**Sorry the posts are coming slower and slower lately. Finals week is quickly approaching, so I am going to give my writing a hiatus until after the tests. I'm sorry for leaving you guys on the edge of your seats for so long!**

I struggled against the hand gagging me to the point that my captor felt the need to wrap his other arm around my waist. When it was clear I wasn't getting anywhere by struggling, I froze, stiffening every muscle in my body in the process. I could feel my captor's cold breath against the back of my ear as he whispered, "Why so tense, mi mariposa?" Even in a whisper, his thick Latin accent was evident.

He let go of my mouth to let me respond and used that arm to hold both of my hands across my chest. I was now basically strapped to a vampire. "I am not a butterfly," I said, careful to keep the paralyzing fear out of my voice. David would be coming along any time now, and he'll kick DeCastro's ass. I know it. All I had to do was last that long. "And I will never be yours."

"You may not actually be a butterfly, but you will be mine." He loosened his arms and let me go. Before I could reach for the door handle to get the hell out of there, the door opened. Relief washed through me until I realized the new addition to the party was wearing a suit. David had not been wearing a suit. I looked up into the face of the newcomer as he slid into the seat next to me, sandwiching me between him and Filipe. Before I could scream, Victor shut the door.

"So this is the woman," he said, appraising me as if I were estate jewelry.

"Sloane, I would like you to meet…"

"Victor Madden," I said with disgust. Sookie's memories of him came flooding to the forefront, along with a few of my own. So this is how the vision I had in the bathtub starts? I couldn't imagine how I got from here to incoherent and in complete darkness.

I was itching to get as far away from them as I possibly could. I switched to sit on the other bench, now facing the two vampires. I felt marginally better now that 1) they were no longer touching me, 2) I could see both of them, and 3) no more vampires could sneak up on me in this position. As I made the switch, I grabbed my purse. I instantly shoved my hand into my purse and handled the vampire mace. I may have had a chance of surviving when only Filipe was in the car, but now that I was dealing with Filipe and Victor, bringing out that mace was surely suicide. Instead, I grabbed a tube of lip gloss and applied it. After taking a second to gather myself, I looked Filipe in the eye and crossed my legs. "What do you want?"

He folded his hands in his lap. "Patience, dearest. I am glad to see you are unharmed. I heard about the attack on your limo last night."

"Uh huh." I made a circular motion with my hand, urging him to get to the point.

"I do wonder, how does a frail human like yourself survive an attack that left the limo in pieces?" His demeanor was not inquisitive at all. If anything, he was smug. "Not even a vampire could have survived an attack like that."

"And yet you dare to get in a limo with me." It did seem like an idiotic thing to do, unless he could be mighty sure that nothing was going to happen to him. Maybe he was behind the bomb, after all. I tucked this new information away for further consideration.

"You knew what was about to happen. How?" Victor asked. He seemed a tad too interested in how I survived.

I looked him in the eye, and with a smile, shrugged my shoulders. "Just a gut feeling, I guess."

I had caught both of their attention. "Ah, so you are a psychic, I see." Filipe moved to sit next to me, sitting just a tad too close for it to be considered normal. He grabbed my hand and kissed it. "I have never had a psychic before."

My instinct was telling me to lie until my pants caught fire. "Wrong again, Filipe." I pulled my hand back and shoved it between my knees. "And I'll give you some more hints. I can't fly, or see through walls, or even manipulate thoughts. I am what we in the know call 'human'."

"Oh, you are something special, woman, I can smell it on you. And I will figure out what." Victor stared me right in the eye. He was trying to glamour it out of me. I let my eyes go blank and my face fall into an expressionless stare. It took everything I had to not smile when he thought it had worked. "Now, tell me what you are."

"A Wookie." I cracked my blank exterior with a smile and looked him right in the eye again. "Did you really think he didn't try that already?" I asked as I shoved a thumb in Filipe's direction before I glanced out the window and looked for David. He was still standing at the counter, flirting with the girl behind the counter. I was going to rip him a new one.

