Night Broken
Page 29
The upside of this, Adam told me as we stood next to the air mattress, which had a fitted sheet already stretched over it, a pair of pillows, and a blanket, is that we get this room to ourselves.
I dropped down to sit on the mattress and gave him a look. No door, no fun. The sounds of the movie filtered down the stairs and into the room. Everyone in that room, everyone who was something other than human, at least, would hear whatever we saidor didin here.
Adam smiled and plopped down beside me. The air mattress bucked under his sudden weight and tried to toss me off, so I lay down for more stability.
Im too tired to do anything anyway, he said, lying back beside me. He reached over and took my hand. If its any consolation, were not going to get a whole lot of sleep before we have to head to the lawyers.
Id forgotten about the lawyer, I said. Somehow, that seems a long time ago.
His hand clenched on mine, hard enough to hurt before his grip gentled. I thought hed kill you before I got there, he said.
Yeah, I agreed, trying to sound like it hadnt bothered me. Me, too.
Dont do that again.
Okay, I said agreeably. How often can I get attacked by a volcano god in my shop? I groaned. Not that there is a shop.
You have insurance, Adam said.
I sighed. Im not covered for acts of God, I told him. I wonder if theyll try to find a way to make that mean volcano gods as well as God God.
God God, Adam said, sounding amused. Ill remember that. Speaking of things to rememberand now he didnt sound amused at allI like it when you defend me. I havent gotten a lot of that.
That voice, I said, and he laughed happily, though even his laugh held that rough sexual overtone. He rolled until he was on top of me, and he nibbled along my jawline.
You like my body, he told me, you like me sweaty, and watching my belly when I do sit-ups.
Hey, I said, trying for indignation, I never told you that.
He laughed again. Sweetheart, you tell me that every time you cant look away, and you know it. Buthe laughed again, then said, in that deep growly voice that was his own personal secret weaponyou really like it when I talk to you, like this.
No door, I squeaked. Shell walk in on us and make sure Jesse is with her.
Adam froze and growled for real. Youre right. Youre right. And I almost dont care.
Jesse, I said.
Jesse, he agreed with a groan, then rolled upabdomen flexing nicelyand onto his feet. He began to strip, not bothering to hide his arousal. If Christy walked in, shed get quite a show of what shed thrown away.
You might as well get ready for sleeping, he told me in grumpy tones. Morning is going to come early.
Im keeping my clothes on, I told him, equally grumpily. Without doors, everyone will feel pretty free and easy stopping in to bring you their complaints. Everyone being Christy. Im not taking chances.
They come in, they deserve what they get, Adam told me and, na**d, spread the blanket over the mattress and me.
I wiggled until I was right way around. Then I pulled the blanket off my face while he climbed under the covers. He planted himself right next to me, and his scent spread over both of us.
I was well on my way to sleep when a thought occurred to me. Hes broken, I told Adam.
Adam grunted. Then, when I didnt say anything more, he laughed once. Okay, Mercy. Who is broken?
Guayota, Flores, whoever, I told him. He was doing okay in the modern world before he ran into Christy. Before she reminded him of someone he lost a long time ago.
Adam was thoughtful for a moment. Because there werent any other bodies.
Warren would have found them if there were, right? I asked.
Warren or my buddies in the DEA, he agreed.
The women he killed, the ones Tony brought me in to look at, they all looked like Christy, I told him. Do you believe in reincarnation?
Adam reached over and pulled me closer. I believe that Guayota is very old and that Christy was his trigger. You know better than most how it is with the very old wolves. Theyll do fineuntil suddenly they snap.
I still think we should give him Christy, I said.
No, you dont, he told me firmly. I was there for your speech in the kitchen, remember?
If we gave him Christy, I said persuasively, we could visit them in the Canary Islands.
Like Lucia wants to visit Joels mother? he asked. Giving him Christy wont fix him, Mercy. Theres no reasoning with the old ones once they are broken. Hes started killing and hell keep killing. And then there is Joel.
I sighed. I suppose youre right. I think were going to wish that wed had Tad come over here instead of going to Fairyland.
Tad didnt have much of a choice, Adam said. Well figure something out.
That meant he didnt know how to kill Guayota, either, but that wasnt going to stop him. Id known that Christy was going to try to break us up, but I hadnt considered that she might get Adam killed to do it. I lay tense and miserable beside him. Much as I wanted to, I couldnt place the blame on Christy. It was just bad luck.
