Chapter 16

16- Freedom ain’t a word I’m done with yet

We arrived at Rene and Arlene’s house to find a not-so-surprise faced Arlene answer the door.  She gave a hateful round-about glance to my little investigative party before swinging the door half open to lean out.  I could see the kids cowering in the background looking all shades of sad.

“Honey, I thought you’d be at work,” I said, feeling a tad bit guilty if not a whole lot unjustified.  I was in the serious business of looking for a killer.  “We just came to speak with Rene.”

“Well, I had to call out, and he ain’t here.  Your bodyguard came sniffing round asking questions and the like and he took off.  Packed every bit a clothes in his drawers and cleaned out the medicine cabinet too.”

The slap came out of nowhere, cracking across my cheek like a razorblade drawl.  I was so stunned by the vehemence of the gesture that I tripped backwards and would have landed on my butt if not for Eric’s considering hands.  I quickly grabbed him by the wrists so he wouldn’t do anything foolish.

“Eric, the kids,” I told him desperately.  He growled but stayed to set me steady.  Trey stayed in the background as silently disapproving muscle.

“Weren’t it enough, you having the new job, and the new man, and the whole lot of it.  Now you had to go scaring off my man sending bikers after him and vampires and who knows what else.  He was good to the kids, and good to me and you just up and ruined it.”

“What about Dawn, Arlene?” I asked calm as you please as I cradled my throbbing face.  “And Maudette.  And even his own sister?  Was he good to them too?”

“You just shut your fucking mouth!  Rene’s been a good part of this community a long time!  He didn’t kill those women!”

But she looked desperate as she said this, like she was trying real hard to make herself believe.  And for that, there was nothing I could do to help her.

“Come on Eric,” I said softly.  “We’ll get nothing else here.”

“God damn you, Sookie Stackhouse!  Taking up with them devils as you are.”

For this I did have something to say.  I gently asked Eric to release me and stepped up close enough to make her flinch.  I knew my eyes were crazy looking, the look I get when I’m hearing too much and can’t make it stop, and this time I didn’t want them to.

“Let me tell you something, Arlene Fowler.  I ain’t never done nothing but good by you and yours.  Babysitting when I could, cleaning your trailer when you asked, covering your shifts and your tables.  You call Eric the devil, my cousin and her girlfriend with him?  They ain’t never struck out at me for my kindnesses the way you just did tonight.  You’re looking for someone to blame that another one ran out on you, but I ain’t got that kinda violent fear in me.  I know my vampire, my man, will stand by me, and protect me and hold me when the whole world slaps at me the way you’ve just done.  You’ll never have that, and for that I am truly sorry for you.”

“Coby, Lisa, I love you,” I called to them over their tears.  “You go on and hold your momma now.”

They came out and wrapped themselves around her, comforting her, when for all the world it should have been the other way around.

“Come on Eric,” I repeated softly.  “We can go now.”

We drove to the sheriff’s office next to present him with our suspicions.  He seemed mighty interested to know that Rene had skipped town on account of our questioning.

“Wish I coulda got a hold of one or two of his belts,” was all he had to say.  But he shook Eric’s hand with no more than a little fuss.  It was all very gentlemanly.

“Thanks for taking the time, sheriff,” he said with a light flavoring of gratitude.

“You’re welcome sheriff, but it was Sookie here that first took suspicion.”

Bud Dearborn wisely didn’t say anything to that.

We were getting in the car to head the house so I could change for the business at the club when Eric let me in on a little change in plans.  Trey had already left on his Harley.

“There is some trouble at the club,” he said, flashing fingers over his keys on his BlackBerry.  “I went ahead and told Pam and Hadley to head on in as we would be arriving at your home so shortly.”

We made it home with good timing, but the second Eric turned off the engine, I saw him stiffen and knew something was wrong.

The shotgun blast came from the driver’s side, and since Eric was driving, it took him in the side of the neck, and I could tell from the searing smell that it was a silver cartridge.  I gave a roar and dove out the side of the Beast.  When Rene came for me with the gun, I fought back with every bit of vamp induced strength in me kicking and punching with my feet with all my might.  I could hear Rene’s dark thoughts, roiling with all the blackness he intended to do to me.  I was to be the prize trophy to his collection, the vampire king’s whore.