Before I could look back at the vampires in front of me, Victor's hand was clasped around my neck and he was slowly lifting me off the seat. "Insolent human!" I grasped at his arms in a futile attempt to pull him away. Another bolt of panic shot through me because I couldn't breathe. Nothing is more terrifying than not being able to do something so essential. He pulled me toward him and extended his fangs, which caused another shot of fear to spike through me. I struggled even harder, kicking and punching at him.

"Victor…" Filipe's tone was reproachful, which was quite possibly the only thing that made Victor stop and look at him. "She is not yours to punish."

Just before I was going to lose consciousness, Victor released his grip. I fell to the floor of the car, gasping for air. Filipe pulled me back onto the bench beside him and patted my hand as I coughed and wheezed. "Victor will be punished for his actions. I hope you will reconsider my offer." After silently ordering Victor out of the car, he kissed my hand and followed him. "Until we meet again."

I curled into a ball in the far corner, popped my collar to hide my face, and wrapped my arms around my knees. I sat, staring out the window onto the practically vacant street until the car door opened. I jumped as David slid in next to me and the car shifted into drive. Once I was sure I wasn't going to be strangled to death by Victor or kidnapped by Filipe, I curled back into my ball and focused my attention back onto the scenery that was passing us by. It wasn't until we had been on the interstate for 10 minutes that he turned to speak to me. "You are upset."

"Obviously," I whispered. It was about the only thing I could do at the moment, and my voice still sounded hoarse and ragged.

"Why is your voice rough? Have you been crying?" When I didn't answer, he pulled my chin toward him so I had to look him in the face. I had no tears streaming down my face and my eyes weren't red, which answered his question for him. When he let go of my chin, I turned back to my previous position with him at my back. I was not in the mood to deal with vampires right now. I stayed balled up and away from David for the remainder of the trip, despite several other attempts on David's behalf to engage me during the three hour drive. I simply ignored his attempts at conversation.

When we arrived at the airfield, I was relieved to see Idi standing just at the base of ramp to the small airfield. I hopped out of the town car as quickly as I could and went straight up the ramp. I didn't even look at Idi as I passed him, but I could hear him follow me up the ramp and into the small jet. My first instinct was to scope out the surroundings. The ramp entered into the back of the plane. To the left, towards the tail, was a small door which opened into an equally small, but warmly decorated bathroom. To the right where eight seats, four on each side of the isle situated around two small tables. The seats were large and leather, and by the looks of it, they might recline.

Idi paused behind me while I took everything in. "I have searched the plane myself. There are no signs of tampering."

I nodded my thanks before locking myself in the bathroom. I started the hot water in the sink and shucked off my coat and purse, laying them in a pile in the corner of the room. While the water heated, I took a look at myself in the mirror. I had an almost invisible bruise around my neck; the most visible part just to the side of my air pipe in the shape of the band of a thick ring. Even the worst of it was disappearing quickly, though. I tested the capabilities of my healing voice by clearing my throat. From what I could tell, I was back to my normal self. Thank goodness for the healing powers of vampire blood.

Once the water was nice and hot, I splashed some on my face before letting it flow over my hands for several minutes. I let the water run until it ran cold, when I turned off the water and dried my face and hands. When I opened the door, ready to face the relatively short flight, Idi was standing guard outside the bathroom door and David had settled into a chair and already started on the paper. I sat in the chair as far away from David as possible and looked out the window. The scenery slowly passed as the private jet started down the runway.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flurry of movement. When I looked, Idi had produced his favorite weapon again. "Idi, she is perfectly safe. Put the weapon away," David said after lowering his paper.

Idi didn't take his eyes off me. "Your neck, Miss Sloane."

Maybe the bruising was more noticeable than I thought, at least to those with vampire vision. I turned back to look out the window as the plane lifted off the runway. "It wasn't David." Not entirely, at least. That didn't mean I didn't blame him for ignoring my fear, which he must have felt. Part of me was certain that David knew what was going to happen, but let me walk into it anyway just to teach me a lesson. At the very least, he had ignored me in my time of need. At the moment, I was not willing to forgive him for it.

When David finally really looked at me and noticed what Idi was talking about, he stood and tossed the paper to the floor. "Sloane? What happened?" I ignored David's question and pulled my legs to my chest again. Except for being in a more comfortable chair, I was back in the exact same cocoon I made for myself earlier in the town car.

