"Wow," Edward's mouth was almost a perfect O as Ashe appeared from nothing.
"I turn to mist and get around that way," Ashe admitted. "See?" He went invisible again, causing Luanne to gasp.
"You mean Liz found out she could do that, and used it to leave us?" Luanne was upset.
"I'm pretty sure," Ashe said.
Correct, Ren silently supplied.
"In fact, I'm sure of it," Ashe added. "Did they tell you she went to a dress shop in Cordell first, before asking someone to drive her out of town? She would have been better off misting to her destination, but she probably didn't know enough about it to realize that."
Correct.
"So, if you get the urge to leave Cloud Chief, make sure you tell somebody. We're not dealing with amateurs that want to kill us," Ashe went on. "These people have one goal in mind, never forget that. They want us dead."
Correct.
* * *
"This is the one we're chasing now." Bill Jennings handed over photographs to Marcus, Winkler, Aedan and Nathan. "I don't know what the boy's mother told him about his father, but this one went as bad as it is possible to go." Depicted in the photographs was a dark-haired man with green eyes and a scar on his upper lip. "If Ashe hadn't reported the scar, it never would have occurred to me that this one might be here, committing these crimes. We've all believed he was far away and no longer cared what happened to his son."
"You don't believe the boy has any idea?" Winkler lifted his gaze to the Director.
"Doubt it. I have no idea what he thinks at this point." Bill's white hair shone in the light of the pendant lamp that hung over the kitchen table.
"Are you going to tell him—and his mother?" Marcus asked.
"I'd prefer not, at this point. We won't, either, unless we have no choice. He walked away from her and into a life of crime, leaving his son behind. It will only terrify the family more if they learn of this new threat."
"I agree," Aedan nodded. "The others shouldn't know, either. Ashe knows not to say anything—he wants to protect those children as much as any of us. I'll have a talk with him anyway, just as a precaution."
"Good. Alex and I have hotel reservations in Clinton. The hotel isn't far from the hospital, and we'll escort Agent Lawford to Oklahoma City tomorrow as quickly as it can be arranged. We'll make sure he's placed in the same hospital as the Scott woman, so my agents can easily guard both rooms."
"Want a wolf or two to help?" Winkler asked. "Marcus can send one of his tonight, and I'll get some of mine up here tomorrow, if you want."
"Do it," Bill sighed. "I hate to impose, but we've all seen what this one is capable of doing." He stuffed the photographs inside a folder and handed them off to his agent bodyguard.
"I'll get Ben Billings," Marcus dialed his cell and spoke rapidly to Principal Billings when the older werewolf answered the phone.
Chapter 14
"Dad, there's no way I'd say anything about that man. They have enough to worry about as it is." Aedan hadn't given Ashe the name of the hunted man, just that he had connections to one of the families and warned Ashe not to say anything to anyone about it. "But there's something you need to know—you, Mr. Winkler and Marcus," Ashe blinked at his father. "Edward sent mindspeech to me a little while ago. He says he and Luanne both have it, but he said that Macy and Keith don't seem to. They can't get Philip to even try."
"That could be a good and a bad thing," Aedan said softly. "What if those creatures attempt to contact them? Try to convince them to leave, as the girl did."
"They've never tried to contact me. Or if they did, it didn't get past the barrier. Why would they try with the others?"
"I don't know. We'll think on this and I'll have a talk with Mr. Winkler. It's past your bedtime, now. Get in bed, son, and we'll sort this out later."
"All right. Dad, I'm glad those bullets didn't hurt you."
"Bullets always hurt, but they generally don't kill a vampire. Getting them out is sometimes more painful than getting them to begin with. Goodnight, son, and don't worry about this." Aedan rose from his seat on Ashe's bed. "Mr. Winkler says you can talk to him tomorrow—he has questions, I think." Aedan walked out of Ashe's bedroom, closing the door carefully behind him.
* * *
"You going to the graduation tonight?" Sali flopped into a lawn chair beside Ashe.
"Yeah. Cori's graduating. Of course I'm going. Why wouldn't I?" Ashe shook his head at Sali's indifference.
"Marco called last night. He'll be here, too."
"Does this mean you'll come with me? Mom and Dad are coming; Mr. Thompson offered to help guard the perimeter since Nathan and Dad will be at the graduation. Trace and those new werewolves, Roger and Toby, will help Mr. Thompson. And Jason and Marcie will run the store for Mom until they catch the guy who attacked us." Ashe and Sali sat outside in lawn chairs on the south side of Ashe's house. Aedan had built a small deck there that led into Adele's solarium.
"Mom says that Aunt Marcie really likes Jason."
"I like Jason, too."
"Yeah, but I think Aunt Marcie might like to marry Jason."
"Really?" Ashe stared at Sali. "You think so? That's outstanding."
"She gets to pick this time. She didn't with Uncle Dominic. We might not see cousin Jackson or cousin Dustin again," Sali muttered. "They had to stay in Phoenix with Uncle Dom."
"That sucks," Ashe nodded.
"Well, we didn't see much of them before. Jack's a year older than I am, and Dusty's five years older. Uncle Dom didn't like it if Aunt Marcie wanted to visit us."
"He sounds like a jerk," Ashe said.
"He is. Dad never liked him, and having two Packmasters in the house can be a little tense."
"Are you coming to graduation or not?" Ashe changed the subject, going back to the scheduled ceremony.
"Yeah. I'll come. Let's sit in the back."
"But I want to see Cori. Mom said I could borrow the camcorder and record it. Besides, she worked really hard on her speech." Ashe didn't blink when Ren appeared and sat down on the wide boards of the deck, silently joining the two boys. He did blink, however, when Elizabeth Frasier's ghost floated in and settled nearby.
* * *
"You didn't see her? Man, she was right there beside you," Ashe paced inside his bedroom later, after Sali had gone home for an early dinner. Most of the community was preparing to attend the graduation later. Ren sat cross-legged on Ashe's bed, his tall frame leaning against the wall behind the bed. He'd taken up the habit after seeing Ashe and Sali do the same.