7

Best Job Ever!

Hello, everyone. I hope that everyone is well. I may not be able to post until late next week because we are cooking Thanksgiving dinner for thirty people. It's going to be a big one. Thank you for your condolences and well wishes. I hope that each of you enjoy the chapter. Thank you for your reviews, favorites, and alerts. The story idea is mine but the characters belong to Charlaine Harris.

I hope that each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving or any other holiday that you may celebrate. Thank you all.

I sat on Eric's couch and waited for him and Pam to get off of their phones. Though my parents and I are on the outs, I will not do anything to embarrass them. Well, as far as manners and respect go. So, I waited for them to give me their undivided attention. It gave me a chance to think about what I'm doing with my life and if I'm doing the right thing. This job is definitely going to be dangerous. It's going to test my very limits. My first night and I'm already under the task of solving a mystery. Nothing like this has ever happened at Merlotte's and I'd worked there since I was twenty-one. I've caught a would be thief but nothing of this magnitude. I can't wait to find out what this guy is up to. I'm so excited!

Hmmm. I guess I have my definite answer. I am doing the right thing.

"This is so cool," I mumbled.

When I looked up, Eric and Pam were watching me. Pam looked as bored as ever but Eric had a ghost of a smile on his face. He looked completely amused by me. He had that same look on his face as he talked with me last night out in the parking lot. And just like that, I got a flash of his mind. He was thinking of me.

I want her.

Did I just read the mind of a vampire? My grandpa told that couldn't be done. He said that they're dead. They don't think as we do but I read Eric's mind. How is that possible? It then dawned on me that if he finds out, Eric would more than likely kill me. Vampires are fiercely private. And there he was staring me. I had to cover so that's what I did.

I suddenly had my Merlotte's smile on my face as my body tensed. "What's up?" I asked.

He must have noticed the change in me because he frowned. "What is wrong?" he asked as he sat next to me.

"Nothing," I said. "Nothing at all."

I could tell that he didn't believe me but he continued on as if everything was okay. "What is so cool?" he asked me.

"This," I said as a genuine smile began to appear. I decided to be kind of honest with him and tell him some of what I was feeling. "This job is so cool. I know that I haven't done anything just yet but this is so cool. I'm so glad that you hired me. Thank you for this opportunity, Eric. Even though you're a bit highhanded, I can't thank you enough for letting me work here."

He said nothing as he continued to stare at me. And knowing that he wants me, made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Maybe I shouldn't have said what I said about letting him kiss me later on. I hope that I didn't appear to come off as forward. I think that I should've taken Tara's advice to keep things professional. Things appear to be a bit awkward but more than likely, it's me that's feeling awkward. A vampire like Eric has kissed many women. Tons of women. Kissing me wouldn't be that big of a deal to him. I'm nothing special. I'm a virginal telepath that has practically promised a vampire that he'd be her first kiss.

"Oh, God," I moaned.

Why did I say that? Why couldn't I just keep my big, fat mouth shut and just done my job? You want to know why? I'm stupid, that's why. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

I covered my face with my hands and dropped my head. "Dang," I whispered.

"Sookie?" Pam said. "What is wrong with you? Are you going to answer our question or not?" She began patting her foot. "I hope that your telepathy isn't on the blink."

"It's not," I said. "It doesn't go on the blink. I always have it."

Pam rolled her eyes up toward the ceiling. "Will you answer the question?"

I looked from Pam to Eric and had no idea that I'd been asked a question. Maybe that's why he's staring at me. He's waiting for me to tell him what happened with that guy. And I'm thinking about a kiss that hasn't even happened yet.

"What did you ask me?"

Pam placed her fore finger and thumb on the bridge of her nose before answering me. "Is he still here?"

I sighed as I answered her. "He was still out there."

Eric stood up from the seat next to me and that's when I knew. The idea of kissing me had nothing to do with him sitting beside me. I'm sure that he and Pam played that game with quite a few women. "Go and get him," he ordered Pam. "Take him downstairs."

