Chapter 37: 2 Bad 4 U

When Olivia woke up the next day the bed felt lonely.

She paused for a moment, unsure if this whole weekend had been the wildest fever dream, or if it had actually happened. They reopened Fangtasia and it was immediately raided and their reputation destroyed; she was arrested along with three-quarters of everyone she knew in this Godforsaken town, her money laundering plans went to shit, she had a romantic lakeside - dare we say - date with a vampire, followed by a midnight call to blackmail the state's future Governor by dangling his daughter 300 ft from her imminent death and-

She jolted in between the sheets, detangling herself from the bed and checked under the covers.

Olivia Carson indeed had sex with Eric Northman. Her naked body felt lighter and softer, her lady bits were still tangling from it. She could still smell his scent in the sheets, feel the chafe of his beard scruff all over her skin, taste his mouth on hers. The bed felt too large and vastly empty, a strange feeling for someone who was so used to sleeping alone. It was, she deemed, really unfortunate.

Unfortunate because it was so unbelievably fucking amazing. Cosmopolitan magazine was right - vampires really are better in bed. They hadn't even done anything freaky per se, but their connection, the heat, the passion, the haven Liv found in his body was unlike anything she had ever experienced. In a way, it was like it was Eric who could read her mind, her body, and gave it exactly what it craved. And she had had plenty of one-night stands in college, and even the sex from her real relationships paled in comparison to last night.

She wrapped her naked body in the sheets, still reminiscing his lovely smell, relishing in his aftertaste. She walked silently through her house like a ghost, remembering every moment, still stunned that it had all actually happened - and the world didn't end. Her dress was still on the living room floor, books and a lamp had been knocked off the entryway sideboard. Eric's things were gone - his clothes were nowhere to be found, but his Escalade was still parked out front like the great wall of China, blocking almost her entire view of the street. He must have flown home after she fell asleep, it was probably quicker than driving. It was raining today, and the heat had finally seemed to give them a break.

Starving, she headed to the kitchen still holding onto her bedsheets like a cape. Her soul exited her body the second she turned the blind hallway corner.

"HOLY FUCK-" she screamed, frantically trying to cover her front with the fabric.

None other than Bobby Burnham, Eric's day man, was sitting on her breakfast nook reading the paper. He half tried to stand up hitting the kitchen table with his thigh, half tried to save his McDonald's coffee from spilling everywhere all while trying not to make eye contact with naked Olivia.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?!" Olivia thundered.

"It's raining out!" He cried out from behind the papers.

"What does the weather have to do with you breaking into my house?!"

"I-I usually sit out on your patio and you said I could come in, so I figured- why are you naked?"

Because she had had toe-curling, mind-blowing and possibly life-changing sex last night. With their boss. Well - his boss, her client. She felt her face get hot, and her soul had yet to return to its physical body. Probably because being literally anywhere else was better than being here.

"It's my house and I can be fucking naked if I want to!"

Olivia stormed off into the bedroom and slammed the door. She got dressed out of spite and threw her hair up in a bun before returning to the kitchen just as angry as she had left. The litany of bullshit she had to deal with was never-ending.

"Now, why are you here?!"

Bobby finally put his paper down. "You know why: Mr. Northman wants eyes on you from sunup to sundown."

Still? "But why-?"

He shrugged. "I don't get paid to ask questions, lady."

"So you're telling me you've been stalking me every single day since the last time I caught you following me?"

"Yeah, it's been either me or Samuel. We usually watch from a car parked out front, but there's a huge SUV blocking the view today so I had to come in closer and it's raining out, and you said that I could come in that one time, so I figured the offer was still standing."

Eric's overzealous protection was starting to rub her the wrong way. It wasn't Bobby's fault for following orders, and she had indeed offered him to come inside months ago when they first met. She had just assumed Eric had also ordered for all men under his employ who dare to even look at her to keep a distance of at least 5 feet.

"I can sit in your garage with the door propped open if you want."