When it was obvious I wasn't going to talk, he sat back down, but this time across from me (after some protesting on idi's part). He leaned forward and around the side of the table until he was close enough to me to reach out. When he did, I crossed my arms and tucked my hands under my arms. He stopped trying after I rejected him and leaned back almost imperceptibly. "You need to tell me what happened."

Again, I ignored him and focused my attention out the window onto the landscape below. I was pretty sure that if I had to look at him or touch him right now, I'd scream. I was slowly breaking apart, and I was trapped in a small plane with one of the few main reasons for the next few hours. I closed my eyes when I could feel his rage building through the bond. I was 99% sure it was coming, but I still jumped when his temper got the best of him and he slammed his fists on the table hard enough to crack it. "Sloane!"

Idi finally interfered, pushing David back into his seat before he could do something that he'd regret later. David took a deep breath. "I see why people use this silent treatment as punishment. It is infuriating." Even with my eyes still closed, I could feel his eyes on me, scrutinizing my every move. After a few minutes of agonizing self consciousness under the scrutiny of David, I could hear the chair squeak as he stood. When he was back in his former chair, he spoke in a low voice to Idi. "Please try to talk to her, she may listen to you."

"It may help if I knew why she is so angry with you, Sir."

After a short pause, David sighed. "I do not know."

I had a few minutes of peace until Idi (at least I assumed it was Idi) spread a blanket over my body and sat in the chair next to me. "Will you speak to me, Miss Sloane?" He got straight to the point. No beating around the bush for Idi.

I didn't move; I barely even spoke. "I'd rather not," I whispered.

"Have I done something to upset you?" He sounded genuinely concerned. I didn't know Idi to be one to actually feel emotion. He was quite possibly the most apathetic vampire I knew.

Again, I didn't move, I just whispered. "No." I couldn't be mad at someone who had never done anything. Sure, he wasn't there to protect me either, but at least he was here securing the plane and not just flirting with the hostess for the sole reason to piss me off. There's a big difference.

"Then why will you not speak to me?" I didn't answer; I just shrugged beneath the blanket. "Will you tell me who hurt you?"

"Why?" I whispered.

"I need to know whom I am to pay retribution."

I took a few minutes to decide if I wanted to answer. It would be a whole lot easier to ignore him like I was ignoring David, but he didn't deserve it like David did. In the end, I answered. "Victor Madden," I whispered even quieter than before.

He took a second to run through his memory bank. "King Filipe DeCastro's second?" I didn't answer this time. I figured that was as much of an answer as actually saying anything. "I will keep that in mind."

Once I could be sure that he was done with his questions, I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes again. "Idi?" I whispered.

"Yes, Miss Sloane?" He was back to being uninterested. That was the Idi I knew and loved.

"Don't let him get anywhere near me, OK?" It was obvious I was talking about David and not Victor. I was not that worried about Victor following me to Michigan, at least not just yet.

"Yes, Miss Sloane."

With that, I relaxed into my chair. In no time, I was asleep.

"I will do it, she would not like you to be near her," I heard Idi say from right in front of me. I was still in that groggy state when you're not sure if you are dreaming or awake. I opted to just stay as I was until I was sure. "How does one wake a human?" A hand tentatively landed on my arm, then lifted and landed on my knee before quickly lifting off again.

"Let me carry her, she will be none the wiser." I could hear David's voice come from the other corner of the plane, where it had been before I fell asleep.

Idi's hand landed more confidently on my shoulder. "I am sorry, my King, but I cannot. I mean no disrespect."

"I know, Idi. I admire your devotion to her. Perhaps you should say her name?"

"Miss Sloane," he said quietly.

I had two choices. One, I could open my eyes, which would mean I would have to fight my own silent battle against David without Idi's help. Obviously, I didn't want to do that. I would rather jump out of this plane at 30,000 feet than deal with David right now. Or two, I could pretend to stay asleep and let Idi deal with David for me. Of course, this was unfair to Idi, and I had to get off the plane somehow, which meant someone was going to have to carry me. I knew Idi would protect me from any attacker, but I wasn't sure he'd want to carry me around.