"You don't have to do that," I said as I shook my head no. "I told Long Shadow to take him somewhere so that I could question him. I didn't want him to get away before we had a chance to find out what he's up to. That would defeat the purpose of reading their minds. And don't worry," I added. "I didn't tell Long Shadow that anything's up. I didn't know if you'd trust him with information like that. For all I know, he could be in on it. So to throw him off, I had him take two of the girls with him."

Both vampires had blank looks on their faces. I couldn't tell if I'd done the right thing or not. They are so hard to read. Well, not when I'm reading a vampire's mind … accidentally.

I raised my hands in the surrender motion. "Was I not supposed to do that?" I stood up from the couch and smoothed down the back of my dress. "I can go out there and tell Long Shadow what's going on. If you don't want him to be in the dark with what we're about to do, I don't have a problem with it." I began to walk towards the door to let Long Shadow know that Eric and Pam have other plans for the man.

"No," Eric answered. "Tell him nothing. You have done well, Sookie. I expected that you would have wanted to report the man to the police if it's found that he's done something wrong. We know that your father is a detective with the Bon Temps police department. We expected that you would want to follow the laws of the human world."

I shook my head no. "Well, under normal circumstances, I would do that but I'm not working in the human world. I'm well aware that the supes have their own brand of justice. It's not my place to tell you how to handle traitors or possible assassins." I stood in front of Eric as I continued. "What if I did tell my dad and they released the guy later on and he returned? What if on that second try he was successful in his quest to take Pam? I would be to blame. I can't have that on my conscience. I promised to work for you and to do my job and that's what I'm here to do. I may not know her but Pam's life is just as important as anyone else's as far as I'm concerned. I have promised to work for you and that is what I'll do. I will keep you safe. I give you my word."

Eric only stared.

"So you won't freak out if we have to kill him?" Pam asked me.

I looked at the wall behind Eric and thought about her words. That guy was going to do something unseemly to Pam. That unseemly thing could be death or even worse. They could torture her … forever. After all, she is a vampire. Could I handle the idea of her life ending because of me … being tortured because of me … because I was unable to do the job that I was hired to do? Can I handle this guy's death being my fault? Would it be my fault if they did have to kill him? Would I freak out if they killed him?

I looked at Pam and answered her question. "Yes," I said. "I probably will. I've never seen anyone die. I don't want to see anyone die. That's never been something that I've wanted on my bucket list. But I would also freak out if he kills you. What I did tonight, it's my job." A thought then occurred to me. I looked at Eric and said, "Maybe he doesn't have to die. I could go with you to wherever he is and read him. And you can decide from there … from what we find out … whether or not you want to kill him."

Eric and Pam stared at each other. I could see that something was going on between them but I didn't know what it was and it was fascinating to me. They were nodding and looking at me as they … talked?

"So?" I asked. "What are we going to do? Stand here and stare at each other all night? We're wasting time just standing here and doing nothing."

Eric reached out and offered me his hand. I took it as I waited for his answer.

"We will do as you've suggested," he said. "But where we are about to go, should never be spoken of to anyone outside of my office. It is a place that is used for Fangtasia business only. Is that clear?"

"Yeah," I said. "I won't say a word to anyone. Wait. Are we going to a torture chamber?" I whispered. "I've never been to a torture chamber. This is my first time. I'll bet it's so creepy … and dark." My eyes suddenly widened. "I'll bet that it smells of death down there."

Pam shook her head and rolled her eyes.

Eric laughed outright. "It can be deemed a torture chamber but we won't say that it is. What we'll call it is the interrogation room. How is that?"

"I like it," I said. "We're going to question the suspect and get the information that we need." I began to giggle. "If you think about it, we're kind of like police officers. I think that I'm going to buy us some badges to wear so that we can flash them when we question suspects. That would be …"

"Fucking ridiculous," Pam finished. "We will not do that."

"But it'll be fun," I offered. "We could pretend to be cops. Good cops. Until they turn us into bad cops."

