Chapter 18: Who Is That?

"Evenin' Sheriff." Pam drawled out her greeting through full, red lips. She was dressed as a dominatrix, in a leather corset and mini skirt, with metal chains hanging from everywhere, and lots of eye-popping cleavage bulging over the top of her corset. Her greeting didn't show in her eyes – it never did. She was standing outside the entrance door of Fangtasia, acting as the bouncer.

"Good evening, Miss Pam." I was secretly pleased that she acknowledged my presence. She hadn't when I last met her, which was when Roman brought me to meet Eric for the first time.

Pam responded with a brittle laugh, "Oh God no, Sheriff – it's just 'Pam.'…So…how is our friend, Roman? Still hot and hard-bodied?"

"Yep. And engaged to be married, and a soon-to-be father."

"Hmmm, he's been busy." Pam didn't seem pleased. I couldn't help myself and snickered at her remark. She actually cracked a smile, but only for a quick moment.

"He's receiving guests right now, so you're on hold. Bill is waiting for you inside." She abruptly stomped away and grabbed a young male that was standing in the wait-line, and jerked him out of the line. She then casually tossed him a distance of ten feet. "Under-aged and under-developed. Come back in five years." I left her as she began conducting a close-up inspection of a group of cowering fraternity boys.

I entered the bar and blinked my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. The noise in the large room was at a high level and you had to practically yell if you wanted to be heard. The air in the space was almost stifling; it was a cloggy combination of sweat, beer, and reeking pheromones. There was something else – a sharp bite of iron. It was very faint, but it was a smell that I recognized from years of being around it, as it was being spilt. It was the smell of blood.

I surveyed the room, starting from my right, mentally processing the coordinates of various things in the room, including the exits, though I primarily focused on the occupants. The room was not packed to capacity, but it was very full. Every individual in the crowd seemed more unique than the next, which in most cases was obviously intentional. Tattooed bikers and biker-wannabes, mixed with Goth-dressed individuals who were trying to achieve their lifetime fantasy of becoming a vampire plaything. Sprinkled throughout the crowd were frat-looking boys and sorority-looking girls, tourists, and country rednecks. But, it was the piercings that got me – they were extreme. One guy had embedded metal studs covering every inch of his face and shaved head. It made me queasy to look at him.

Both vampires and humans were actively trying to hook up, either overtly or subvertly. I really don't know who looked more anxious – the humans or the vampires. Both species looked very hungry.

I was dressed in form fitting black jeans, a black tank top, black boots, and a black leather jacket. I was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, and black always works wonders on these occasions. After observing the rest of the crowd, I was blending in just fine.

As I swung my eyes to the left, I saw a line of four young women who looked like they had just come from a Mardi gras parade. They were laden down with bead necklaces and wore a variety of feathered masks and funny hats…and they were noticeably drunk.

As I looked closer, I noticed that the women's line was adjacent to a small stage, on which stood several chairs. One chair was far larger and more ornate than the others and in it sat - Eric. On his lap sat a giggling and flirtatious young woman, who was whispering in his ear. Whatever she was saying was amusing him and he wore a dazzling, sexy smile. He was having a good time.

What a weekend I'm having…after being kicked to the curb and stood up, now I have to watch Eric make out with someone…He looks like a porno Santa…

"Sheriff!" I was jarred out of my thoughts by a familiar voice. I focused in on the male face that was smiling at me. It was Bill.

"Oh, good evening, Bill. What am I supposed to do, get a number from a dispenser or just get in line?" I smiled at him and nodded my head in Eric's direction.

He smiled a response. "Eric will be with you in a moment. These ladies are celebrating the impending nuptials of the young woman sitting on Eric's lap." He nodded to the line of women as he spoke.

I glanced at Eric and felt a flutter of lust in my stomach. He was wearing his trademark black wife-beater tank top, with black slacks, and shoes. He looked - as always - gorgeous, hot, and lethally sexy.

Bill and I took a moment and looked in unison at the bride-to-be, who was now practically performing a lap dance on Eric. Eric's smile had now gone nuclear – he was really having a good time. There was no doubt about it. Get a room!

Bill escorted me over to a reserved table that was close to the stage. He flagged down a slightly ditzy waitress named Ginger and ordered our drinks. Even though I was off duty, I ordered a bottle of water; I wasn't in the mood for an alcoholic drink. I was still feeling sluggish from yesterday's barbeque and most importantly, I didn't want to chance having my drink tampered with – this was an environment where anyone, at any time, could easily slip something into someone's drinking glass.

A young woman dressed like the other members of the bachelorette party came up to the line of young women, she was carrying a cache of drinks clutched precariously in her arms. She was greeted by squeals and screams that were so loud that they almost popped my eardrums. Bill, with his super sensitive vampire hearing, seemed to suffer more than I did. I glanced at Eric and he oblivious, his lap dancer had his full attention.

I had arrived on time for my eight o'clock meeting with Eric. However, we didn't meet until a little after nine o'clock. Bill and I spent an agonizing hour waiting for him. The bachelorette party line had now broken up into a messy mob that stood next to our table. Bill and I had to endure the continuous squeals, shrieks, and sloshed drinks of the women. Then, when we thought it couldn't get any worse, it did – we had to duck, bob, and weave when the ladies decided to demonstrate cheers that they had performed during their high school years.

