Dimitri was still in a grumble the next morning.

I couldn't say that it didn't matter to me, or that I couldn't care less, because that wasn't true, but it was close enough. I now had a name to go off. Some sort of lead. But of course, my mind wandered off.

I had no clue who would have given me a clue. I was just praying that they wanted me too win. Amelia Carter. Just thinking of the name sent excited shivers down my back.

If I was successful…this would be a victorious moment in history. And the queen had trusted me enough to send the first note. She had truly believed I could find the long lost son/daughter of Eric Dragomir.

The strip bar managers weren't too happy to see us again after demanding to see their files. But we weren't there for that again. We were only visiting the strip clubs without the records. Amelia Carter. I said her name as much as possible, and once Dimitri and Denis caught the drift, they copied.

Our final one, number eighteen, the only other bar without files recorded in Las Vegas. If they couldn't give us any clue as to who Amelia Cater was, I was stumped. But I had only one more trick up my sleeve, something that I should have probably done first, but I would have to do it alone.

This opportunity came first.

We walked through the door, the guys, once again, scanning the room for threats. They were beginning to become more comfortable in places like this, even when they were being offered their…services.

This place was disgusting. You couldn't tell who was a whore and who was a normal person. Maybe they were all whores…apart from me.

We walked up to the bar, ready to perform the act that we had done heaps of times.

I rested my elbows up on the bar as the guys dispersed out around the bar. I called the bartender over and asked for a whiskey.

"My, my," I acted astonished. "This place is amazing. Tell me, sir, who's the manager here?"

He handed me the whiskey. "Manager? Girl you must be off your nut. This place hasn't had a manager in years! Can't you tell? Joe likes to do all the work himself. Keeps him busy enough, though I wish he could control it. He doesn't like to leave his office."

I circled the top of the glass with my finger. "Joe? He's the owner?"

The bartender grabbed a bottle and dried its inside with a towel. "Yes ma'am. Kind of a nut case if you ask me."

I nodded. "He sounds interesting," I noted. "Can I meet him? Where's his office?"

The bartender pointed to the back corner of the room, through the bar fights and people making out. I gagged at their little self respect, but I kept it too myself.

"Through the hall, turn left at your first chance and its ten doors down. But he won't wanna see ya. He likes it quiet in there so he can play his poker and his solitaire."

I dropped off a tip for the bartender, and with a quick thanks, I slid through the people and towards the back office. No doubt Denis and Dimitri would follow me into the hall.

I opened the door to be greeted by a large, dirty hall. It was the type you would see in the movies. Really wide, deserted, with large piles of dust in the corners and around the edges. The whole place looked like it was meant to be sterile, but wasn't looked after very well.

"Well we know who takes care of this place," Denis said sarcastically as he, followed by Dimitri, walked into the hall. Denis was being a pansy, not touching anything with the slightest particle of dust on it.

"It's perfectly safe in here," I assured. I meant from the dust. I took one more look at it and my nose scrunched up involuntary. "For a rodent."

"Did you get it? The manager's room?" Denis asked.

I shook my head. "No manager. The owner. Take the first left, ten doors down."

"Great. Let's get this girl and get out."

"She may not be here," I warned.

"How did you even get her name? Yesterday you had no clue…" Denis asked.

I looked to Dimitri. Denis was exactly like Adrian trained with a stake, or so he put it. But Adrian, I had to argue, really wasn't that oblivious. Denis knew I went out last night, he had helped Dimitri catch me, but he still had no clue where I got the name from. Dimitri was smarter than that.

Denis was still waiting for me to reply.

"It came to me in a dream I had last night," I lied smoothly. "Someone must have sent it too me."

I was absolutely sure Dimitri saw past my lies, like he always did.

"They can do that?" Denis asked me as we walked.

I nodded. "Some can."

We turned off at the first left. The corridor wasn't as long as I had thought it was, being that there were at least fifteen doors along both sides of the corridor.

"Ten doors on which side?" Denis asked me.

I shook my head. "This side has seven doors, this side has eight. It couldn't be a side. It has to be zigzagged."

Dimitri counted the doors in his head before walking up to one and reading the name of it.

"Joe Callum. This is it."

