“Sookie.” When he used that voice, he meant business. So I took a deep breath, let it out. Again. Again.
“Okay, I’m better,” I said.
“Listen,” Bil said, and I raised my eyes to his. He was looking excited again. He shook his own bag. “We’ve had al eyes open to try to track down Colton … or find his body. Very early this past morning, Palomino cal ed from her job at the Trifecta. She’s seen Colton. Felipe does have him. We’ve got a plan to get him out. Cobbled together, but I think it might work. If we can accomplish that, maybe we’l also discover where they’re keeping Warren. If we find Warren and broadcast his whereabouts, Mustapha wil come forward to tel what he knows. When Mustapha tel s us who suborned him by holding Warren hostage, then we’l know who kil ed Kym. When we tel the police, the heat wil be off Eric. Then we can solve the problem of that asshole Appius’s posthumous betrothal of Eric to Freyda. Felipe and his ‘posse’ wil go back to Nevada. Eric wil have his sheriff’s job, or a new title, but Felipe wil not fire him or kil him.”
“That’s a hel of lot of dominoes, Bil . Colton to Warren to Mustapha to Kym’s murderer to the police to Appius to Freyda to Eric. Anyway, isn’t it too late? We’re doomed. Colton’s probably already told him everything.”
“He can’t have. Colton was grieving so hard over Audrina that I wiped his memory of her death. So he doesn’t remember al of what happened that night, by any means.”
“You didn’t tel Eric that, did you?”
Bil shrugged. “I didn’t need his permission. It doesn’t matter now, anyway. Felipe won’t have Colton after tonight.” He brandished the bag he’d brought.
“Why?”
“Because you and I are going to kidnap him back.”
“And do what with him?” Colton was a pretty nice guy, and he hadn’t had what anyone would think was an easy life. I didn’t want to rescue him from Felipe only to find that Bil planned to remove Colton as a witness in a very final way.
“I have it al planned. But we have to act quickly. I’ve texted Harp to tel him we have to reschedule. I think this is more important than asking him questions about Kym’s parents.”
I had to agree.
“Say we get Colton out,” I said, as we hustled toward Bil ’s car. “What about Immanuel? Can they track him in Los Angeles?” Immanuel the hairdresser, also human, had been there that night, since Victor’s cruelty had led to his sister’s death.
“He got work on the set of a television show. Ironical y, it’s about vampires and most of the shooting takes place at night. Two members of the crew are actual y vampires. I put Immanuel under the care of one of them. He’l be guarded.”
“How’d you arrange that?”
“Coincidence. It happens,” Bil said. “And you’re the other human, but you can’t be glamoured. So if we can just get Colton away and find Warren
…”
“Since Warren never came into Fangtasia the night we kil ed Victor,” I said, “I don’t believe his abduction has anything to do with Victor’s death. I think Warren was snatched just to force Mustapha to let Kym Rowe in the back door of Eric’s house.” I had enough lightbulbs popping over my head to il uminate an operating room. “What do you think?”
“I think we have a lot of questions,” Bil said. “Now let’s go find out some answers.”
Our first stop was my house, where I left Jannalynn’s jacket and opened the bag Bil had brought.
“Good God,” I said in disgust. “I got to wear that?”
“Part of the plan,” Bil said, though he was smiling.
I stomped into my room and pul ed on the blue “flirty” skirt, which began wel below my navel and ended about two inches below my happy place.
The “blouse”—and it was a blouse in name only—was white with red trim and tied between my breasts. It was just like a bra with sleeves. I put on white Nikes with red trim, which was the best match I had on my shoe rack. There sure wasn’t any pocket in this outfit, so I stuck the cluviel dor in my shoulder bag. While I was preparing for this secret mission, I put my phone on vibrate so it couldn’t ring at an awkward moment. I looked in the bathroom mirror. I was as ready as I’d ever be.
I felt ridiculously self-conscious when I came into the living room wearing the abbreviated outfit.
“You look just right,” Bil said soberly, and I caught the corner of his mouth twitching. I had to laugh.
“I hope Sam doesn’t decide we ought to dress this way at Merlotte’s,” I said.
“You would have a ful house every night,” Bil said.
“Not unless I lost some weight.” My glance in the mirror had reminded me that my stomach was not exactly concave.
“You look mouthwatering,” Bil said, and to make his point his fangs came down. He tactful y closed his mouth.
“Oh, wel .” I tried to accept this as an impersonal tribute, though I don’t think any woman minds knowing she looks good, as long as the admiration isn’t expressed in an offensive way and doesn’t come from a disgusting source. “We better get going.”
The Trifecta, a hotel/casino on the east side of Shreveport, was the closest thing the town had to “glamorous.” At night it glowed silver with so many lights I was sure you could see it from the moon. Since the lot was ful , we were forced to park outside the fenced employee parking area. But the gate was open and unguarded at the moment, so we simply walked through the lot and right up to the very prosaic beige metal door that was the employee entrance.
