"And you'd be right to think that," Marco agreed. "I’ll see you for lunch, maybe."
"Yeah." Ashe walked through Winkler's front door.
* * *
"We’ll take a trip to Boulder on Tuesday, and continue to D.C. on Wednesday," Winkler sat beside Ashe's desk. Andy had found a chair somewhere so Ashe could have an occasional visitor. "Someone will go with you to pack more clothes tonight after work. Pack some nice stuff, too. We can go out to eat afterward."
"What are we doing in Boulder and D.C.?" Ashe asked. While he waited for Winkler to answer, he handed two folders to Andy. No information was contained in either folder to tell him whether these were Winkler Security divisions or something else. Ashe decided he didn't want to know. "I circled the questionable entries," Ashe said. Andy flipped the top folder open, nodded and walked out.
"Weldon wants to meet us in Boulder and question the Packmaster. We want to know if he had any inkling of what Dexter was doing and just failed to report it."
"How am I supposed to help with that?" Ashe asked. "I thought interrogation was your area."
"It is. But it seems that Sali told Marco about an incident on the beach yesterday. I'd like to see how that might help us out, Ashe. In Boulder and D.C. After all, a vampire is only awake during the night. You're available twenty-four-seven."
"Does everybody tell on me now?" Ashe rose from his desk chair, angry immediately.
"Ashe, I didn't say that to upset you," Winkler attempted to calm Ashe. "Marco has sworn oaths as a member of the Dallas Pack. He's loyal to me and tells me what I ask of him."
"Is that how it works?" Ashe snapped. "I haven't sworn any oaths, Mr. Winkler."
"You're too young and you're not Pack. Werewolves do the oaths the first time they run with the Pack. Human children or mates of werewolves do a different oath and they have to be at least eighteen to take it."
"But the people I think are my friends can betray me at every turn? Is that it?" Ashe was prepared to go to mist. He wanted to scream and cry. The bitterness almost overwhelmed him. Sali had promised. He'd promised.
"Ashe, no." Winkler had him gripped in an embrace quickly. "We're the people who care about you."
"Yeah?" Ashe hopped to the other side of the room, away from Winkler's hug. "All I see are people trying to use me." He wiped dampness from his cheeks. "The Council takes my dad, because that's a way to take me. The Elemaiya hunt me because they want to kill me or bend me to their will. And I can't trust anybody, can I?" Ashe disappeared before Winkler could stop him.
* * *
"Teenage hormones," Trajan set a cup of coffee in front of Winkler. Winkler muttered a rude oath and lifted the cup. "Now, we just have to figure out how to find him."
"If he's not back by ten tonight, call his cell," Trace suggested.
"I know now not to tell him that Marco is bringing me information," Winkler blew out a sigh.
"He thinks of Marco as a friend. You just ended that friendship," Trajan observed.
"You think I don't know that? Sometimes I should have a lock on my mouth."
"The relationship with Sali was tenuous, too," Trace said. "And that may be over as well. After all, Marcus would have been hauling Sali out of jail if he'd jumped those drunks. Ashe took care of the situation."
"And he’ll figure out that we know he told Sali, Wynn and Dori what he can do. He needs peers who know what he can do and understand him better because of it. Not somebody who's gonna run to the older folks every time they see something out of the ordinary," Trajan added. "We betrayed a trust, boss. Big time."
"Yeah. I get that." Winkler rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "And I don't want to report to his parents that we managed to lose him in only a day."
"He doesn't have a soul to confide in, now," Trace said. "At least I had Trajan and Jason to talk to when I was in school. We ruined things for Ashe, boss."
* * *
"Randy, it's better if you don't know how I got here," Ashe sat at Randy's tiny kitchen table drinking a soda.
"It's good to see you. Mom went home three days ago. Tried to talk me into going back to New Mexico with her. I don't have any good memories of that place, Ashe." Randy shuddered.
"Yeah. I know that," Ashe nodded and sipped his drink.
"Tell me why you're here, man." Randy said.
"Can't. And I have to go back before they call out the dogs. You know what I mean."
"Yeah. Been there," Randy grumped. "Life's not great here, either. I’m still trying to figure out how rat hearts are exploding in the old train tunnels beneath Chicago. Nobody else is reporting rat deaths by the hundreds."
"Their hearts are exploding?" Ashe jerked his head up. He'd been staring at his soda can, tracing a finger through the condensation on the side.
"Yeah. Know anything about that?"
"Not for sure," Ashe hedged. "Randy, stay away from those tunnels. You can take that warning to the bank. I'll have to let Mr. Winkler know. If I can stomach talking to him. Gotta go." Ashe stood. "Thanks for the soda." Ashe walked toward the door of Randy's tiny, slightly untidy apartment. "Find another story, Randy. Leave the rats alone for now."
* * *
"Don't say another word to me and keep Marco and Sali away. They're not my friends. Never have been." Ashe threw clothing into a roller bag much harder than necessary. Trajan had been watching for lights to come on in the Evans home. He'd been rewarded around nine that evening. Now he watched Ashe pack for the trip, anger in every movement.
"Ashe, I could give you all kinds of reasons for what happened, but they won't mean a thing to you right now. I will say that Bear Wright was offered the Principal's job late this afternoon. He accepted. Catherine and Barton Copeland went home in a huff." Trajan lifted an eyebrow at Ashe's messy packing but didn't comment.
"Too bad. She was prejudiced. Like a lot of werewolves," Ashe snapped.
"Some of them are," Trajan agreed. "And some shifters are as well. We won't even start on the humans or other races. Ashe, it's something we all have to learn to live with. We know it's wrong. They don't."
"You know what else is wrong? Having your best friend sell you out." Ashe flung T-shirts into the bag.
"Look, I know that hurts. And I know you’ll be suspicious of all of us from now on. That's a terrible place to be. Next time, go directly to Winkler. He knows how to keep secrets."