And have him gawk at her Corvette and ask her a million questions about it all day? She shook her head. "No, it's fine, I'll be working in my office today, it's-"

"Down the hall, second door to the right, I know."

Olivia huffed at the thought of having her bodyguard looming in her kitchen all day. It was only marginally worse than being stalked day and night from a distance. She could also not dismiss the theory that now Eric had made it into her bed, he ordered his men to watch her even closer. There was a probability that Bobby and Samuel were sent to spy on her, to ensure she wouldn't scheme against the vampire Sheriff during the daytime. An older ghost passed her by, Eric's menacing words came back to haunt her.

There is no behind my back.

Shaking the dark thoughts away, she returned to her office. He trusted her. He took her to his secret place, he trusted her with Burrell, he… Before Olivia got too lost in her own head, she opened the laptop. Work was no longer avoidable: she had five days left and she didn't have the time to worry about her Big Brother situation. Today was Monday and Fangtasia would be closed. Eric would be busy with Sherriff business tonight, and she had to come up with a way of saving the portfolio.

She couldn't say for sure, but she could guess strip clubs were not particularly booming on weekdays, with or without the fame of being a hot police target. And they didn't serve food either, nor had a kitchen, so it was pointless to be open during the day. There simply would not be enough volume of clean cash to wash the dirty ones until at least next weekend. Some money could be laundered through their small strip mall and the few small restaurants in the portfolio. Olivia studied the invoices she manipulated from the construction, calculated the money they made and cleaned on Opening night, and altogether she managed to clean 44 thousand dollars, and maybe she could squeeze another 10k by Friday. Meaning she was still 96 thousand short of the 150 the Queen had asked.

Searching for good news, she checked on their Silk Road store next. Sales were still going strong, their accounts had a total of 5.8 million dollars waiting to be cleaned and that number would only grow. Looking at the schedule, today was one of Lafayette's drop-off days and more money would enter the account once the goods were shipped. She took a deep breath. For any other Monarch, the promise of this much money would grant her a big fat end-of-year bonus and another car, maybe even a boat. But the Louisiana Queen was unpredictable, and the death threat on her didn't really have anything to do with money, but her connection to Eric.

The same connection that had only grown threefold since. For months people around her thought and even accused her of sleeping with Eric, trying to diminish and shame her for it. In fact, sleeping up the ladder had been quite a theme in her life in the past couple of years. There was simply no way someone like her was so accomplished, so confident, smart and assertive by her own merit. No, she needed a man to do it. She needed an advantage, a stepping stone to get here. Only fucking a powerful man could explain her getting this far. Only seducing and deceiving a man would open certain doors, give her answers; Only a man could save her.

Olivia had to take a moment to remind herself that sleeping with Eric did not make her achievements any less worthy. She had done all of this. She got the club up and running, she started silk road, she laundered in one night what used to take them two weeks, she secured them a fucking Casino deal for crying out loud! Do you have any idea how fucking huge that is? It's like a license to print fucking money! And she had done all of it before she slept with him which, by the way, it was certainly not done for personal gain. Unless you count multiple orgasms, that is.

The Casino promise was at least the silver lining of it all. With it, they could launder all this drug money and then some, but it would take time. Land would have to be secured, the Casino would have to be designed, approved and then built. They would have to hire staff, management, directors, work with hotels and restaurants and tourism agencies. It could take years before it is up and running, which of course is no problem for vampires - they play the long game, they have all the time in the world.

But Olivia Carson only had five days.

Stomach now growling, she popped back into her kitchen mid-morning. Bobby was still sitting in the corner where she left him, deep into the sports section of the paper. When she sat with her bowl of cereal, she glanced at the first page on the table, filled with election predictions that were set to happen the next day. She thought of last night again, their conversation on the roof. Eric had told Truman Burrell the American Vampire League wanted him to be Governor, so he would be. And he said it with so much conviction and clarity, not even Olivia knew if he was bluffing or not. Were vampires secretly manipulating elections? The government? Had they been this whole time? In the whole world?

The implications of it were far too much to think about before breakfast.

