Sorry for the delay, everyone, but hopefully the story will be back on track now. My university was on strike for three months, so I had to finish my assignments and exams this week. I've also been enjoying a lot of other fanfic – if you haven't checked out Suki59's (my new fave!) stories yet, I suggest that you head over there once you're done mine! Thank you for reading!! Reviews and PM's are always appreciated!

Chapter Ten

We were in the parking lot of Merlotte's in no time, and for once I was glad that Eric drove like a maniac. Bill was checking the nearby tree line for scents and evidence of trespassers when I got out of the car. I took Eric's hand as he led me over to speak with Bill. His cool hand gave mine a squeeze and he was sending calm and warmth through the bond, which I was grateful for. I guess there were occasions when having the bond was a good thing – Eric was lending me a strength that I wasn't sure I had.

"Compton, what did you find?" Eric called to Bill who was still searching for clues around the back of Sam's trailer.

Bill appeared in front of us in the blink of an eye and gave a slight nod to Eric before speaking. "I can detect two vampire scents and that of a Were – they are recent, within the last two hours."

Just as I was about to ask what two vamps and a Were would want with Sam, a familiar pick-up truck pulled up beside Eric's car. The Shreveport packmaster, who was also one of the few men I've dated, joined our little group. Any other time I would have felt awkward being surrounded by these men at the same time, but tonight all my energies needed to be focused on finding Sam.

Alcide looked from Bill to Eric, his gaze finally landing on me and travelling down to my hand tightly grasping the Viking's beside me. I caught a flicker of a look on his face and ignored it. I really needed as much help as I could get right now, and I didn't want Alcide to have any reason not to help – after all, Sam wasn't a member of his pack, even if he had helped during the Were war.

"So, what have you found? Is there something that we can track? It doesn't look like there was a struggle here – how do we know that Sam didn't just take off?" Alcide asked.

"Alcide, Sam didn't just take off – he wouldn't do that. He's in trouble, I know something bad has happened, and we're just wasting time," I said, trying to keep the panic in my voice to a minimum. Eric let go of my hand and wrapped me up in his arms, planting a kiss on top of my head.

"It's going to be okay, Sookie," Eric murmured into my ear.

I needed to pull myself together. I needed to be strong for Sam. I could feel the hot tears sliding down my face and making Eric's shirt damp. Feelings of love and comfort flooded the bond and he stroked my hair. Somewhere in the back of my head I knew he was loving the fact that I was in his arms at the moment and not the arms of one of our companions. Right then, I didn't care. He provided a comfort for me that the other two men could not.

Eric got Alcide and Bill up to speed. "Sookie got a phone call from the shifter about 40 minutes ago. He asked her to look after the bar for him, that he was in some sort of trouble and that he was on his way out of Bon Temps. The last thing Sookie heard before the line went dead was a crash. She said that he had seemed worried about something – she feels like it's her fault that this has happened because she didn't try to do something for him. I promised her that we would find him, and I have every intention of doing so. Until we find out who is behind this attack, Sookie will stay with me. Have you heard anything regarding the shifter, Herveaux?"

Alcide looked at Eric thoughtfully. "Sam kept to himself mostly. There aren't too many true shifters around, and they're loners…they don't run in packs like the other Weres do. He did me a favour once, and I'll help you find him. Do either of you know if he has any family that he would go to?"

"Sookie said that he has family in Texas, but I do not believe that he would go there. I know very little about him – but he has been a loyal friend to Sookie and protected her when we were unable to… Sookie? Can you think of anywhere that Sam would go?" Eric lifted my face up and looked at me with concern.

"I don't know…He was real private about a lot of things – he didn't talk a lot about his past, and Merlotte's was his life. He was here all the time. Wait… I'm sure he mentioned a friend in Mississippi…ugh…where was it…Valley Park? It was close to Delta National Forest – I think his friend is a shifter…I'm sorry I can't think of anything else," I wished I had asked Sam more questions about his life instead of always talking about my own problems.

Eric rubbed my back. "That's good, Sookie. We have a direction – a place to start looking."

"He would take the I20 to Route 61 to get to Valley Park. We don't have enough time to look for him before dawn, Eric," Bill said softly. He turned to Alcide. "Would you be able to spare any trackers? I will gladly help tomorrow night if he has still not been found, but there is not much more that I can do tonight."

To Alcide's credit, he didn't have to think about it before answering. "I have a few good trackers- I'll send them out now. We'll continue the search during the day, and will update you at sundown. I don't like the idea of a shape shifter going missing in my area – especially under such circumstances. Maybe you should contact Norris as well. He might be able to help – he sure knows the land around here, and he knows Sam better than I do. Maybe he has some other ideas of where he could be headed."

Bill and Eric nodded their heads and Bill stepped away to make a phone call. I assumed it was to Calvin Norris over in Hotshot. I should have thought of him before. Alcide talking to someone from his pack, and a tiny sense of relief sparked inside me. We were finally doing something. We would find Sam. Eric pulled me close to him and kissed the top of my head.

"Let me take you home, Sookie. You're exhausted, and you need to rest. Is there someone that can open the bar in the morning?" Eric asked quietly.

I looked up at him, grateful that he was here with me. "I can ask Terry to stay and let everyone in. He's opened up before, but I'll have to come in at some point."

Eric handed me his phone and I dialed Terry's number, feeling guilty that I was no doubt waking him up. He answered on the second ring and I told him as much as I felt I could, saying that Sam had had another family emergency and would be gone for a while. Terry didn't doubt my story and agreed to stay and help out after he finished the cleaning in the morning.

"Take me home, Eric," I said him.

He sighed. "Sookie, you shouldn't be in your house tonight. It is not safe – not now that we know that there are at least two vampires involved in all of this…"

"Take me home to your house," I cut him off. "I want to stay with you tonight. I don't want to be alone. I want to stay with you."

Eric hugged me to his chest and I breathed in his familiar scent. As he stroked my hair, I felt myself melt into him. He picked me up in his strong arms and I wrapped mine around his neck, burying my face into his chest. He called to Bill and Alcide to let them know that we were leaving, and I heard them promise to call with updates as they got them. I knew that Eric would find Sam. As the Viking gently placed me in the car, I could feel the tug of sleep at the edge of my brain. Eric got on to the interstate and headed towards Shreveport and I knew that there was something I was missing from tonight…there was something I was supposed to know but I just could latch on to it. Eric reached over and stroked my face. Just before I gave in to sleep, it occurred to me that 24 hours ago, this was the last place I thought I would be. I smiled a little at life's ironies just before sleep overtook me.