A/N: *gasp* Is this another update in less than a week? Yes, yes it is. As always, thanks to KCP for beta-ing and, thanks to the wonderful ladies (and gents) at the Wiki for your constant support and love. I also have to shout out to the ladies of (currently) Northman's Steam Room here at the Sookieverse. You guys are an endless source of laughter, support and fun.

Just a little reminder that CH owns these characters and I'm just playing in her sandbox.

Chapter 13

I could not believe she did it. She cut me off. She fucking cut me off. She felt me helping her, and she cut me off. I knew why she did it, and that angered me even more. All of it angered me and I swore that Craig Sutherfield, and whoever employed him, were going to suffer greatly before they died.

When I was first awakened, I was incredibly confused because, what woke me [...] EDITED SEE CHAPTER ONE NOTE Then, I awoke enough to realize that this was coming through the bond.

A week ago I would have been infuriated to feel it. This could only be a result of one thing. A week ago I would believe that she was willingly engaged with someone else and my anger would be legendary.

But that was a week ago.

Since that night in New Orleans, everything was different. She could not say the words and, maybe she did not even recognize it yet for what it was or, was just too scared to admit it, but I knew that she loved me. I saw it in her eyes when I made love to her. I heard it in her voice as she whispered my name. She would just take time.

She would not willingly do this.

And then it crashed into me. Her shame and humiliation were so deep, so consuming, that it brought me to my knees.

I cried out her name. I cried out to no one. I cried out alone, in a light proof room in a foreign hotel, over two thousand miles away from her.

I pushed out to her with all of my love, with everything I had in the bond I tried to calm her, to buffer what she was feeling.

Horror. Terror. Shame. Guilt. Panic.

For a few brief minutes it worked and I felt her calm. I reached her and, although I knew it was tenuous at best, what I could offer, I was nearly giddy with relief.

Then one on top of the other I felt embarrassment, shame, fear and, finally resignation and, then, I could hardly feel her anymore. I knew the feeling. She had blocked the bond. She was shielding me! Protecting me!

I was stunned. I never knew a human capable of such a thing. Vampires sometimes would do so, if they cared enough for their bonded human, to avoid having them feel anything they did not want to share or, in unique cases, to protect their human from whatever pain or discomfort the vampire is feeling.

So, now it was my turn to feel shame and embarrassment. I was supposed to protect her. It was my fault this was happening to her, yet here she was protecting me. All I could feel was a faint buzz, barely enough to locate her by but, thank god, enough.

I felt my rage grow as I imagined what he was doing to her. I did not understand all of it. I did not understand exactly how he was forcing the physical reaction I had felt, but I knew that it was against her will. I knew that he was terrorizing and humiliating her and, that was enough for me.

By the time the sun set, and I was able to open my bedroom door and enter the living room of the suite where the non-vampires of our group were gathered, there was not much left of the furniture. I saw Amelia's eyes go wide as she took in the destruction behind me, then her face blanched as she perceived its meaning.

"What did you find out?" I asked looking at Sam as, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the rest of the vampires enter. He was not the oldest of the two natured with us, but they did not seem to create the same hierarchy we vampires did. In this case, it seems his "closeness" to Sookie put him in that position.

"Not much," he said grimly. The owner of the boat was paid in cash and, based on the description he gave me, Amelia said it sounds like Sutherfield." He said the name with a snarl on his lips.

"I spoke with a deckhand from a nearby boat," Alcide interjected. "They arrived in a private car, with three guards. I'm assuming that's who we found on deck. The guy happened to pay attention because he noticed that someone was being carried in, as if they were asleep, but that's all I got out of him. I was lucky to find someone who spoke English and was even willing to talk. People around here don't like to get involved."

"I went to the airport." Amelia added. "It took a bit of doing, and a lot of Daddy's money, but I got my hands on some of the security footage from last night."

Amelia pressed a button on the machine near the television and there it was. A grainy image of a black car pulling up on the tarmac near a private plane. A moment later, the door opened and Craig Sutherfield got out, dragging Sookie behind him.

There was a collective gasp from the non-vampires in the room, although I did hear a hiss come from Bill, at the sight of her. She looked . . . well, she looked like someone who had been tortured. It was everything I could do not to tear the television from the wall and throw it out the window.

For a brief, shining moment I watched as my bonded tried to resist, tried to fight being dragged aboard another plane. Then I watched in fascination, and horror, as Sutherfield turned his glare on her. I did not see any words spoken, but I watched Sookie's eyes grow wide with fear. She nodded her head and walked herself onto the plane.

What the fuck did he do to her?

We all watched silently as the plane began to taxi. Amelia shut it off.

"I got the plate number for the car, but we can't make out the plane's number. We can probably track down the car company and, maybe, who hired it. Obviously, it was planned ahead, so perhaps there is some trail we can track. I already called De Castro's people and left a message. They've got more resources to do that kind of checking than we do here."

I had to hand it to the witch. She had gotten further than any of us that day. "Thank you Amelia." I said to her, and I meant every word.

The were-Panther, Calvin, had been quiet since our conversation the day before, but now he voiced a question. "We know the fairies couldn't get to Sookie when she was on the boat, but it didn't look to me like she was wrapped up in iron on that video. How d'you suppose they're blocking them there, and on the plane?"

Amelia tapped her fingers to her lips thinking, but Pam spoke up. "I have a theory." Amelia turned surprised eyes on her former lover. Pam shrugged and continued, "what if they're injecting her with additional iron? Human blood already contains some and, more could be added without too much risk. It would make transporting her easier than keeping her in some sort of iron-lined box."

No one said anything, but everyone nodded. It seemed the most plausible explanation for now.

Everyone looked at me now.

"Belo Horizante, Brazil."

It was not until we were on the plane that someone asked why Brazil and, why to the capital of the relatively unknown state of Minas Gerais, as opposed to a large city like Rio or Sao Paolo.

Bill, unsurprisingly, knew the answer. "They have some of the richest deposits of iron ore in the world. There are several mines in the state of Minas Gerais. I would not doubt they are in one, near one, or in one of the storage sites for one."

"This is unbelievably well planned." Alcide spoke up. "This was no last minute decision. Whoever is behind this has been planning it for some time."

Amelia clicked her tongue as if to tell Alcide he was being obvious.

He gave her a sour look and continued. "What I mean is, there is going to be a trail somewhere leading back to them. We just need to get a lucky break. Maybe the security footage and car was it. I'm just saying, once we do get a trail, I think we're going to be able to figure it out rather quickly."

The Were was right. This had months of planning behind it. Just the eavesdropping alone had gone on for some time. I also had no doubt now that it was personal. This was being done to my bonded. This was not a political ploy. No demands were being made. This was personal. Only who? The reality was that after somewhere in the vicinity of a thousand years, I had made many, many enemies. So for the rest of the flight, I made a list. Unfortunately, it was a very, very long one.

A/N: yes, I really did look up where the iron mines are and, Minas Gerais (I can't help but think of LOTR) is where most of Brazil's iron mines are. I'm a sucker for thorough research. Oh yeah, and Pam is a an X-Men fan, in case you caught the nod.