Sam looked up at Lafayette dancing shirtless on the bar at Parade. He grinned, watching in fascination as his friend and employee ground his hips and undulated his muscular torso. So far there had to be at least twenty-five bucks tucked into the top of his jeans by enthusiastic patrons, Sam estimated. Santiago stood next to him, looking just as amused.

"Why don't you get up there?" Christopher told Sam, his black eyes glittering under the disco lights.

"Why don't YOU get up there?" Sam replied.

"No vampires allowed on the bar," said the bartender, the same one from last night, rather sharply.

"Why not?" Sam asked with surprise.

"Too much glamouring," the bartender replied, setting out a Crown Royal and Coke for Sam. "Then the vampires get all their money and we don't sell enough drinks." He looked at Christopher. "No biting in the bar, either."

"As if I would be so crass!" Christopher said with a hint of amusement, waving his arm flamboyantly.

The bartender just shook his head and moved off. Christopher had bought a bottle of True Blood, which Sam found interesting as he had never seen the New Orleans vampire with a bottle before. He considered then how Santiago must feel, having lost his bar in a fire a few months ago and having lost his lover as well. The fact that he managed to present such a glib, jesting front spoke volumes about his strength, and for the first time, Sam wondered about his past.

"How old are you?" Sam asked Christopher, sipping his whiskey.

"Well, there's a rude question!" Christopher said, batting his eyes at Sam. He leaned against the bar and smiled flirtatiously. Sam wasn't affected, and he didn't feel embarrassed, either. He had learned by now that this was Santiago's way. The dark-haired, dark-eyed vampire was a seductive flirt. Sam had learned that others found him hard to resist at first…but easy to avoid later.

"No, really. I want to know."

"I'm young," he said. "I haven't reached two hundred and fifty yet."

"That's not so young," Sam said, sounding impressed.

"It is compared to Eric," Santiago pointed out. "Though I suppose I'm older than Bill… and the lovely Pam, though not by much. How is she? I wish she had come with you lot."

"I, uh, don't socialize much with Pam," Sam admitted.

"Well if you should see her, send her my love," Santiago replied, and Sam wasn't sure if he was sincere or sarcastic, so he simply nodded. "What a delicious girl."

Sam drained his drink, mostly to avoid replying to that. Santiago waved a hand and got him a fresh one before he set the glass down on the bar, paying for it swiftly. He was still nursing his True Blood, Sam saw.

"You didn't have to—"

"It's my pleasure, Sam," Christopher said, almost a bit too intimately. Sam looked at the stairs that went up to the second floor of Parade, wishing that Sookie and Anne Marie would come back down them from where they had gone to "listen" for people who knew Toxic. Bill was standing guard outside the bar. Sam was trying not to think about what happened to Eric and Peggy. Maybe they had slipped off for a romantic tryst and forgotten to tell anyone. They couldn't have possibly been taken by drainers. Eric was far too powerful, wasn't he?

Sam sipped his new drink. He admitted to himself that it tasted so good. He looked at Christopher. "What was your life like?"

"Before I became vampire?"

Sam nodded. Christopher ginned with a hint of fang and Sam tried not to shudder. The vampire adjusted his ever-present top hat rakishly.

"Oh, I was a wild human. They called me the devil. I was reckless. I broke every taboo of my time. I wrote fabulous poetry that was both revered and reviled. You can still find books of it… under another name, of course."

"What was your—"

"Not telling," Santiago teased.

"And how did… how did you…?"

"Die."

"Well—"

Christopher smiled. "I had a crazy idea that I would join the Greek army."

"You were Greek?"

"No, but I was nearly declared King of Greece."

"Ah." Sam didn't quite believe this.

"I fell ill, and at the time, bleeding was thought of as the way to cure…well, nearly everything. You have no idea how many so-called doctors were actually vampires in my day. In any event, as I lay dying, I was given an offer, as they say, that I couldn't refuse. After all, I had never wanted to die, and becoming as evil as I had already been accused of being seemed almost a delight. I have never regretted it."

Sam tilted his head. "There's a lot you aren't telling me."

Christopher grinned. "You're smart, for a puppy dog. But that's enough for now. Maybe if you ask your wife, she'll tell you more. I always suspected that she figured out who I was before I died."