"Lucky charms? Really?" Bobby asked, judging her bowl of colored sugar.

"Yes, I have the diet of a five-year-old, I'm aware."

"Can't you at least make yourself some eggs?"

"I don't cook."

He raised his brows. "You're a grown-ass woman who can't cook? How do you expect to find a husband in the south?"

Ugh. Not this shit again. "Guess I won't. Bummer. Hey, what are they saying about the election tomorrow? Do you think Burrell is going to win?"

He shot her an odd look. "Aren't you a bit young to care about politics?"

"I thought I was a grown-ass woman?" She smiled, finishing her breakfast. Bobby, however, did not appreciate her wit as his face went sour.

Olivia pulled the A1 of the news stack, skimming the election page. They talked about the regular voting information stuff and right below a final piece on both candidates. She never actually even thought much about the guy Burell would be running against, but the man was just your regular old white guy in politics. In Truman's picture was a photo of himself with his wife and Willa, looking like a pristine American family - all smiles. The image of this girl printed on this paper, sitting on her kitchen table felt like Willa was quickly becoming gum stuck to her shoe. Hopefully, the scare of last night would make her go away for good.

"What is it to you? Didn't you just move here temporarily? Why do you care about an election at all?"

Because if Truman Burrell loses, she gets no casino, the DEA will still be on their asses and it's quite possible his adversary is anti-vampire. Then who knows what kind of laws will come into place. They would be fucked both short and long term.

"I don't expect you to understand, Bobby, but my life kind of depends on it."

He chuckled. "That's a bit dramatic, don't ya think?"

"Not in my world." Olivia got up and put her empty bowl in the sink. She wasn't used to having guests over at her house at all, and now she had two on the same day. But there was still something off about it, and she was decidedly not going to let go. "Am I the only one Eric's got under surveillance?"

Bobby was a bit apprehensive to answer, but she heard his mind before he even spoke. "As far as I know, yes."

This would be the natural part of when Olivia would go back to her office and work on the impossible. But this didn't sit right. Out of all the delicate moving parts of this great money-making machine, she was not the one who needed protection the most. Hell, she probably wouldn't even make the top three if she was the one doing the rankings. But she knew someone who very well should be guarded at all costs. Without him, this whole thing would fall like dominos.

"I'm going on an errand today," Olivia said, going back to the kitchen.

"You gotta call the city first and get that SUV towed. It's blocking your driveway."

She shook her head. "It can't wait, just drive me."

"Fine. Where are we going this time? Walgreens?"

"Post office."

He nodded, at peace with the answer and she went to her room to shower and get changed. What Olivia failed to mention is that the errand would include dropping off drugs with Lafayette at a random Postal Service in Arkansas.

As soon as they pulled into Lafayette's dirt driveway, the devil in question was having breakfast on his covered porch wearing a full silk robe and matching headscarf. His house may be quaint, but his tastes definitely weren't. He carefully watched Olivia get out of the car, and suspiciously protested the presence of her driver who stayed put, reading his paper from the end of the driveway.

"Who dat?"

She sat on the chair next to him. "Bodyguard."

"Ya got ya own Kevin Costner?"

She didn't know what about her, if anything, screamed Whitney Houston. It certainly wasn't the perfect cheekbones, skin color or voice. Then she thought of kissing Bobby on a tarmac and she immediately frowned and shook her head. "Not by choice."

Lafayette was still unsatisfied with her presence."So what yous doin' here, hooker?"

"Just keeping you company. Thought I would help you pack for today's drop if you're not done yet."

He batted his eyelash extensions at her. "Bitch I'm flattered by thou's holy presence n' shit, but yous is lyin'."

Nothing got by him, did it? "You are making your biggest drop yet today. I can't afford anything going wrong at this point."

Lafayette sucked his teeth disapprovingly. "Yous in trouble?"

"A little."

As the silence settled in, a light breeze ruffled the trees and bushes all around them. The rain had paused an hour ago, but the puddles were all long gone. The gift from the skies had drained into the barren sun-baked soil barely making it wet. The solace of his place was quite beautiful. The man studied her and Bobby, his mind analyzing the level of risk of the situation.