So, Adam said brightly, changing the subject, have you planned what youre going to tell Beauclaire when he comes looking for his walking stick two nights from now?
Yes, I told him. Ill tell him to go ahead and take out the Tri-Cities, as long as he makes certain he takes out Guayota when he does. Then you, Jesse, and I can drive to my moms house in Portland for a surprise visit.
Mercy, he said reprovingly.
Okay, I told him, we dont have to go to Moms. Montana would work, too.
Mercy, he repeated. Weve been in tough places before. It will be okay. Youre just tired, or you wouldnt be so upset. He pulled me all the way over on top of him and patiently waited while I wiggled until I was comfortable.
Go to sleep, he said. Things will look better in the morning. I was almost asleep when he murmured, And if it doesnt, well invite your mom down to deal with Guayota and Beauclaire.
At some point in the night, I rolled off Adam, off the air mattress, and onto the floor. Maybe it was the rolling thatwoke me up. Maybe it was dreaming of Guayota eating at my kitchen table with Christy and my mom. Theyd been talking about the flower garden and eating an avocado salad, so I dont know why I was so scared, but even awake my heart was pounding, and Id broken into a light sweat.
I sat up and rubbed the back of my neck to dispel the tension of the dreamand to rub away the lingering sting of my head hitting the hardwood floor.
Mercy? Adams voice settled me more than my rubbing hand had, wrapped around me like a warm coat on a cold night.
Bad dreams. My throat was dry.
Do you want to talk about them?
I rolled to my hands and knees, leaned over and down to kiss him. I pulled back and decided to revisit the kiss. Adams kisses were always worth a second pass. If we had had a door between us and Christy
Even so, I was more than a little breathless when I answered his question. Not necessary. Im going to get a glass of water, then Ill be right back. I kept my voice to a whisper, so I wouldnt wake anyone else.
He nodded, wrapped a hand around my hair, and pulled me down for a third kiss. Then he smiled, let me go, and closed his eyes. I really, really wished there was a dooror that I was more of an exhibitionist.
I was still dressed from earlierwithout privacy I wasnt going to strip and give Christy a chance to say something we might both regret. All I had to do was zip up my jeans, and I was ready to face anyone who might be wandering around the house at this hour.
In the kitchen, I drank some water and glanced out the windowand froze. A man sat on the roof of Adams SUV with his head thrown back, a bottle upended over his head as he drank. He wore scruffy jeans, boots of some sort, and a white t-shirt.
He was too far away for me to see him swallow, but the bottle stayed there for a while. I could tell by the way he pulled the bottle down that hed drunk it dry. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then, glancing my way, casually saluted me with the bottle.
With the moon at his back, he should have had no way to see me tucked safely behind glass in the dark kitchen. I dumped the rest of the water out of the glass and set it quietly in the sink. My shoes were still in the mudroom where Id left them. I slipped them on and walked out to talk with Coyote.
10
Gary Laughingdog said that I should try to be interesting if I wanted to see you, I told Coyote as soon as I was reasonably close to the SUV.
Coyote laughed. That one has been trying to avoid me for most of his life. His white t-shirt set off his long black braid, tied with a pink scrunchie.
Maybe if you didnt get him sent to prison when you visited, hed be more interested in seeing you, I suggested, trying not to stare at the scrunchie. It had a white lamb dangling from a chain, and I was pretty sure hed worn it just for me. I didnt reach up to touch the lamb on the necklace around my neck.
Gary needs his life shaken up, Coyote told me, then he belched with more sound and fury than a thirteen-year-old boy with a roomful of girls to impress.
If you get me or mine sent to prison, Ill hunt you down, I told him seriously.
He grinned at me and half slid, half scrambled down the back of the SUV to end up standing on his own feet. He left the bottle on the vehicles roof. He began moving off down the driveway at a brisk walk. When I didnt immediately follow, he turned around and began walking backward and waving his hands for me to join him.
His braid swung around when he did, the little lamb flapping with his movements. I was not going to say anything about the stupid lamb if only because I was certain he wanted me to say something about the stupid lamb.
Come. Come, he said. Come take a walk with me.
If I hadnt needed a favor from him, I might have stayed behind. But I didand I wasnt opposed to some exercise to get rid of the miasma of fear and despair my nightmare had left me with. Our feet crunched on the dry dirt and gravel.
