"How many times does my maker have to get kidnapped?" Jessica wailed, being overly dramatic in Eric's opinion.

"About once a year, apparently," Alcide said from his spot by the fireplace.

Jessica glared at him through her blood tears, and Sookie had the decency to smack Alcide in the arm for the rude comment. He wasn't wrong, though. It had been a little over a year since King Russell Edgington had kidnapped Bill and let his werewolves feed on him.

Eric, Sookie, and Chloe were now back upstairs, Bill's plush living room overstuffed with people as Eric paced back and forth before the TV. When they'd returned from the basement surveillance room, Tara had been the only one playing games on the TV, not only the least invested in Bill and Lucifer's disappearance, but also because she gave zero fucks in general on a good day.

Maze and Pam had been squished into a single chair together, both of them worrying—Maze wanting to know immediately where Lucifer was and Pam wanting to know why Eric was freaking out so much about a missing King that no one cared about. Amenadiel and Alcide had been standing by the empty fireplace, having a serious discussion. And Jessica was now having hysterics about her missing vampire daddy. Eric wondered when he'd collected so many people—and when he could get abandon them all.

Malcolm was now standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame as he watched Eric pace.

With this many people to voice their opinions, Eric worried that they wouldn't get anywhere. And as far as he was concerned, he only had a finite amount of time. He wanted to figure out where Lucifer was and hightail it out of here to go save the man. And he only had so many hours before dawn. At least it wasn't the middle of the summer, when the days were long and vampire's were confined to their coffins for far too long each day. But still . . . the longer everyone sat in this room without coming up with a solution, the longer it took Eric to find the man.

"What happened to Lucifer's car?" Eric asked. "He came here in a black Corvette, didn't he?"

Malcolm nodded. "They took the car with them when they left."

"How did they leave?" Eric asked.

"In a van. King Bill willingly entered a travel coffin and they put both him and your friend in the back. They came with the light-tight van and three cars. A single operative left with the Corvette."

"And you have no idea where they went?" Eric asked.

This was met with a shake of Malcolm's head. "We know they headed toward Shreveport, but we don't have anyone there who would have seen anything."

Eric growled, not enjoying the fact that he was probably the only person in the room who knew enough about each kidnapped man to be the one to figure this shit out. Who the hell would want both Bill Compton and Lucifer Morningstar? Not dead, either. Whoever it was had wanted both of them alive. While Eric wasn't confident about either one's safety, he knew enough that their lives at least were safe—for the moment. Although whatever they'd done to Lucifer, the man was still clearly feeling the effects of it, and that bothered Eric greatly.

Eric turned on Chloe. "Do you know anyone who might have enough of a problem with Lucifer that they'd do something like this?"

Chloe exchanged glances with Amenadiel who shook his head. "No," she finally said. "There was someone who was threatening Lucifer, but we've dealt with that. Usually Lucifer's the one with the hot temper if he feels wronged, not the other way around."

"Most people don't want to cross Luci," Amenadiel agreed. "It doesn't tend to end well for them."

"Never cross the devil," Eric mused, knowing it to be true. He'd seen those beautiful eyes light up red with rage and he had no doubt Lucifer could bring down an entire army with just a flick of his pinky finger—when he wasn't vulnerable. Vulnerable because of Eric. He looked to Malcolm. "And Bill? Are there any issues you are currently aware of?"

"Aside from political unrest?" Malcolm asked. He shook his head. "No. And while I'm sure the Governor would love to take out the King, I'm confident that he'd do it publicly. He wouldn't secret the King away with no one the wiser. The entire state would know about it by now. Or else there'd be a public hanging, if you will. A grand show of political power," Malcolm frowned. "The Governor isn't smart enough to have men come in and literally convince King Bill to go with them."

