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I WAS GETTING ready by sunset the next day Bill had said he was going to feed somewhere before ent, and as upset as the idea ht about how I’d feel after ht before, too I felt super I felt very strong, very alert, very quick-witted, and oddly enough, I also felt very pretty

What would I wear for my own little intervieith a va to be sexy, but I didn’t want to unnysack, either Blue jeans seemed to be the answer, as they so often are I put on white sandals and a pale blue scoop-neck tee I hadn’t worn it since I’d started seeing Bill because it exposed his fang ured, could not be too strongly reinforced tonight Re ain and added a silver necklace I brushed hter, and let it ripple down le with picturing Bill with somebody else, he knocked I opened the door and we stood looking at each other for a minute His lips had more color than normal, so he’d done it I bit e," he said first

"You think anyone else’ll be able to tell?" I hoped not

"I don’t know" He held out his hand, and alked to his car He opened my door, and I brushed by hi?" he asked, after ato keep er’s seat and stared straight ahead of ht as well be er But somehow the simile just didn’t work

"You shway for a few minutes We drove for a few minutes in silence

"Now you knoill feel if Eric touches you," he told me "But I think I’ll feel worse because Eric will enjoy touching you, and I didn’t ured that wasn’t totally, strictly, true: I know I always enjoy eating even if I’m not served my favorite food But I appreciated the sentiment

We didn’t talk much We were both worried about as ahead of us All too soon, ere parking at Fangtasia again, but this tiht an iet out Once Iasp, took his ar to a party ere anticipating with pleasure

Bill looked down at e to scowl at him

He knocked on the metal door with FANGTASIA stencilled on it We were in a service and delivery alley that ran behind all the stores in the little strip mall There were several other cars parked back there, Eric’s sporty red convertible ah-priced

You won’t find a vampire in a Ford Fiesta

Bill knocked, three quick, two spaced apart The Secret Vaet to learn the Secret Handshake

The beautiful blond vampire opened the door, the female who’d been at the table with Eric when I’d been to the bar before She stood back without speaking to let us enter

If Bill had been hu his hand

The female was in front of us more quickly than my eyes could follow, and I started Bill wasn’t surprised at all, naturally She led us through a storerooly similar to Merlotte’s and into a little corridor We went through the door on our right

Eric was in the s it Bill didn’t exactly kneel to kiss his ring, but he did nod kind of deep There was another va Shadow; he was in fine for pants, all in deep green

"Bill, Sookie," Eric greeted us "Bill, you and Sookie know Long Shadow Sookie, you remember Pam" Pam was the blond fehtened human I’d ever seen I had considerable sy dark hair that curved in stiff waves across his scalp He was jowly and se, with a white shirt and a brown-and-navy patterned tie He eating heavily He was in a straight chair across the desk fro Shadoere standing against the wall across from Eric, by the door Bill took his place beside theain

"Sookie, listen to Bruce"

I stood staring at Bruce for a second, waiting for him to speak, until I understood what Ericmy voice was sharp

"Someone has embezzled about sixty thousand dollars from us," Eric explained

Boy, somebody had a death wish

"And rather than put all our huht perhaps you would look into their minds and tell us who it was"

He said "death or torture" as calmly as I said, "Bud or Old Milwaukee"

"And then ill you do?" I asked

Eric seeive ourblue eyes narrowed as he stared at me

"Why, if we can produce proof of the crime, we’ll turn the culprit over to the police," he said smoothly

Liar, liar, pants on fire "I’llto smile Winsome did not count with Eric, and he was far from any desire to juently "What would that be, Sookie?"

"If you really do turn the guilty person over to the police, I’ll do this for you again, whenever you want"

Eric cocked an eyebrow

"Yeah, I know I’d probably have to anyway But isn’t it better if I coood faith with each other?" I broke into a sweat I could not believe I was bargaining with a va that over And suddenly, I was in his thoughts He was thinking he could makeBill or soal as he could, to keep his relations with humans aboveboard, or at least as aboveboard as vas could be He didn’t want to kill anyone if he didn’t have to

It was like suddenly being plunged into a pit of snakes, cold snakes, lethal snakes It was only a flash, a slice of hisa whole new reality

"Besides," I said quickly, before he could see I’d been inside his head, "how sure are you that the thief is a hu Shadow both moved suddenly, but Eric flooded the roo the idea," he said "Pa Shadow are uilty, I guess we’ll have to look at theht," I said lacial blue eyes of a being who hardly remembers what humanity was like

"Start noith thisto decide how to proceed I’d never tried to for would help; direct contact clarified the transmission, so to speak I took Bruce’s hand, found that too personal (and too sweaty) and pushed back his coat cuff I took hold of his wrist I looked into his small eyes

I didn’t take the er like this, ill Lillian do if they kill me, and Bobby and Heather, why did I work for va for it, God I’ll never work for these things again how can this crazy wo o of me what is she is she a vae I should have found out earlier that theand found out who took it before I even said anything to Eric

"Did you take the h I was sure I already knew the answer

"No," Bruce groaned, sweat running down his face, and his thoughts, his reaction to the question, confirmed what I’d heard already

"Do you knoho did?"

"I wish"