Disclaimer: Charlaine Harris owns all.
Rated M for several reasons.
Chpt 19 No Ball
EPOV
Quinn. Who would ever have thought I would be grateful to a tiger?
Sense of self-preservation returning I fight the instinct to push her away and instead take one last tour of her soft, warm mouth with my tongue.
She sways as I release my grip on her hair and I force myself to wrap an arm round her waist and pull her securely into my side, turning us to face him. Acutely aware of the warmth of her body and its light trembling. More than a thousand years of kissing experience can do that to a woman and if I did not loathe her so much I would be smirking with pride.
"Quinn. How may I help you?" I nod slightly in greeting.
"I am sorry to interrupt you Sheriff." He begins, clearly not. "But I must inform you that I have met with your Queen in order to request the telepath's services in regard to security at the hotel."
It is annoying but not entirely unexpected. The non-human stiffens beside me. She is probably annoyed about being treated like she does not exist, I can sympathise.
I raise an eyebrow and he continues.
"She assured me that Ms Stackhouse would be able to assist me and that you would be more than happy for her to do so."
"Now?" I ask, rapidly re-planning the night and the division of my resources. Mentally cursing Sophie-Anne for her stupidity.
"If I may borrow her for an hour or so to tour the hotel?"
I snort. "You certainly may not."
I can smell and hear Andre approaching. This is not good. I am about to be forced into a corner. I do not like being forced. I do not like corners. And I do not like being responsible, on pain of death, for this woman's safety.
"Sheriff Northman." Quinn begins. "I understand your desire to protect your asset . . . ."
"Northman." Andre interrupts, swaggering up to us. "You are not giving the tiger trouble with his perfectly reasonable request are you?"
The cause of all the trouble edges closer to me and well she might.
"Of course not Andre. I am merely reflecting, as the tiger suggested, on the requirements for my asset's safety. I am aware that she can be useful in this situation and I would not wish to withhold her services. And so I am sure you will understand why I will accompany her."
"Really Eric?" Andre drawls. "As a responsible agent of the Queen am I more than happy to fulfil that role, surely that will be sufficient?"
He is going to meet his true death. Not here and not now. But poor Sophie-Anne will shortly be mourning the loss of her favourite child. In the meantime there is nothing overt I can do.
The non-human is not a fool, she knows it too, and she is trembling again. Which just increases my annoyance. While neither the tiger nor Andre can do anything obvious to 'my human' there are many shades of grey in this scenario that could bring about my true death.
I hope she is paying attention as I attempt to press myself into her inconveniently protected head.
"Ms Stackhouse has very limited experience with this kind of thing." I begin, hoping she will pick up on my cue. "I am sure she will feel comfortable and be better able to focus if she has someone familiar with her."
"Yes." She confirms softly.
"Very well Northman." Andre concedes with a satisfied smile. "But it will not be you, the Queen has requested your presence while she talks with Arkansas."
The non-human relaxes slightly and I stifle a laugh, if not the accompanying smirk. She will be more comfortable with anyone but me. I summon Pam, she and Herveaux joining us in a matter of seconds.
"Sookie will be assisting Quinn with his security requirements this evening." I inform them. "Herveaux you will accompany her."
He nods seriously and I turn the non-human to face me, fastening my hands around her upper arms and redoubling my efforts to get her mental attention as she looks into my eyes.
"There." I murmur in what I hope is the sort of comforting voice a human would appreciate. "I can feel how much more relaxed you are already."
She blinks and to my relief the bond cracks open a little so I can feel her. It is enough. I will be able to feel any unreasonable escalation in her current level of fear and though Herveaux is no match for Andre or the tiger he will be able to occupy them long enough for me to react. It is the best I can do at such short notice.
"Eric." Pam hisses as we watch them exit the lobby heading for the hotel offices. "Are we in danger?"
Taking her arm I guide her back into the Ballroom, once again conscious of the noose tightening around my neck.
"We are vampire Pam, when are we not?"
SPOV
Call me pathetic but there's something about someone like Eric being concerned that makes someone like me downright terrified. If Alcide wasn't walking beside me I don't think I'd have been able to leave Eric. Odd isn't it how I trust him despite what happened last night?
