Slade noticed Leona relax, when she closed her cell phone. The tension drained from her body, her posture went from sitting up straight widely alert to comfortable. He wanted to know what happened, but decided this was not the time and the place to ask questions. Leona took Slade's hand, picked it up and nuzzled it against her cheek showing how relaxed she really was now. She kept his hand not wanting to let go. They finished their tea and coffee, paid the bill and went back to Slade's car. As they walked to the car, Slade held onto Leona, as if to protect her from impending danger. They walked to the car without incident and drove away toward the warehouse area. Slade checked the rear-view mirror and discovered the limousine no longer followed them. Slade relaxed now too, any potential danger eliminated, but he suspected it was not over yet.

Leona cuddled up close to him, as he drove. She rested her head on his shoulder after slipping her arm around his neck. She nuzzled and kissed his neck and had her hand rubbing his thigh. She felt so secure that her guard completely fell away and she purred into Slade's ear. As she toyed with Slade, while he drove, she sensed the tension in his body and tried to relieve it. The fact he was tense frustrated her and she wanted to know the source of those feelings. "Why are you so tense, my darling?" She asked.

Slade looked over at her and weakly smiled, "Something happened tonight which I can't begin to understand. Someone followed us from the club to the tea-house, but when we left they disappeared. Who did you call and what did they do for us?"

Leona sat there, a confused look on her face, thinking, do I tell him or not. She decided to tell him what happened, "Yes, someone followed us from the club. I recognized the driver as one of the two young vampires from the club. I called Gustaf and told him about it. He said not to worry that nothing will happen to spoil the night. As we sat in the tea house, the call I received informed me that the threat was over and to relax and enjoy the night."

Slade was not happy, but decided it was a vampire matter best handled by the vampire justice system. He thought, he would let it lie for now, but make a note to pursue it later if need be, especially if humans got involved too. For now, it was just another distraction on an otherwise perfect night. Slade drove up to the warehouse door, which opened automatically. This never happened before and immediately, his sense of impending danger rose. When they got inside, the door closed, the warehouse lights went on brightly and Gustaf and Sam appeared in front of the car. Slade relaxed, looked at Leona who was equally alarmed and smiled meekly at her. She returned his smile, but looked questioningly at Gustaf outside the car. Sam opened Leona's door, as Gustaf opened Slade's door.

"What is going on?" Slade immediately demanded of Gustaf.

Gustaf said nothing to Slade, but took Leona aside. Sam stayed by Slade as Gustaf spoke harshly to Leona. As they spoke, Leona was more agitated, started to rant and waved her arms in anger. Her appearance changed to that of a strong, violent and very dominating evil woman. She looked, as if she was ready to commit mayhem and murder. Slade watched in amazement at the changes in her mood. It surprised him, amused him to see this side of her but also scared him. She looked ready to tear someone or something apart and leave nothing identifiable behind. It was not a good feeling. Leona continued to rant and rave, but soon turned back into the soft, sweet, lovable woman she was earlier. She left Gustaf, joined Sam and Slade and sent Sam away with a nod of her head.

"What were you and Gustaf talking about?" Slade asked casually of Leona.

Leona looked at Slade quietly contemplating what to tell him. She started to speak, but Gustaf walked up and interrupted. "Please forgive me, but my sister got a little over wrought about being followed by the two vampires in a limousine." Gustaf told Slade.

Slade looked to Leona, who blushed and shook her head. He never thought they were brother and sister. All he knew now was he had a free field to pursue her as a girlfriend, but would have to beware of Gustaf now more than ever. He took Leona aside and walked with her to the bedroom they shared. When he got inside, he looked at Leona, who still blushed and said, "Were you going to tell me about Gustaf being your brother?"

Leona stuttered, "Y, yes, but not tonight. It is not really an important factor of our relationship, is it?"

"It would have been better to hear it from you, rather than your brother. What language were you speaking to him earlier? It was not one I heard before." Slade said quietly.

"My brother and I are from Romania, where we were part of a wandering band of gypsies. Gustaf is five years older than I am. We became vampires from the same maker at the same time. Our maker trained Gustaf in running business and spent time with me in the use of weapons and torture." Leona gave, as an explanation.

Slade shook his head, reached for Leona and pulled her to him. She came to his arms, hugged him tightly, relaxing and sighing with relief. "Where are the two vampires now?" Slade demanded.

"I do not know. Gustaf did not tell me and will not tell me. I am as lost about them as you are. Maybe I will find out later, after you leave." She told him.

Slade shook his head, stripped off his clothes, held her longer and lay back on the bed, tired. Leona lay next to him, looked at him and put her arm across his chest, feeling his breathing relax and slow. Soon, Slade was asleep because he had not been to bed since the morning before the bombing. Sleep came fast dragging him deeply into an abyss where he was alone in the dark with no escape. It was, as if his world and life abandoned him to fight on alone with only his mind as a weapon. He rolled on his side away from Leona. She looked at his back, got a blanket, covered him up and went to find Gustaf.

