Dead as a Doornail

“I’ll spare someone.” I could feel my shoulders relax with relief. I focused on my hands and took a deep breath. When I glanced over at him, Eric was looking around the bar, considering the vampires present.
    I’d met most of them in passing. Thalia had long black ringlets down her back and a profile that could best be described as classical. She had a heavy accent—Greek, I thought—and she also had a hasty temper. Indira was a tiny Indian vamp, complete with doe eyes and tikal; no one would take her seriously until things got out of hand. Maxwell Lee was an African-American investment banker. Though strong as any vampire, Maxwell tended to enjoy more cerebral pastimes than acting as a bouncer.
    “What if I send Charles?” Eric sounded casual, but I knew him well enough to suspect he wasn’t.
    “Or Pam,” I said. “Or anyone else who can keep their temper.” I watched Thalia crush a metal mug with her fingers to impress a human male who was trying to put the moves on her. He blanched and scurried back to his table. Some vampires enjoy human company, but Thalia was not one of them.
    “Charles is the least temperamental vampire I’ve ever met, though I confess I don’t know him well. He’s been working here only two weeks.”
    “You seem to be keeping him busy here.”
    “I can spare him.” Eric gave me a haughty look that said quite clearly it was up to him to decide how busy he wanted to keep his employee.
    “Um . . . okeydokey.” The patrons of Merlotte’s would like the pirate just fine, and Sam’s revenue would jump in consequence.
    “Here are the terms,” Eric said, fixing me with his gaze. “Sam supplies unlimited blood for Charles and a secure place to stay. You might want to keep him in your house, as you did me.”
    “And I might not,” I said indignantly. “I’m not running any hostel for traveling vampires.” Frank Sinatra began to croon “Strangers in the Night” in the background.
    “Oh, of course, I forgot. But you were generously paid for my board.”
    He’d touched on a sore spot. In fact, he’d poked it with a sharp stick. I flinched. “That was my brother’s idea,” I said. I saw Eric’s eyes flash, and I flushed all over. I’d just confirmed a suspicion he’d had. “But he was absolutely right,” I said with conviction. “Why should I have put a vampire up in my house without getting paid? After all, I needed the money.”
    “Is the fifty thousand already gone?” Eric said very quietly. “Did Jason ask for a share of it?”
    “None of your business,” I said, my voice exactly as sharp and indignant as I’d intended it to be. I’d given Jason only a fifth of it. He hadn’t exactly asked, either, though I had to admit to myself he’d clearly expected me to give him some. Since I needed it a lot worse, I’d kept more of it than I’d initially planned.
    I had no health insurance. Jason, of course, was covered through the parish plan. I’d begun thinking, What if I was disabled? What if I broke my arm or had to have my appendix out? Not only would I not put in my hours at work, but I’dhave hospital bills. And any stay in a hospital, in this day and age, is an expensive one. I’d incurred a few medical bills during the past year, and it had taken me a long, painful time to pay them off.
    Now I was profoundly glad I’d had that twinge of caution. In the normal course of things, I don’t look real far ahead, because I’m used to living day to day. But Sam’s injury had opened my eyes. I’d been thinking of how badly I needed a new car—well, a newer secondhand one. I’d been thinking of how dingy the living room drapes were, how pleasant it would be to order new ones from JCPenney. It had even crossed my mind that it would be a lot of fun to buy a dress that wasn’t on sale. But I’d been shocked out of such frivolity when Sam had his leg broken.
    As Connie the Corpse introduced the next song (“One of These Nights”), Eric examined my face. “I wish that I could read your mind as you can read the minds of others,” he said. “I wish very much that I could know what was going on in your head. I wish I knew why I cared what’s going on in that head.”
    I gave him a lopsided smile. “I agree to the terms: free blood and lodging, though the lodging won’t necessarily be with me. What about the money?”
    Eric smiled. “I’ll take my payment in kind. I like Sam owing me a favor.”
    I called Sam with the cell phone he’d