Disclaimer: I do not own Blood Ties or any of its characters. They are Tanya Huff's creations.

Characters thoughts in italics

Thanks to my beta, Lena!

Chapter 8

Henry awoke for the night. Vicki and Coreen were conversing in the living room. The vampire slid on a red dress shirt and black dress pants before opening his bedroom doors.

He smoothed down his dress shirt collar as he entered the living room. "Any leads on who tried to kill me?"

"And hello to you, too." Vicki replied.

"Where are my manners? Good evening, ladies." He bowed slightly.

"It's nice to see you're back to your usual self," Vicki said.

The vampire's brows furrowed in puzzlement as he noticed a miniature grandfather clock on a small end table. "When was this delivered?"

"While we were nursing you back to health. Why?" The Goth answered.

"Sending someone a clock is sometimes used to symbolize a death threat. I don't think it's safe for either of you to be around me. I believe it would be best if you both left."

The private investigator crossed her arms. "I'm not leaving."

Her assistant mimicked her action and nodded. "Neither am I."

The vampire shook his head in disbelief. "This isn't the time to be stubborn."

He settled into a leather chair facing them. "You can continue researching my assailant's identity at Vicki's office. I would never forgive myself if either of you was injured by someone who was pursuing me. Please humor me," the vampire pleaded.

"I understand that you want to keep us safe but I can take care of myself." The private investigator pulled a gun from her leather jacket to emphasize her point. She turned to the Goth. "Coreen, I do think that you should go home."

Coreen closed her laptop and reluctantly rose from the leather sofa. "Normally, I would try arguing all the reasons why I should stay but I know that would be a losing battle. I'll call once the facial recognition search is complete. Night, Vicki."

"Night," Vicki replied as Coreen walked towards the door.

The door creaked as Henry opened it.

"Night, Henry."

"Night, Coreen." She slowly headed down the hallway.

"Hey, it's me."

"So what did you find out about Henry Fitzroy?"

"Not much," the computer hacker replied.

"He has an excellent driving record. Perfect credit. No previous address or employment. He's a graphic novelist. He's never been arrested. According to his medical records, he's in perfect health. I couldn't find anything about his educational background. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."

"I wired the usual amount. Thanks, Neo."

As soon as he pressed the end button, another call came.

"I haven't heard from you. Is our transaction finished?"

"I'm still working on getting a final confirmation."

"How hard could it be to complete this transaction?"

"Some transactions are more difficult to complete than others. I'll call you when I have completed it."

"See that you do."

Author's note-I am not too happy about this chapter. I hope it turned out okay.