As Leona walked out of the bedroom, she saw the limousine pulled into the back of the warehouse. She went over to it, looked in and discovered it was empty and clean. She saw Sam talking to a man in a black SUV, who was unfamiliar to her. She started to walk toward the SUV, when it drove out of the warehouse. Sam disappeared into Gustaf's temporary sleep chamber. She felt left out of the punishment of the two vampires and their human friends. This was so uncharacteristic of Gustaf and the vampire justice system. She was the 'Enforcer.' She wondered, did Gustaf let them go with another warning or were they held somewhere until Slade was out of the area. She needed to know, so she walked to Gustaf's chamber and knocked on the door. No one answered, but Gustaf came out to talk to her after a few minutes. He told her to back off, everything was under control and the young men disciplined to the full extent of vampire law. He turned around, opened the door and disappeared back inside. Leona stood there very mystified at what happened. She thought to herself, I must find out what happened with this and quickly.

She walked back to her room, entered it quietly and sat on the edge of the bed looking at Slade sleeping there. She stood up, removed all her clothes and climbed into bed under the covers with him. Her whole visage changed. She went from being this strong-willed independent woman with everything on her side to being a lonely woman, whose own brother did not need her anymore. She felt weak, helpless, alone and completely vulnerable. Slade was the only one she could trust, but he was human and her needs and desires were more than that. She lay there looking at him sleeping peacefully as she stretched her arm across his stomach to get close.

Slade woke up, when she hugged him across his body. He looked at her and smiled because she was with him. What he saw surprised him and he sat up using his arm as support. He looked closer at Leona. Her usually bright sharp eyes were softer and hollow now, leaking dark pink tears. Her cheeks were pudgy, pink stained, and her nose was crimson from her crying. Her lips, which usually were thin and wide, were puffy and soft unable to contain the soft sobs that came from deep within her body. Shaking her head in anguish disheveled and mussed up her hair. To Slade, she appeared to be a very young woman, not the tough resourceful woman he saw and dated. Her body shook with each sob, as Slade reached over to pull her to him. She felt soft, delicate and breakable to him, not the hard, strong, loving woman he was with the night before. Leona was a woman in her early thirties, but now she appeared to be a young woman barely out of her teens.

"What is wrong, Leona? What happened?" Slade innocently asked.

Leona chokingly answered, "The vampire court of justice met and set the punishment for the two young vampires who followed us. They will not tell me what the punishment was. My brother protected me from it."

Slade held her closer now, her head nestled against his chest with his hand caressing her hair. Her breathing relaxed, her sobs subsided and her body stopped shuddering. A weak smile spread across her face. Her arms wrapped around Slade's neck and she pulled herself into his lap. Slade wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer. In spite of their being naked, there was nothing sexual about this, only two people one of who needed the other's love and comfort. She raised her face to his, seeking his lips with hers. Softly she kissed him while purring softly, as he returned the kiss. They stayed like this for some time, as she recovered and became the older Leona. The tears and sobs stopped, her body became harder and she sat straighter.

They sat together for a few minutes, holding each other and kissed a little, but just comforted each other about the earlier evening. Leona sensed that dawn was not far off and spoke to Slade, "You better get dressed and go. Dawn is coming soon and I need to get into the darkened room here. Thank you for staying with me tonight. Can we get together later on after dark? I want to show you how grateful I am for you being here with me."

Slade kissed her once and got out of bed with her. She looked beautiful standing there, as he dressed. "I will go to the hospital from here this morning to check on Connie. I will go back to the squad room and see if anything has come in on the other three dead women. After dark, where should I go to see you?" Slade asked.

"I will call you when I rise and tell you where I am. Please come as soon as I call. I will miss you, have a good day." Leona shyly spoke to him.

After he wished Leona a good day sleeping, Slade left the warehouse. He saw no evidence of Gustaf and Sam anywhere nearby. He assumed they were in their sleep chambers already waiting for dawn. He drove out of the warehouse, entered the flow of traffic into the city and followed it to the hospital. He parked in the visitor area, walked into the hospital and went to her room. The officer outside greeted him and let him pass into her room. A nurse checked Connie's vitals, recorded them and stopped to talk with Slade.

"She is doing fine. Her vital signs are getting stronger every hour. It is just a matter of time before she comes around. It might be later today, when she awakens." The nurse volunteered.

Slade smiled and said, "Thank you, I will sit here for a while with her. If anything happens, I will yell for you. I have plenty of time before I have to be at work again."