Eric nodded, agreeing with him. And besides, the Governor of Louisiana wouldn't known Lucifer from Adam, so to speak—so there wouldn't be any reason for him to be kidnapped. He looked at Pam, the woman squished into the chair with the demon, looking at home even in her distress. He'd dragged her out here, thinking he'd need hers, or perhaps Maze's, help, but now that she was here she was probably just as useless as the rest of the people who kept following him around. He'd wasted both his energy and her own, as well. And yet . . .

"Jessica." Her name sounded like a gunshot in the silence, and the baby vamp sat up from her slump on the couch, her eyes wide as she looked at Eric, clearly hoping for guidance. He'd had an idea, while thinking of his summons to Pam. "Have you felt Bill's pull?" he asked.

Her hopeful look fell apart, and she shook her head, beginning to cry again. "No. It's nothing like last time. Last time Bill wouldn't stop summoning me until I moved. This time? Nothing. Radio silence." She buried her face in her hands. "Why would he just go with them?"

Eric growled, annoyed at her response. Useless. Everyone was being useless.

The only one that was maybe useful was Malcolm, and Eric knew he'd exhausted Bill's chief of staff's information already. Not that it mattered. Whoever the kidnappers had been, they'd been primarily after Lucifer. Bill had been a secondary target, but a target nonetheless. What on earth did the two men have in common? Until Eric had brought Lucifer a few week ago, the two men had never even met before.

"This is my fault," Eric suddenly said, realizing it to be truth. "Fuck."

"Bullshit," Pam said. "King Bill's safety is not your responsibility."

Eric was already shaking his head. "It's my fault they're both gone. I was told to leave Lucifer alone and I didn't fucking listen." Eric's hands curled into fists and he only stopped short of throwing one through Bill's wall. Only just.

This really was his fault. All of it. Lucifer had come to Bill to speak about Eric. Why else would he come here? But worse yet, Lucifer's kidnapping and Bill's willingness to go too—also because of him. The Queen of California was behind this, she had to be. She'd told him to stay away from Lucifer and Eric had done his duty and gone the hell home.

But Lucifer—he'd followed.

He'd followed and they'd done more than get close—they'd acted upon the love they were both feeling. Eric had tasted the devil's blood—the only vampire who could say so. It had been so obvious that Betty didn't want him touching that blood—as far as the Queen had been concerned, if anyone was going to taste it, it was going to be her. And he'd blatantly disregarded that. Happily ignored it.

"Who told you to leave Lucifer alone?" Chloe asked. "I didn't think he reported to anyone."

Eric gave a dry laugh, and it sounded slightly crazy, even to himself. "The Queen of California. He doesn't report to her, but I had to."

"The Queen of California?" Malcolm asked, suddenly pushing away from the doorframe. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! I tend to remember those who threaten my life." Eric scowled at the man.

"The Queen called last week," Malcolm said. "They had a half hour call but the King did not brief us on the subject."

"The subject was me," Eric said. "I'm the fucking problem. As always."

"Eric, you're not a problem," Sookie said, and Eric turned his scowl on her.

"Of course I'm the problem," he said. "Haven't you clued in to that yet about me? I've been in Shreveport since the fucking 90s because I'm a problem. They put me here to monitor me. They think I'm a loose canon and they couldn't fucking have me wandering about doing whatever the fuck I wanted. They tied it all up with a bright bow of responsibility, to make it look like I was valued and useful, but it was all political bullshit. Like always."

A low growl formed in Eric's throat as his anger at something he had no control over overcame him. He wanted to hurt someone but he couldn't because he had no idea where they were. He looked at Chloe, the Detective standing by herself, as if some part of her knew she was the only human in the group—even if she herself didn't believe it. "I was summoned to the Queen of California because of you," he said. "Because I helped you; spoke of vampire politics." Eric picked up one of Bill's stupid little baubles from the coffee table, fingers digging into the marble statue, treating it almost like a stress ball. "If I hadn't been summoned, she never would have met him. And if she hadn't met him, she wouldn't have told me he couldn't belong to me."

"Belong to you?" Chloe repeated, a human response Eric had grown used to over the years.

