Chapter Two

The next night, Kiley showed up at 6pm. She had looked through her wardrobe of clothes that she acquired for this job and decided on wearing black leather pants with a black mesh long sleeve top. She also wore a leather bra underneath. Thinking of her feet, Kiley wore boots with chunky heels. With her heavier makeup, she thought that she looked as if she could fit in without showing too much of herself. She must have done okay because the female vampire looked upon her approvingly.

Kiley knew how to wait tables having done it in her youth and on a few occasions when she had to pretend to be a waitress as part of her line of work. She didn't have the personality to be truly good at it since you needed to charm your customers in order to make tips. But, good luck trying to charm anyone in here, she thought. She saw that she would be working with another new waitress. They were both to be trained by a girl called Darla. Darla was wearing a short dress with numerous zippers and she was wearing the deepest red lipstick that Kiley had ever seen. Darla also didn't look at happy with being their trainer. But, thought Kiley, Darla was the least of her problems.

And so the evening began. This was a totally weird place, thought Kiley. Shane did not operate a bar and she usually just met with him in his home. So, this type of atmosphere was one that she had not been exposed to. It was dark inside and even though it was not a small place, it seemed claustrophobic to Kiley. The red walls only grated on her nerves. And the people that came to this place. As someone who had been forced to consort with vampires, she wondered why anyone would want to willingly seek them out. They were not nice creatures. She was still angry that Shane had once again blackmailed her into doing his bidding. She had thought that he might have tried to keep her by being nice to her and offering her much more money. Of course, that would not have worked. There was absolutely nothing that could have tempted her to stay with that creature. For, she had some unfinished business with her last employer.

She put that unpleasant memory out of her mind and focused on her job. She was pleased to note that the Sheriff took a seat in plain sight when he came out into the bar. So, watching him was very easy. Anyone that he spoke to would also be in plain sight, just as anyone being seen more privately would still have to pass through the bar to get to his office. She had been shown pictures of all the key players and of his underlings. Kiley waited her tables and watched him out of the corner of her eye, along with his progeny.

When the dancers came out, she watched them with interest. The lead dancer was a human who was mediocre at best. She was pretty in a sleazy type way, of course, maybe in normal clothes, she would look like a girl next door. Kiley saw that she was smart enough to take steps to ensure that the quality of her dancing would be overlooked, for the girl danced for only one person in this bar and that was Sheriff Northman. Silly girl, thought Kiley. As if one of these creatures would really form some sort of fondness for you. That girl would be out on her ass the minute something finer walked into this bar and shook her assets for the Sheriff. Kiley had to give Sondra some credit. That girl was a professional when it came to dancing. She had trained with her for 10 hours a day for a week in preparation for this assignment. Kiley smiled in satisfaction, knowing that she could dance the pants off any of the Sheriff's dancers. She turned away and moved again to her tables.

Kiley's scrutiny of the dancers had not gone unnoticed. Eric had watched her and wondered why she was so curious about them. Pam had lucked out that her pretty diversion actually knew how to wait tables, for the girl was quick and efficient. He suspected that she was much too intelligent to be working as just a waitress. As well as being too smart to be a dancer. She had looked the part yesterday, though. When he had seen her, he would have hired her for the dancer position regardless of her talent. He smiled slightly to himself thinking that he was just as bad as Pam. But, those looks of hers would cover up a multitude of ineptitude. She had a fresh, almost innocent look to her that would make his vampire customers drool. As she waited tables, he noticed that his vampire eyes weren't the only ones that followed her. According to her application, she had a sketchy work history and no references. As an explanation, she simply said that she moved around frequently. That, he did not believe, for even a human boss would want to hold onto something so fine. Of course, if she was dumb as a rock, perhaps that could explain it. But, those pretty eyes of hers flashed with intelligence that no amount of trying to act dumb could cover up. And those pretty eyes didn't miss much. She scanned the bar frequently. Of course, she could just be watchful as part of her job. But, when he noticed that those eyes also scanned him when she thought that he wasn't aware, he decided that the new waitress was worth paying closer attention to.

Kiley had managed to surpass Darla's expectations for her first night of work. During lulls in activity, she had also restocked the bar for the bartender. Eric had noticed that even though she had helped Longshadow, she didn't get friendly with him or talk to him beyond what was necessary. Nor, was she friendly with any other vampire in the bar. She put out a definite vibe that she was unavailable. After hours, she had wasted no time cleaning up and left without a backwards glance.

Kiley drove a few blocks away and then parked her car. She stealthily made her way back to the bar and watched it until sunrise. But, there was not any after hours visits. She wanted to observe the place for at least another night before coming in and planting any bugs. Plus, she wanted to find out if the vampires slept at the bar. Having them there was a complication that she did not like. For, she was well aware that they could still move around during the daytime if something disturbed them.

She wondered about vampires. Why did Arkansas want to spy on Louisiana? Vampires were well-known for their disdain of other creatures, yet they seemed to have little love for their own kind. They were arrogant and ruthless creatures. Kiley wondered if Shane would be upset that she had deviated from the plan. She was supposed to call and check in with him tomorrow. When he had said that he had not wanted to send her on this job, she felt that he had been telling the truth. She doubted that Shane would be too upset with her watching Sheriff Northman as a waitress since Kiley was well aware that he wanted her for himself. The question was whether Kiley wanted him.