The nurse finished her record keeping, nodded to him and left him alone with Connie. Before he sat, he leaned over, kissed her forehead and took her hand. He thought, he felt her squeeze his hand ever so softly, but decided it was a reflex action. He sat holding her hand, stroked her arm and spoke to her about the case. As he spoke, a tear rolled down his cheek because she missed all that happened to identify the three young women. A tear fell on her hand, she moved her fingers and moaned softly. Her eyes flickered open and she smiled at Slade. Slade jumped up, ran to the door and called for the nurse. He ran back to the bed and grabbed her hand again. She laid there watched him closely, trying to talk. The tube in her mouth helping her breathe did not allow that to happen. All she could do was squeeze his hand, as tears rolled down her face. The biggest smile covered his face. Connie was back, she was awake. The nurse entered, looked at Connie, told Slade the doctor was on his way and he should go wait in the family waiting area for now. Slade bent down, kissed her cheek, squeezed her hand, went to call the boss and waited for the doctor to check her out.

Slade called the boss and gave him the news about Connie. The boss told Slade to take the night off after hearing the news and knowing that Slade will stay with her for the rest of the day. Slade left the waiting room, walked to the coffee machine and bought two cups of coffee. He approached the officer who sat outside Connie's room, gave him a cup of coffee and struck up a conversation.

"Has it been quiet for visitors to Connie's room?' Slade asked curiously.

"You are the only visitor she has had. The doctors and nurses are the only others to enter or leave the room. Who is the investigating officer on the case?" The young police officer asked.

Slade sheepishly answered, "I got assigned to the case because it seems related to the one we both worked."

"Are any of the identities of the six murder victims known?" the officer asked.

"Yesterday we identified three of the young women. They were all college students."

"Wow, you would think they would know better than to go out with strangers." The officer innocently said.

Slade shook his head, excused himself and walked back to the waiting area. Slade made himself comfortable and closed his eyes to get a little more sleep. The sleep he got at the warehouse was good, but something troubled him. Why was Leona so angry with Gustaf about the two vampire bombers? Was there something he missed? She really got very angry with her brother about it. What a surprise, they were brother and sister. Slade quickly fell asleep with his feet propped up and his head tipped back at an odd angle. He had slept about an hour, when the nurse came and woke him up, telling him he could go back to Connie's room. The nurses cleaned Connie up and made her ready for visitors. Slade quickly walked the hall to Connie's room, entered and sat in the chair beside her bed. Except for the two casts and a few small bandages over cuts, Connie looked beautiful. The nurses did a great job preparing her for him. Her smile lit up the room, when he walked in to see her. She held out her good arm to him and hugged him when he came to kiss her cheek. He sat in the chair telling her about the case, not leaving out a single detail. She smiled and laughed, when he told her about finding the identities of three of the young women. He stayed there all day with her and did not get curious, when night fell and Leona failed to call.

Leona woke from her day sleep refreshed ready for another night with Slade. He was now a much needed addition to her nightly activity. She liked having him around, because he reminded her what it was like being a tough person in a tough world. Tonight, however he would wait. Right now, it was more important to confront Gustaf about the two vampires that followed her last night. She knew they were wrong and needed disciplinary action taken against them. She was the 'Enforcer' and by rights should carry out the sentence. She got very angry when Gustaf told her to forget about the task, as she need not concern herself with it. The vampire justice system rendered its decision, punishment determined and carried out immediately. She wanted to know the verdict, punishment and enforcer who carried it out. Gustaf would tell her tonight or she would find the two vampires and ask them what happened. She was their maker and it was her right to know about it. Their behavior reflected badly on her ability to control and train her charges. Her anger rose the more she thought about it and she waited for Gustaf to emerge from his sleep chamber.

She paced slowly outside the sleep chamber, patiently waiting for the door to open and allow her to confront her brother. She felt it was her right to be the one to dispense the punishment to the two young vampires. He took that away from her. Now she wanted to know why, before he got a chance to divert her attention again. The door opened, Sam emerged first and blocked her way. Leona easily overpowered him, knocked him to the floor, leaped into the chamber closing the door and locking it behind her.

Gustaf looked up startled, as Leona stormed at him enraged. She yelled, "Why did you leave me out of the punishment?"

Gustaf calmly and quietly said, "If you calm down, I will tell you what happened." He walked to his desk and sat in the big chair there. It was his power chair, meant to intimidate and strike fear into other vampires. It never worked on Leona. "You were otherwise occupied at the time and the court felt it expedient to hand out justice swiftly and harshly without hesitation. Trust me when I say, they will not be doing much against you or me for a long time."

"What did you do?" Leona asked angrily.

"They are not dead, but they might as well be. Their three human companions will find that they are in a bit of a mess right now." Gustaf replied. He got up and left the room, signaling the discussion ended.

Leona was still not happy, but kept her anger inside. She wanted Slade now and maybe he would help her out.