Finally, the lights went out and everyone cheered. Harper's hands were sweating. What was his damage? He wasn't going on stage. The lights flashed almost violently and the drums started. He could see the outline of Anders. He was guessing it was him. He was in front. How was he not terrified? This would frighten Harper into a coma. He hated being in front of people. Ten at the max. Over ten thousand was too much.

The lights flashed as the drums played and everyone cheered. Harper knew this song. He knew all of their songs. He smiled as Anders started singing. He was surprised that this live version was better than the studio recording.

This man was gorgeous in person. Nice chest. Thick with muscle everywhere. Harper wanted to stare at him and here he could without being creepy. The girl next to him was jumping up and down, putting an arm around Harper, he joined in. He couldn't stop himself. He jumped and sang with the whole massive group of people. This was first for him. This was incredible.

A thought somehow got through the music. How was he going to get to talk to Anders about Eve? What was he going to say? Harper hadn't even thought of that. He had only thought about Anders and the thrill of listening to him live. He dreamed about seeing that man on stage. Talking to him and being in the same room with him. He hadn't thought about Eve and how he was going to ask this rock star about Eve?

What was he doing? Harper was a planner. He never just did anything. He even planned his trips to the grocery store. He never just did stuff. He was losing his freaking mind. He just did this without any plan. What a stupid idea.

This trip to Atlantic City, he just did it. This concert as well. None of this was planned. Maybe he could just go in and ask. He wasn't sure anymore. He felt like his world had shattered. Four days ago, his life was normal and as it should be and now he was at a hard rock concert singing with strangers.

Harper began to worry and then his favorite hate song began and he forgot to worry. They were all hating some woman together. This was awesome and Harper was already thinking about buying another ticket for the next available concert.

Finally, the concert was over and Harper was tired and sweating. He jumped and danced for three hours. That was a fantastic concert. He followed the others to the back as people were leaving the building. The roadies were already taking down equipment. Harper hated seeing that. He wanted more.

He shook his head. Eve. Remember stupid. He lectured himself because he was going crazy. The passes were scanned and they filed into a room. It had a table of food and drinks. Nothing alcoholic, Harper noticed.

They were fed and sat in chairs in front of a long table. He had never done anything like this and now he was really nervous, so he didn't eat much.

Harper felt very out of place sitting with these people. They were hard core rock and roll people. Tattoos and piercings. Tore clothes and barely there tops. Mini skirts and short shorts. He knew he stuck out like a sore thumb. He didn't even have his ears pierced. He didn't wear any jewelry or tattoos.

The band filed in and Anders was last. The group of thirty-five people cheered. Large security guards took their jobs seriously and kept the crowd from getting anywhere near the band. Harper wondered if it was to keep the band safe or keep the humans safe. The band was full of vampires after all.

Now that he was here in the same room, how did he get Anders Morton to answer his questions? How did he get information from this rock star?

Eve, what were you thinking?

Harper almost moaned out loud when he looked at Anders. He was surprisingly sexy in person.

Pictures were usually better because someone used a filter to make the person look a certain way but not this guy. No. He was sexier in person. Harper didn't know how but he was. Maybe it was the mysterious vampire thing. He didn't know but he liked it. Anders looked at him and he got goosebumps. Harper watched Anders look him up and down. He knew Harper didn't fit in here also. Great.

For Eve. Right. He could do this.

They began answering questions and some moron in the back began with a vampire question. Anders answered with the standard 'vampires aren't real and and this was all an act' answer. Harper knew better but he didn't care.

The questions were steered away from vampires and more toward the band, the music and who wrote it. Those mundane questions. Questions they got all the time. Harper knew they were bored and probably tired. They probably hated this part of the job. He took a breath and raised his hand. He felt like he was naked in front of the class.

"Yes. You. Plain Jane. Question." Anders was looking right at him.

His voice was delicious. Harper never thought that was how a voice could be described until he talked. It was deep and rich, like German chocolate cake. Delicious.

"Oh. Right. I...Eve. Eve Xactore. Do you know her? Do you know Eve?" Harper was going to beg for an answer and he was hoping that he asked the right question.