I dont understand why you are so determined to hang around with werewolves. They are all about rules. And youhe slanted a laughing glance at melike me, are all about breaking them.
There was something about walking down a deserted road in the dark that made for thoughtful silences. Especially when the deserted road was too long, too unfamiliar, and even at this hour of the night, too deserted. Coyote probably had something to do with that.
Finally, I said, I dont know about that. The werewolves rules are all designed to keep people safe.
Safe. He tested the word. Safe. His nose wrinkled. Who wants to be safe? I havent noticed you running to safety.
I bit my tongue. I liked being safe. Being in Adams arms was safe. Talking to Coyote was anything butand where was I? I supposed he had a point.
Safe is good, I told him. Not all the time, no. Sometimes, though, it is better than water in the desert.
He made a rude noise.
I thought more about rules and werewolves. I glanced over my shoulder, but I couldnt see Honeys houseor any other house for that matter. Coyote was definitely doing something. I hoped that Adam went right back to sleep and hadnt heard me open the back door. Hed be worried.
Rules keep the people I love safe, I said, thinking about Adam. It is important to me that they are safe.
He nodded like I had said something smart. Then he said, And when rules dont keep them safe, we break the rules.
I could agree with thatand almost did. If it werent for that little bit of smugness on his face, I would have. I wonder what rules he was contemplating breaking.
Admit it, he said when I didnt say anything more. Admit it. Keeping all the rules is boring. Tell me you dont want to short-sheet Christys bedor put ipecac syrup in some of that too-delicious food she is always cooking.
Im not childish, I told him. And Im not petty.
No, he agreed sadly. Mores the pity.
And how do you know how good her food is?
He just smiled and kept walking.
I took a deep breath. Time to ask him about the walking stick. Id given it to him as a gift, and hed taken it as a favor. I wasnt sure how hed react when I asked for it back.
There he is, Coyote said, sounding delighted, and he broke into a sprint, the stupid lamb bouncing with his stride.
I ran as fast as I could, but Coyote stayed ahead of me. I couldnt see who it was, but I wasnt surprised when, after a minute or two, the path turned, and there was Gary Laughingdog sitting in the middle of the road with his back to us. I stopped beside him, but Coyote had walked around so Gary couldnt avoid looking at him.
I dropped down to sit on the mattress and gave him a look. No door, no fun. The sounds of the movie filtered down the stairs and into the room. Everyone in that room, everyone who was something other than human, at least, would hear whatever we saidor didin here.
Adam smiled and plopped down beside me. The air mattress bucked under his sudden weight and tried to toss me off, so I lay down for more stability.
Im too tired to do anything anyway, he said, lying back beside me. He reached over and took my hand. If its any consolation, were not going to get a whole lot of sleep before we have to head to the lawyers.
Id forgotten about the lawyer, I said. Somehow, that seems a long time ago.
His hand clenched on mine, hard enough to hurt before his grip gentled. I thought hed kill you before I got there, he said.
Yeah, I agreed, trying to sound like it hadnt bothered me. Me, too.
Dont do that again.
Okay, I said agreeably. How often can I get attacked by a volcano god in my shop? I groaned. Not that there is a shop.
You have insurance, Adam said.
I sighed. Im not covered for acts of God, I told him. I wonder if theyll try to find a way to make that mean volcano gods as well as God God.
God God, Adam said, sounding amused. Ill remember that. Speaking of things to rememberand now he didnt sound amused at allI like it when you defend me. I havent gotten a lot of that.
That voice, I said, and he laughed happily, though even his laugh held that rough sexual overtone. He rolled until he was on top of me, and he nibbled along my jawline.
You like my body, he told me, you like me sweaty, and watching my belly when I do sit-ups.
Hey, I said, trying for indignation, I never told you that.
He laughed again. Sweetheart, you tell me that every time you cant look away, and you know it. Buthe laughed again, then said, in that deep growly voice that was his own personal secret weaponyou really like it when I talk to you, like this.
No door, I squeaked. Shell walk in on us and make sure Jesse is with her.
Adam froze and growled for real. Youre right. Youre right. And I almost dont care.
Jesse, I said.
Jesse, he agreed with a groan, then rolled upabdomen flexing nicelyand onto his feet. He began to strip, not bothering to hide his arousal. If Christy walked in, shed get quite a show of what shed thrown away.
