Dead on New Years Chapter 19

Eric was listening as Pam gave him a more accurate run down of the damage and injuries incurred the night before at Fangtasia. I had cleaned up our torn clothing by the door and found something else to wear. Using the hotel phone I ordered room service for a snack and waited to get an update from Eric.

He was just hanging up the phone when there was a knock at the door. I could not hear anyone thinking outside, so I had no idea who it was, but clearly it was a vamp. I stepped to open the door and Eric gently pushed me out of the way. “No lover, I will see who it is.” He was sending soothing thoughts through the bond; apparently he was still on edge with the trial and the attack at home last night.

When the door opened, I was glad that Eric had pushed me away; I couldn’t have been responsible for my salutation (word of the day) upon greeting the King tonight. I was ready to go home and check on my friends, but I knew that we had at least one more event to attend for Felipe before we could leave tomorrow evening. “Northman, Miss Stackhouse,” he said as he entered with his body guard. “I hope that you had a pleasant evening at the hotel miss.”

I was really over him this weekend, but maybe he was trying to be nice, “Yes your highness. It was lovely.”

“Eric, I have some final things to discuss with you before the closing gathering. I need you to come to the board room with me.”

Eric nodded and gave me a quick kiss before following the King out the door. It was about 4am and we had an hour until the closing ceremony or whatever Felipe wanted to call it. From what I could get out of Eric and Ellsey it was basically a toast and nothing more. With Eric gone I was anxious to hear what Pam had to say about last night, so I called her myself.

“Sookie. Are you asking me to repeat myself?”

“Yes Pam. Eric left with Felipe and I just wanted to find out if there was anything I should know?”

“I do not believe that there is anything specifically for you to worry about. Barry seems to be correct that the attack was aimed at David. Felicia is saying it is related to your curse, but she says it may be lifting since no one was killed.”

I asked about the humans that had been injured and Pam assured me that they had been contacted and informed that Eric would cover all of their medical bills. Two waitresses had quit because of the attack, but there was always a line of fangbangers ready to step in. Repairs had begun and she expected David to be up and around the following evening. He was staying in a secret location on Eric’s property and would not be allowed to leave until he had spoken with Eric. She did not recognize any of the vampires, but had already sent security footage to Bill to see if he could identify anyone in his data base.

I let her get back to supervising the contractors and finished getting ready for the King’s farewell.

I’m not sure how much later it was, but the next thing I knew Eric was lifting me from the couch and carrying me to bed. I sighed and muttered something about the toast and he laughed, telling me I had slept through it. He got us undressed and laid down with me, promising me we would go home when we woke up.

-----------------------------------------

We stopped at the bar first to check on the damage and the progress. Several windows were boarded up as we drove past the front of the bar and I could feel Eric’s anger rising. When we entered Fangtasia, he was thoroughly upset about the damage to the bar itself. Apparently he had salvaged it from somewhere in Key West that had been destroyed in a hurricane. It had been a beautiful bar, but now it was being removed piece by piece. Eric was carrying-on to Pam in another language and pointing at things in a catalog. I don’t think he was pleased with some of her decisions, but you had to admit, she had the crews working hard to get the place back open.

After Eric had calmed down a bit we headed for the house. Pam was following us and Bill was meeting us there, he had apparently been chosen to be there when David awoke and to keep him there for our arrival.

We were sitting in the dining area, and Eric was ready to start interrogating David to find out what he knew when there was a knock at the front door. Eric rolled his eyes and Pam got up to see who it was. Seamus stood outside with a shit-eating grin on his face. He gave Pam a hug and came in to the room, “Just checking in Sheriff. I intend to spend some time in your district, so I thought I’d stop by on my way to Ellsey’s.”

“How very proper of you,” Eric said with a slight smile. “You may even be of use this evening. Did you hear about the attack on my bar last evening? It seems our new bartender was the target.”

“I heard a little…” he started, but then he seemed to get a good look at David. “Oh shit,” he said looking right at the bartender, “You are so screwed kid.”

If looks could kill the undead, David would have met his final death right then. Eric was practically fuming. “Seamus – do you know David?”

“I don’t KNOW him. I remember him from a vamp bar in Buckhead outside of Atlanta. That was, oh, 5 years ago?”
“And why is he, as you said, screwed?”

Seamus actually chuckled, “Because if your bar got attacked he didn’t come to you honestly.” He looked at David and shook his head, “You may have covered your tracks, but you didn’t do any research on who hired you. The Viking will kill you himself before allowing you to bring this shit down on him.”

Pam interjected with a look of dread on her face, “What bar in Buckhead?”
“The Bait Shack.”

Eric practically came out of his chair. All of the calm I could send meant nothing. I had no idea what was happening, what this Bait Shack meant, but it was bad. Through gritted teeth Eric spoke to David, “Explain. Now.”

David put his chin up, “I quit, that’s all. And I moved here.”

Eric actually laughed, but it was not a pleasant sound, “You don’t just ‘quit’ working for Gill. How long were you on his circuit?”

Still defiant, David said, “Fifteen years.”

“Then you clearly know that ‘quitting’ wasn’t an option. Why did you leave?”

“I was done.”

“You would rather meet the sun than work for Gill anymore? Because that’s what will happen when he catches up with you.” Eric shook his head, “Did you expect me to protect you? You are nothing to me.”

“I was hoping I wouldn’t get caught.”

Pam spoke up, “I know that Gill believes his staff is his property, but this one isn’t even a great bartender – why come after him?”

David’s shoulders slumped a little and I recognized something human in him. She was right – it wasn’t about the drinks. “What did you do besides work behind the bar?” I asked. His eyes flew to mine and then hit the floor. I think if I hadn’t been drinking Eric’s blood regularly I wouldn’t have seen it. No one else seemed to understand. Eric was thinking about how soon he could turn David over the Gill. Bill and Seamus were searching for something using the laptop and Pam was looking me like I had lost my mind. I put my arm on Eric’s shoulder and told David, “Take a walk outside with Thor.”

“Sookie – What?” Eric started to think.

“We need to talk. You can’t turn him over to Gill.”

“What? Lover, you can’t save him.”

“Eric – send him outside. I’ll explain.”

“Fine,” he thought. “Bartender – go outside with the beast. I’ll call you in a moment.”

David and Thor headed out the slider and everyone looked at me. “You really don’t get it, do you?” I said looking around. “It’s not about the bartending.” Seamus finally seemed to catch on. I could see it in his eyes, but no one else. “If you look that good and you can’t make a great drink – why else would Gill keep him working at the bar?”

“Agh – I can’t even believe Gill would be so low,” Seamus said.

Eric was looking at me like if he stared hard enough he would figure it out. “What?”

“They used him as a whore,” Seamus said.