25

Do What You Have to Do to Survive It

Hello, everyone. I hope that y'all have been having a great couple of weeks. I apologize for the delay with the chapter but work has been hectic. It's almost summer and school is out. The kids are in full swing with their moods and attitudes. For me, that means that duty calls. I want to thank y'all for reading, reviewing, alerting, and making this story a favorite. I appreciate each of you.

As always the story is mine but these wonderful characters belong to Charlaine Harris.

Enjoy, my friends.

When I got to Merlotte's to speak with Sam, the meeting started off pleasantly enough. I thought that I was going to be prepared for whatever it was that he would tell me about Quinn. Let me explain what I mean. I left home an hour before dusk so that Eric could meet me there. I had my weapons in my purse. I even had one hidden underneath my dress. I had my notebook and pen in my hand. I was excited and ready to get as much as information that I needed on my next suspect. I believed that I was ready for whatever was going to be thrown my way.

What can I say? I was wrong.

Instead of sitting out in the bar, Sam and I sat in his office. We both agreed that because of what we needed to discuss, we should be alone. Smiling at me, he said, "You look very nice. Yellow has always looked good on you. I'm surprised that you're not wearing Fangtasia gear. The dark, vampire garb. That seems to be what everyone that works there wears."

"Thanks," I said as I looked down at my halter dress and nodded. "I was surprised too. Really surprised, but Eric said that he doesn't want to see dressed liked that. He said that he likes my look as it is." I looked at Sam and smiled. "Go figure."

"I figure it's because you're beautiful. Inside and out," he added shyly. "You know that."

I blushed at his compliment as I thanked him. Sam has always had a thing for me but he never acted on it. I'm glad that he didn't. I'm not interested in Sam like that. I've known him for too long and we're friends. Plus, he dated my friend Tara for a few months. I'm not the type to date someone that my best friend has dated. That's not what I do. "We're friends, Sam," I said. "But I do appreciate the compliment."

"I know," he agreed. "And we'll always be friends. I wanted to let you know that you're a beautiful person. It's exactly why Eric likes you as you are. You're special, Sookie. There's something about you that draws people to you."

He may be on to something. Maybe it's the spark that draws people to me ... supe people. I've always had a problem with humans but not the supes.

"So," he began. "What's happened? What's got you so bothered, Sookie?" He then leaned across his desk and asked, "Is it Quinn?"

Because I was at a loss for words, I nodded my head.

Sam looked down at his desk and sighed. He ran his hands through his hair. "Wondering how I know about him?"

Again, I nodded.

"He's been around here snooping, Sookie. Asking questions about you," he added. "Wanting to know who your people are. Who you hang around. What you like to do for fun. Things like that."

I closed my eyes and winced. "Shoot." I looked at Sam and waited. I guess my faery godmother and the Weres were right. Someone has hired Quinn to find out about me. Maybe it was the king. "Has anyone spoken to him? Told him anything as far as you know?"

Sam shook his head no. "As far as I know, no. You know how it is in Bon Temps. Everyone here may not be a friend of yours but they are not going to betray you. If you're born in Bon Temps, you are Bon Temps," he assured me. "Catfish and I have made sure of that. I've given everyone a hint as to what type Quinn is. No one is trusting of him. Don't worry, Sook. He won't find you. We'll make sure of that."

"What type is he, Sam?" I asked. "My faery godmother …"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Your faery godmother?"

"Right," I said. "My faery godmother. She told me that I need to watch out for him. The Weres that are with me during the day told me that he'd do anything for money if it's the right amount but no one has told me what that 'anything' is. I had to come to you because I know that if anyone knows about the shifter world, you do. I know that you will help me. Will you tell me?"

Frowning, he asked, "Eric hasn't told you?"

I shook my head no. "I haven't had a chance to tell him about Quinn yet. I just met him today."

The creases in his forehead deepened. "You met him today? Where?"