Anders looked at Harper for what seemed like days. His eyes bore into him and he didn't want that sexy man to look away.

Anders motioned for a security guard and whispered in his ear. They both looked at Harper. The guard nodded and stormed over, grabbed Harper and escorted him out of the room.

"No! Please. Eve. She is missing. Please!" Harper was begging as the door closed. He was pulled down the hall by Brutus with tons of muscle.

He didn't know the brute's name but Harper was calling him Brutus. Brutus almost threw him into a room and slammed the door. He heard it lock. He thought about banging on it but he knew that would do no good.

Harper sat and waited. He could be patient. He tried to keep his imagination from going wild. The what if's. Some of them were Anders coming in and killing him. Eating him for dinner. Something along those lines.

Maybe he took Eve and this was a huge mistake. If he took Eve maybe he will take Harper to Eve before he dies. He could see her one last time. Harper was losing what was left of his sanity. He paced and tried not to think because his thoughts got weirder and weirder.

Harper waited for an eternity. He was still alive so he should enjoy his last moments. He looked around the room. There was no window or anything. A couple of chairs, a small bar. He walked over and poured some whiskey as the door opened.

Anders filled the doorway. He walked in and the band followed. This was bad. Harper downed the shot he had poured and stared at them. He was in a room with the band. Alone. Damn, Anders was hot up close. He needed another drink. Was there something stronger than whiskey?

Anders had Harper by the throat and pinned to the far wall. "What about Eve?" He was a vampire right now.

Harper looked at him with his vampiric black eyes and long teeth. This vampire was trying to scare him. He wasn't hurting Harper but Harper wasn't going to be intimidated by him. Harper glared and kneed him in the groin. Anders dropped Harper. They were both on the floor but the vampire recovered quicker. He was standing when Harper stood up.

Anders went for Harper again and he threw a punch, Anders wasn't expecting that and the hit connected. He punched Anders in the jaw and Harper's hand stung. Anders grabbed Harper and turned him into him. Harper was being held tight against Anders. He almost didn't want to move.

He was surrounded by muscle and he felt Anders' breath on his hair. Harper threw an elbow, Anders loosened his grip and Harper took advantage, dropped from his grasp and spun to knock his legs out from under him. Harper was on Anders with a knife to his throat.

Anders froze as Harper glared at him from above him. "Eve. She is missing and that's all I have. And you. That's it." Harper stared into Anders' black eyes. "I don't take shit from vampires and I don't like being threatened." He clarified. Harper looked at the others and back to Anders.

Anders looked at his band and shook his head then put his hands up in surrender. "Eve." He said that like it was a reminder of what they were talking about.

Harper nodded and removed the knife and stood. He pulled Anders up. They were close and almost the same height. His body tingled as he put the knife away.

"How did you even get that in here?" Anders asked about the knife.

"It's made of thick plastic. Nothing metal to be detected. A girl has to protect herself." Harper smiled. Eve always said that.

"Right. So, Eve? What's going on?" Anders was curious about this man and just stared at him. He was beautiful. Pretty dark brown hair and brown eyes to match. He saw concern in this human's eyes. He was curious about a human that worried about a vampire this much. He didn't associate with humans, mostly for their safety.

"Right. She's missing. I had an appointment with her and she didn't show up. She wasn't at her house. I can't find her and you were my only clue." Harper was nervous. He was too close.

"Sit. Let's talk." Anders motioned to the couch and he sat in a chair across from him. Harper didn't move yet. "Please. Sit. I'm sorry about before. I won't hurt you. Sit." Harper sat and looked at Anders. "I'm Anders Morton, Charlie Dawson, lead guitar, Lee, bass and Krista, our drummer." He pointed to them as he introduced them. Lee and Krista didn't have any last names.

Harper cleared his throat. "Hi. Please. Do you know anything?" He felt like he was wasting his time.

"Uh, not sure yet. What's your name? Fred or Chad, Stan maybe?" Anders was goading him. He liked seeing this man glare at him. He wasn't sure why.

Harper glared. "Really? Harper. Hi. Now, what do you know? How do you even know Eve?" Harper asked, well, he demanded an answer as he sat on the couch. He refused to break eye contact. Harper stared at Ander's face. He was very attractive. He had pretty dark eyes with long lashes. Nice lips that he was sure would be great to touch and kiss.