"Vampires are very . . . territorial," Sookie told her. "It mostly means other vampires can't touch you." She narrowed her eyes at Eric. "Mostly."

"Is that why you left L.A.?" Chloe asked. "Lucifer seemed very upset that you had disappeared."

"And whiny," Maze put in.

Pam laughed. "Sounds familiar."

"That's not why I left," Eric said, giving Pam a warning look that she was treading on thin ice. "Although I would eventually have respected her wishes."

"Why?" Chloe asked, curious.

"Because despite his mooning around about his lack of a soul, my maker doesn't have a death wish," Pam said. "I hope."

Chloe processed that, frowning. "Your kind deal out death sentences over who owns who?"

"Our kind," Tara sneered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"No, she's right," Pam told her progeny. "We have our own justice, Tara. And if the Queen of California told Eric to stay the fuck away from that man, then she's well within her rights to kill Eric if he ignores her." Pam looked back at her own maker. "Why didn't you listen to her?"

"I did!" Eric nearly snarled. "I came back here, didn't I? He followed me."

"But you could have sent him packing!" Pam retorted. "Gave him his stupid suit you've been staring at each night and then told him to leave."

"I didn't want to!" Eric growled.

"Clearly." Pam sighed. "And because of that, you've gotten him kidnapped. And Bill too." Pam considered. "Not that I care much about that. Good riddance to the king."

Jessica gave a sob at that.

"You know," Chloe started. "While I'm used to Lucifer running away, I'm not used to seeing him trying to solve a problem." She tapped a foot against the ground. "I assume that's what he was trying to do here, though. Right? The Queen in our area told you hands off. He asks your King for permission instead?"

Eric grimaced. "That's what I was thinking too," he admitted. "I told him about the Queen's ultimatum only just last night. He told me not to worry about it, that he had contacts in high places." Eric frowned. "I didn't have the heart to tell him Betty wasn't going to listen to the mayor of Los Angeles."

"It's not like him," Chloe said. "He prefers to pretend like nothing is wrong. Or he tries to forget by gorging himself on . . ."

"The seven deadly sins?" Amenadiel suggested when Chloe trailed off.

"Yes, I get it. He chased after me instead of running away from the problem. Such a foreign concept for you to understand—Lucifer actually fighting for something he wanted. And now that he finally did, he's going to pay for it. Okay? Is that what you want to hear?" Eric's fingers tightened around the marble statue in his hand and it cracked under the pressure.

Chloe's eyes grew wide in surprise at the show of strength. "That's not at all what I meant," Chloe said, her tone overly soothing, like she was trying to calm down a young child. "I just meant that he must consider you incredibly important if he came to fix whatever problem you two were having. In all my time knowing him, that is not how he deals with things that bother him."

"She's right," Amenadiel said. "Sure it took him a couple weeks to act on what he wanted to do, but he actually did it for once."

"Yes, and now he's in trouble!" Eric seethed. "Was it worth it?" In a fit of rage, Eric threw the marble bauble at the fireplace. Alcide and Amenadiel both jumped back, quick reflexes showing that neither was particularly human. "She's taken him and I don't even know where!"

"I'd say he'd think it was worth it if he could see how much you cared," Amenadiel said, looking into the fireplace to see that the little statue had burst into a thousand pieces.

"Does no one care about Bill?" Jessica asked, exasperated.

"No!" The chorus came from Eric, Pam, Tara and Maze. At least Amenadiel and Chloe had the decency to not comment, but it was quite clear the vampires in the room simply did not like—or respect—the King of Louisiana. It didn't matter that they were sitting in his house. Just like Bill had been a secondary acquirement of the Queen's, he was at best an afterthought to Eric as he tried fruitlessly to come up with an idea about where they could have gone.