At this point, I was ready to be a coward. I'd apologize to Idi later.

"Miss Sloane," he said again, this time a little louder. When I didn't respond again, he pulled his hand off of my shoulder. "She will not wake," he said toward David.

"If you will not let me carry her, then you must do it." David sounded irked. Good. After a short hesitation, Idi pulled the blanket off of me and lifted me into his arms (God, I hoped it was Idi. It took all I had to not open my eyes and check). I shivered as he stepped off the plane and into the frigid Michigan air.

He stopped mid-stride. "She is shaking."

David's voice came from behind us. "She is most likely cold, but I cannot be sure without getting close." He sounded somewhat put off by the fact Idi wouldn't let him even get near me. I almost smiled at the fact. "Get her into the car."

Almost immediately after David spoke, Idi was laying me down in the car on my back. Almost immediately after he laid me down, I curled into a ball again. I felt much better when I was compact and in the fetal position. Seconds later, he was laying a blanket over me again before lifting my head and tucking my balled up coat beneath it. Once the bags were packed into the back, the car started to move. Unfortunately, I couldn't fall back asleep, I just tried to gauge where we were in relation to my house. A task that was incredibly difficult, considering I had no idea what airport we flew in to.

Shortly after I lost all track of where we could possibly be, a vision came. It was a lot like the one I had earlier in the bathtub; nothing really made sense, everything was mentally and visually blurry, and it didn't seem to be in any particular order. One main difference was I wasn't seeing through me, I was fairly sure I was seeing through Sookie. It was hard to tell in this particular vision.

At some point throughout the vision, I sat up, because when I came back to, I was upright and both David and Idi were watching me with interest. I must have looked startled or scared, because David said, "You are safe." He reached out a hand in my direction to console me, remembering at the last moment (thanks to Idi's subtle reminder) that he was not welcome near me. I scooted toward the window nearest to Idi's side of the bench and looked out the window. No wonder I had no idea where we were…we had somehow made it to campus.

I turned to Idi. "Where are we going?"

"To retrieve a box."

When the town car identical to the one we had in Maryland pulled up outside of the decrepit old hall that housed my office, I slid my arms into the balled up coat, grabbed my purse, and slid out of the car. When I noticed the pale figure hiding in a cranny by the door, I froze in my tracks. Idi and David both glided past me toward the figure as if they were expecting whoever it was. After exchanging a few words with the shadowy figure, David looked back toward me, catching my gaze and looking in right on the eye. It took everything I had to not lose it and start screaming. He must have felt the hysteria building, because he quickly looked away and sent Idi back for me.

Idi approached slowly, specifically standing where he would block my view of the vampires at the door. "You do not have to come in, but we do need the key. The door is locked."

I took a second to pull myself back together. "I'll go, but I want to go home right after we're done."

He nodded. "Understood."

I pulled my student ID out of my purse before slinging it over my shoulder. Without hesitation (I really just wanted to get this over and done with), I marched past Idi, between David and the vampire woman he was talking to, and towards the door. I swiped my student ID over the electronic lock that opened the exterior doors after hours, swung the door open, and kept on marching inside. I followed the same routine on the electronic lock to my office (newly installed), threw my purse in its usual location on my desk, and opened the box. The three vampires were watching from the doorway.

I gasped when I looked inside the box. Inside was a gold vintage filigree cuff bracelet with large inlaid rubies. It was absolutely stunning. I picked the piece up and inspected the craftsmanship. Though obviously from the 19th century, the bracelet was in immaculate condition. It had been recently cleaned and polished, a delicate task with the amount of beautiful metalwork on the bracelet. The rubies shone in the light, casting shards of red light throughout the room. If I were to ever wear jewelry, something I did rarely, this was the type of piece I would want to wear.

Beneath the bracelet was a folded sheet of paper. I set the bracelet down gently on my desk before pulling the note out. It read:

I will find your taste, and then you will be mine.

It wasn't signed, but I knew exactly who it was from. I carefully set the bracelet back in the box. Before closing the lid, I tore a sheet of printer paper and wrote my own note:

A smart man would give up on getting me. Now ask yourself; are you a smart man?