Quinn, who was silent all through Eric's exchange with Andre is talking now, explaining the hotel layout and security measures to me and outlining how he thinks I will be able to help him. I'm amazed that I'm actually taking in most of what he's saying. His plan makes sense, he wants to expose me to any of the hotel staff and additional security staff who are working tonight and won't be available for me to read tomorrow. He doesn't want to hold them over or call them back in because that will expose the fact that we suspect something.
He's still talking as we reach his office and he shows me into a chair. Alcide stands beside me and Andre, who thankfully seems bored of the whole enterprise, lounges against the wall playing with his smart phone.
"So, do you think you can help me?" He asks finally.
I've warmed to him a little on the way down here. He takes his responsibility seriously and by extension the fact that I may be able to help him too. For some reason I don't understand, he's very hard to read, I seem to have somehow risen above the status of bimbo overnight.
"I can try." I answer. "I usually find it much easier with physical contact, especially with weres, but I can hardly go round the hotel feeling everyone up."
"Quite." Quinn chuckles. "As much as I am sure many of the men would enjoy it."
I blush and Alcide stiffens, thinking to himself that Quinn's too smooth for his own good.
"What about if you hear something you want to follow up on in more detail?" Quinn asks, still smiling. "Perhaps we should have a signal?"
"If I let you know if I find anyone could you trump up and excuse to get them in here so I can read them properly?"
"No problem."
"And then perhaps we could get a vampire to glamour the memory away so no one knows what we're up to?"
"I like your thinking Ms Stackhouse." Quinn nods. "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
We're a strange procession as we make our way down into the bowels of the hotel. An overdressed waitress, two giant weres in tuxedos and a diminutive but thoroughly creepy vampire. Now done with his cell Andre hasn't stopped staring at me I'm some big ole juicy steak.
Most of the staff are so busy they barely notice us passing, their thoughts innocent enough and focussed on their work. I walk slowly to give myself as much time as possible to rifle through their heads, it must be an excruciatingly slow pace for Alcide and Quinn but they don't complain.
Done with the laundry and housekeeping we are now making our way through the kitchens, it's nothing like Merlotte's this is catering on a scale I can barely get my head round. Some of the staff here aren't native English speakers but though I can't understand their conscious thoughts I can still see their mental pictures. Like the other's they're focussed mainly on whatever is in front of them, small wonder, its organised chaos in here and I'm not sorry when we emerge back in the lobby to visit the hotel dining room.
The staff here have more time to think and instantly something catches my interest.
"Quinn." I stop. "Do you mind if we sit at one of the tables for a few minutes?"
"Of course not."
He summons a waitress who ushers us quickly to a table in a quiet corner. I select a chair that gives me a good view of the room and nod when Alcide asks me if I'd like a drink.
I'm not sure this is pertinent to what we're looking for but we have to start somewhere
Sipping my drink I scan the minds in the room looking for the woman who thought 'oh shit, telepath' the moment she saw me.
There she is, looks like she's in the kitchen at the moment waiting for her order to deliver.
. . . . be careful what you think about, be careful, shit . . . .
"Tammy." A loud voice orders, startling her. "Pay attention."
"Sorry Alec."
. . . . shit, don't screw this up . . . .
She's on her way back, loaded with plates and concentrating on not letting them slide off her arms in a way I'm totally familiar with.
. . . . fuck, she's still here . . . . double fuck she's looking right at me . . . . oh shit, she's smiling, she can't know anything, I haven't thought about it, I won't think about it . . . .
Of course she does, they always do, and when she realises the plates slide off her arm and clatter to the thickly carpeted floor. Quinn doesn't need me to tell him we need to talk to her, he's up and after her the instant she decides to make a dash for it.
"Does this happen to you often?" Alcide drawls.
"On and off." I murmur, remembering some of the mortifying experiences of my youth. The running and screaming thing is a whole lot worse when it's your own mother.
Wanting a distraction I let my attention wander to Eric. I can feel him inside me, the way I always can if I look, but now I can also sense his emotions. I really don't know how to describe it except that it's not as frighteningly alien as I thought it would be, maybe that just because I've got used to always having him inside me anyway. And I can't really decipher what he's feeling, perhaps vampires don't feel things the way we do, I try a bit harder. Boredom and annoyance maybe?
