Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

kitchen.
    Darryl was cooking.
    Auriele grinned at my expression. “Sundays,” she said with satisfaction, “he cooks, and I wash dishes. Mostly we end up here at Pack Central, and when Darryl cooks, everyone stops by. It’s a pretty big job.”
    The way werewolves eat, it certainly was. A big job that was one of those little things that pulled a pack together: Sunday breakfasts at Adam’s house.
    â€œIf you’re doing dishes while he cooks, does he do the dishes when you cook?” I asked.
    â€œNope,” Darryl said, serving each of us a plate of sausage, eggs, hash browns, and French toast with a snap that looked awfully professional, and returned to the stove. “Not that enlightened.”
    She smiled at his back. “He vacuums, though.” And Darryl made an irritated noise.
    â€œHave you seen Ben?” I asked, then said, involuntarily, “This is really good.” The French toast was spiked with real vanilla, cinnamon, and a host of other things, including authentic bitter-sweet maple syrup.
    â€œMmmm.” Auriele nodded, taking a bite of her hash browns. “He cooked his way through grad school.”
    â€œMade good money at it, too,” Darryl agreed. “Ben’s been down, eaten breakfast, and gone. He’ll be back soon. I called Zee last night.”
    I set down my fork. “What did he say?”
    â€œNothing, if you are going to let my good food go cold.”
    I took a hasty bite, and he went back to cooking—and talking. “I played last night’s ransom call back to him, and he picked me clean of everything you told us. Then he said he’d see what he could do. He called an hour or so ago and told me to tell you he’d be over here as soon as he could. It might be a couple of hours, though, so stall the villainess if she wants you to move before he gets here.”
    â€œHow did he sound?”
    â€œGrumpy. Coffee or orange juice?”
    â€œWater is fine.”
    His eyebrows went up.
    â€œUh-oh,” Auriele said, but she was smiling.
    Darryl was not. “Are you implying that my coffee is not the best in four counties? Or my fresh-squeezed orange juice is less than perfect?”
    Jesse breezed in and squealed. “Oh my goodness, Darryl is cooking. I’d almost forgotten it was Sunday. Orange juice, please.” She glanced at me and laughed. “Mercy doesn’t do orange juice or coffee,” she said, grabbing a glass out of the cupboard and filling it out of the pitcher Darryl had set out. “So sad. More orange juice for me.”
    She was being cute and upbeat, but there were dark circles under her eyes. She took the plate Darryl handed her and sat down next to Auriele.
    â€œSo,” she said. Her pink hair helped her cheerful act—hard to look sad with pink hair—even if her eyes were a little pink, too.
    â€œHow are we going to save Gabriel?”
    â€œHave you ever noticed that everyone who knows Mercy eventually needs saving?” asked Mary Jo as she walked into the kitchen.
    I was going to have to do something about Mary Jo. I took another bite of French toast and put the fork down on the plate. Sooner was probably better than later.
    I stood up. “Excuse me,” I said to Darryl. To Jesse I said, “I’m borrowing your bedroom—any complaints?”
    She stared at me a moment. “No?” she said, her voice rising as if her answer were a question. Which maybe it was.
    â€œYour stereo is pretty effective at keeping voices from being overheard by all the werewolves in this house. And from the noise coming from downstairs, there are a lot of werewolves here.”
    â€œIt’s Darryl’s cooking,” said Auriele, sounding a little apologetic.
    â€œI can see why,” I said. “I’d appreciate it if you would guard my plate until I come back.” I looked at Mary Jo. “You. Come with me.”
    And without looking behind me, I led the way up the stairs to Jesse’s room. I walked into Jesse’s room and turned on her stereo until it was almost painfully loud. The CD wasn’t something I’d have chosen to listen to, but it was loud, and that was all I was interested in.
    â€œShut the door,” I told Mary Jo. I was almost surprised she’d just followed me up as I’d asked.
    Face blank, she did as I’d requested.
    â€œOkay. Now, if you come over here by the window, it’s almost