"At the police station," I answered. "I went there to meet with Andy. He stared at me a lot and yes, he made me very uncomfortable. Anyway, he's working there now. Andy said that he didn't even know that they needed another deputy. He also said that he doesn't trust him."

Sam reached for his phone and began dialing. He turned his back to me and began talking in a hushed voice. His body tensed as his voice turned into a growl and deepened. I know that I don't have to say this but I've never seen Sam like this. He's always so calm and so cool. He nodded his head before spinning around in the chair to face me. He offered me the phone. "Here," he said.

Confusion was clearly on my face as I took the phone from him. "Hello?"

"Sunshine," daddy said.

"Daddy?" I said. "Where are you? I've been trying to call you all day. Why haven't you called me back?"

He fell quiet.

"Daddy?"

"Sookie," he began. "I'm okay. And I'm at home. I haven't been taking your calls because I can't talk to you right now. It's not safe. He's always watching. He has eyes everywhere. The one that has been following you is watching all of us."

My heart shattered. "You knew and you didn't tell me?" I looked at Sam and he dropped his head.

"I couldn't," he said. "It wasn't safe for me to contact you. I was trying to keep you safe. Sam warned me to tell you before anything could happen but we felt that we were doing what was best for you. We couldn't risk reaching out. We don't know what he wants with you or why he wants you. Keeping you out of his line of sight is what we are doing."

My body slumped in the chair. "You can't keep doing this to me, dad. You can't assume to know what's best for me. You should've told me so that I could've been prepared. You let me walk into a trap. What if I'd gone to the station at night and he was out there waiting for me? There's no telling what he could do to me. He could have taken me and you wouldn't know what was going on or where to look. You can't keep babying me."

"I'm so sorry, Sunshine," he whispered. "I'm so sorry." I could almost see the hurt on his face. I'm sure that it matched the sound of his voice.

"You could've sent me a text message or you could've sneaked and called me. Heck, dad. You could've had Sam tell me. You told me nothing, dad." I was hurt. No matter why he's done what he's done, I'm hurt.

"Forgive me," he begged.

"Does grandpa know?"

Again, he was quiet.

"Really?" I said.

"Sookie …"

"What about Gran? Does she know?"

He sighed.

"Come on, dad." Exasperation filled my voice. "You all know and no one told me?"

"Dad felt that it was best that we keep you away from us," he said. "He wants Quinn to believe that we've had no contact with you because you are dating a vampire. He said that we need to keep our distance from you. He said that it's the best way to keep you safe from Quinn's prying eyes. We all agreed to do that, Sookie. If he sees us going on with our lives and if you're not a part of our lives, we figured you're safe."

I guess it was a good thing that dad has switched to the night shift. I wouldn't have known what to think if he had turned me away when I'd gone to the station this morning.

"Will I be able to speak with grandpa?"

"Not now," he said. "He will come to you when it's safe. He could pop over but he's not going to do that. Not now. He said that there are too many eyes on you. Someone has told others what you can do. That's what dad thinks. We don't want you in harm's way, Sookie. Please know that we weren't keeping you in the dark because we wanted to. We were keeping away from you to keep you safe."

I thought about my dad's words. Grandpa has been in this world a lot longer than we have and he knows more about the supe world than any of us. He's killed full-blooded faeries to keep me safe. I know that he would do nothing to harm me. I've always been able to depend on his and Gran's love above everyone else's and I don't doubt him. If grandpa says that this is what needs to be done, then that's what I'll do. It still doesn't mean that I'm not hurt.

"Okay, dad," I said.

"Good," he said. I could hear the relief in his voice. "If we need to contact you, Sam will be our go-between. He will send all messages to you. None of us will contact you but through Sam."

I nodded and was about to say okay but something stopped me. "Was mom there? Was mom there when grandpa gave his orders?"

"Yes," he said. "None of us are to have any contact with you. Dad said that whomever hired Quinn could have hired others to find out where you live. We all agreed to stay away from you until everything's safe."

I looked at Sam as I said, "She came to see me today."