Meanwhile, Eric was a very attentive host to the bride-to-be and whomever the bride allowed to sit in his lap with her. Of course, Eric the Porno Santa and the bride-to-be put on their own special show for all to see. There was kissing, groping, and then pantomimed lewd and lascivious acts – and that was just the bride. All her friends eventually were summoned to join her and Eric, and the show achieved a whole new level of raunchiness.

I wonder if he plans to take it on the road, he can call it - 'Eric the Porno Santa and His Six Skanky Reindeer, Doing the Holiday Dry Hump Orgy Dance.' Unfortunately, they never broke any obscenity laws, so arresting them was out of the question.

Eric, for his part…well, let's just say, he was in his zenith. He was one very happy, happy, happy, vampire camper.

I don't know how Bill and I did it, but we maintained our cool, found subjects to discuss and generally pretended to ignore what was going on around us.

By the time Eric extricated himself from the bride-to-be, who was visibly upset at having to say good-night to him; I had planned his death in five different, horrible ways.

Eric walked by our table and flicked his finger at us; it was his signal to follow him back to his office. I broke off from our little group, excusing myself to the ladies' room.

The restroom was small, with two sinks and two stalls, and waiting room for only three or four people, if they were crammed into the space. When I entered, the bride-to-be and one of the ladies from her party were leaning on the sink, talking. The bride sounded and looked extremely drunk, and her friend wasn't doing much better. I found sniffling coming from the bride, I shot her a quick glance and sure enough – she was crying.

They dropped their voices down to a whisper as I was going about my business. But, as I maneuvered around them to wash my hands, I heard the bride-to-be say, "I don't want to marry Todd. I…I think I'm in love with Eric!"

OH GOOD LORD! No-no-NO-no-No!

I had to intervene before this poor girl ruined her entire life. I cleared my throat to get their attention and then said as kindly and gently as possibly, "Honey, I couldn't help but hear what you just said…Listen. I hate to tell you this…"

How do I tell her that Eric was just using her for fun and financial gain? I don't, I tell her something that will help her break her obsession.

Her poor face was wet from tears and her eye liner was smeared and running. "But…you have to know that…Eric is gay."

The two ladies stared at me – their expressions were comical, they looked like cartooned fish out of water, with their mouths gaping open and their eyes bulging.

The bride would have none of my characterization of Eric. She squawked out, "What? No - he's not! Eric is NOT gay!" She was sobering up quickly and was now appearing to be quite furious. She looked so angry that I thought she was going to hit me.

I maintained my cool and tried to reason with her. "Sweetie, yes he is! Look, he's over a thousand years old and in all that time…anyone, would…you know…sample all of Baskin Robbin's twenty-one ice cream flavors – get my drift?"

She started to argue, so I held up my hands to signal her to be quiet. "That man that I was sitting with at the table, that's his 'partner.'" I did the quotes gesture with my hands when I said the word 'partner.' Coincidently, at the very moment that I said 'partner,' Ginger, the waitress that waited on Bill and me, serendipitously walked into the restroom.

I thought that since Ginger was a tad slow in her everyday response to life, that I would use it to my advantage. "Ginger – isn't Bill Eric's partner?" I nodded my head at her to urge her to answer. Technically, Bill was some sort of business partner of Eric's, so I hoped that she would confirm that fact.

Ginger jumped in without thinking and blurted out, "Oh, yes. Yes! They're partners, they –"

I interrupted her and said, "Thanks Ginger, let's not get too far into their private business, okay? But thanks for confirming this for the ladies. Would you excuse us for just a minute?" I gently pushed her out of the restroom and leaned against the door to prevent her or anyone from coming into the restroom.

I looked at the bride and talked to her as I would a child, "See? It's well known. Listen you go home, marry your Todd and live happily ever after – and forget about here, and Eric, and his boyfriend, and any venereal diseases that they may have." Both ladies faces turned white.

I continued, "How does that saying go, 'Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas?' Well, think of this as Vegas, hun. You DON'T want to bring home any souvenirs from this visit – trust me! So - y'all have a nice night!" I smiled, quickly ran my hand up and down the bride's right upper arm, patted her, and then left.

I ducked back behind the bar and watched the bride and her friend come out of the restroom. They were in a hurry. They practically ran over to their friends. They said something to the group of women and then the whole crowd left together and quickly.

You'll thank me some day, probably on your wedding day.

I made my way back to Eric's office and knocked before entering.

Eric was sitting behind his desk and Bill was sitting on the couch. Eric seemed miffed and huffed out, "What took you so long? We've been waiting for almost ten minutes."

Before thinking, I blurted out, "Oh, so sad, too bad. I've waited over an hour for you while you performed your own special adult entertainment show for the whole damn bar!" Eric glared at me and I glared back at him. I glanced at Bill, who looked extremely uncomfortable.

My pent up anger came rushing to the surface, and I let its momentum take over. I continued my tirade against him, now with more verve and vinegar. "Actually, I was cleaning up your mess, Eric! Miss Bride-to-be wanted to break up with her fiancé and be with you! She sincerely thought that you had feelings for her." I furiously huffed out puffs of air and I glared at him with blazing fury. My face felt hot and twisted by my anger, and my hands were clenched and sitting on my hips.