His first thought was back to California, on a mirroring flight to the one that had brought Chloe Decker and Amenadiel into Shreveport. But at the same time, he knew it could be anywhere else. Maybe even neutral ground where the King of Louisiana and the Queen of California could barter for the devil's soul without feeling like someone had the upper hand. Eric didn't want to head toward California only to find an empty mansion and no Lucifer. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to the man just because he hadn't thought things through well enough. As it was, Lucifer was still out cold, which meant Eric couldn't even determine his location through their bond.

As luck would have it, Eric's phone began to ring, vibrating in his right front pants pocket. When he fished it out, he saw Lucifer's name on the display. But with no Lucifer on the other end of that blood connection, Eric knew whoever was calling wasn't Lucifer. "It's them," he spat out, glaring at the phone.

Eric accepted the call but the only greeting he gave was an angry growl. Everyone else in the room seemed to lean forward, breaths held.

"Eric, this is your King." Bill's voice, annoying on a good day, grated on Eric's last nerve. The audacity of the man to call Eric from Lucifer's phone. Eric really wished he could leave Shreveport behind, and never have to deal with the younger vampire again. "I've no doubt what you're up to and I'm calling to tell you to let it go. Stand down. You know what will happen if you ignore a Queen's wishes."

"And you're calling from Lucifer's phone to tell me this?" Eric questioned. Bill had Lucifer's phone. Not Betty. Not one of her goons. What the fuck did that even mean? Eric's eyes narrowed, wondering if Bill actually was a secondary abductee or if he was in on it with the Queen. He wouldn't put it past him; it wouldn't be the first time he'd done something for the Authority behind Eric's back. The sneaky fuck. "Where are you Bill?"

"It doesn't matter where I am," Bill replied shortly. "I'm calling from Mr. Morningstar's phone because I'm afraid mine was left back in Bon Temps, due to our leaving in a hurry. He was kind enough to lend it to me."

"Bullshit," Eric seethed. "You and I both know that Lucifer isn't lending you anything. He's not in any condition to do so. Where the fuck are you and what have you done with him?"

There was an awkward silence on the line, and then Bill sighed. "It does not matter where I am or where Lucifer is. I have been informed that you aren't welcome here, Eric, and I admit I have to agree with Betty. Your place is in Shreveport doing your job. Not gallivanting around the country, acting like the Authority has no control over you."

"She must carry a lot of clout for you to bow down to her like that," Eric retorted. "Considering you've wanted me gone since the moment you arrived in my Area."

"Eric, just let it rest. As your King, I demand you leave Lucifer Morningstar alone. He belongs in L.A., and as such he belongs to Betty White until she says otherwise. Do you understand me? Leave Lucifer alone and stop snooping around in business you have no right to be looking into."

What the fuck did that even mean? Was he referring to his talking to Chloe about the murder victim? Teaching the Detective from Los Angeles about the selling of V and the fact that vampires did, indeed, have weaknesses? Either way, it was clear Bill knew what Eric had been up to while he'd taken his impromptu trip to Los Angeles—and that meant he was on speaking terms with the Queen currently. It really was looking more and more like Bill might be involved in Lucifer's abduction.

Eric didn't bother replying to Bill, he simply turned his phone off, deciding he was done with the conversation. With all eyes on him, he slipped it back into his pocket, trying to fight his anger so that he didn't trash Bill's plantation home. He was very tempted after what he'd just heard, but he couldn't quite decide if Bill was saying it honestly or if it were under duress. Because as far as Eric knew, if Bill could be rid of Eric, the King would gladly make it happen. So why tell Eric to stay?

Besides, he'd gotten precisely the information he'd needed. He knew where they were. They were back in L.A., all the way across the damn country. Bill had said as much when he told Eric he wasn't welcome there.

Without saying anything to the group, he turned and left the living room, heading toward the front door. He had places to be. Heads that needed rolling.

"Eric! Wait!" It was Sookie who called for him, and he could hear her rushing footsteps as she strove to catch up. But it was Malcolm who managed to stop him at the door, not Sookie.

"You know where the King is?" he asked.