Sam slammed his fist onto his desk. "Fucking bi …!" He stopped as he looked at me.

"What!" dad yelled.

"Yeah," I said. "She came to see me earlier today."

"I've got to go," dad said. "But before I do, promise me that you won't go back to your apartment. You can't go back there until it's safe. Ask Eric if he has the room for you to stay with him."

I shook my head no. "I can't stay with him, dad. He's my boss. I can't …"

"Sookie!" he yelled. "This is no time for you to play the good girl. You are in this life now and you must make choices that are going to go against everything that you were raised to believe. This is your life now, Sookie. Your world. Do what has to be done so that you can survive it."

He was right. This is the life that I've chosen to live and these are the choices that are to be made. "Okay," I said. "I'll speak with him about it tonight. I give you my word."

Dad sighed.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Sookie."

"Jason?"

"Don't worry about Jason. He's gone on a fishing trip to Canada with Hoyt and Dago. Your grandpa set it up. We all know that Jason's as dumb as a stump some days. We didn't want to risk it. He'll be gone for a couple of weeks. Don't worry about Jason."

This time, I sighed. "Okay.

"I must go," daddy said. "I'll call you but only through Sam. If anyone else tells you anything about us, don't believe them. All contact will come through Sam. If you don't hear from us for a while don't worry. We'll only contact you if it's necessary."

"Okay, daddy," I said. "Stay safe, okay?"

"I will."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Sookie."

I handed the phone back to Sam. He and dad spoke a bit more before he hung up the phone. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said. And I was. "I am okay."

"Sorry about your mom," he said.

"Me too."

I guess I should be surprised and a bit hurt but I'm not. If I were anyone else, I probably would be but this is the way I've always known her to be when it comes to me. I'm not surprised that she's betrayed me. Maybe they offered her something that she couldn't refuse. Maybe she was offered a butt load of money. She's always wanted to be rich. She's never liked living in Bon Temps. She's always believed that this little hick town was beneath her even though she was born and raised in this hick town. My mother's betrayal tickled me. I couldn't help but smile.

"Why the smile?" Sam asked.

"No reason," I said as I shook my head. "So. Tell me what questions Quinn has been asking about me."

"Are you sure …?"

"Tell me what questions Quinn has been asking?" I repeated.

Sam nodded as he rested his elbows on his desk. "He wants to know what you are and what you can do." He chuckled. "He had the nerve to say that he'd gone to school with you. Maudette Pickens called him out on his lie. She told him that she went to school with you and she had never seen him anywhere near Bon Temps High. She told him that if he'd been a student, he would have been remembered by everyone. She told him that he was too good looking not to remember." He shook his head in disbelief. "Only Maudette Pickens."

"If she had gone to school with him, I can guarantee that she would've tried sleeping with him."

"Right?" Sam agreed. "After he'd been called out on his awful lie, he tried a different tactic. He told everyone that he'd seen you at the vampire bar in Shreveport and he wanted to get to know you. He claimed that you two shared a drink and a dance. He wanted your number but you left so quickly that he didn't get to ask you for it." He raised an eyebrow when he said that. "I knew that was an outright lie when I heard him saying it to Jerry. Even Jerry knew it was lie. But get this, when he saw me, he tried to leave. He knew that I was the one that was going to call him out on his shit."

I smiled. "What did you do?"

Sam leaned back in his chair and propped his feet upon his desk. "I told him that you wouldn't deal with a coward like him. I told him that maybe you didn't give him your number because you didn't want him to have your number. Catfish decided to add in his two cents worth." He really began to laugh then. "He said that if Quinn has to sneak around and tell lies about knowing you, you could see him for the bullshitter that he is." He went on to say that everyone in the bar told Quinn that he needed to leave because he wasn't going to get what he was looking for in this bar. "I could see that he was as mad as a wet cat but he left. He hasn't been back since." The smile faded from his face. "He hasn't been back here."

Still smiling, I said, "I never knew that anyone here cared enough to keep quiet about me. I thought that they'd be glad to get rid of Crazy Sookie."

