Hours later, the good Dr. Graham''s phone beeped again. Tina this time, with curt directions. Not even so much as a "thank goodness you''re safe, Your Majesty." I swear, she could have out-Pattoned Patton.


    I promised obedience, then thanked Dr. Graham and gave him back his phone. When I asked if he was going to get into trouble, he laughed even as he erased everything on his phone. I hadn''t told him to do that, and Tina hadn''t told me to tell him to do that . . . that was interesting. He was either good at precautions or a coward. Or both.


    "Bodies go missing here all the time. Actual dead ones, not bodies like yours, not ones that get up and walk around." He was staring at my tits. He''d had a bad night, so I didn''t smack him. Stupid too-small T-shirt.


    "I could probably make you forget everything that happened," I suggested. "Then you wouldn''t be scared or horny or both. You''d just be . . . however you are when you haven''t been attacked by a ruthless naked denizen of the undead."


    "Don''t you dare." He held up his hands and backed away. "You keep your vampire hypnosis to yourself. I earned those memories; you can''t have them."


    "Okay, okay, simmer. Sorry again. You better go, my ride''s here."


    "Yeah, and I have to go drink a whole bunch of vodka . . . for a long, long time . . . nice to meet you, I guess . . ." Graham wandered away, and I went out to the loading area Tina had told me about (thank goodness for the Internet).


    Unloading area, actually-I was standing (blurgh!) where they dropped off the dead bodies. The ones that were better at staying dead than I was. I don''t know how Tina managed it, either, but the unloading area was empty. It was like a big creepy warehouse, very well lit (the fortune they must spend on gigantic fluorescent bulbs!) and clean. It was just me, and all the lights, and my ride.


    And what a ride!