Eric smirked, closed his eyes and rolled his head back. "Ah, well." He rolled his head back up and looked at me. His face was cold, callous, and indifferent, and he was smugly smiling. "This happens from time to time – actually, more than I care to admit. I – "

I cut him off, "Don't worry, as I said, I took care of it."

Bill innocently asked, "How did you do that?"

I smiled at Bill kindly and then turned my head and contemptuously sneered at Eric, "I told her that Eric is gay."

Bill immediately burst out laughing but then tried to stifle himself. Eric looked at me with black, narrowed eyes. He looked peeved – and I really didn't care.

I quasi-whispered to Bill, "Bill, I…er…needed your help on this…I sorta told her that you were Eric's partner. You know 'life partner.'" Bill's choked laughter turned into another kind of choking.

I had to apologize to Bill; I really hated dragging him into the Eric's mess, so I said, "Sorry Bill. Don't worry, she'll never come back, and no one will know what I said to her. Better yet, no one would ever believe that you would EVER have ANYTHING to do with Eric like that. NEVER. EVER." I smiled, and he tried several attempts to politely smile back. He eventually stopped, and settled into a slight frown.

I looked back at Eric and decided to lecture the idiot. "You really need to consider your actions thoroughly before you interact with your patrons. That was pretty irresponsible. That young woman is going through an incredible time in her life and she's very vulnerable. You come on to her, fuck with her head, probably promising her bullshit -"

Eric's face was smeared with rage, "She came on to me. SHE practically – "

"Bullshit, Eric! You looked like a whore trying to meet a quota. What did you do, glamor her?"

Eric stood up, placed his hands on the desk and leaned in my direction. Through clenched teeth, he ground out, "I never glamored her. I didn't have to - nor did I want to. She and her friends were more than eager for my attentions."

I stood with hands on my hips, "Yeah right, you can't – "

"Jo…women are always coming on to me. As a matter of fact, in this very room, I've had women undressing themselves and practically ripping off my clothes…aggressively taking the lead, moaning, urging, pleading for me – "

I felt a cold sweat break out on my upper lip. Oh, no you didn't – don't…DAMMIT!

I yelled out "ALRIGHT!...you don't have to go into detail about…whatever." His little speech was reminding me of what we – actually - what I had done in this very room the last time I was here. From the sly smile and sparkle in his eye, that was exactly what he was trying to do.

I had always suspected that he had glamored me…at least a little. I know he did! But…I knew that I was attracted to him and that my own needs had taken over and well…I couldn't help myself. He just looked sooooo good that day.

"FINE. Let's just change the subject. Let's just keep private things - private. Okay?" I glowered at Eric, willing him to understand the hidden message in my statement.

A trickle of alarm ran down my spine and I felt fear for a moment, wondering if Bill was picking up on any of our little meaningful exchange. I glanced at him under hooded eyelids and was relieved to not see anything unusual in his reaction. He looked like he was bracing himself, as he usually does, during one of Eric's arguments.

I slowly walked over and planted myself down on the couch, sitting in the exact spot I had sat in the last time I was in the room. Bill was on the opposite end of the couch.

I clasped my hands together and said, "So, let's talk about Nathan."

Eric's face looked triumphant as he enjoyed his little 'win.' But, he just couldn't leave things alone. "Sheriff, how do you like that couch? Is it comfortable? Do you feel relaxed…sitting there?"

I knew exactly what he was doing…Why did God give men enough grey cells to think and talk?

A few memories flew by in my mind; good, hot, memories of firm stomach muscles, and chest muscles the size of boulders, and … I swallowed and bit down on my lower lip until it hurt. This helped snap me out of my lust daze. I turned to Bill and asked, "It's okay, what about you, what do you think?"

Bill's face looked rightfully puzzled by the topic of discussion. Then, I saw it, a spark of realization flashed across his face. It was a moment of the recognition that I most feared and was trying to prevent. He realized that there was a subtext to our conversation. I could tell that he wasn't sure what it was, though. Thankfully, he didn't press further and played along with our game. He responded, "Yes, it is comfortable. Good support. Yes."

I looked at Eric, "We both love your couch…so…can we get on with it?"

Eric was having too much fun now and like a dog with a bone, wouldn't let it go. "Is it firm?" he chortled out. "Firm but still yielding and -"

"ERIC. Okay, okay…the couch is lovely…Okay? Can we get back to the subject matter?" I was teetering on a mini-meltdown and was barely holding it together.

He stared at me with a gleam in his eye that wasn't warm or inviting, it was hard and cold. He looked mean and sadistic - a predator circling its prey and enjoying the trauma of the prey.

He took a couple of minutes to just watch me; I tried very hard not to squirm. I wouldn't meet his eyes; I chose to concentrate on my jacket's zipper. He cleared his voice, which caused me to look up. He crooked his jaw to the side, crossed his arms over his chest and looked triumphant, "Fine. I'll take that as an apology."

He sat back down in his chair, with a furtive grin on his face. His gaze never left my face. I knew what he was doing. He was letting me know that he now was aware that he held a very powerful weapon in his cold, big hands – our dirty little secret. He now knew that I did not want anyone to find out about what had transpired between us. Eric settled back into his chair and propped his feet up on his desk, crossing them at the ankles.

Meanwhile, I quietly fumed. The man has no scruples, so why was I trying to argue morals and propriety with him?