Sam shook his head no. "You're family, Sook. You won't be betrayed here. I won't allow it."

I reached across the desk and placed my hand on his. "Thanks, Sam. You're a great friend. I do appreciate you."

He sighed. "I know."

"What is he?" I asked as I removed my hand from his. "What's Quinn? I know that he's not a shifter like you. I could tell that he is something different. His mind is filled with blackness and snarls. He's scary."

"He's a were-tiger. As far as we know, he's the last one of his kind."

"Wow."

"If Eric gets his hands on him …"

"Sam," I began. "What things has Quinn done?"

He looked surprised when I asked him that. I guess he thought that I wouldn't ask him about Quinn's evil ways ... again.

"Jake, Trey, and Alcide told me that Quinn will do anything to get the job done; especially if the money's right. You seem to know more than you're willing to tell me and you know that you should tell me. So, what has he done?"

He began to shake his head. "I wish that you didn't need more in your life, Sookie. I wish that Merlotte's had been enough for you but I can understand why it isn't. I may understand and know why you need more but I don't like it. I worry about you every night. This world, my world, it is not for you. You're too good for it. It's going to change you."

"I'm going to be me, Sam," I assured him. "I'm always going to be me."

I could see on his face that he didn't believe that. I didn't either.

"Tell me," I said.

Sam stared at me for a long minute. He didn't want to tell me but he had no choice. He didn't want me to go in blind. He wants to keep me safe and if telling me the truth is going to keep me safe, he was going to tell me everything. "He's killed entire families to get what he wants. Husbands, wives ... children. He doesn't care. He doesn't value life. He's done things that others in the shifter world never think of doing. He has no limits. No boundaries." He dropped his head as he prepared himself to say what came next. And he still wasn't prepared. He looked at me and in a hushed voice, he said, "He loves it when his cases involve women. He kills the husbands last so that they can watch him defile their wives. He's depraved, Sookie. He has no conscience. Nothing disturbs him. Nothing."

I wasn't scared at first. That comment did it. I could only imagine what Sam meant by nothing disturbing Quinn. And I didn't want to imagine it.

"Your dad's right, Sookie," Sam said. "You can't go back to your place. You can't stay in your grandparents' home and you can't stay in any of my rentals. He'll find you and he will take you. You have to ask Eric to let you stay with him." I know that was hard for Sam to say but he said it. "This is your life now. Your world. You have to do what you need to do so that you can survive it."

Daddy's exact words.

Sam looked out the window behind him. "It's almost dark."

"I called and texted him to let him know where I am." I shook my head no. "I won't leave until he gets here."

Sam stood up from his desk. He ran his hand through his hair once more. "You can stay in my office if you want. I know that Quinn won't be back here but it's just an option, you know? I want to keep you safe. You're my friend and I do love you, Sookie."

"I know, Sam," I said. "And I love you too. Thanks for telling me the truth."

He walked from around his desk. He stopped by my chair and placed his hand on my shoulder. "You okay?"

I nodded.

He gave my shoulder a squeeze before leaving his office.

I removed my notebook from my purse and wrote down everything that I'd learned tonight. I studied my scribbling and my only conclusion was that William hired Quinn to find out what he could about me. It had to be him. Who else would want to pay Quinn to take me? No other vampire knows about my telepathy. Only Eric and Pam knows what I can do. I haven't told any other vampires. Jake only found out tonight after we'd found Dawn. Alcide, Trey, and Colonel Flood don't know. But then it dawned on me. Why would William do that? He's only met me once and he's begging me to leave Eric to be with him. It doesn't make sense for him to hire someone to hurt me or my family. That's not the smartest way to win me over. I hope that he's not that stupid. After all, he is a king.

"Oh my goodness," I whispered.

