Disclaimer: I do not own Moonlight. Not sure why I keep grousing about the lack of ownership…..does WB even care?

Thanks for reading…..sorry for the late post.

Chapter 14

As soon as she was off duty Savannah headed out to Nachthafen. A small sigh of relief escaped her as she entered the refreshing cool of the air conditioned house. Daytime work was far more draining than she had expected it to be. The sound of voices drew her towards Josef's study.

"Hi, please tell me you have good news," she said entering the room.

"Well we liked your idea and Scott is running with it," Tyson said getting to his feet and going to her. He pulled her close in a tight hug.

"Good. I was at a loss as to what to say when Chaz made his joke about a wannabe vampire," she sighed.

"It would be better if we could curb DuPre's curiosity," Josef said firmly.

A low growl rumbled in Savannah's chest as she turned to glare at the older vampire. Josef continued to gaze at her with an amused smirk on his lips.

"Sorry newbie but reality says that curious partners are trouble."

"You will not touch him," she said tersely. "You don't know him Josef."

"You are right Savannah, I don't know him. And I hope you're right about him but it seldom plays out that way," he replied.

"Here Savannah, have a drink," Beth interrupted as she pressed a glass of blood into her friend's hands. "After being in the sun all day you need extra blood. And don't let Josef get under your skin," she added in a low voice.

"Thanks Beth," Savannah said gratefully. She took a long drink and felt a calmness course through her body. She had tried to stay nourished during the day but now she was in the cool air conditioning, in a dim room and this blood truly restored her. "Josef, I am sorry that I snapped at you."

"Forget it Savannah, I'm getting used to you human lovers defending them. I just hope your faith is justified with this one," Josef said kindly.

"Now that you two have made nice, can we get back to locating this harvesting crew?" Mick commented dryly. "Josef, has there been any takers for your generous offer?"

"Not yet so I told Curtis to up the money," Josef replied. He looked perplexed. "I don't know how they are resisting the deal."

"Maybe they have buyers in place," Rayna suggested. "But Josef, you just put the word out yesterday. It may not have reached them." She went to sit beside him and he slipped his arm around her, drawing her close.

"You always see the bright side. And I hadn't considered they may have a set arrangement with a buyer. Let's hope the higher price attracts their interest," he responded.

"Now we just need to select a group of humans to pin this crime on. I'm sure that Savannah can suggest a cult the NOPD would like to put out of business," Mick stated.

The three couples spent the evening working on their cover story. At Savannah's suggestion they chose to implicate a reclusive group called Lucifer's Acolytes, who were known to dabble in the dark arts but thus far had been impossible to pin down. They separated for the night when it became clear that Savannah needed her freezer time after the long day.

*MC*MC*

Tuesday evening Moriah had arranged for her "meet and greet" to be held in the ballroom of one of the French Quarter's hotels. She had her top radio and newspaper personalities to be present along with the popular host of her newly acquired TV station's noon talk show ready to meet the public and selected other members of the media . Beth and Rayna were available in a booth with a display of Southern California View's latest editions.

Keeping out of sight, Moriah was happy to see her California duo received just as much attention as her local stars. The event was an amazing success. The fact that the crowd around Beth and Rayna was mostly male did not surprise the old vampire either and she was happy that Josef and Mick were off with Tyson. This was not the time to have to keep the male egos in check.

An hour and fifteen minutes into the event Moriah saw Blake Winters working his way through the crowd. She moved into a position where she could observe without being seen, close to the booth her friends occupied. With determination, Blake threaded his way towards Beth and Rayna's position.

"Ms St. John, it is an honor to meet you. I am Blake Winters of the Bayou Cryer," Blake told her as he stopped before the table Beth and Rayna were seated at. "I have admired the Southern California View ever since you took it over."

"Thank you Mr. Winters," Beth said with a warm smile. "I don't think I've had the chance to read any of your work."

"Well I've moved around the South a bit, following interesting stories. I'm sure my work hasn't circulated much out West," Blake said in explanation.

"And what made you read Southern California View?" Beth asked curiously. "I can't imagine we have a large circulation here in the Deep South." She brightened her smile as Rayna sat back and watched her friend manipulate the human.