"It won't be," she assured me.

With that said, Pam led the way from the office and to hidden torture chamber … I mean the interrogation room … that I couldn't speak of to anyone outside of Eric's office.

The stairs were long and winding. They were also very narrow. I can't believe that Eric was able to walk down them without any problems. And just like that, fear hit me and it hit me hard. Don't ask me how but the cement stairs began to creak under our feet. The basement was dark and dank. It also smelled of everything bad. The air was suddenly too thick. Almost choking. I could feel my heart racing. I almost wanted to run and it almost happened. I was suddenly terrified of what I could possibly see when I got down there. I know that I was all gung-ho at first but I wasn't so sure. I stopped walking and stared down into the darkness. Eric stopped with me and turned to look at me.

I looked at him and shook my head no. "I don't want to go down there," I said. "I thought that I did but I don't want to now."

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

I trust him with my life. "I do."

"I will let nothing happen to you," he assured me. "You can do this."

"I can do this," I said as I readied myself. "As long as there are no entrails hanging from the ceiling, I'll be just fine." With my back straight and my shoulders back, I continued to follow Eric down the stairs. And I was wrong. It didn't smell like everything bad. It was just my imagination. It kind of smelled like autumn. "It smells delicious down here."

"I love the scent of pumpkin spice," Pam shared. "That's what the cleaning people use to scent the room."

"Lovely," I agreed.

"Thank you," Pam said. "Eric doesn't like it. He says that the scent is quite nauseating."

"And it is," he affirmed.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about, Pam," I assured her. "Men are oblivious to relaxing and inviting scents. I understand what you're doing. Make them feel comfortable. Welcome them."

She looked back at me. "You and I spirit animals, my new friend."

"Lambs?" I asked. "I love lambs."

She sighed and shook her head. "No."

Eric chuckled.

I was relaxed once again. I squeezed Eric's hand in thanks as he continued to lead the way.

He glanced at me over his shoulder briefly. A nod was his response.

And just like that, there they were. The girls were sitting over in the corner. They were sitting in the chairs waiting. They were smiling. They were thinking that maybe they were going to finally get their chance with the master. Maybe I shouldn't have asked Long Shadow to bring them down here. I know that I never should've had them brought down here. It didn't matter that they were thinking nasty thoughts of Eric. They were my cover. I had to throw Long Shadow off. That's all that I was doing. I wasn't the least bit jealous.

Liar.

I ignored my inner voice and stared at the man that was sitting before me. I just wanted the man. I wanted his thoughts and there he was. Now, he was tied to the chair and he was gagged. I expected to find him like that but something wasn't right. Something was different about him. His eyes weren't the same. They looked empty. Almost dead.

"Master," I said. "I don't want to question the girls anymore. I can't get anything from them. From what I can tell, they have nothing to hide. They just have crushes on you … which will do neither of us any good. Their thoughts are distracting. You can send them home."

He didn't ask what they were thinking at all. To be honest, he didn't even seem to care. "Glamor this night from their minds and send them home, Pam," Eric ordered.

Pam had done as she was told and was back with us in less than fifteen seconds.

I finally released Eric's hand and went to the man. I stood in front of him and stared into his eyes. I looked around the room and went to grab the first chair that I'd seen. I placed it in front of him and sat down. Not doing anything. Just staring.

Long Shadow decided to speak up. "I brought him down here when Ms. Stackhouse let me know that you wanted to question him. He's been very cooperative."

Eric stood behind me.

Pam stood next to him.

Though I knew that something was wrong, I smiled at the man. "Hi," I said. "I'm Sookie Stackhouse. How are you?"

He didn't answer me. He looked as if he was staring at me but he wasn't. It was as if I wasn't there. I glanced at Eric and Pam before asking him, "Do you know my friends? You must since you came here so that you can meet Pam. Are you interested in dating her? She's very pretty, isn't she?"

"And I'm a great kisser, aren't I, Sookie?" she asked.