You might as well get ready for sleeping, he told me in grumpy tones. Morning is going to come early.
Im keeping my clothes on, I told him, equally grumpily. Without doors, everyone will feel pretty free and easy stopping in to bring you their complaints. Everyone being Christy. Im not taking chances.
They come in, they deserve what they get, Adam told me and, na**d, spread the blanket over the mattress and me.
I wiggled until I was right way around. Then I pulled the blanket off my face while he climbed under the covers. He planted himself right next to me, and his scent spread over both of us.
I was well on my way to sleep when a thought occurred to me. Hes broken, I told Adam.
Adam grunted. Then, when I didnt say anything more, he laughed once. Okay, Mercy. Who is broken?
Guayota, Flores, whoever, I told him. He was doing okay in the modern world before he ran into Christy. Before she reminded him of someone he lost a long time ago.
Adam was thoughtful for a moment. Because there werent any other bodies.
Warren would have found them if there were, right? I asked.
Warren or my buddies in the DEA, he agreed.
The women he killed, the ones Tony brought me in to look at, they all looked like Christy, I told him. Do you believe in reincarnation?
Adam reached over and pulled me closer. I believe that Guayota is very old and that Christy was his trigger. You know better than most how it is with the very old wolves. Theyll do fineuntil suddenly they snap.
I still think we should give him Christy, I said.
No, you dont, he told me firmly. I was there for your speech in the kitchen, remember?
If we gave him Christy, I said persuasively, we could visit them in the Canary Islands.
Like Lucia wants to visit Joels mother? he asked. Giving him Christy wont fix him, Mercy. Theres no reasoning with the old ones once they are broken. Hes started killing and hell keep killing. And then there is Joel.
I sighed. I suppose youre right. I think were going to wish that wed had Tad come over here instead of going to Fairyland.
Tad didnt have much of a choice, Adam said. Well figure something out.
That meant he didnt know how to kill Guayota, either, but that wasnt going to stop him. Id known that Christy was going to try to break us up, but I hadnt considered that she might get Adam killed to do it. I lay tense and miserable beside him. Much as I wanted to, I couldnt place the blame on Christy. It was just bad luck.
So, Adam said brightly, changing the subject, have you planned what youre going to tell Beauclaire when he comes looking for his walking stick two nights from now?
Yes, I told him. Ill tell him to go ahead and take out the Tri-Cities, as long as he makes certain he takes out Guayota when he does. Then you, Jesse, and I can drive to my moms house in Portland for a surprise visit.
Mercy, he said reprovingly.
Okay, I told him, we dont have to go to Moms. Montana would work, too.
Mercy, he repeated. Weve been in tough places before. It will be okay. Youre just tired, or you wouldnt be so upset. He pulled me all the way over on top of him and patiently waited while I wiggled until I was comfortable.
Go to sleep, he said. Things will look better in the morning. I was almost asleep when he murmured, And if it doesnt, well invite your mom down to deal with Guayota and Beauclaire.
At some point in the night, I rolled off Adam, off the air mattress, and onto the floor. Maybe it was the rolling thatwoke me up. Maybe it was dreaming of Guayota eating at my kitchen table with Christy and my mom. Theyd been talking about the flower garden and eating an avocado salad, so I dont know why I was so scared, but even awake my heart was pounding, and Id broken into a light sweat.
I sat up and rubbed the back of my neck to dispel the tension of the dreamand to rub away the lingering sting of my head hitting the hardwood floor.
Mercy? Adams voice settled me more than my rubbing hand had, wrapped around me like a warm coat on a cold night.
Bad dreams. My throat was dry.
Do you want to talk about them?
I rolled to my hands and knees, leaned over and down to kiss him. I pulled back and decided to revisit the kiss. Adams kisses were always worth a second pass. If we had had a door between us and Christy
Even so, I was more than a little breathless when I answered his question. Not necessary. Im going to get a glass of water, then Ill be right back. I kept my voice to a whisper, so I wouldnt wake anyone else.
He nodded, wrapped a hand around my hair, and pulled me down for a third kiss. Then he smiled, let me go, and closed his eyes. I really, really wished there was a dooror that I was more of an exhibitionist.
I was still dressed from earlierwithout privacy I wasnt going to strip and give Christy a chance to say something we might both regret. All I had to do was zip up my jeans, and I was ready to face anyone who might be wandering around the house at this hour.