"The bartender said he was a little…whack. Be prepared for that." I told them both as Denis and I walked to the door. Dimitri put three, hard knocks on the door before waiting.

"Who is it?" a voice shouting from within the door.

We looked at each other. I had the first idea.

"Visitors!" I shouted back.

There was a sigh. "Come in, then."

We each had a hand on our stakes as I opened the door.

I nearly fell over backwards to who I saw.

"Well hello, Anastasia. Thought you'd run off and do your own thing again, huh?"

"Oh shoot me now."

Abe.

"Where's Joe?" I asked him. He had seated me in one of the uncomfortable chairs Joe kept in his office.

"The question is, why do you care? He does run a strip joint after all." Abe smirked. "Or more so, why you have visited every strip bar in spitting distance of this place. Or why you felt the need to come to Las Vegas. Or worry Olena and Oksana like that by running away!"

"I have something I need to do," I told him.

"Oh really? May I remind you that people from all over the world have moved into Russia too look for you? To take you back to the Court? Are you not aware of how many people want to kill you right now?" I could tell he really wanted to shout, but he really wasn't that type of man. He turned his attention on Dimitri and Denis. "And you two! What were you thinking? Just letting her go off on like that-"

"This isn't their faults!" I shouted at him. "We've done nothing wrong!"

He pointed at Dimitri. "He came he when he was strictly forbidden not to for your safety just to see how you were doing? It's his fault!" he took a deep breath in before continuing. "Lucky that I found you before anyone else did. We'll move you to a safe location and-"

"No. You won't. Abe, I told you I'm here to do something."

"Others can do it-"

"No, they can't. You can't force your protection on me. I'm safe. I'm not a stupid little girl anymore." I argued.

"Well your acting like one!"

"Cause your treating me like one!"

"What's with all the yelling?"

We all turned to see an old man standing in the doorway. Dimitri, Denis and my reaction was mixed with confusion and shock. Abe, on the other hand, smiled.

"Ah, Joe. What a pleasant surprise."

Great. Of course he'd know who he was. That was my plan down the tubes without him knowing everything.

"Ah Abe! This is great! Who are…these people?"

Joe sounded like he looked at us in disgust, but I didn't take my eyes off of Abe to see it.

Abe smiled. "This is my daughter and her two…friends."

I frowned at Abe. "I like you a whole lot better three minutes ago." I noted.

He smiled in amusement.

"Ah! You're daughter! I have been waiting years…"

"You two know each other?" Denis asked.

Joe came to stand next to Abe to get a look at me.

"Why of course we do. We went to school together, you know." Joe grinned. "What can I do for you?"

I backed up so I was standing in between Denis and Dimitri. There was no way they would just let us walk out, not with Abe standing there. He would ship me off to some other country, and probably send Dimitri back to the Court like nothing ever happened.

I hated to admit it, but I needed him now. I needed him morally.

"Nothing now," I told him. I glared at Abe. "We'll be going. Sorry for wasting your time."

Abe nodded his head. "Yes, she will be coming with me."

I shook mine. "No. I'll be going back to what I am doing now. You can't force me."

He smiled. "I'm not the bad guy, Rose. I'm trying to make sure you don't get killed."

"If you weren't the bad guy you'd let me do this. This is a matter of life and death."

He faltered. I took that as my signal.

I grabbed both of the boy's hands and started to back away. I let go of Denis' when they caught the drift.

"Rose, please. I'm trying to help you." Abe pleaded with authority. "I would never forgive myself if they caught you."

I shook my head. "I'm trying to save the world. You wouldn't be the blame."

We ran.

We took 'shortcuts' when we went through the hall. No one was chasing us, but we still had to run.

Abe's words scared me a little, and made me think we had a third party on my tail.

"Don't run after them. We'll catch them."

Hello once again!

I'm getting a lot of reviews asking for this story never to end (Aww…thanks!) but unfortunately it will have to eventually. It may not be for a while, but eventually it will.

I would like to put a post down. Should this continue for a long while or stop it at maybe double of what it is? Keep in mind that it would involve a lot of fluff if it keeps going and may either 1) turn into nowhere and go all weird or 2) the plot will finish and a new one will begin.

Tell me!

Xoxoxo

Lauren