Swimming to the Light (Southern Vampire Mystery)

Chapter 24 - Taken A-Back

Los Angeles:

Eric could see their destination long before the limousine pulled up to the curb. The spotlights swept the sky. Eric could smell the unique quality to the air that was so distinctly Los Angeles. He leaned back, turning the martini glass full of blood carefully in his fingers. The women who were hired to be his escorts sat on either side of him. One was spooling through her phone. The other was chatting with the television host who sat facing them. She was idly running her hand up and down his leg. When she started to creep closer to his crotch than his knee he captured her hand. She turned to him and he raised his eyebrows before raising her hand to his lips. He settled her hand on her own thigh and stared back out the window.

The trip to Los Angeles had been staged in two entirely separate travel groups. There was the advance group that had flown with Sandy Seacrest. The first contingent included writers, social media consultants and wranglers hired for the occasion. They had set up a 'command center' at the hotel across the street from Mistral. This was the group sending out press kits, assembling phone contact lists and both creating and fielding interview and appearance requests. Eric was committed to checking in with them at least twice a night for sessions where he would be placed in a room and subjected to a series of people who would be interviewing him either for television or news articles.

Eric had traveled with the second group. He had been relieved when he realized that he would be in his travel coffin for the actual transport to Los Angeles. It would be a welcome respite from the noise and whirl of activities. He couldn't imagine having to sit in the confined area of the main cabin with Twy and her posse. He had a moment when he wondered if she had realized the level of his discomfort and purposely timed things to be easy on him. Then he dismissed the idea.

As it was when Eric rose he automatically checked for Sookie. He realized time and distance were taking a toll on the tie between them. He could tell she continued but little else. He opened the coffin and found himself in an upgraded suite. He walked out of his bedroom into a combination seating area/conference room filled with people. Twy seemed to know everyone and Eric had quickly realized that the fewer questions he asked the easier things seemed to go. It ran against his nature to not be in control but if there was anything he had learned in his past years of servitude in Oklahoma it was the virtue of patience. Once he was appropriately dressed and had spent time with the stylist and the stylist's assistant he retreated back to his bedroom. Karin joined him there, her eyes hard. He found himself smiling at her sound of disgust. She dropped into a chair and immediately went into downtime. Eric could feel her anxiety and he quite agreed. Twy's contract would be at an end with the conclusion of the Summit and he was ready to return to a slower pace. There would continue to be a publicist but it was assumed that the laws of physics would apply; the motion that had been created with Twy's efforts would continue for some time to come without the additional time and energy that was being expended all around him at the moment.

Within 20 minutes there was a knock on the door and Chloe stuck her head inside without waiting for an invitation. "We have to get going. You have live televised interviews scheduled across the street and you'll need some makeup. Then we need to be ready to be in the limo by 11PM if we're going to arrive at Fangtasia-LA for the carpet walk. Twy asked that you try not to sit any more than required so your suit doesn't wrinkle," and Chloe was back out of the room leaving the door ajar.

Karin gave Eric a sour look. "When the contract is over I want to drain them both. You have any problem with that?" Eric raised an eyebrow then shrugged and headed toward the door.

"My guess is they'd be cheaper dead," he mumbled. He looked up to find Twy looking straight at him. She fixed him with a stink eye that made him wonder if she had vampire hearing.