"Where are you living now?" Eric asked, finally breaking the silence.

"A shitty apartment in Bon Temps." Actually, you were Dawn's neighbor. She'd been a waitress at Merlotte's and the latest murder victim. You wondered if you could get a discount on the rent due to emotional trauma. Probably. Sam was kind of a sucker for the damsel in distress.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? Why Bon Temps?"

"That and why a shitty apartment. Money has never been an issue for you if I recall."

It was actually one of the things Eric liked about you. He never had to worry you were only interested in his money. You had plenty of your own and even if you didn't your father would have picked up the slack. You shrugged. "If you must know, I was doing a little job for Sophie-Anne. I didn't intend to stay in Bon Temps long, but I kind of like it. Haven't decided if I'm going to make it permanent yet or not."

He ran his gaze over you and you did your best to ignore it, keeping your head turned toward your window. "What sort of job?"

You smiled at that. "I would assume if your queen wanted you to know that, she'd tell you. She didn't bother to mention this was your area when she sent me here."

He huffed a laugh. "Does that surprise you?"

"No. Nothing much surprises me anymore. Except for discovering that bar is yours. Doesn't seem like your style." You glanced over at him. The corner of his mouth kicked up in a small smirk, but he kept his eyes on the road.

"Money is my style, Y/N and Fangtasia makes me plenty of it."

You hummed in agreement. "I'm sure it does." You let the silence stretch a minute. "It was Pam's idea wasn't it?"

He laughed. "Yes, it was."

A short time later he pulled up in front of an industrial looking apartment building. You leaned forward in your seat to take in the full height of it, but before it could really register, Eric was opening your door. "Come."

You frowned, but followed him just the same. No words were spoken while you trailed behind him as he entered the building and made a beeline straight for the elevator with only a passing nod for the doorman.

He pressed the button for the seventh floor. You stood on the opposite side of the car and watched him. Anyone else would think he was settled, calm, but you could see the tension in his long, lean body. In the way he held his arms behind his back. Even in the way his feet shuffled.

When the elevator arrived on its floor, he stepped out first and headed to one of four visible doors. He unlocked it and motioned you inside as he flipped on the lights. You had assumed he was taking you to his home, but an empty apartment opened before you. Stunning, but empty. Exposed piping and metal beams mixed with shiplap walls and state of the art appliances were offset by a stained concrete floor. Had you drawn a plan for an apartment, it wouldn't have been any more fitting. It was perfect.

You glanced at Eric wondering what he was up to and found his eyes already on you. "What is this?"

He smirked. "An apartment. A very nice apartment."

"That was very helpful, Eric. Thank you." You rolled your eyes and stepped over to take in the view. It was as amazing as the rest of the apartment. Eric's movement was reflected in the glass as he came stand behind you "Why did you bring me here?"

"Because why live in a shitty apartment if you can live here?" he said as if it was the most reasonable, expected thing in the world.

"So, you brought me here in the middle of the night to play real estate agent?" This was so not the conversation you'd anticipated having when he dragged you out of Fangtasia.

"How did your friend know about the raid?" he asked instead of answering your question.

You hummed. "Like I said, she knows things. If you want to know how she knows things, you'll have to have that conversation with her. Or perhaps Bill will tell you, though if he does, I'll make him regret it."

"You don't care for him very much, do you?"

"That obvious?" You turned to look at him.

He chuckled. "You were never shy about letting people know your true thoughts."

"Yes, well..." It wasn't as if you could argue with him. It was the truth. "I don't trust him. He's too polished and he expects everyone to buy his bullshit. I don't like bullshit."

"Unless you're the one selling it, of course."

And there it was, the conversation you'd been expecting for the last hour. "I never lied to you, Eric. I may not have been forthright about what I was doing in Dallas, but it had nothing to do with you. Not really."

"Nothing to do with me? You were attempting to get enough information against my maker for the Authority to be justified in removing him from power." There was the Eric you knew. Cool and calm one minute and furious the next. You'd missed him.

You scoffed and rolled your eyes which you knew would piss him off further. "The Authority doesn't need justification for shit. If they want to do something, they'll do it and make up the reasons later. I was collecting information on the whole nest, not just Godric. I know you may find this difficult to believe but vampires tend to lack trust on the whole. I was a peacekeeping measure. Proof that there was nothing to worry about."

"So you said before. Regardless of your reason for being there, the truth is that you used me to get close to Godric and the others. You made a fool of me. I would have done anything for you. Sworn an oath to anyone that there was nothing to fear from you and you used my trust against me. I do not trust lightly, Y/N." He showed you his back and paced away from you.

You closed your eyes and tried to calm yourself. Screaming the same words at him you had before wouldn't do any more good than it had then. "Can I ask you a question?"

He didn't answer but turned his head to look at you over his shoulder.

"When you told Godric of my treachery, as you put it, what did he say?"

"He told me to talk to you and hear what you had to say."

"And what was your response?"

"That I had heard enough lies for a hundred lifetimes."

You nodded and turned back to the window. "Perhaps if you had listened to him, you might have discovered that Godric knew my purpose from the moment I arrived. He didn't warn you away from me because he knew my relationship with you had nothing to do with the Authority."

"He knew and yet he said nothing? Even to me? I find that hard to believe."

"So, ask him."

"If this is true, why didn't you tell me at the time?"

"I tried Eric. You didn't want to hear anything I had to say." You leaned your back against the window with your arms crossed over your chest. "Hell, I'm surprised you're listening to me now."

He pushed a hand through his hair. "Perhaps the passage of time has given me a new perspective."

"I find it hard to believe that three years was enough to make you this reasonable."

He grinned and sauntered toward you. "Oh, sweetheart, I never said anything about being reasonable. But I have learned that a little patience is acceptable if it brings me the things I want."

Your heart raced and you knew he could hear it. By the time he stopped there was less than a foot between the two of you. "And what is it you want, Eric Northman?"

"From you?"

You licked your lips and gave him a nod.

"Absolutely nothing. Even if I got it, I'm fairly certain I couldn't trust it."

"Ouch." You laughed as though the words didn't bother you. As if your heart wasn't in tattered ribbons in your chest. "I'll think about it."

He scowled. "Think about what precisely?"

"The apartment." You patted his chest and walked around him to the door. When you reached it, you paused and glanced back to find him in the same position. "Are you going to take me home or should I call a cab?"

***

Eric flew you home instead of driving as it was much faster and he was worried about daybreak coming before he was safely back in his own home. When he deposited you outside your apartment he glanced around, a dark scowl on his face. "Really, Y/N?"

You shrugged. "What?"

He shoved his hands into his pockets. "This can't possibly be secure."

"I am a little tougher than the average girl, Eric. I'll survive."

The sound he made said he didn't agree with you at all but it wasn't worth the argument. You knew that sound well, you'd heard it many, many times. "You will return to Fangtasia."

"Not tonight. Bill is speaking at a meeting of the Descendants of the Glorious Dead. Can't miss it. You should come. Really freak out the locals."

You'd expected a laugh but he maintained that perfect blank expression. "I'm afraid I wouldn't have much to offer. I was in Europe at the time. Tomorrow then?"

"Maybe. I'll have to check my schedule."

In a flash he was in front of you with your phone in his hand. You'd barely felt him remove it from your pocket. He dialed a number and his phone rang in his pocket. He disconnected the call and handed your phone back to you. "Clear your schedule."

You simply nodded as you watched him back away from you before he took off. You'd be lying if you said your heart wasn't pounding just from being in his proximity. The last three years of your life had been spent trying to forget about that vampire. Thirty seconds in his presence was enough to tell you that had been an impossible task.