Anders looked comfortable in his skin. He knew who he was and didn't care what others thought. Anders carried himself with arrogance and control. Harper agreed with him. He should be arrogant, he was hot. Sexy. Very, very sexy.

"How do you know she's missing, Harper? I wasn't even close, huh?" Anders challenged.

"We had a meeting and she didn't show." Harper explained. He almost couldn't look directly in Anders' eyes. His stare was intense. "And no. You weren't even in the ballpark."

"Right. I'm sure she had better things to do than meet some human for drinks." Anders smiled. He made sure Harper could see his fangs.

"I appreciate this intimidation act but I don't have time. Eve never misses a meeting with me. Never." Harper glared into his eyes. He made sure Anders knew he wasn't intimidated.

Anders laughed. He was very impressed that this man wasn't scared of him. He didn't even gasp or shutter at the sight of his fangs. "She missed one meeting with a human and you think she's in trouble. I seriously doubt that you are that high of a priority for her. Eve probably had better things to do." Anders smiled. One of the band members laughed. Snickered. Charlie. Harper was ready to kick Charlie's ass.

Harper hated this guy. Totally hot but rude and disrespectful to humans. "Eve has never missed a meeting. She doesn't cancel on me. Ever. She would never just leave and not tell me. Never." Harper burned his stare into Anders.

Anders laughed. "What makes you so damn special? You really think that you matter to Eve. She is a very prominent vampire. She's the member of the West Council and she's the leader of the Center Council, if I remember correctly. A very high position."

Harper realized that Anders knew her really well. "Yes. I know." Harper stood up. Anders stood. "You listen to me, you disrespectful bigot!" He was in Anders' face, poking his chest with his finger. Trying not to slide his hand over that body. No, he was mad. Frustrated. Don't rub the stranger.

"Eve is very important to me. She isn't just some client. She is family. She's my mother and she is missing. I don't give a hair on the back of a rat's ass about what you think of humans or me. I just need any information you have on Eve so I can get her back. She is all I have." Harper almost passed out. He sat.

"She wouldn't just leave me." Harper whispered. He was going to cry if he wasn't careful. He found a louder voice. "If you aren't helping me then just let me leave. I don't have time for useless people." He tried to breathe but he was having a panic attack.

Krista rushed over. "Easy. Put your head between your knees, Sweetheart." She put a hand on Harper's back and rubbed. "Just breathe. Are you okay?" She turned to Anders. "Stop being a jerk. This is Eve. We have to help."

Anders was dumbstruck. Eve raised a human? He had no idea. He never spent time with humans because he was always afraid that he would kill one. He never wanted to risk it. He didn't want to tempt himself. Humans. He shivered. "She what?" He said in a whisper.

"What?" Harper asked. He finally looked up and the spots were gone. He saw honest shock in Anders' eyes.

"Eve is my mom. She would never just leave me, Anders. Never. I found your name scribbled in her planner. I had to look you up. Why would she send me to you?" Harper was confused at that. This guy hated humans. Harper was killing his mom if they survived this. He had to find her to kill her.

Anders just stared. Missing? Could someone really take Eve? Could she be missing? Could she be in trouble? "I don't know why she would send you here? Are you sure she did?"

Harper was getting annoyed. No, he wasn't sure of anything. He was guessing. "I don't know anything for sure. I found your name. Unless you are part of this?"

Anders narrowed his eyes. "No. I could never. Eve is a stronger vampire. Older. It would have to be an elder to take her."

"I don't know. This human just kicked the shit out of you!" Krista pointed out. She smiled at Harper. Harper blushed.

Lee and Charlie chuckled. Anders glared at Krista and looked at Harper. Harper blushed more and looked at the floor. He wanted to disappear. "Sorry about that." Harper began.

Anders interrupted. "Right." He cleared his throat. "Well. I wasn't ready." He found Harper very interesting. He loved the fact that Harper just took him down. He wasn't a fighter but he could hold his own, usually. He wanted to let this guy kick his ass again.

