Sophie set her fork down on her plate and said, “Marcel, that was hands down the best boudin I’ve ever eaten.”

“Old family recipe. Glad you liked it.”

“Thanks so much for helping me.” She glanced at her ankle that he’d wrapped in an elastic bandage. “With any luck, I’ll be outta your hair soon.”

“Think nothin’ of it, girl. Where you gonna go? You got family somewhere?”

“I do back East, but they won’t help me, since I’m the black sheep and...” She made quotation marks with her fingers. “...the biggest disappointment of their lives.”

“What’d you do for them to think that?”

She shook her head and whispered, “The question is, ‘What didn’t I do in the name of rebellion against Mommy and Daddy?’ I’ve paid for it and then some, believe me.”

Pushing her chair back, she stood and gathered the dishes from the table.

“I’ll get these cleaned up, Marcel.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Not really. Sorry. I beat myself up enough as it is about how my choices got me into that situation. I’d rather not spill my sob story again.”

“Well, I’m here if you ever want to. No judgment. We’ve all been in low places. We just gotta keep tryin’ to rise above it.”

“Seems like that’s where I’ve been for years, the gutter. But that’s the goal, climbing out of it. Thanks.”

“Any time.”

She stacked the dishes beside the sink and gestured to a pitcher.

“More iced tea?”

“I’ll get it. Finish what ya doin’ and then go prop ya leg up.”

Sophie nodded, put the stopper in the drain, and turned the faucet on.

“Yes, boss.”

“I gotta ask, though, since you hidin’ here…. What do those vamps want with you?”

Squeezing some liquid soap underneath the flow, she said, “To take me back to Gregor, so I can be his rabbit’s foot.”

“Huh?”

“He’s convinced that something about me makes sure he wins all his stupid card games... that he’s made millions because of me.”

“Is it true?”

She shrugged and scrubbed a plate with a sponge. After rinsing it, she set it in the plastic dish rack and then turned around.

“He’s gonna put a chip in me if he gets me back, Marcel. If he does, I’ll never get away again. He’ll just use me over and over and over.” A tear slipped from her eye, and she brushed it away. Glancing at Marcel, she saw recognition pass across his face in understanding of what she meant. “I think I’d rather die than go back to him, back to that.”

“Well, ya ain’t! Not if I can do anything about it! She returned to the washing and then dissolved into a weeping mess. “How much money’d you lift?” Sophie froze, thinking of when she’d last seen her backpack. “I looked in ya bag while ya was asleep. Had to. Gotta know ‘bout stuff in my own place. Coulda been drugs, for all I knew, and I can’t have that here. But don’t worry. I ain’t gonna take it from ya. How much more ya need?”

She shrugged and said, “I got $750 or so.”

“You can forget about pawnin’ the jewelry ‘round here.”

“Yeah, I know. I was planning on waiting until I settled somewhere else.”

“How ‘bout you sell the stash to me?”

“Sure.”

“I figure 5,000 should cover it.”

The glass she was holding dropped back into the water, splashing suds on her t-shirt. Flipping around, she trembled, as a million questions entered her mind, including what he might be expecting from her for it.

“Why are you helping me? Why would you give me that much money? Half that stuff is shit! Did you look at it? It’s costume, not real. You don’t even know me! What do you want?”

Anger flowed from Marcel in waves, and he hit the table with his fist, causing Sophie to jump.

“Not a damn thing!”

“Then, why are you doing any of this?”

Marcel was breathing hard, staring at a point past her as if he didn’t see her at all. Too afraid to move, Sophie stayed where she was, not wanting any sudden movement to set off violence. He raised his hand and dropped his head, as his shoulders shook.

“Because I lost my little girl to the streets. Buried her two years ago. She was 24 and runnin’ around with a criminal gang of vampires. Dropped outta med school and started gettin’ herself into trouble left and right. I warned her, but she didn’t listen. She gave herself to one of ‘em, and once he was done with her, she turned to drugs to cope. Somebody’d call me and let me know where she was at, and I’d go and find her strung out. I tried to get her help, but she didn’t want it. And then I got that call every daddy fears... from the morgue.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sophie whispered.

“So, ya gonna take the money, Sophie. And ya gettin’ as far away from New Orleans as ya can. Make a new, better life for yaself.”

She nodded and went back to scrubbing the dishes.