Long Shadow knew. He knew that I'm a telepath. He could've told someone about me after he'd gotten off work that night. Why didn't I think of this before now? He knew. He was at the bar when I read the minds of the two girls that were to be interviewed. He asked me if was employed with Fangtasia. That had to be it. It wouldn't be unheard of since he'd already betrayed Eric and Pam. What would stop him from telling someone else about me? Or what if it was one of the girls? Maybe it didn't matter to Doreen that I'd helped her get on here at Merlotte's. Maybe she would've rather had the job at Fangtasia. But that didn't make sense to me. When I first got here, she hugged me and thanked me profusely for the job. I got nothing bad from the hug that we shared. And from what she's told me about Liza, she's working for a high-end clothing store in Bossier. She's dating the owner of the store now. She's no longer interested in becoming a vampire. She's happy and content with her human life.

My mind then began to go where I didn't it want it to.

Images of my mom flashed in my mind. I know that she's never been a mom to me but she wouldn't want anyone to hurt me … would she? She wouldn't do that. She wouldn't want some deranged lunatic to hurt me. She wouldn't want someone to do unimaginable things to me. Just as that thought entered my mind, my phone began to ring. It was her.

"Why do you have my number?" I asked. Yes, I had a salty tone. And yes, she earned it. "I didn't give it to you."

"Sookie," she began. She was sniffling. "I'm your mother. I'm supposed to have your number."

"What do you want?"

I could almost see the surprised look on her face. "Are you still upset about what happened with us today?"

I chuckled. "No. I haven't thought anymore about it."

She sniffled again. "Well, I am. I'm upset about what happened with us today. Earlier, I returned to see you but your guards wouldn't let me up. They said that I didn't let you know that I was coming." She paused briefly so that she could sniffle again. "Have you told them that I need to make an appointment to see you? Is that why I couldn't see you? You are my daughter, Sookie."

Trey and Alcide must know that something isn't right. Why else would they tell her that? And where was she now?

"Is it true, Sookie?" she snapped.

It never dawned on me that my mom hated me this much. I never thought that she'd set me up. I wanted to confront her with what I'd learned from dad and Sam. I wanted to scream into the phone that she was low-down, dirty b word. I wanted to tell her that I never wanted to see her again. I wanted to see her just so I can punch her in the jaw. I wanted to do all those things but I did none of those things. I played along.

I nodded my head. "Yeah," I said. "Yeah. It is true."

"Why would you do that to me?" Her voice deepened and the sniffling stopped. "Let them know that you want to see me. I know that you aren't at home because your car wasn't there. Tell me where you are so that we can talk things over. I want a relationship with you. I want us to start over. I know that I was wrong for how I've treated you. Will you give me another chance?"

"I can't, mom," I said. "I don't have time for this. I'm working and I don't feel like arguing with you. Go home and get some rest and I'll see you some other time. I can't do this with you tonight. I have a life now that doesn't involve you. I thought that we'd established that earlier today."

There was a slight pause before spoke again. "I want to make our relationship better."

"Stop it. I don't believe you."

Her end went suddenly silent.

"I don't want a relationship with you," I assured her. "I'm done with this and I'm done with you. Goodnight, mom."

"Sookie."

I heard her yelling my name just as I ended the call. I know that I don't have to say this but she called me right back. I hit ignore and then I did it. Yes, my friends, I did it. I blocked her number from my phone. I smiled down at the screen as I stood from the chair. I needed to do that. And it felt great.

I checked the time and Eric should have been here by now. I texted him again to let him know that I was going to stay at the bar and wait for him to arrive. We have a lot to discuss. You won't believe the things that I've found out today.

I'll be there in 10, he replied. Almost done at the bar.

I'll be waiting.

I walked out of Sam's office and stood in the hallway. I looked out at the customers and the staff and smiled. It melted my heart to know that they protected me and my secrets from Quinn. It made me feel welcome when I haven't felt welcome here in a very long time. I wanted to go out there and thank them. I was going to let them know that I appreciate what they did for me.

But I never got the chance to do that. A hand was soon covering my mouth and pulling me out the back door of Merlotte's.