And then I get curiosity, clear as daylight.
Oh, he must be able to feel me feeling him. God this stuff is complicated, we should have practised like he said.
Amusement. Then curiosity. Sharper this time.
Is he wanting to know if everything's okay? How do I 'answer' that?
I concentrate on the idea of feeling okay and then after a moment I get amusement from him again. Huh, emotional Eric is more like old Eric . . . .
"The girl is in my office." Quinn interrupts my experiment, towering over the table. "Shall we go?"
"I hope this isn't a wild goose chase." I explain as we hurry back across the lobby. "I sensed someone earlier today who was looking for me, he had a surveillance photo or something and I saw the same photo in her mind. And she knew I was a telepath."
"All information is useful Ms Stackhouse." He assures me, ushering me back into his office.
The waitress is white with terror, her mind a screaming mass of uncoordinated thoughts.
The two security guards with her wait for us to file in and then leave.
Andre crouches down in front of her chair at inhuman speed, invading her personal space the way he did mine last night, she screams and her thoughts become even more scrambled. Especially when his needle like fangs run out and he hisses in excitement. Note to self never to show fear around him, he seems to like it.
"I can't read her if you frighten her insensible." I snap at him without thinking.
In the blink of an eye he's in my face instead and I take an involuntary step backwards.
Extremely sharp curiosity surges through me. Eric.
"Andre." Quinn says quietly. "Remember what we are trying to achieve here. Frightening Ms Stackhouse will only result in Sheriff Northman withdrawing her services."
I'm still being bombarded with demanding curiosity but I can't make myself calm down with Andre's fangs a mere inch from my face, his saliva is actually dripping down them. Ick. In the end Alcide breaks the stalemate by grabbing my arms and pushing me abruptly behind him.
Andre hisses again but sheaths his fangs, sauntering away to sit behind Quinn's desk, his shiny shoes resting insolently on the top of Quinn's computer keyboard.
Jesus Christ Shepherd of Judea. I need clean underwear.
I take a deep breath and circle around Alcide, who is watching me warily. Quinn is also watching me with concern. Andre, thankfully, is ignoring me again.
Poor Tammy is practically hyperventilating so I get us both a cup of water from the machine in the corner and then lower myself in the chair next to hers.
"Are you alright?" I ask her gently as I hand her a cup.
"Y-yes."
. . . . scared, so scared . . . . sorry mom . . . . should never have got involved in this . . . . vampire's gonna drain me, the preacher was right . . . .
"Tammy, how did you know who I was?"
A man's face appears in her mind. About thirty? Fairly non-descript. Definitely not someone I know. He's wearing a grey baseball cap. Grey eyes, five o'clock shadow.
"Did he show you a photograph of me?"
The grainy photo I saw earlier appears in her mind. It's being held by a man's hand, slightly hairy with what looks like a mop and bucket underneath it, out of focus like it would be if you were concentrating on the photo.
She's still afraid to tell me anything. Funny how she's forgotten already that I can read her mind, because she's not answering my questions she thinks she's doing real well.
Now she's thinking about her mom. Regretting getting involved in this.
"Did he tell you I was a telepath?" I ask, gently drawing her back to what I want to know.
. . . . I thought he was yanking my chain, mind readers don't exist in the real world . . . . it was only when . . . . shit . . . .
She gasps, pulling back from me but it's too late.
. . . . shit, I've done it again . . . .
"Tammy. The more you try to hide your thoughts from me the easier it is for me to read them. It would be better if you just tell me the truth."
"I can't." She sobs.
"Perhaps some persuasion is in order?" Andre enquires, smiling nastily and showing his fangs again.
Tammy's mind flips out again.
"Young lady." Quinn says softly. "The safety of this hotel and everyone here has been threatened. We simply cannot afford not to know what you are hiding from us. One way or another you will tell us. I have a sister about your age. I would much rather you chose the easy way."
Alcide nods seriously.
It's Alcide's nod that finally brings home to me just how different the world is than I imagined. I thought I'd seen a lot of bad things but Alcide, a man I like and respect, is prepared to see this innocent girl harmed in order to protect the people gathered in the hotel. Though he knows as well as I do that what she knows might only be a threat to me.
I feel sick.