But Rene didn’t want to shoot me.  No, he had far darker plans than that.

Gonna fuck your fang banger corpse right here in beside your fanger fuck.

I let out a scream that came out sounding more like a gurgle for Rene’s belt chocking round my throat.  I kicked and beat at his arms, but the world was slowly going gray and it was all I could do to hold on to consciousness.

Then I heard a sound, the most beautiful sound I’d ever had the pleasure of hearing.  One that near blew my eardrums for its nearness, but gave me air back for its effects.  I kicked once more, and sent Rene’s corpse flying off me.  Rene’s skull was a mass of gray matter and white bits of smoldering bone.  My clothes were soaked to the skin with the remnants, and I glanced up shell shocked with still ringing ears to see who had saved the day.

There, standing on my porch wearing her best violet flannel nightie, was my not-so-feeble Gran holding a smoking shotgun.  Her face was a picture of fierceness as she spoke.

“Ain’t nobody killing nobody in my yard ‘cept for me.”

I ran to Eric’s side then, shoving my wrist down to his mouth so he could feed.  When he couldn’t even drop fang, I took it upon myself to sink teeth into my own flesh.  It hurt worse than just about anything I’d ever felt, but I barely felt the pain for staring down at his blown open throat.  Gran came up behind me, and I heard her gasp on seeing the damage.

“Eric, honey, drink.”

He was making little mewling noises as I forced the blood down his throat, using my fingers to coax the flow down easier.  And after what seemed like forever, his throat began to heal.

“Oh thank god for that,” I whispered gratefully.  I felt his fangs drop, but he was careful to not even let them graze the already torn flesh of my wrist.

“I suppose I ought to see to calling the other sheriff then,” Gran said reluctantly once she realized Eric was on the mend.

“The other sheriff, then showers all around,” Eric managed, to which we all laughed in relief.

And if there were a few tears shed with the laughter, not one soul present would ever be telling.

The after party at Fangtasia was one for the books, I’ll tell you.  Eric took the throne out of his basement for the occasion, and Gran sat dolled up as pretty as you please with flowers round her feet and Eric’s crown on her head.  Pam stood proudly at her side, Hadley sat curled up at her feet playing with the ends of her dress.

“If there was ever a queen,” Eric told the Gothed out crowd.  “This is she.”

Bobby the not-so-boob pulled me aside to apologize, and (miracles never cease to amaze) thank me for getting him his job back.

“I was too quick to judge,” he admitted reluctantly.  “And you make the Master happy.”

Yucks to the Master bit, kudos to the compliment.

“You do good work, Bobby,” I told him on giving him a hand squeeze.  “Plus I’ll always be grateful to the man who delivered me my skillet.”

I left him looking befuddled and went to find Eric, who was stood proudly at my Gran’s side surrounded by suitors vampire and human alike.

“And then she shot him, quick and clean as you please,” Hadley was recounting.

“Bastard got what was coming to him,” Gran said in a commanding sort of tone.

“Gran!” I gasped.  She preened and pouted then settled into her normal regal self.

“Well, questionable parentage or not, that’s what he was.”

I nodded my agreement as Eric pulled me into his side.  His eyes were glowing with happy light.  He was as relaxed as I’d ever seen him outside the bedroom.

“Care for a dance, dear one?”

In honor of my Gran, they were playing oldies over the speakers.  I could only nod over my own happiness and let him lead me out.

“You’re glowing tonight, my love,” he said as he led me in a gentle waltz.

“It’s because I am your love.  And because I don’t have to worry about getting killed no more,” I added on a laugh.

Eric’s hands tightened on my waist.

“The thought of losing you…”

He looked devastated at even the possibility.

“But you won’t,” I assured him gently.

“Then you meant what you said, about…?”

“Turning me?  Yes.  But not just yet.  And you, did you mean what you said…?”

“About marrying you?  The sooner the better, my heart.”

“Why the sooner the better?” I asked suspiciously.

“All in good time,” he murmured in my ear.  “What is best, what is right, is in my arms right now.”

“Forever always,” I vowed adamantly.

“Forever always,” he vowed passionately in return.

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That’s it for now folks, but I have a sequel planned, Can’t Stop the World, for all the juicy little lemons I left with you.  Thanks for all the kind reviews and love! ❤