"You weren't ready to get your ass kicked by a human. Who is?" Lee stated.

Charlie and Krista laughed. Anders didn't find it funny. Harper stifled his laugh and cleared his throat. "Sorry. I really am. Eve taught me how to protect myself. I work with vampires and werewolves everyday. I can take care of myself. Eve made sure of that. I was just trying to get you to take me seriously. I'm worried and I don't know who to trust." He pulled the planner out and showed it to Anders. "I didn't know where to go."

Anders took the planner and looked at the bottom of the page. His name was scribbled on the page. Why? He rubbed his face and sighed. He had to talk to his dad. It was his dad's name. He was sure of that. Anders was a junior. A second. He was named after his dad. Anders is his middle name. "My dad. We have to see my dad."

"What?" Harper was shocked and Charlie made a noise. "No. I looked up your name. You were the only Anders Morton. Well, there was a kid in Ohio."

"Anders is his middle name." Anders explained.

"Oh... you're a junior. I had no idea." Harper gaped at Anders. Harper wanted to roll his eyes. Why would he know that when he didn't know who this man was yesterday? That was stupid.

Anders growled. "We're not exactly on speaking terms so this is going to be tricky!" He found it interesting that Harper searched his name. He liked that and that made him uncomfortable. This was going to be tricky. He was beginning to hate this whole thing. He had to talk to his manager. The band's manager, Pierce Murray. He pulled out his phone and pushed a button. "We need to talk." He hung up.

Harper looked at him. "What was that?"

"Pierce. Our manager. We need to talk about canceling the tour." Anders said. No one argued.

Harper took a loud breath in. "No! You can't." Anders looked at him in surprise. Why would he care if they canceled their tour?

The door opened. "I agree with the human. You can't, you have a contract. You have to finish the tour, Anders." Pierce was in the room. He was a short man with black hair. It was almost shiny. He had pretty brown eyes and a nice smile. He was cute for a vampire.

"Eve is missing." Anders explained.

"What do we know?" Pierce asked.

"Nothing."

"Great. You are canceling the tour for nothing?" Pierce was annoyed. "I don't mean to sound callous but you have responsibilities and can't just stop. Not even for Eve. We all love her but.."

"He's right." Harper admitted, quietly. "You can't just stop the tour. You have responsibilities to your fans. We don't know anything yet. You have, what, like four concerts left?"

Anders stared at Harper. "Yes." How did this guy know how many concerts were left? Anders found this interesting. He didn't want to but he couldn't help it. He was curious about Harper. This human was in a room full of vampires and didn't seem nervous.

"Finish the tour. I can do some searches from my laptop. I have calls to make and maybe Zane can help." Harper was thinking out loud. "I can always find you after the last concert. Maybe meet somewhere."

"Who is Zane?" Anders demanded and looked at Harper for any sign of love or interest in Zane. He could kick Zane's ass. Hopefully. Did Harper have a boyfriend or worse a husband? Was he taken? Was Anders jealous? No. He was just curious, that was all.

"Oh." Harper blushed again. The way Anders looked at him made him blush. "No. Nothing like that. He is my receptionist. He's great at finding information."

"Oh, good." Anders said without thinking. "I mean, it's good to have someone that can help out. I thought you said you were alone."

"Smooth." Lee smirked at Anders and Charlie snickered.

"Shut up." Anders stated under his breath and looked at Harper. He didn't hear any of that. "I like the twist. Male receptionist?"

Harper cleared his throat. "He's married. Zane Mackey and his husband are actually trying to adopt a child." He wanted to clear that up. He wanted to let Anders know he was unattached. No, wait. They had to find Eve, not find a man to date. They had to find Eve. Anders was helping and Harper was relieved. his phone rang. "Oh. Excuse me." He stood up and walked to the bar. "Yes. Hale?"

"Harper, where are you? I was knocking on your door and your neighbor said you left." Hale was worried.

"Oh right, I did. I decided to hunt for Eve." Harper pointed out the obvious.

Hale sighed. "Harper. I can't talk you out of it, can I?"

"No. I have to try. If it were me, I would want her to search for me. Although, no one would notice if I was gone. I'm surprised that you noticed." Harper teased. He didn't date or have any relationships so no one would be looking for him.