"No but I make it a point to know what media is up and coming. I like to keep my horizons open," Blake responded as he found his attraction to the lovely editor growing. It was a heady feeling to have her so receptive to his conversation.

"I'm flattered Mr. Winters," Beth replied. "I do like ambitious men."

Blake's head swam with the praise. He noticed the lovely pale blonde watching the conversation and he noted that both women were wearing rings on their left hands. Experience over the years had proved that pieces of jewelry rarely stood in the way of what he truly wanted. And a connection to Moriah Fortuna was what he wanted very much. If some quality time with Beth St. John helped that happen, who was he to complain? He had visions of one day occupying a booth like this with a crowd waiting to have his autograph. And as a bonus, Beth St. John was a friend of Savannah Lowe. He turned up the charm, hoping to get closer to the woman who could make his dreams come true.

"Ambition has never been my problem. When I find a story that intrigues me, I am very persistent and I am always able to scoop the competition," Blake bragged. "I would love to show you some of my work."

"Our magazine really isn't focused on hard news," Beth apologized. "We do cover select news stories as they relate to the region but I'm not sure that it is your area of reporting. We also don't have any openings on staff right now, I am so sorry."

Blake had not expected a job offer so her answer didn't surprise him. Now he would dangle the bait that he felt she couldn't resist, making her want to talk to him further. After all, what woman didn't enjoy being flattered?

"I'm not seeking a job Ms St. John but I've done my research and I know about your work on Buzzwire. It was very impressive; you handled some very hard hitting news stories in your time there. I would love to talk shop with you and garner some pointers on my work."

Beth struggled to keep a smile from spreading over her face. He was so sure he was winning her over and Beth wanted to laugh at his foolishness.

"So you checked me out Mr. Winters? I'm impressed that you could still dig up those old broadcasts. I guess YouTube does go back into the dark ages," Beth said lightly.

"You had a hard hitting, tenacious style that I admire," Blake told her. "And it really wasn't that long ago. You are very young to be a managing editor of such a polished publication."

"I am flattered Mr. Winters," Beth said sweetly.

"Would it be possible to get together soon?" he asked eagerly.

"I don't have any idea how long I will be in New Orleans Mr. Winters but if you give me your number, I can see what I can arrange. I always like to encourage talent when I can," Beth offered.

"That would be perfect," Blake said giving her his most charming smile. "I happen to be following a very intriguing story that can shake this city to its core. There is a serial killer here who has struck in several large cities lately. I plan to unmask this person," he boasted.

"Very impressive," Beth said with wide eyes. "I would love to hear all about this."

Rayna quickly covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle a laugh. The idiot really believed his reporting was ground breaking. Nothing that he had published in the previous cities had led them to believe he had any inside information. If he had some knowledge it had not been in any reports so far but now he was offering to share his secrets with Beth just to get the inside track to Moriah. He had no idea how he was being played. It would be a piece of cake to manipulate this ego driven human.

"Here is my card," Blake offered. "I would really love to hear the back story on some of your reports. I am sure you could help me improve my reporting and help it gain the respect it deserves. I would be in your debt Ms St. John."

Beth accepted the card, letting her fingers make contact with Winters' fingers longer than necessary. She could hear his heart rate increase and smiled in satisfaction.

"I will call you," Beth promised.

"Thank you," Blake said with a wind and a big smile. Deep inside, Beth wanted to vault the table and rip the smug look off the human's face but she restrained herself. In spite of the temptation, it would serve no purpose to eliminate this man before they learned what he knew.

As Blake walked away from them, a stifled chuckle broke free from Rayna.

"My sister….you were awesome. He had no idea how he was being played," Rayna choked out.

"He is certainly is full of himself," Beth agreed.

"And you will take him down my friend," Rayna said confidently. "It will be so easy to discredit him and ruin his career."

"But will it be enough or will he just lip away and use it to come after us all the more?" Beth asked. "I can't help feeling he is a big threat to us if we can't control him. I must set up the appointment with him and see just what he really knows. He sounds too confident; we can't hope he is only bluffing."

End chapter.

So how much do you think Blake knows? Beth is smarter but can she get him to spill what he knows, if he knows anything? Thank you for reading.