"Yeah. We all do, sometimes." Ashe leaned against Sali's headboard. Sali ate at his desk beside the bed, leaving the bed for Ashe. His mother hated it if he dropped food on the comforter. Sali watched as Ashe raked fingers through his slightly curly, light-brown hair and closed his eyes. "Sal, I watched a vampire die last night. Six others, too. Those vamps don't mess around when they kill somebody."
"Dad said they were here." Sali took another bite of burger. "I really want to ask about the full moon incident, but I won't. I'm not giving Dad another thing. If he wants to know, he can ask you himself."
Ashe opened his eyes and turned toward Sali. "It's called releasing particles. Reducing something to its most basic level and letting the energy float away. Only a few can do it, Sal. None of the Elemaiya have ever been able to. Feel free to tell Marcus that, if he really wants to know."
"I heard something else, too. About your mom. And Buck."
"Don't bring that up. It's painful."
"Yeah. Understood."
"Sali, what would you do if you found out your dad, well, that your dad was really depressed? Thinking about ending it all."
"My dad isn't depressed. He's just an unbending tyrant," Sali muttered before stuffing the last bite of burger in his mouth.
"I'm not talking about your dad."
"Oh. You're talking about yours, aren't you?" Sali blinked dark eyes at Ashe. Aedan, depressed? That wasn't good. It was ridiculously easy for a vampire to end it all. Took minutes, at the most, if what he'd heard was true.
"Do you have us shielded?" Sali finally thought to ask.
"Since I showed up. Your bedroom is soundproofed, dude. You could scream your lungs out and your mom still won't hear," Ashe grinned wryly.
"That's kind of amazing," Sali observed. "What are you gonna do about your dad? I'd probably ask Marco to help, and then go tell dad he couldn't do that crap. People need him."
"That's an interesting idea," Ashe said, leaning against the headboard again. "I was out late last night, and Mr. Winkler thinks I'm reading a book in my bedroom. I'm gonna leave, Sal. Maybe I can sleep for an hour before Mr. Winkler orders pizza."
"Dang. Pizza for dinner sounds good. Mom's probably fixing meat loaf or something."
"Meat loaf sounds good to me. I guess the days are gone when I could invite myself to your house for dinner."
"Yeah. Life sucks, sometimes, doesn't it?" Sali shook his head at Ashe.
"It sure as hell does."
* * *
"Is it okay if I take a nap for an hour or so?" Ashe's hair looked a bit wild, as if he'd raked fingers through it several times before walking into Winkler's study. Winkler tapped figures into a spreadsheet on his computer as Ashe stopped beside his desk.
"Not a problem," Winkler looked up from his work. "I'll order pizza around that time, so you can get up and shower before we eat. The Thompson's will be here tomorrow, so you'll get decent meals during the week. We'll go out to eat on weekends if the vamps haven't hauled you to another state. Make sure they remember to feed you if you're gone overnight."
"I'll do that," Ashe replied dryly.
"I have something else, too." Winkler lifted a folder off his desk and offered it to Ashe. "An investigation into unusual expenditures. Not mine," Winkler added as Ashe took the folder and opened it. Ashe's eyes unfocused briefly while Winkler watched.
"Mr. Winkler, this one is playing with fire." Ashe handed the folder back to Winkler.
"What does that mean?" Winkler took the folder with a puzzled frown.
"It means he has known criminals on his payroll. From everywhere. The criminals get a big payday for information, because they know they'll be protected by the one paying them. That he won't reveal information on them to anyone else, and he'll let them know if other authorities are getting close. In other words, he's keeping them in business, for the few pieces of useful information they might be willing to hand over. People are still getting killed, kidnapped, drugged, raped and enslaved, and they're getting a bonus for doing it."
"You're joking?" Winkler was stunned by this revelation.
"Mr. Winkler, he's playing with fire." Ashe misted from Winkler's study, leaving a worried werewolf behind.
* * *
"Matt, that's what Ashe said. That he's playing with fire, and paying criminals big money for small amounts of information while protecting them. You didn't give me any pertinent information so I don't know who this is, but if the kid's right, it sure doesn't sound good." Winkler had shut his study door so his call to Matt wouldn't be overheard or disturbed.
"Damn. It's too bad my vamps can't work during the day. I really need my best investigators on this. I think I'm inclined to believe the kid—I just got good information from this source, after I'd exhausted all avenues. The incident in South Carolina was looking like an unsolvable crime when bingo, this guy hands me pure gold. This makes more sense than you might think. Damn, I need that kid."
"The vamps sort of have him for the moment," Winkler grumped.
"I heard. I also heard the Grand Master forced them to share. Wish I had that much clout."
"If you need him for only a day or so, we might be able to work that out. The kid doesn't need a jet to get around anymore."
"True. That boggles my mind. It makes me wonder if this guy knows anything about Ashe." Winkler easily heard Matt Michaels tapping a pen on his desk as he considered the thought. "I don't want him to know about this kid. If he has contacts with criminals, how much damage do you think he might do if he tells them?"
"That doesn't sound good at all," Winkler growled. "I'm concerned, now. How highly placed is this guy?"
"High. Too high. Has too much authority, without enough controls. I only got wind of this when our esteemed congressman let something slip in a vampire-assisted questioning session. It always pays to follow the money."
"Doesn't surprise me that Jack Howard was involved. This makes me think that Zeke Tanner is on the payroll," Winkler speculated.
"That's a frightening thought," Matt agreed. "We never could discover how all those drugs were funneled across the border from Juarez. The kid figured it out quick."
"Yeah. Just drive werewolves a few miles south, strap a backpack on their wolf and send 'em across. No problem."
"Too bad we didn't get Zeke when the Grand Master sent his trackers and those vamps. We didn't know Zeke wouldn't be at home when they came to call."