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Maybe she had hurt Bill. Maybe she was his lover.

All of this passed through my mind in a rush, but none of it showed on my face. I’ve had years of experience in controlling my face. I could feel my bright smile snap on protectively, my spine straightened, and I said cheerfully, “Hi! I was supposed to drop by tonight and give Bill some information. Is he available?”

The female vampire laughed at me, which was nothing I wasn’t used to. My smile notched up a degree brighter. This critter radiated danger the way a light bulb gives off heat.

“This little human gal here says she has some information for you, Bill!” she yelled over her (slim, brown, beautiful) shoulder.

I tried not to let relief show in any way.

“You wanna see this little thing? Or shall I just give her a love bite?”

Over my dead body, I thought furiously, and then realized it might be just that.

I didn’t hear Bill speak, but the vampire stood back, and I stepped into the old house. Running wouldn’t do any good; this vamp could undoubtedly bring me down before I’d gone five steps. And I hadn’t laid eyes on Bill, and I couldn’t be sure he was all right until I saw him. I’d brave this out and hope for the best. I’m pretty good at doing that.

The big front room was crammed with dark old furniture and people. No, not people, I realized after I’d looked carefully; two people, and two more strange vampires.

The two vampires were both male and white. One had a buzz cut and tattoos on every visible inch of his skin. The other was even taller than the woman, maybe six foot four, with a head of long rippling dark hair and a magnificent build.

The humans were less impressive. The woman was blond and plump, thirty-five or older. She was wearing maybe a pound too much makeup. She looked as worn as an old boot. The man was another story. He was lovely, the prettiest man I’d ever seen. He couldn’t have been more than twenty-one. He was swarthy, maybe Hispanic, small and fine-boned. He wore denim cut-offs and nothing else. Except for makeup. I took that in my stride, but I didn’t find it appealing.

Then Bill moved and I saw him, standing in the shadows of the dark hall leading from the living room to the back of the house. I looked at him, trying to get my bearings in this unexpected situation. To my dismay, he didn’t look at all reassuring. His face was very still, absolutely impenetrable. Though I couldn’t believe I was even thinking it, it would have been great at that point to have had a peek into his mind.

“Well, we can have a wonderful evening now,” the long-haired male vampire said. He sounded delighted. “Is this a little friend of yours, Bill? She’s so fresh.”

I thought of a few choice words I’d learned from Jason.

“If you’ll just excuse me and Bill a minute,” I said very politely, as if this was a perfectly normal evening, “I’ve been arranging for workmen for the house.” I tried to sound businesslike and impersonal, though wearing shorts and a T-shirt and Nikes does not inspire professional respect. But I hoped I conveyed the impression that nice people I encountered in the course of my working day could not possibly hold any threat of danger.

“And we heard Bill was on a diet of synthetic blood only,” said the tattooed vampire. “Guess we heard wrong, Diane.”

The female vampire cocked her head and gave me a long look. “I’m not so sure. She looks like a virgin to me.”

I didn’t think Diane was talking hymens.

I took a few casual steps toward Bill, hoping like hell he would defend me if worst came to worst, but finding myself not absolutely sure. I was still smiling, hoping he would speak, would move.

And then he did. “Sookie is mine,” he said, and his voice was so cold and smooth it wouldn’t have made a ripple in the water if it had been a stone.

I looked at him sharply, but I had enough brains to keep my mouth shut.

“How good you been taking care of our Bill?” Diane asked.

“None of your fucking business,” I answered, using one of Jason’s words and still