Kiley next night went as well as the first. Darla seemed to treat her better since she showed that she was a hard worker. Darla seemed friendly with the bartender and perhaps she let him bite her, thought Kiley, since Darla bore a few sets of fang marks. Thank goodness, Shane had never attempted to bite her. He seemed content for the most part to keep their relationship professional. Since, she wanted an excuse to snoop around, Kiley volunteered to go and get things that were needed in the bar. When the bartender asked for another bottle of Grey Goose vodka, Kiley volunteered to go get it out of the basement. The basement was not well lighted and Kiley felt a moments fear as she walked down the steps. When she reached the bottom, she saw some shelves against on of the walls. She also noticed an odd looking device and she walked over to investigate it. It had poles that seemed to hang down from a circular wheel set into the ceiling. At the end of each pole, a chain with a metal collar was attached. This was evidently where the sheriff kept his prisoners. It didn't seem too smart for her to keep them in his place of business. She was reaching out a hand to touch one of the poles when a voice close to her startled her.

"Curiosity killed the cat," said Eric.

Kiley whirled around quickly to find that he had somehow crept up on her. Sheriff Northman stood a few feet away from her and watched her with a slight smile. But, it wasn't a friendly smile. Was he threatening her? Kiley stood poised to flee, but he seemed to be satisfied with just scaring her.

"It's not like it's hidden or anything," said Kiley.

"You have a very curious nature," said Eric.

Kiley moved and stepped around him and headed for the shelves. Yet, he was suddenly in front of her again. Kiley stopped and backed up from him. And he began to slowly advance on her.

"I could indulge your curiosity, would you like that?" he asked.

"No, I...I have to get back upstairs," said Kiley, still backing away from him.

He moved again and was behind her and she backed up into him. Kiley gasped in surprise and moved away from him again. She was now by the stairs and she turned and ran up them as quickly as she could. Eric watched her fly up the stairs with a smirk.

When he didn't follow her, Kiley breathed a sigh of relief and decided maybe it wasn't such a good idea to be alone in this place. She could snoop later in the daytime. Kiley concentrated on working, but she noticed to her dismay that the Sheriff's eyes would pass over her much more than she liked. After closing, she did the cleanup in record time. When she came of the employee locker room, she paused to see who was still in the bar.

"Looking for me?" came that annoying voice again.

Kiley turned to face him and backed away from him. He was toying with her. What had she done to make him so curious about her?

"I'm leaving," said Kiley.

She whirled and walked away. But, he appeared in front of her again.

"I didn't dismiss you, yet," said Eric.

"I'm done with my work," said Kiley.

"But, I'm not done with you," said Eric.

He stepped to her and lifted her chin. As she looked into his blue eyes, he began to glamour her. Shit, what is his problem? She stared back and tried to look dazed.

"Is Kiley Jordan your real name?" he asked.

"Yes," said Kiley. It wasn't, of course.

"And is Kiley Jordan just a waitress?" asked Eric.

"Yes," said Kiley. Another lie, but who was counting?

"Where did you come from before coming here?" asked Eric.

"Arkansas," said Kiley. Well, at least that was the truth.

Now, that was interesting, thought Eric. The king of Arkansas was no friend to his queen.

"Where did you last work in Arkansas?" asked Eric.

"Fayetteville," said Kiley.

"At what place in Fayetteville?" asked Eric.

Why was he so curious about her? Curious enough to glamour her and ask for specific details that she was sure he would check out. Was he totally paranoid or had she given him reason to be suspicious of her?

"George's Majestic Lounge," said Kiley.

"Do you know how to dance?" he asked.

Now, this was a problem. If she said no and he ever found out that she could, he would know that she was resistant to glamouring. It was always best to tell as few lies as possible.

"Yes," said Kiley.

"Why didn't you audition as a dancer?" he asked.

"Because I don't like to dance. It makes me feel cheap," said Kiley. That was the truth. She certainly didn't want to parade around in a state of undress for the Sheriff.

"Do you like vampires?" asked Eric.

"I don't know," said Kiley. "This is my first job around vampires." But, if you really want to know the truth, I dislike all of your kind.

"Why would you take a job here, then?" asked Eric.

Let's see, because another vampire is forcing me to work here and spy on you. Is that a good enough reason for you, Sheriff Northman?

"You were hiring and I needed a job," said Kiley.

Eric stared at her and even though she had given no sign that she was not under his influence, he still had some doubts.

"Have you ever been bitten?" asked Eric.

"No," said Kiley. And please, don't look at that as an invitation.

Eric turned his eyes from her and stopped his influence. When she blinked a few times, he looked again at her.

"I will see you tomorrow, Kiley" he said, dismissing her.

Kiley flew past him and Eric watched her retreating figure. The new, pretty waitress who didn't like vampires had peaked his curiosity. Whether she realized it or not, she had sent him an invitation. A tempting one that he could not ignore. He had been getting a little bored around here anyway, he thought. And she looked like she would be so much fun to play with.