I folded the paper and placed it in the box before closing the lid. I grabbed my purse and the box and turned out the lights on my way out. When I passed the vampires, I handed Filipe's note to the woman. "You're looking for Filipe DeCastro of Nevada." I handed the box to Idi. "Please send this back to him." Before they could say anything, I was marching right back out the way I had come; up the stairs, through the exterior door, and right back into the town car. Just a few moments later, Idi slid into the seat across from me and the car left the curb without David.

"I am to escort you home."

I nodded. "I'm sorry, Idi." I looked down at my hands so I wouldn't have to look at the confusion on his face. "I was awake when we landed. I did sleep during the flight, it wasn't a complete lie, but I faked it once we landed. I couldn't….I didn't think I could keep it together if I had to deal with him much longer." Neither of us needed to explain who 'him' was. "While I was being a coward, I put you in an awkward position with your boss, and I'm sorry."

The awkward silence made it quite clear he probably hadn't been apologized to by anyone but me in quite a while. That fact made my heart ache for him. "No need to apologize," he said finally.

"Yes there is."

His next tactic was to change the topic. "If you do not tell him what you are angry at him for, he cannot apologize." I shrugged. I knew that obviously. "Will you tell me?"

I shook my head. "That's not a good idea, more awkward positions for you and all."

"Let me handle my King."

I looked up at him, shock on my face. He was smiling, believe it or not. "I wouldn't tell him you said that if I were you."

I looked out the window as we pulled into my driveway. "Do you not think I can?" I left that question unanswered as I pulled myself out of the car. Idi lowered my suitcase to the ground. I reached to take it from him, but he would not let me have it.

"Thanks, but I can pull my own suitcase. I just want to go inside and crawl into bed, OK?"

Idi wasn't having it. "You should let me search your house."

I looked back at the house. Other than the few packages that had been left on the doorstep, the house looked exactly as it did when we left. "Everything looks fine. I'll be fine."

"He is right, you are stubborn." He let go of my suitcase, which allowed me to start pulling it up the icy driveway.

"Goodnight, Idi." Once I had opened the door and pulled my suitcase and the few packages into the foyer, Idi finally got back into the town car and left. I closed and locked the door before trudging up the stairs to my room. I couldn't be tired, but all I wanted to do was fall into bed. I didn't want to sleep, I just wanted to lay in bed for the rest of time. It was my safe spot; no one could get me there.

I dropped my purse and coat on the chair just inside the door and crawled into my bed, only pausing to toe off my shoes. Before I could even get comfortable underneath the covers, a voice came from the corner. "Talk to me."

I screamed as loud as I could, instantly wishing I had let Idi search my house. I pulled the blankets back, shot to my feet, and ran towards the door. I was hoisted into the air before I even made it past the doorframe.

"I will not hurt you, Sloane. I just want you to tell me what I did."

It was David. I finally snapped. I thrashed in the air, screaming and kicking and punching. When he set me down, I didn't run, I just kept screaming and hitting him. I called him every name I could think of (being Irish, I have quite a vivid vocabulary), I kicked him and punched him until I was too tired to move. He stood there and let me beat him without a word. When I was all out of uncontrollable rage, I sunk to the floor and sobbed. He kneeled next to me, unsure of what to do at this point. I swung and slapped him across the face as hard as I could. "Bastard," I said through gasping sobs.

He didn't look even remotely angry about the beating I had just doled out. He looked terrified at my outburst. "Tell me what I have done to deserve such treatment."

He reached out to touch me, which triggered another hysterical response, screaming and kicking at him again. He pulled back immediately. "Don't you dare touch me, you asshole," I screamed at him. More rage bubbled up in me, making me want to hurt him like he hurt me. "I should have let Filipe have me. At least he's never hurt me like you have." I dropped my head to the floor so I could curl into the fetal position again as I sobbed. "You let them get me. While Filipe and Victor had me, you were flirting with the hostess," I managed to get out between gasps.

"Sloane, I…" he started before reaching out again to touch me. He was a slow learner.

I extended one of my legs from the fetal position, connecting with his chest and knocking him back away from me. "Get out of my house."

"I am sorry. I did not know," he said as he stood and walked out of my room backwards. I sobbed on the floor until I had no more tears to shed.