I took a breath and quietly let it out; then I began talking. "Well, my investigation is at a standstill. The holiday isn't helping. What I do have is a theory, that Nathan Jacobs and the barrel with the three vampire corpses are related. I'm basing it on how all four bodies did not decompose like normal vampire bodies. There's a doctor, Dr. Larek Scorpovinski, originally from Poland, who owned the laboratory that was the last known location of the barrel. It was delivered to the lab several months ago. The lab is now gone. It burnt to the ground in October. I can't find very much information on the doctor or the lab. The lab's website states that it was a bio testing facility."

I looked at both vampires and saw that I had their complete attention. I continued, "Where I need your help is with regard to the V buyer that Nathan Jacobs went to – where he was hoping to sell his blood."

Neither vampire showed any reaction to my request. "I guess this is too much to ask of you, finding out who is buying and maybe pushing V?"

Eric calmly responded. "What happens to this person after we find him…or her…is of great interest to me. I want to make sure that this person or persons – don't slide through the human bureaucratic system and then are back onto the streets in a matter of days. Selling vampire blood is a very egregious crime in my world."

I looked at him and shook my head. "Eric, human justice and law will have priority in this situation. You know it and so do I. Look, if we're going to have this problem, butting heads over every perpetrator or scratch of evidence, then we shouldn't work together. I can't promise you anything. Nothing. I'm sorry, but I can't."

Eric and Bill were now looking at each other, holding some unspoken conversation.

"Look, I want to find who did this to Nathan and stop them before another vampire is harmed. I would think that would be your first priority, too. Isn't it?" I was sincere in my conviction to find the person who had harmed Nathan and I hoped that it showed in my face.

Eric looked at me for a few seconds and then nodded his head 'yes.' He looked pensive for a moment and then asked, "So, the only information or clues that you have center around this doctor, his laboratory, and the barrel. There's nothing else? You have no other leads or clues? Nothing?"

I shook my head and said, "No, nothing. Well, nothing…um…nothing solid."

Eric smiled and in an uncharacteristic manner, lightly joked, "Well, what about liquid or gaseous? Anything could be relevant at this stage of the investigation. It may help me track down who Nathan was selling his blood to."

While I listened to Eric, I made a quick inventory of all bits of information that I did have on the case – which wasn't much. I had the two women, Crystal Ball, who was Nathan's girlfriend, and Suzette Megginson, who was the receptionist at the lab. I didn't want to hand over either one of their names to Eric. The only other small bit, which was of great interest to me, was the fact that an Army officer visited Dr. Scorpovinski. That was my major lead; I bet that officer could shine a bright light on a few things. I decided not to share any of this with Eric – and I knew that he knew that I was withholding information.

"Eric, what kind of insurance do I have that anything you find will be shared or turned over to me?"

"Jo, trust goes both ways. Doesn't it? I can't help you if you don't help me."

Well, he just answered my question. I knew in my heart, that if he found out anything, that he wouldn't tell me. So, I decided to cut my losses and stop wasting my time. Why I ever thought Eric would be helpful is now beyond me.

I got up from the couch, and stretched my right, bum leg. "Well, if you do find out anything about the V buyer, please let me know. I'll work my end of the investigation. So…let's keep in touch, okay? Well, I don't have anything else, so I'll get out of your hair." This little five minute meeting, that took almost one hour to drive to and a little over another hour to wait for, was quite a bust.

As my brain was telling my foot to take the first step to leave, Eric stopped me with, "Oh, but Jo. You can't leave now!? I don't think you're telling me everything I need to know. Why don't you sit back down and finish telling me what you know?"

Oh sure! Not a problem! Bite Me! I decided to handle his request with all the respect that it deserved. "Well, okay…Did you know that Roman is engaged to be married and has a baby on the way?" I forced out a chuckle and hoped that my juicy bit of news would distract him. It didn't.

Eric lowered his feet from his desk and sat forward, arms crooked up on the desk, and his head resting in his hands.

I smiled and looked everywhere but at him. "Okay – okay. Here's the big news. My big date with Liam was a bust. He stood me up. Well, actually, Liam got pulled into an emergency and couldn't get away. It was one hellacious party; thank God there was a lot of liquor. Well…that's all I got, so I need to go. "

I started to walk to the door and was stopped by Eric's temper tantrum. Eric had picked up his desk – the whole thing - and slammed it back down on the floor. He looked enraged and his show of force had the effect on me that he wanted – I was scared. But, I was damn well not going to show it. I scoffed at him, daring him to do worse and praying that he wouldn't.

At that very moment, it occurred to me that I didn't have my gun on me or any weapon of any kind. I consciously decided not to wear anything because of my last experience when I met 'officially' with Eric. He had become incensed and flipped me around like pizza dough, stripping off my weapons. So, I complied with his wishes to not wear weapons when not on duty and now I didn't have anything to use to defend myself.

