Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

Charles. “I told Darryl he shouldn’t speed. If the police hadn’t pulled us over, we’d have been here ten minutes ago.”
    Bran walked by the vampires as if they didn’t exist. He touched Samuel and then Adam. “Charles has clothing for you,” he told them and they melted away into the darkness, presumably to change and get dressed. Bran’s presence did as much to allow them to regain enough control to change back to human as Littleton’s death had. His permanent death, I mean.
    The dim light from outside backlit Bran, so it was difficult to see his face.
    â€œYou’ve been busy,” he said, his tone neutral.
    â€œNo choice,” I told him. “Did you read the papers I left for you.” Do you know that all the villains aren’t ashes?
    â€œYes,” Bran said, and something inside of me relaxed. He couldn’t know which of the vampires was Andre—but he’d manage, I knew.
    Uncaring of vampire dust—or whatever else of Littleton might be scattered about on the floor—Bran knelt in front of me so he could bend down and kiss my forehead.
    â€œIt was a damned stupid thing to do,” he said in a voice so soft as to be almost inaudible.
    â€œI thought you couldn’t make it here until morning,” I said.
    â€œI hurried.” He put his hand on my shoulder.
    â€œOuch,” I said, sinking farther down on the floor.
    â€œSamuel,” he called. “If you could manage to hurry a bit, I think you have a patient.”
    My shoulder was only out of joint and Samuel put it back as gently as he could. It still hurt like the blazes. I shuddered and shook, and managed not to throw up on anyone, while Adam, his voice harsh with barely controlled rage, told everyone what had happened after Andre and I showed up.
    Andre seemed stunned by Littleton’s death. Stefan knelt beside him with a hand on his shoulder and a wary eye on all the wolves stalking around.
    I waited until I was sure I could talk without sounding too shaky—and until Adam was finished speaking. Then I looked at Stefan and said, “Andre is the one who made Littleton.”
    Andre looked at me in shock, then threw his weight forward—I don’t know if he’d have attacked me, or just tried to run, but Stefan caught him. Before it turned into a real struggle, Charles and Darryl helped to hold him.
    â€œI was going to ask if you were certain,” Stefan said, releasing Andre to the werewolves who were obviously in better shape to hold the other vampire. “But Andre has answered that question himself.”
    â€œI have proof,” I told him.
    â€œI would like to see it,” Stefan said. “If only to present to the Mistress. Right now, though, is there a cell phone I might use to call my seethe? As much as I appreciate your help, Adam, I think that it would be a bad thing to bring your wolves into the seethe right now while tempers are still uncertain.”
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    The vampires came and spirited Andre away. I had expected that Stefan would go with them, but he didn’t. Samuel insisted on bringing me to the hospital, though Charles and Darryl took Ben, who was in worse shape than I was, to Adam’s house in Darryl’s car.
    â€œHow come I can’t just go home?” I whined. My shoulder ached and I just wanted to go to my bedroom and pull my blankets over my head.
    â€œBecause you aren’t a werewolf,” Stefan said. “If your ankle is broken, you need a cast.”
    The werewolves who weren’t driving (Adam and Samuel) gave him cold looks. Bran had brought Adam’s SUV and being stuffed inside it with the three werewolves and the vampire was a new experience in testosterone. When Samuel and Adam had gotten into the back seat with me, Stefan had slipped into the front. Bran was continuing to ignore the vampire, so Stefan stayed.
    The five of us staggered into the emergency room. The only one remotely respectable was Bran, and he was carrying me. It wasn’t until we were under the intense lights of the hospital that I realized just how bad we looked. I was covered with blood, Stefan was covered in blood. His face was drawn and tired, though the expression on it was peaceful. I didn’t want to know what I looked like.
    Samuel, even in clean, fresh clothing, looked as though he’d spent a week on a wild binge and Adam…The nurse at the triage station took one look at Adam and hit