"I do," Eric said. "I'm going to find him and if I decide he had anything to do with the Queen's taking Lucifer, you won't have a King to call your boss anymore."

Malcolm opened his mouth to speak but then seemed to think better of it. Who was he, a mere human, to mess in the political affairs of vampires? He was smart enough to know it would get him killed. It appeared he valued his own life more than that of his employer.

"Eric," Sookie said, finally catching up from across the foyer.

Eric spared her a glance, wanting nothing more than to go out that door and take off into the night. He had places to be. People to fucking kill. He didn't have time to deal with Sookie and her goddamn feelings. "What, Sookie?"

"You'll find Bill, right?" she asked, hope in her eyes. "Bring him home to me?"

"I don't think it's Bill who needs finding," Eric told her.

"You'll do it though?"

Eric sighed. "I have to go, Sookie. Bill is awake, but Lucifer is not—I need to make sure he's okay."

"Yes, and make people pay for what they've done," Sookie said sarcastically. "Just don't overreact, okay?" She paused, frowning. Chloe was walking across the foyer, a matching frown on her face, but the only reason Eric hung back was because he wanted to know why Sookie was giving him that look. Like she was about to apologize.

Sookie sighed, glancing toward Chloe and then back to Eric, clearly wanting to say something before the other woman got there. "Look, I was wrong to assume Lucifer was a rebound. That wasn't fair of me."

"You think?" Eric raised an eyebrow.

"You clearly care about him . . ." Sookie screwed up her eyebrows as she tried to find the right words. "I was being selfish; assuming you weren't over me. I just didn't expect the next person in your life to be . . ."

"The devil?" Eric asked innocently.

Sookie snorted. "No, you idiot. A man."

"Maybe consider it a compliment," Eric said as Chloe arrived to fold her arms over her chest and frown at him. "No other woman can compare. Or something like that."

"Where are you going?" Chloe asked. "You figured out where Lucifer—and your King—are?"

"They're back in California," Eric said. "Seems they were in the air probably the same time as you."

"Crap," Chloe said. "I need to call Pierce. I can get him on the case."

"I don't need your friend," Eric said. "I'm going over there and I'm going to find Lucifer and bring him home. Right now."

"How?" Chloe asked. "There aren't any overnight flights, and even if there were . . . wouldn't you need to get underground by sunrise?"

Sookie looked up at him, a smile on her face that reached her brown eyes. "He's going to fly, but he's not going to take a plane," she said, smug that she knew what was going on in Eric's head.

"Right, vampires can fly," Chloe said, clearly remembering when Eric had grabbed Lucifer about the waist and rocketed him into the sky.

"Some," Eric agreed. "Not all."

"And you can fly that fast? Get to L.A. before the sun rises?" Still frowning.

"I could if everyone would let me go," Eric said, his anger coming out with the last word.

"Take me with you," Chloe ordered.

Eric barked a dry laugh at that. "God, no. Why the hell would I want to carry you all the way to Los Angeles?"

"Because I want to help. I want to make sure Lucifer is okay."

Eric shook his head. "You weren't concerned about his safety when he left Los Angeles. Both times."

"This is different! He's in danger and he's my partner!"

"Was your partner," Eric corrected. "You made sure to remove him from the case, remember?"

"There will be other cases," Chloe reasoned. "I've worked with him for a few years now and . . ." she trailed off, not knowing what exactly Lucifer meant to her.

"I don't have time for this shit," Eric said. "Don't you want me to make sure he's safe? I need to go now. And taking a human up that high at that speed—you won't be doing Lucifer any good when I land and you're a blubbering mess because of lack of oxygen."

If Chloe's frown could deepen, it would have.

"He's right, Chloe." Amenadiel stood in the doorway to the living room, watching them. "Let him go take care of Luci. We can't be of much help and you'll only slow him down."

"Thank you," Eric said, glad someone was willing to end the goddamn conversation. "Now if I may . . ."

Instead of finishing his sentence, he threw the door open, stepped outside—and vanished into the night sky.