Bill, to his credit, tried to buffer the moment. "Eric! Eric – this is not wise. Just calm down. Sheriff - Jo, if you have anything that you can add to what you've already told us that would help us –"

I cut Bill short, because my temper had started to flare. Eric's arrogant, superior expression started to pluck on my nerves. I crossed my arms, jutted out a hip, and practically screamed out, "WHY are you such an asshole? Is it a personality disorder, or a chemical imbalance? Let me tell you something mister – you better re-think your actions right now, because threatening me – an official police officer, not just a pretend one like you - will get your ass locked up and - "

Eric charged around his desk, knocking his chair over in the process. His actions stopped me mid-sentence and a cold sweat broke out on my skin; my nervous system went into red alert. I started backing away from him, all the while looking frantically around for something that I could use to shield or defend myself.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blur fly around me and it stopped in front of Eric, blocking his advance on me. It was Bill and he was coming to my defense. Bill was yelling at Eric to stop.

Eric stopped – he chose to stop, Bill didn't stop him. When Eric finally spoke, his voice was deep and rumbling in his chest. "Are you threatening me, Jo? Do you want to do something to me? What would you like to do, why don't you tell me…" He pushed against Bill, moving him a foot in my direction. I backed up further away from them both. I tried to look fearless but I knew I looked pathetically unbelievable.

I finally realized that Bill was whispering to Eric, "ERIC! ERIC! Dammit! What are you doing? Have you lost your mind!? You have to get in control of yourself – we can't – you can not harm her. You cannot! Remember our orders –" Bill stopped himself from finishing his sentence and glanced at me. He started speaking again, louder, so that he now was speaking in a normal volume. From the inflection in his voice, I could tell that he was trying to cover up his last word – 'orders.'

"Eric, remember that you are the representative for all vampires in this area, and we are under…we are obligated to maintain our…behavior in an orderly manner."

Eric cut his scorching, hate-filled gaze away from me and glared at Bill. Eric's eyes were cold and soul-less. His voice was eerie in its calmness. "Bill, don't ever interfere again, when I am conducting business. But, you're right though, she is not worth it." Eric knocked Bill's hands off his shoulders and shoved Bill, almost knocking him into me.

Eric took a moment to slowly straighten and smooth his clothing. He then turned and walked to his office door, while saying in an emotionless voice, "Jo – I will be raising your rent to pay for the new appliances. Read your contract, there's a clause in it for repairs and replacement of damaged goods due to renter neglect and abuse." Eric opened his office door, and said, "Get out, both of you."

Bill took the lead and I followed, and we walked single file to the door. Eric held the door for us. Though his face was empty of any emotion, I could feel an angry band of energy around him. Bill stopped in front of Eric and I stood behind him, waiting for him to exit through the portal and I would quickly exit right behind him.

I guess Bill decided to 'make nice' with Eric. He smiled at him and said, "I'll call you later, alright?" Eric smiled back at Bill, with a big, bright, cheerful, 'Welcome to Wal-Mart' kind of smile. That kind of smile on Eric's face looked – creepy. He responded to Bill, "You do that."

The smile was a clue of what was to come. Eric's movements were black-blur fast. He pushed Bill through the door portal, grabbed my arm and whirled me away from Bill and back into the room. He then slammed and bolted the door. I was now alone with Eric, with a very heavy, barred, metal door preventing my escape.

I couldn't breathe and my first instinct was to run. Before I could even turn away, I felt myself being picked up and pinned against the door. I felt Bill pounding on the door and heard muffled shouts. Then, I heard what sounded like a muffled fight between Bill and one or more people; it was over as soon as it started. Within less than a minute, so much had transpired. Bill was shoved out of the room and pulled away and I was trapped in Eric's office with a furious, scary looking Eric.

Eric was holding me up by my ribcage. As far as I could tell, he hadn't hurt me in the process of flinging me about. But I was terrified, truly terrified. I was uncontrollably shaking. Eric leaned his body against me and brought his face close to mine. I immediately turned my head to the side; I inhaled and then held my breath, bracing against pain that I knew was coming.

Something gently nudged and tickled my ear. Then I felt something wet brush my ear, and it was followed by soft, tiny massages. Eric was licking and kissing my ear. His actions caused shivers to run up and down my neck. The shivers were a mixture of both pleasure and fear.

Eric whispered, "You are soooo annoying, Josephina." He then quietly laughed and as he said the following, he planted gentle kisses down my throat. "Annoying, irritating, and sexy. You look very sexy tonight. I really like you in leather." He nuzzled against my temple and inhaled. I then felt him pull his head away.

"Look at me." He gently shook me to get my attention, so I turned and looked at him – and was terrified at what I saw. He was smiling and his fangs were extracted. I had never seen his fangs before. My first reflex was to fight and flee, which I tried to do.

Eric laughed at my actions but held me tight. "Stop. Stop!" He shook me harder than before - not enough to jar my brain in my skull, but enough to make me obey him.

"Are you afraid of me, Jo? You should be." He swooped his head into my neck and I could feel his fangs against my skin. I seized up my shoulder, trying to protect my neck from him. The action was enough to knock his mouth off of me. Actually, he let me knock him away.

I heard Eric tsk, tsk, tsking with his tongue on his front teeth. "I'm just joking. Nothing to be afraid of, I'm not going to hurt you. I won't bite you. Not now. Look at me – and don't look away. I saiiiidddd loooook at me." He said his last sentence in a sing-song fashion, which sent a warning flare through my brain. So, I quickly responded to his request and looked at him.

"Now, see, I'm not glamoring you, do you feel like I'm in your head?" I shook my head 'no.' How would I know if he was glamoring me? Wouldn't I do what he told me to do, like look at him?