"A'right, let's go inside then. He helpin'?" He nodded to Bobby while getting his empty plate and coffee mug.

Olivia shook her head following him inside. "Escort only."

Lafayette disappeared into his bedroom to get changed and left her alone to peruse his living room. His house was just as messy as the last time she was here. Clothes, magazines and shoes were tossed everywhere, fake eyelashes, eyeshadow palettes and little white-capped orange bottles were littered all over the coffee table. He was either very ill or Lafayette was a pharmacy enthusiast.

On his kitchen table was what she came for: small dark glass vials, his laptop and a label printer. Lafayette walked in all dressed and opened the fridge revealing a full shelf of blood pints. That was the most vampire blood she had ever seen at once. That was a fridge full of money. Crimson red, liquid money.

"You want somethin' to drink? I've only got lemonade, I haven't done groceries yet."

Olivia twisted her nose. She hated lemons, and anything lemon flavored which apparently was a very strange thing not to like, so just politely declined. "No thanks, let's just get to it."

They put gloves on and started to work. Lafayette was packaging the orders with the specific type and amount of each order, and Olivia was in charge of printing the labels and packaging. He was good company, and easy to like and talk to, so the hour went by fast.

"So, I gotta ask," Lafayette's eyes only momentarily left the blood dropper. "You glowin' an awful lot for someone who's in a little trouble. Is it dick or skincare?"

Olivia went immediately red. "Lafayette!"

"Ah damn, it's not pussy, is it? Cause I wanna glow too, but there are limits, bitch."

She tried her hardest to suppress a big smile while sticking a mailing label (to Germany!) on a 6x6" box. "I just had a good night's sleep, that's all. I don't get a lot of those working for vampires-"

He didn't believe her for a second. "So it's dick. Bitch, I fuckin' knew it! Whose?"

"It's not-"

"It's Eric's dick." He gasped at his own suggestion, looking perplexed at her.

Olivia was not about to kiss and tell. Mostly because no good ever came from any relationship she's ever had, so it was easier not talking about it. Plus... "None of your business."

"Okay, no. First I gots to know, cause I dreamed about that vamp dick an unhealthy amount. How big?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she focused on filling the small box with packing peanuts and pressed her lips shut only letting a suppressed smile peek through. Maybe it was his southern charm, or his endearing and unapologetic queerness, but his energy always felt contagious. She wanted to be all giddy about it, and she didn't think he would judge her for it. Lafayette was also attracted to Eric. And terrified. Mostly terrified.

"Olivia motherfuckin' Carson, spill the goddamn beans!"

"Who even said it was Eric?!"

"It sure as fuck ain't Kevin Costner lookin' mofo sittin' on my driveway! Plus I'm not blind babydoll, I've seen the way the daddy vamper looks at you."

She scoffed, remembering where the three of them would have been in the same room for him to know. The club? No - her old apartment. Memories of Eric going in and out of the shadows, lurking, watching her with his brilliant jewel eyes. She got goosebumps.

"Yeah, like I'm freaking dinner."

"No, no… Trust me, that's not the kind of hunger he's got for you. I've seen that look in a man before. He wants more than your blood, he wants all of you darling."

He said it maybe as a joke, and the prospect was supposed to be warm and fuzzy, but she got a very cold chill in her body instead. No one had ever wanted all of her before. Olivia hid most parts of herself from the world in the name of self-preservation. It was her rule number one and embedded in so many rules after.

Her family ignored a big part of who she was, and often even refused to even acknowledge it. Her first love and fiancee, Mariana, left her because she couldn't stand letting her family down for being in a same-sex relationship - their relationship was unpalatable for the world she grew up in. Jamie seemed to want her the most, but only the parts of her that fit into his life's dreams, and that was her being his personal cheerleader. The thought that Eric of all people would possibly want and accept all of Olivia, was panic-inducing. What did it say of her, that out of all the people in this world, only a vampire could possibly love her?

