly. "Yes sir, sorry sir, won't happen again."

"Good," Lattesta said. Then more gently, "Stackhouse, I understand that it is your sister and you don't want to be privy to such personal details, but it is imperative that we find out the status of her, er, virginity. We tracked the killer to this area, which is your home turf. It could be possible that his victim is your sister."

I felt like a brick had settled in my stomach. I knew the moment I connected the dots from the vic profile to Sookie that she was the intended victim. It was just too much of a coincidence. It would explain why Quinn had been killed. The killer wanted Quinn out of the way so he could take what he thought of as his. It was also a message to us. The killer wanted us to know that he knew who and what we were.

I had been silent for so long that Lattesta and Jason were staring at me. I looked back at them, trying to figure out the safest course. I should tell them that Sookie was a virgin, but Jason would want to know how I knew that. Then I'd have to confess to kissing her and almost ravishing her in his grandmother's kitchen. That would open up a fucking can of worms so large you could pack the entire population of Los Angeles in it. Or I could keep my mouth shut and let Jason find out on his own. But that would give the killer time to take Sookie. I had to tell so we could take steps to protect her.

I coughed into my hand and muttered under my breath, "Sookie is a virgin."

"What. Did. You. Say?" Jason almost growled the words at me and I could temper hovering in his eyes.

Yeah he was pissed. I looked him straight in the face and repeated myself. "Sookie is a virgin."

"How do you know that, Alcide?" Again with the growling and dangerous edge to his voice.

Lattesta held up his hands. "Time out, agents. Get into the personal shit off my clock. Let's focus on what is important here. We'll move Stackhouse's sister up the list of potential victims. Talk to her, get a feel for her routine and I'll get some agents on her."

I carefully avoided Jason's stare, knowing that the ride back to my apartment would be hell. "Do we tell her?"

Lattesta pondered this for a minute. "No, not yet. Let's just get a shadow on her, one of the local agents so there's no problem with blending in. We'll keep an eye on her for now. The killer might make his move sooner, but we still have about three weeks before he kills."

"Alright, sir." I nodded once and checked the clock. We had been here for almost five hours and I was ready to go home. Especially since I was going have 'the conversation' with Jason and I still had to go see my father.

Lattesta caught me looking at the clock and rose from his chair. "Get out of here. Be back here in the morning, 9AM sharp." He paused and gave Jason a piercing look, "Leave the personal shit at home. Do whatever when you are out of this office, but don't let your personal feelings interfere with this case. I'll be damned if four years of hard work is ruined by your personal drama."

Jason just nodded tightly. I was starting to get worried because he hadn't spoken since Lattesta called his silly time out. I gathered up the files silently and nodded to Lattesta before following Jason out to the SUV. He handed me the keys and climbed in on the passenger side. At least he recognized the fact that he was too pissed to be driving in rush hour traffic. I chucked the files in the backseat and took the driver's side. He remained silent until I had pulled out onto Caddo Street and started home. I took Route 173 to avoid most of the rush hour traffic. It was mostly homes that we would drive past until the road left the suburbs and became the Shreveport Blanchard Highway.

I had to stop at a light and that was when Jason let loose. I had been ready for it so his yelling didn't take me by surprise. "How the FUCK do you know that my sister is a virgin? What the hell is going on with you and Sookie, Alcide?"

I flicked a glance at him as the light changed to green. "Nothing is going on with us, Jason." Much, I added to myself. I rolled my shoulders to relieve some tension. "It sorta just came up in a conversation we had when I took her home from your house."

"A conversation? Don't fuck with me, Alcide, I know what kind of conversations you have with women," Jason snapped and drilled a finger into my shoulder to get his point across.

I had to do a double take. "Excuse me? You are the one who goes home with a different woman every other night. Pot, allow me to make known to you kettle. Asswipe."

"Those women aren't your sister."

"Thank God for that," I muttered under my breath as I stopped at another light. "Look Jason, nothing happened between Sookie and me. We had a conversation. It just came up. She was upset about Quinn."

"I fail to see how my sister's virginity became the topic of conversation between the two of you." Jason was nothing if persistent.

I really didn't want to tell him about kissing Sookie and her confession of being a virgin. That was something that just between the two of us. The only reason I shared was for the job. I wanted Sookie protected. It made my heart stutter to think about her being a victim of the Virgin Killer. Jason was glaring at me as open spaces replaced our view of houses through the windows.

I sped past a slow moving sedan when the one lane road gave way to two lanes. I couldn't tell Jason how I found out, he'd kill me. Plus, Sookie would be pissed when Jason went off on her. As it was, he was going to go after her for details since I wasn't being forthcoming. He just had that look in his eye. I had no idea how I'd handle it when she confronted me about my little sharing. I had no doubt that she could confront me, after all she punched someone. She wasn't the type of woman to just ignore something.

I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel. Jason was still glaring at me and I had finally had enough. I wasn't having this conversation with him. "Look, if you want to know so bad, ask Sookie yourself."

Alright, so it was a coward's way out, sending him to Sookie. But I had a feeling she could handle him a lot better than I could. FBI training just did not cover what to do when you had a hot make out session with your partner's sexy ass sister and had to tell said partner how you found out the state of said sister's virginity. It just didn't. I'd rather diffuse a bomb that talk about Sookie's lack of sex life and my knowledge of it with Jason.

"You can bet your ass I will. Keep your hands off my sister, Alcide. She isn't up for grabs just because you are my partner."

It was a good thing I had to slow and flip on my blinker to turn onto North Lakeshore Drive, otherwise I would have slammed on the breaks and punched him in the face for being so asinine. I gripped the steering wheel tightly and clenched my jaw so I didn't say thing I'd regret. The rest of the ride was silent with me focusing on the drive out to my secluded apartment complex and Jason glaring out the window. I pulled into the parking lot and parked next to my truck.