In the kitchen, I drank some water and glanced out the windowand froze. A man sat on the roof of Adams SUV with his head thrown back, a bottle upended over his head as he drank. He wore scruffy jeans, boots of some sort, and a white t-shirt.
He was too far away for me to see him swallow, but the bottle stayed there for a while. I could tell by the way he pulled the bottle down that hed drunk it dry. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then, glancing my way, casually saluted me with the bottle.
With the moon at his back, he should have had no way to see me tucked safely behind glass in the dark kitchen. I dumped the rest of the water out of the glass and set it quietly in the sink. My shoes were still in the mudroom where Id left them. I slipped them on and walked out to talk with Coyote.
10
Gary Laughingdog said that I should try to be interesting if I wanted to see you, I told Coyote as soon as I was reasonably close to the SUV.
Coyote laughed. That one has been trying to avoid me for most of his life. His white t-shirt set off his long black braid, tied with a pink scrunchie.
Maybe if you didnt get him sent to prison when you visited, hed be more interested in seeing you, I suggested, trying not to stare at the scrunchie. It had a white lamb dangling from a chain, and I was pretty sure hed worn it just for me. I didnt reach up to touch the lamb on the necklace around my neck.
Gary needs his life shaken up, Coyote told me, then he belched with more sound and fury than a thirteen-year-old boy with a roomful of girls to impress.
If you get me or mine sent to prison, Ill hunt you down, I told him seriously.
He grinned at me and half slid, half scrambled down the back of the SUV to end up standing on his own feet. He left the bottle on the vehicles roof. He began moving off down the driveway at a brisk walk. When I didnt immediately follow, he turned around and began walking backward and waving his hands for me to join him.
His braid swung around when he did, the little lamb flapping with his movements. I was not going to say anything about the stupid lamb if only because I was certain he wanted me to say something about the stupid lamb.
Come. Come, he said. Come take a walk with me.
If I hadnt needed a favor from him, I might have stayed behind. But I didand I wasnt opposed to some exercise to get rid of the miasma of fear and despair my nightmare had left me with. Our feet crunched on the dry dirt and gravel.
I dont understand why you are so determined to hang around with werewolves. They are all about rules. And youhe slanted a laughing glance at melike me, are all about breaking them.
There was something about walking down a deserted road in the dark that made for thoughtful silences. Especially when the deserted road was too long, too unfamiliar, and even at this hour of the night, too deserted. Coyote probably had something to do with that.
Finally, I said, I dont know about that. The werewolves rules are all designed to keep people safe.
Safe. He tested the word. Safe. His nose wrinkled. Who wants to be safe? I havent noticed you running to safety.
I bit my tongue. I liked being safe. Being in Adams arms was safe. Talking to Coyote was anything butand where was I? I supposed he had a point.
Safe is good, I told him. Not all the time, no. Sometimes, though, it is better than water in the desert.
He made a rude noise.
I thought more about rules and werewolves. I glanced over my shoulder, but I couldnt see Honeys houseor any other house for that matter. Coyote was definitely doing something. I hoped that Adam went right back to sleep and hadnt heard me open the back door. Hed be worried.
Rules keep the people I love safe, I said, thinking about Adam. It is important to me that they are safe.
He nodded like I had said something smart. Then he said, And when rules dont keep them safe, we break the rules.
I could agree with thatand almost did. If it werent for that little bit of smugness on his face, I would have. I wonder what rules he was contemplating breaking.
Admit it, he said when I didnt say anything more. Admit it. Keeping all the rules is boring. Tell me you dont want to short-sheet Christys bedor put ipecac syrup in some of that too-delicious food she is always cooking.
Im not childish, I told him. And Im not petty.
No, he agreed sadly. Mores the pity.
And how do you know how good her food is?
He just smiled and kept walking.
I took a deep breath. Time to ask him about the walking stick. Id given it to him as a gift, and hed taken it as a favor. I wasnt sure how hed react when I asked for it back.
There he is, Coyote said, sounding delighted, and he broke into a sprint, the stupid lamb bouncing with his stride.
I ran as fast as I could, but Coyote stayed ahead of me. I couldnt see who it was, but I wasnt surprised when, after a minute or two, the path turned, and there was Gary Laughingdog sitting in the middle of the road with his back to us. I stopped beside him, but Coyote had walked around so Gary couldnt avoid looking at him.
