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39

I felt like shit and didn&039;t have a bruise to show for it I concentrated on the next proble what I&039;d done, and al I could do about it until I talked to Richard and Jean-Claude I&039;d worried about tying myself to the va tied to the olf I should have known I&039;d get shit froot beeped three times in about three minutes McKinnon first, Dolph second, and an unknown number The unknown number called back twice in ten minutes Damn I pulled off into a service station I called Dolph first

"Anita"

"How do you always know it&039;s me?"

"I don&039;t," he said

"What&039;s up?"

"We need you at a new location"

"I&039;m on my way to the church site for McKinnon"

"Pete&039;s here with me"

"That sounds oot a vamp on his way to the hospital," he said

"In his coffin?"

"No"

"Then how?"

"He was on the stairs covered in blankets They don&039;t think he&039;s going to make it But this is one of the halfway houses for the Church We&039;ve got a two-biter here that says the vaer vamps still inside She seems worried about what the vauardian isn&039;t there to calm them down or feed them"

"Feed them?" I asked

"Says that they each take a sht Without it, she says the hunger grows too strong, and they erous"

"Isn&039;t she a font of inforot two freaking vampire bites on her neck, and she&039;s scared"

"Shit," I said "I&039;m on my way, but frankly, Dolph, I don&039;t knohat you want me to do"

"You&039;re the vampire expert, you tell me" A little hostility there

"I&039;ll think about it on the way Maybe I&039;ll have coet there"

"Before they becaal, we&039;d have just burned theood old days"

"Yeah," he said I don&039;t think he got the sarcasm But with Dolph it was always hard to tell

I dialed the third number Larry answered, "Anita" His voice sounded strained, pain-filled

"What&039;s wrong?" I asked, ht"

"You don&039;t sound all right," I said

"I&039;ve just beenaround too much with the stitches and stuff I need to take a pain pill, but I won&039;t be able to drive"

"You need a lift?"

He was quiet for a second or two, then, "Yes"

I kne much it had cost him to call me This was one of his first times in the field on a police job without riped his ass It would have bugged the hell out of hed it out, until I passed out This wasn&039;t a criticism of Larry, it was a criticism of me He was just smarter than I was sometimes This was one of those tiave me the address, and it was close Lucky us "I&039;m less than five minutes away, but I can&039;t take you home I&039; as I don&039;t have to drive, I&039;ll be okay It&039;s starting to take allwhen it&039;s this hard"

"You really do have a higher wisdom score than I do"

"Which means you wouldn&039;t have asked for help yet," he said

"Well yeah"

"When would you have asked for help?"

"When I drove off the road and had to call a tow truck"

He laughed and took a sharp breath as if it hurt "I&039;ll be waiting for you"

"I&039;ll be there"

"I know," he said "Thanks for not saying you toldit, Larry"

"Honest?"

"Cross my heart and"

"Don&039;t say it"

"You getting superstitious on me, Larry?"

He was quiet for a space of heartbeats "Maybe, orday"

"It&039;ll be a longer night," I said

"Thanks," he said "Just what I wanted to hear" He hung up then without saying goodbye

Maybe I&039;d trained Dolph never to say goodbye Maybe I was always the bearer of bad tidings, and everyone wanted to get off the phone with me as soon as possible Naw

40

I expected Larry to be sitting in his car He wasn&039;t He was leaning against it Even fro not to move any more than necessary I pulled in beside him Up close he looked worse His white dress shirt was sht dress pants were brown, so they&039;d survived a little better A black se ran across his forehead to his chin The blackness outlined one of his blue eyes so that it seemed darker, like a sapphire surrounded by onyx The look in his eyes was dull, as if the pain had drained him

"Jesus, you look like shit," I said

He almost set in the Jeep"

He started to shake his head, stopped in o to the next disaster"

"You smell like someone set your clothes on fire"

"You look pristine," he said, and he sounded resentful

"What&039;s wrong, Larry?"

"Other thanshoved up it?"

"Besides that," I said

"I&039;ll tell you in the car" Underneath the sulkiness, he sounded tired

I didn&039;t argue with hi for the Jeep A few steps and I realized he wasn&039;t keeping up I turned and found hi very still, eyes closed, hands in fists at his sides

I walked back to him "Need a hand?"

He opened his eyes, smiled, "A back, actually Hands work fine"

I s hi He took a stiff step, and I steadied hiress to the Jeep His breath was coot hier side door I opened the door, wasn&039;t sure how to get hi to hurt any way I could do it

"Just let me hold your arm I can do it ot a death grip on it and sat down Henoise between his teeth "You said it would hurt worse the second day Why are you always right?"

"Hard to be perfect," I said, "but it&039;s a burden I&039;ve learned to cope with" I gave him my best bland face

He sh, then almost doubled over with pain, which hurton the seat for a few seconds When he could sit still again, he grabbed the dashboard until his fingers turned colors "God, don&039;t ot the aloe-and-lanolin Baby Wipes fro blood off They&039;d probably work on soot I handed him the wipes and helped him buckle his seat belt Yes, his wounds would have hurt less if he hadn&039;t had the belt, but no one rides with me without a seat belt Mya belt

"Take a pill, Larry Sleep in the car I&039;ll take you home after this next scene"

"No," he said, and he sounded so stubborn, so determined, that I knew I couldn&039;t talk him out of it So why try?

"Have it your way," I said "But what have you been doing that you look like you&039;ve been trying to hide your spots?"

He