"Really? Harper I would look for you. You know better. Did you find anything?" Hale was worried about Harper now too.

Harper knew he was not worthless but he liked to tease Hale. In the vampire world, humans weren't important. They were food. "I may have a lead. How about you?"

"No. That's the weird part." Hale started. Harper hit the speaker. He wanted everyone to hear this. "I smelled a lot of vampires and there was a struggle. The West Council is keeping this quiet. I don't know why but our captain isn't talking about it either."

"No one on our end is looking for Eve or talking about her. Something is off. I'm at your place and there was a vampire here also. Your place looks untouched but someone was lurking, so it's good that you are out of town. Stay away. I have a bad feeling." Hale sighed.

"Okay." Harper didn't take his eyes off the phone. Were vampires after him? What was his mother into and what does it have to do with him? He didn't work with Eve.

They weren't in the same business and Eve never talked about work at home. Hell, Harper didn't live with Eve anymore. Harper moved out a few years ago. What was this about?

"Do you have somewhere safe to stay?" Hale broke Harper's thoughts.

"Uh, I don't yet but I can..." Harper began.

Anders spoke up and Harper got goosebumps again. He never even heard him move and he was standing beside him. Close. "Yes. He's staying with friends. We will keep him safe. We're helping him search for Eve."

"I don't want to know anything yet. Just watch him. Harper's feisty." He was talking to Anders. "Harper. Watch yourself and play nice with others. I don't like what is happening. What was Eve into now?"

"I don't know, Hale. Watch your back too. I'm worried." Harper was because this was his family.

"He is getting a burner phone and will contact you. Don't call. He will call you." Anders said and hit the end button.

"What was that?" Harper was shocked.

Anders just stared at Harper. "You could be in danger. You can't use that phone again." He took it and smashed it in his hand. Pieces of plastic fell to the floor. Harper looked at his phone, pieces of his phone. Anders just smashed his phone to bits with his bare hand.

"I have clients. That was a work phone!" Harper yelled. He thought that was hot and Anders just crushed a phone with one hand. Harper liked that but he could never let Anders know that so he glared at the rock star.

Anders was frustrated. "This is about your life, fuck your clients. They will live a month without you, Harper. You need to worry about your safety. You have to stay safe until we figure out what in the hell is going on. I don't like that sound of any of this."

"If someone finds out that Eve raised a human, they will use you to get what they want. You need to stay off the grid for now. I have to keep you safe." He stopped. "We. We have to keep you safe. You heard Hale. Who in the hell is Hale anyway?" He didn't know what his problem was.

"Well...I." Harper didn't know what to say. He needed to respond but he didn't know how. He stared at Anders. He had to protect him. Harper got goosebumps. "What? Hale? He is an enforcer. He works with Eve. Why?" Harper crossed his arms over his chest.

"Just trying to keep all of your men straight." Anders teased.

Harper laughed. "I don't have any men. Hale's an old friend. He's married to a very wealthy vampire, Blair. He's like my uncle. I don't do relationships. So, we can stop the neanderthal need to protect me, I can take care of myself. I just came here to follow the only lead I had." He was ready to go. He had a phone to replace so he walked to the door.

Anders was in front of him, blocking the door. "Oh. Neanderthal, really? Eve is a friend and I won't be responsible for letting you die. She would never recover. She probably sent you here because she knew they would come for you. She knew you were smart enough to figure it out. Here you are so she was right. You can trust me. I will keep you...safe. Until we find Eve. Keep you safe until then." He cleared his throat. What was his problem?

Harper glared. He sat back down. He wasn't getting past Anders right now. Lee just looked at Anders with concern in his eyes. Charlie chuckled. He had never seen Anders crumble. This was fun. He was surprised it was a human that made Anders crumble but it's been too long since Anders was attracted to anyone. And never like this. Charlie was enjoying this.

"Smooth." Charlie smirked, repeating Lee's earlier comment. Lee laughed and left the room.

"Shut up." Anders glared. Charlie shrugged and left also.

"If you need anything, just yell. Gotta eat." Krista was out the door. She was leaving Anders to whatever that was.