Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

warning?” I could see him roll the thought around and he came up with the same message I had. “Stay out of our business, and you won’t end up dead.”
    â€œQuick thinking for the disposal of a body they didn’t know they were going to have,” I commented. “Someone drove to my house to dump his body and was gone when I came outside. They left some people at your house who took off hell-bent-for-leather, probably with Jesse. I made it to your house in time to kill the last werewolf you were fighting.” I tried to think about what time that was. “Four-thirty in the morning or thereabouts, is my best guess.”
    Adam rubbed his forehead.
    Samuel said, “So they shot Mac, shot Adam, then waited around until Mac died. They dropped the body at your house—then Adam woke up, and they grabbed Jesse and ran, leaving three werewolves behind to do something—kill Adam? But then why take Jesse? Presumably they weren’t supposed to just die.”
    â€œThe first wolf I fought was really new,” I said slowly. “If they were all that way, they might have just gotten carried away, and the others fled because they couldn’t calm them down.”
    â€œChristiansen isn’t new,” said Adam.
    â€œOne of the wolves was a woman,” I told him. “The one I killed was a buff color—almost like Leah but darker. The other was a more standard color, grays and white. I don’t remember any markings.”
    â€œChristiansen is red-gold,” Adam said.
    â€œSo did they come to kidnap Jesse in the first place or was her kidnapping the result of someone trying to make the best of a screwup?”
    â€œJesse.” Adam sounded hoarse, and when I glanced back at him I could see that he hadn’t heard Samuel’s question. “I woke up because Jesse screamed. I remember now.”
    â€œI found a pair of broken handcuffs on the floor of your living room.” I slowed the van so I didn’t tailgate an RV that was creeping up the side of the mountain we were climbing. I didn’t have to slow down much. “Silver wrist cuffs—and the floor was littered with glass, dead werewolves, and furniture. I expect the ankle cuffs were around there somewhere.” I thought of something. “Maybe they just came to get Mac and maybe punish Adam for taking him in?”
    Samuel shook his head. “Mercy, you they might leave warnings for—or try to teach a lesson. A pack of newbie werewolves—especially if they’re headed by an experienced wolf—is not going to tick off an Alpha just to ‘punish’ him for interfering in their business. In the first place, there’s no better way I can think of to get the Marrok ticked off. In the second place there’s Adam himself. He’s not just the Columbia Basin Alpha, he’s damn near the strongest Alpha in the US, present company excluded, of course.”
    Adam grunted, unimpressed with Samuel’s assessment. “We don’t have enough information to make an educated guess at what they wanted. Mac’s dead, either accidentally or on purpose. They half killed me, and they took Jesse. The human you knew implies that it has something to do with Mac’s story—and Christiansen’s presence implies it has something to do with me. I’ll be darned if I know what Mac and I have in common.”
    â€œMercy,” said Samuel.
    â€œI forgot to tell you that I joined the secret society of villains while I was away,” I told Samuel, exasperated. “I am now trying to put together a harem of studly, muscle-bound werewolves. Please. Remember, I didn’t know Mac until he dropped in my lap sometime after the villains screwed up his life.”
    Samuel, having successfully baited me, reached over and patted my leg.
    I just happened to glance at Adam’s face, and I saw his eyes lighten from chocolate to amber as his gaze narrowed on Samuel’s hand before I had to return my eyes to the road to make sure the RV ahead of me hadn’t slowed down again. There were four cars trailing slowly behind us up the mountain.
    â€œDon’t touch her,” whispered Adam. There was a shadow of threat in his voice, and he must have heard it, too, because he added, “Please.”
    The last word stopped the nasty comment I’d readied because I remembered that Adam was still hurt, still struggling to control his wolf, and the