Jason moved to open the door and my hand snapped out to grab his. He turned his head slowly and I was surprised that I didn't fry on the spot. "Let go of me, Alcide."

"No," I growled, the heat in my eyes matching his, "Let's just get one thing straight, Jason. She may be your sister, but you do not order me around, got it? She's attractive, but I can control myself not to just jump her because she's hot. If anything happens between us, it will be because we are both consenting adults who can make their own decisions, not because I'm your partner."

"You touch Sookie..."

I cut him off. "If I touch Sookie it will because she wants me to. I'm not one of those small time boys back in Bon Temps, Jason. I didn't grow up with you and I don't give a flying shit how much of a badass you are, I'm an even bigger badass. I won't be scared off. So get used to it."

I released his hand, tossed the keys in his lap, and got out of the SUV. I grabbed my share of the files and left him staring at me as I jogged up the steps to my apartment. I heard the slamming of the SUV door and another slam followed by the angry revving of the engine as Jason pulled out of the parking lot. I unlocked my door and stepped in.

I liked the seclusion of my apartment complex, set tucked away from all the traffic of Shreveport without actually being out of Shreveport. My father owned it and most of the people that lived here were connected to him in some way or another. He kept several apartments fully furnished and ready for use for important clients. I was living in one of those when I refused to move back into the family home.

I ditched the monkey suit minutes after entering the apartment. I changed into a pair of faded jeans and a muscle shirt before heading back out. I had traded my side piece for a hold out weapon strapped to my ankle. I'd remove it and secure it in my glove compartment before going into my parents' house.

It was a thirty minutes drive to the old manor house my parents called home. When I got there, my sister Janice and her husband were already there. Great, one big happy family gathering. Janice's three year old son attached himself to my leg the minute I stepped through the door. I was actually grateful that they were there. Janice was pregnant again and that had made Dad happy enough that I was able to wrangle the week off for Jason and me with minimal fuss. I had just told him that something had come up with another job we did on the side and he let it go at that. Maybe he thought I was working for the mob. Dad had all kinds of crazy theories about what kept me away from home over the last decade.

The week went by slowly. Much too slowly for my liking. Jason kept giving me the cold shoulder and I never found out if he talked to Sookie or not. The only thing he'd tell me was that he gave Sookie my cell number and address in case she ever needed help while in Shreveport. I was okay with that. We worked the case, compiling our evidence against Quinn. I went to bed and woke up with numbers running through my head.

Friday night came and Jason loosened up enough with me to go out for a drink after we left the office. We went to local sports bar and caught some of the game. Of course we also checked out the locals, kind of hoping that the Virgin Killer would fall into our laps. We weren't that lucky. After two beers, I parted ways with Jason after making plans to come to dinner on Sunday at Adele's. I tried not to think about seeing Sookie again.

Of course I failed at that. She dominated my thoughts on the drive back home. Sunday would be our first encounter since the kitchen kiss. Did I acknowledge the kiss? Ignore the fact that it ever happened? Would I be able to sit in the kitchen without thinking of Sookie pressed against me on the counter? Nope, that would never happen.

Fuck. I hated being this wrapped up in a woman. I wasn't just wrapped up in her, I was almost consumed by thoughts of her. I just couldn't get my thoughts off her when I started to think about it. I had been focusing all week on not thinking about her outside of the parameters of the case that now when I let myself go, she was all I saw. Fuck.

It started to drizzle by the time I got home and that developed into a full on thunderstorm. I went out on my covered balcony to get the full experience of the early summer storm and to enjoy another beer when there was a knock on my apartment door. I snagged my shirt off the back of the couch as I reentered the apartment and tugged it on. I didn't bother to button it up, figuring that the knock came from one of my neighbors needing help or to borrow something, like a cup of sugar.

I opened the door with a grin. "What do you need now, Mrs. Ferguson, sugar?"

I looked down and my mouth dropped open. It was not Mrs. Ferguson wanting to borrow a cup of sugar. There was no mistaking that spill of blonde hair that was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail or the curves that filled out the pale yellow sundress that grazed golden tanned thighs. I stared down into the glazed blue eyes of my blue eyed visitor and realized she was drunk. "Sookie."

Author's Notes: I love this chapter simply because it does further the plot. Now you know why Alcide and Jason are back. I love Alcide delivering the smackdown to Jason. Just...UNF. How does Sookie end up drunk at Alcide's? Well I'm thinking lots of alcohol and an evening with Amelia got that ball rolling. Tune in next week to find out! Thanks for reading and reviewing. I love the reviews and appreciate them all, even if I don't get around to replying to you all. Let's make STK hit 100 reviews, with this chapter, shall we? It's real close.

Now, I want to take this chance to pimp out some awesome contests. They are the Seven Deadly Sins and The Age of Eric contests. If you want more information on them, go here:

http:/mysvmaddiction(dot)blogspot(dot)com/2010/07/7- deadly -sins -contest(dot)html

And here:

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Just remove the (dot)s and spaces.

Also, seastarr08 and Lubadub have teamed up with an awesome collab story that is titled Eric and Pam's Excellent Adventure. What makes this collab unique is that each chapter will be written by a different author. That is right, EPEA is a huge multi-author collab that tackles our favorite maker/child pairing. Each writer will take on a different tale of Eric and Pam throughout history. There are two chapters already. I mention this, not only because it is fantastic, but because I will be writing a chapter as well, set during Woodstock. Oh yeah baby. Check it out. If you are interested in writing a chapter, there are details in contacting Lubadub or seastarr08 in the first chapter. You can find the story here (remove the (dot)s and spaces):

http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/ s/ 6101207/ 1/ Eric_and _Pams_Excellent _Adventure