Willfulness was my last line of defense and I used it to ask him, "How would I know if you were glamoring me? Wouldn't I –"

He cut me off with, "You couldn't ask me questions like you are doing, now." He smiled and licked one of his fangs. "Do you see what you do to me? See them - I struggle to keep them retracted around you. You arouse me, which makes them come out. It's been a long time since someone affected me that much." I wasn't sure what he was talking about at first, but then I got it. He was telling him that his fangs were responding to stimuli – and I was the stimuli.

I didn't believe him and I guess he realized it because he went a step further. He pushed into me, his lower region rubbed against mine; there was no mistaking the feel of his hard arousal against my leg.

"Do you feel that? Does that convince you?" He watched me, waiting for my response, but I didn't know what to do or say.

I tried to find a ray of reality in all of my confusion. I mumbled out, "What are you doing…what's…what's this about? You don't, you know – you're not making sense. Your moods change so quickly, I can't keep up."

Eric kissed my temple and whispered into my ear. "Well, if you don't want people to know about us, then I have to make a show to distract them, don't I? Hmmm?" He laughed a deep, sexy laugh that caused tingles and sparkles to shimmer all over me.

Eric, you are seriously crazy, aren't you? Jesus Christ, I had to start something with a psycho vampire, didn't I? Why the Hell -

The next thing I knew, I tasted him. His mouth was on mine, his tongue was in my mouth, and he was coaxing a response from me. I couldn't respond at first, but he continued kissing and probing, caressing and cajoling me.

Slowly, my resolve started to slip. Then, my defenses started to fall, one by one, and I found myself responding to him. When all internal restraints, complaints, and doubts were gone – I lost control. I acted like the sex-starved woman that I was and I practically chewed off his mouth. He responded in kind, and we mapped out each other's mouths with our tongues. Thank God he had retracted his fangs before we both started 'macking' on each other, or our mouths would have been a bloody mess.

I pulled away to catch my breath. As I did so, he whispered in my ear, "Lift your legs and wrap them around my waist." I laughed and jokily responded, "Oh, Hell yeah! I love a man that I can climb," but I didn't do as he requested, I started to mentally wrestle with myself, re-thinking all my choices that I made in the last several minutes. The next thing I knew, I was being picked up by Eric, and he placed my legs around his waist. I was dumbfounded and started to laugh. He laughed in response. Our private male and female bits were now aligned and he slowly started to rub against me. I couldn't help myself, I zoomed in for a deep kiss and moaned in his mouth; he growled in response.

Then – reality reared its ugly head and smacked some sense into me – We are in a building full of vampires and humans! What the Hell are we doing!

I freaked and pulled my mouth away from his and then tried to climb down off of him. "Geez – what the Hell are we doing! No. No! Eric, don't. STOP! DON'T. Not here, not now. There are people out there. Let me down. NOW!" I continued to push and twist against him, though my efforts were a feeble joke in comparison to his immense strength.

Eric shushed me, kissing my face. "Okay, okay. Shhh. Calm down. Alright. Later - we'll get together later, alright?" Like a dumbass, I nodded my head 'yes,' when I should have yelled 'No – Hell, no.'

He slowly put me down on my feet, but pulled me close, resting his forehead on my forehead. What he said next caught me by surprise, but it shouldn't have – but it did.

He quietly asked, "What was it that you were holding back from telling me earlier? From your investigation?"

I closed my eyes and counted to three. Damn, I'm such an idiot. I smiled to myself and chuckled aloud as I said, "Well, I have to tell you…I really like your method of interrogation. Really!" I pushed against him, and then twisted away, breaking free from him.

"Jo, wait – waiittt." He started doing his sing-song flirty thing again. "Cooomme on, don't be like that. I was just curious…cooommme on. I'm going to find out anyway, you're just saving me time and money." He reached for me, but I jumped away from him. He pouted, thrusting out his luscious, bottom lip.

His ploy to use and play me did hurt, so I lashed out, attempting to extract at least a smidgen of revenge. I said something that I knew would irritate him, "You are soooo pretty when you pout, princess!"

His face instantly changed, and the sexy, hot, adorable pouting and coy performance stopped. He replaced it with his expressionless, cold, stone mask of non-emotion. When I saw it, I knew my strike had hit its mark. In the short time that I had come to know Eric, I discovered that he used this particular expression to hide emotions that he preferred not to show, like emotional pain.

Ha! So there, asshole! Sweeeet…

I moaned and rubbed my temples. This mental chess game with Eric was giving me a headache. I inhaled and exhaled for effect, and then blurted out, "Oh, why can't you just take my word for…Okay. Okay. Listen, I don't have anything more – really, I don't. All I have is a second party witness who said that they may have seen a military-type of person visit the laboratory. But, it's not been confirmed and I don't even know how to follow up on it. Do you actually think the military would cooperate with me and my little dinky investigation?" His lack of a response was his response.

I continued, "So – like I said, I don't have anything solid. So, there you are. Are you happy now?"

He face softened and his expression became relax. I looked at him and chuckled at my thoughts - You really are a princess, a real drama princess, aren't you gorgeous?

He walked towards me. He was a thing of beauty when he walked, like a sleek cat prowling. But, I held up a hand to stop him. My thoughts were clear now, and all kinds of realities were causing me concern. "No Eric, don't. Just stay away. Listen, you are extraordinary, very desirable, but…you have a girlfriend and I don't do triangles." He raised his eyebrows in response, simultaneously questioning and denying what I said.