"Maybe we should go look for her and Sookie."

"Ah, but there they are, racing down the stairs."

"Sam!" Anne Marie cried as the two ladies bolted across the bar. For a moment Sam remembered how glad he was that since they had arrived early tonight, there had been no cover charge for the girls.

Sam was filled again with affection for his wife. He'd had a big reminder lately never to take her for granted. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her, and he knew he needed to stop drinking and focus on what they were supposed to be doing.

"Sam," said Sookie, somewhat breathlessly. "Upstairs. There's a guy, with green hair. Selling V."

Sam looked up at Lafayette and caught his eye. He motioned for him to get down off of the bar. Looking somewhat petulant, the black man did just that, hopping gracefully down.

"You got a lead, Sook?" he asked.

"Upstairs."

"Should we all go?"

Christopher's black eyes looked even blacker. "I will go. If he has my Margaret, I will eat his liver."

"Simmer down, Han' bal," said Anne Marie. "You go, you scare him off, you. Got to be Sam, Lafayette… Sookie."

"So you will stay here with me, then, pussy cat?"

Sam wondered how Santiago could go from angry to sleazy in 2.5 seconds. "Behave yourself," he insisted. Santiago wiggled his fingers at Sam and made a rude face. Sam decided there was nothing but to ignore him.

Sookie rolled her eyes and flounced around to lead Sam and Lafayette upstairs. Sam could have picked the drug dealer out even without her help. He was in a far corner with two bodyguards, a big chubby guy and a werewolf that… that smelled awful. This was the smell Sam had picked up the night before! He didn't look bad, though he had a scarred face, nothing unusual for that kind, Sam thought, but he smelled like his cock must be rotting off. Unpleasant indeed!

"I heard him thinking he has new merchandise," Sookie said. "And… the merchandise is Eric."

"What about Peggy?"

"I don't know. I can see Eric clearly in the werewolf's head. Apparently he said something that… that pissed him off."

Sam nodded. "Sounds like Eric. At least we know he's still alive."

"Probably," added Lafayette.

"Hopefully," Sookie corrected. "Come on. Let's go tell them we want some V!"

"Sweetheart," said Lafayette. "You couldn't never pull this off. You go back downstairs. Me an' Sam will handle this."

"We need her to… to see if he…"

"Sam," said Sookie, "Lafayette is right. He's not going to think of his address. Get him to leave with you and Anne Marie and I will follow you."

"And Christopher," said Lafayette. "He seem like a dick, but he know what he doin'."

Before Sam could try to think of a better plan, Lafayette slipped an arm around him and drew him in the back corner towards the threesome.

"Hello, bitches," Lafayette said by way of introduction, earning himself three glares. "I hear y'all know how to party."

"Possibly," said the man with green hair. There werewolf stared at Sam, and Sam knew the man knew he was a shifter just as Sam had been able to identify him. "Who sent you?"

"Don't tell me y'all never heard of Lafayette," said Lafayette, preening slightly. The three men exchanged glances.

"Maybe," said the chubby one.

"No," said the green-haired man.

"I am from up to Bon Temps, up north," said Lafayette. "If you was ever there, you'd know me. Finest merchandise in the business. I hear that in N'awlins, you the people to see." He squeezed Sam, which made Sam uncomfortable, though he forced himself to smile. "This my home boy, Sam. We party together."

"Ain't cheap to party here," said the werewolf.

"I ain't never cheap, myself," said Lafayette, handing the green-haired man a wad of bills. After a quick glance, the bills disappeared into a pocket of a leather jacket. If nothing else, it bought them a smile.

"I'm Toxic," said greenie. "This is Vincent," the werewolf, "And Archie." The human.

"We're brothers," Sam acknowledged Vincent.

"More like cousins," Vincent snarled.

"Whatever," said Toxic. "You like it fresh, Lafayette? Because if you ain't chicken, you can tap it off the vine."

Lafayette smiled slowly. "Aw'right," he said. "Let's go."

Before Sam understood what exactly was happening, the five of them were leaving the club together. They were entering the sleazy apartment before Sam figured out that they were going to be drinking blood right out of Eric's veins.