"It's just moisturizer with vitamin C," she said in the worst delivered lie possible.

"Fine. Keep yo' secrets."

After a long time packing in silence, they were done. All 87 pending orders were filled, boxed, labelled and ready to go. It was the equivalent of 41 thousand 962 American dollars that she would have the pleasure to clean… Later. Hopefully.

Now all they needed to do now was to pack the car and hit the road. It would take them an hour to cross the border, and it would be best if they were back in Shreveport before dark. Lafayette and Liv came out of his house with two crates full of small boxes and envelopes and loaded them into the trunk of Lafayette's vintage Mercedes convertible. Vintage was perhaps being kind, the car was old and sitting a bit crooked on the driveway.

"Olivia!" Bobby protested. He was standing tired and annoyed next to his Camry, looking angrily at the suspicious packages. "What in the world are we doing out here? Thought we were going to the post office?"

"We are, right now," she assured him.

"We have tons of time before they close, dude." Lafayette was now working on concealing the products with bags of clothes for goodwill, according to the writing on the masking tape on one of them. All he could think of is the relief of making the drive with white people. Local cops knew who Lafayette was, but state patrol wouldn't.

"Before they close? It's two in the afternoon! What post office are we going to, Little Rock?" He asked sarcastically, but he wasn't that far off.

"No, Bradley." Lafayette shut the trunk.

Bobby's eyes went wide and his voice was many octaves higher. "Bradley, Arkansas?!"

Olivia tossed her bag in the backseat of Lafayette's convertible, which faced Bobby's car in the single file driveway. If they were going, he would either have to get with the program or get out of the way.

"We'll be back before dark," Olivia dismissed his panic.

"Olivia!" Bobby shouted. "Are you out of your fucking mind?! I'm not taking you across state lines, let alone Arkansas-"

Lafayette walked to the driver's seat, confused with the argument. Olivia still stood angrily by her open door.

"You are not taking me anywhere, Bobby, you are following me. From sunup to sundown to ensure my safety while I do my job."

"Don't bullshit me, you're a fucking bookkeeper! Now you're running some kind of pyramid scheme too? What's in the trunk?"

He called her a what-

"Do I need to make a phone call, Bobby?" Her voice was cold as ice now.

"He's day dead, he won't-"

"To Shelley," that seemed to shut his mouth. Bobby got caught side-blinded. "I wonder, which secret would disappoint your wife the most: the one that you aren't working private security for fancy lawyers but to a vampire; or the one where you aren't still working post-retirement to get your family a house in Florida but to recuperate the pension savings you gambled away in a poker three years ago?"

Bobby's brows furrowed and his eyes bored holes in her head, but she did not give in. He was now too afraid of asking how she knew all of this. He had never told anyone his deepest darkest secret. How did she know? Well, the two of them had spent a decent amount of time together, and she had collected his thoughts like seashells. Olivia didn't enjoy betraying people with their own secrets. But she didn't have to like it. Getting people to obey was necessary.

"The people who set fire in Fangtasia are in Arkansas, Olivia." Bobby quietly muttered, in a sad attempt to convince Olivia otherwise.

"They are taken care of."

"If they are, then why is Mr. Northman still ordering me to follow you?"

Olivia got into the convertible and shut the door loudly, staring at Bobby through the windshield with cold eyes. But make no mistake, her heart was pumping boiling blood. Lafayette watched the whole argument wide-eyed from the driver's seat beside her, completely shell shocked.

"You're not paid to ask questions. Now drive."

Without another word, Bobby got into his car and turned it on. Slowly he reversed up the dirt driveway, and once they were out he followed them 20 feet back the whole way to Arkansas. It was a bittersweet feeling knowing that if Eric were here to witness this, he would love this part of her too.

An:

Hello angels! Sorry I've been MIA! I actually have been writing like crazy just not this chapter, but a lot of bits and pieces of following chapters! There are a lot of things brewing... buckle up, this ride is going to get BUMPY

xoxo