I propped my hands on my hips and cocked my head, "Sookie! Soookkkkiieee! Remember her?"

He closed his eyes and smiled to himself and opened them to look at me. "You're jealous! I'm so touched!" He started to swagger towards me again and I backed away.

"Bullshit, Eric!" I had both hands up and then unconsciously balled them into fists. He stopped and dramatically whirled his head in a circle, saying, "I don't have a girlfriend, or anything of that nature. She and I shared an experience…that is now history…I'm now and always have been - free, willing and able. Okay?" He cocked his head to the right, and flashed one of his famous, high voltage smiles.

I was saved by the bell – actually, by my cell phone. I frowned at him and then pulled out my cell phone from my jacket pocket, answered the incoming call with, "Sheriff Lautner."

"Sheriff, it's Kenya. We have a situation with the Moufettes. Ah, Miss Sadie…ah, she…became delirious and kinda went berserk, like that Nathan guy. She attacked a couple of her family members…luckily, she only just bit one daughter. But they – the family decided to take her and the daughter to the hospital and now she's…well, all of them, are gone. I mean the car that was taking her to the hospital never arrived and well…she's been missing for awhile."

Kenya had my fully, non-irritated, lust-free attention. "Where are you now?" Kenya gave me her location, and I told her I was on my way and that I would call her from the car.

I hung up and took a long look at the gorgeous vampire. Who knew when I would see him next, so I took a mental picture to last me for a while. I chewed out, "Something's come up, it's official business. I have to go."

He nodded and walked over and unbolted the door. As I stood ready at the door, waiting for him to open it so that I could leave, he swooped in for a quick, deep, and hot kiss. He pulled back and smiled, "I'll consider that as payment for the appliances." He winked at me, smiled, and then opened the door.

As I walked past him to exit, I slapped his butt and said, "You need to stay out of my house and only come in when invited. It's called 'invasion of privacy.' I'm sure you've heard of it?!"

He cocked his head and his face took on a bewildered expression. He shook his head and acted completely baffled as he said, "Never heard of it!"

I glared at him for a second and then with a snarky snarl, I replied, "Well, look it up!" I flashed him a quick smile and then turned and walked away.

Bill was waiting for me by the bar and hurried up to me when he saw me. Concern was written all over his face, "Are you alright? I was really starting to worry. Not that he would have done anything - of course not! But, Eric –"

I waved my hand in front of him to quiet him and then reassured him that I was fine. "Eric was just playing his usual control games. I – I'm fine. Thanks for trying to help."

Bill smiled. I felt slightly guilty, because I was hiding some truths from him that may have relieved some of his worry. I debated saying more when, while looking over his shoulder, I saw a familiar face.

It was a male vampire and I know I had seen him before. Within seconds, I recognized him. He was the asshole that gave Sookie trouble at Merlottes a while back. I stopped and whispered, asking Bill who he was. Bill looked over at him and responded that he wasn't sure. He thought the vampire was an envoy for the Queen of Louisiana.

I looked at Bill and said, "He's an asshole. He caused some trouble at Merlotte’s. He was very rude to Sookie."

Bill stared at the vampire and quietly said, "I'll look into it."

I told Bill that I had to go because I had an urgent situation and thanked him again for coming to my aid with Eric.

Before I walked away, Bill grabbed my elbow and whispered, "Remember, when I warned you about Eric. At the time, the subject matter was his wrath. But now – I have to warn about his libido. Eric uses women and discards them in a very cold manner. Sometimes, he can be quite boorish. He doesn't…he's incapable of feelings…for humans."

Shit! He figured it out. But, my pride wouldn't let me admit to anything, so I played dumb. I gave Bill a confused stare and then shrugged my shoulders. "Bill, I kinda figured that out awhile ago. I think I got through to the bride-to-be, she's fine. She's going to be just fine." I smiled at him and walked away. I chose not to look back, I didn't want to see or hear any more of Bill's truths.

Kenya and I had been talking for awhile. I was about twenty minutes away from her location and peripherally noticed that I was passing by the turn-off route to my house. She was telling me that they weren't having any luck searching the swampy areas in the dark. There weren't street lights along the roads the Moufette car had traveled. It sounded like we were going to have to wait for daylight before we could really conduct the search.

I was debating several subjects in my head – how to dump Eric, it just was not a good idea to let this thing build, who at the search site should go home to rest, and who should stay - when I saw something run across the road in front of me. It looked like a deer. I slowed my cruiser down, looking for the deer, getting ready to break at the slightest movement from the woods.

I saw something flit through the woods to my left. I slowed the vehicle even more so that it was easier to see details in the surrounding woods. My headlights weren't providing enough lighting to see clearly, so I grabbed my flashlight out of my glove compartment, rolled down my window and shined the light into the woods. I didn't see anything. I rolled down the passenger window and pointed the light into the woods on that side. I saw nothing.

My instincts jumped to alert and something said, 'get out your gun.' I never ignore my instincts. Never. I slowed down further so that I could maintain control of the wheel while I unlocked my gun safe under the passenger seat.

As I was pulling out my gun – BAM! Something the size of a huge buck hit the passenger side of my cruiser and then rolled across the hood and fell off the driver side and limped into the woods.