I didn't even bother to look at her. "I don't know that, Pam. I don't even know what your mouth feels like."

"You could find out," she pouted.

"No, thank you," I huffed.

"And here I thought that you wanted me to make love to you tonight." She leaned down and whispered in my ear. "Do you want me to make love to you tonight?"

I could have sworn that I heard a growl just before Eric reprimanded Pam. "Leave her alone and let her do her job. You cannot have her," he replied. "She is not for you."

I shifted in my seat as tingles traveled through me. I wanted to ask him who's meant to have me but I had a job to do. "What's your name?"

An even blanker look appeared on his face. A tear rolled down his cheek.

I scooted in closer to him as I asked another question. "Do you know who she is?" I asked as I took Pam's hand in mine and moved her closer to him.

He looked at her and again, he said nothing but he did whimper.

I let go of her hand. "This is weird."

"What?" Pam asked.

I shook my head no as I tried getting into his head once again but nothing was there. I reached out and grabbed his hands so that I could get a better read on him. Normally when I do that, I can see everything that people are trying to hide from me. I can get things that they thought were forever hidden but it didn't work. Not this time.

"Master," I said. "Something's wrong."

Eric moved in closer to me. "Explain."

I shook my head no. "There's nothing there now. There are blank spots where his memories are supposed to be." I turned to look at Eric and said, "As I sit here holding his hand, he's searching his mind trying to remember what his name is. He's crying because he's afraid. He doesn't know what to do or who he is. And now, he doesn't even recognize Pam. I swear on my gift that he knew who she was when he first walked into this bar."

Eric rested his hand on my shoulder. "Glamor," he said.

"But who would've glamored him?" I asked.

Eric and Pam were staring straight ahead. I assumed that they were looking at the man.

I continued talking. "The only one that knew that I was going to question him was …"

It then dawned on me who they were looking at. They were looking at Long Shadow. And when I looked at him, death crept up my spine. "You," I whispered. "You did this. Why? Why are you after Pam?"

His fangs were down and his hands were clawed. He broke the poor man's neck before he jumped over his corpse and onto me … pushing me backwards and onto the floor. I stared at him and I knew that this was it. He'd reared his head back to take a great big bite out of good ole Sookie Stackhouse and I just knew that this was it. But nothing happened. Not to me anyway. No bite. No death. Just blood.

Long Shadow was dead. I was covered in his blood with Eric standing over me with the leg of a chair clutched in his hand.

Eric helped me up from the floor. He looked concerned. Almost worried but not me.

Pam's eyes were glazed over as she stalked in my direction. "She smells fucking fantastic," she said. "What are you?"

"I'm part fae," I answered. My voice remained strong and firm.

"Faery," she said. "You smell absolutely delicious." She continued to come at me … with her huge fangs drawn and ready to use but I wasn't afraid. Not really but Eric must have thought so.

"Pam, stay where you are."

She reluctantly did as he ordered her but her eyes remained glued to me. He looked as if he wanted me. Not like he wanted to kiss me out in the bar or in his office but he really wanted me. Blood must really turn them on.

"You are safe," he said.

I'm not quite sure why he said that. Maybe he didn't trust himself with me because I was covered in blood. I don't doubt him or Pam. She may have been stalking me but it's okay. She was lost in the moment. She wouldn't have hurt me. Neither of them would have hurt me. And I had to say that to Eric. I never want them to doubt themselves around me. And I don't want them to doubt me.

"I know that I'm safe. I'm not worried at all. Shoot," I exclaimed. "Other than being covered in vampire blood, I'm great." And I was. Even with Pam stalking me, I felt wonderful. I feel really bad for the man that Long Shadow killed but his fate was his doing. It had nothing to do with me.

"Why do you smile?" he asked.

I didn't even realize that I was smiling but so what? Everything was wonderful. I looked down at my bloody body before looking up at him. "Because this is the most exciting night of my life."

Eric's eyes gleamed as he looked at me.

"I think that I'm really going to love working here."