It looked like a deer, but I wasn't sure. I stopped the cruiser, and got out and ran around the car inspecting the damage. Whatever it was, it had left a Hell of a dent in the front, right, wheel cover, so much so that I wondered if I could drive without the dent damaging my wheel.

I went back into the driver side of the car, climbed in and was about to pull the lever to pop the trunk of the cruiser so that I could get out a crow bar.

As I was in the car, I heard it before I saw it. A low growl, almost like a lion. I quickly looked up and saw it – this huge deer – no dog. Oh my God!

I slammed shut my car door, started the car, and immediately rolled up the window just in time to be rammed by this thing, again. The force of the thing hitting the cruiser was so strong, that it caused the vehicle to rock on its wheels.

The thing jumped up on the roof of the car. I quickly rolled up the passenger side window and gently pressed the gas pedal, hoping to scare the thing off the roof of my cruiser.

The thing wasn't frightened off by my maneuver. Instead, it started to beat on the roof, sufficiently denting it so much, that one of the dents hit my head quite forcefully. I slammed on the gas and once I got some momentum, I slammed on the brakes. I expected the creature to go flying off the roof by the energy thrust of the sudden stop. But it didn't, it seemed to be holding on to the roof.

The thing must have become angered by my car maneuver, because it started to bash its fists – it has furry fists - into the windshield. I didn't see its face just huge, furry arms and fists beating the glass. It continued to repeatedly hit the windshield, trying to break the glass. The windshield was made of bullet proof, shattered-proof glass, so it didn't shatter. However, it did start to cave in.

I slammed down the gas pedal; the centripetal force of the fast, forward moving vehicle held the creature in place, which stopped it from banging on the windshield.

Just when I was reaching the speed where I planned to break again, hoping – again - to throw the thing off, the creature reared up and slammed into the windshield, which gave way, caving into the front seat. The windshield smashed into my face and body. My hands were knocked off the steering wheel. The steering wheel was whipped around, which caused the tires to turn sharply and tightly. This caused the cruiser to lose traction on the road and it started to skid. The bent wheel cover on the passenger side cut into the wheel. The wheel burst into a hundred fragments.

Physics came into play. The action of the car wheels turning sharply into the vehicle, coupled with the tremendous energy force caused by the speed of the vehicle, created a powerful torque of energy that caused the car to pop up in the air and roll.

The car rolled onto its side, over and over again. I did not have my seatbelt on, but miraculously, the smashed windshield held me inside the vehicle, and I wasn't thrown out on the ground, which is the cause of most deaths from car accidents.

The car landed on its roof, upside down. I was dazed and in severe pain. I heard moaning and almost laughed when I realized it was me – I was the one moaning.

I took quick inventory of my body. I didn't feel any broken bones – and I was an expert on what that felt like. I struggled to free myself but somehow the windshield was wedged in such a way that I couldn't move and couldn't escape from behind it. I saw my gun – it was jammed between the back and bottom cushions of the passenger seat. I was able to retrieve it.

I heard it again. The growl. Not as strong as before, but it still sounded lethal. I flipped off the safety latch of the gun and prepared myself.

I saw legs, very hairy, thick human-like legs with clawed feet. They limped around the car and came to the passenger window, which was now gone. The creature dropped down, actually - it stooped down, and peered into the window frame. It bared its teeth at me.

Oh my God. It's a fucking wolf – no, it's a man - what the fuck! No – Hell, shit. No way! Ah man, Miss Violet's warning…No fucking way! Is that…is that a werewolf? No fucking way!

The creature was the size of a large man, completely covered with fur. It had pointed ears, and a mouthful of teeth that looked like a blend of shark teeth and lion teeth – huge bottom and top fangs surrounded by sharp, pointed teeth.

The werewolf grabbed for my right leg, and caught my calf. I cursed myself for not moving fast enough. Its claws dug in deep and hurt like Hell. It started to pull me out. I kicked and cursed at it, yelling and screaming at the top of my lungs.

While I fought, I was struggling to take aim and fire my gun. The moment came, my clear shot, and I took it, firing off four shots. I heard it roar in pain – a sound that seemed both human and animal. It leapt away and I could hear it breaking through the brush and trees, making its retreat.

I checked my bullets. I only had two bullets left. I reached for the gun safe. The lock was now jammed, damaged during the roll-overs of the car. I was restrained by the windshield and I couldn't get at it to bash it open. I didn't have a rifle locked into the holder in the front seat, it was in the trunk. The trunk was open, and it looked like contents were scattered all over the road.

I reached for the radio. It was working. I thanked God, and his Son, and all the angels and cupids, and…called in…

"Officer down…repeat…officer down…This is Sheriff Jo Lautner, I have been attacked…

Dispatch heard me, and said they were coming. I waited, listened, hoped, and prayed that the thing didn't come back.

It was the longest wait. There I was, trapped in my car, with only two bullets in my gun. I felt vulnerable and it was a sickening feeling. At least in Iraq, when I was shot down, I was passed out most of the time and didn't have to wait out my fear - like I had to do now. I wouldn't wish this particular moment on anyone.

In the distance, after what seemed like hours, I heard the sirens coming. I felt tears running down my cheeks and quickly wiped them away.

No crying, soldier. No crying…