Chapter 7

Asher balked hard when he realized the shopping trip was to get him stuff. "You can't buy me things, Alpha."

"Why not?" I turned in my seat in the parking lot of Mr. Jones's EverythingMart to give him a look. "You planning to walk around in Wilde's rubber boots and keep wearing his clothes for a week? A month?"

"No. I…" He slumped down into the corner of the backseat, clearly unable to come up with any answer.

"It's an Alpha's job to make sure his wolves get what they need."

"It's not. Sir. That's not how it works."

"It is in my pack. If it makes you feel better, it's a loan, not a gift. You'll pay me back when you're on your feet."

Rob added from the seat beside Asher, "It's for the good of the pack. You can't run or fight in those boots."

"All right." His voice came out a whisper.

"Good man," I told him. "Let's go get you outfitted."

Except as soon as he touched the door handle, Asher hyperventilated, eyes squeezed shut, his breath rasping in his throat. "I can't. I can't go in there." Over the bond, I could feel the way panic swamped his thoughts, and no amount of calming I pushed at him did more than take the edge off.

I could've forced him, but I didn't want to add to his trauma. "You can stay here, but you'll be stuck with what I choose," I warned him. "I want you to know that."

He managed a shaky smile, pressed back against his closed door. "I trust you, sir."

"Wilde, you stay with him."

"No." Asher widened his eyes at that. "I don't need a babysitter. I'll be fine right here."

"You're sure?" I didn't want to make him feel weak, but his fear still vibrated under the surface of the bond.

"Positive, Alpha. I just need to… ease back into things. Into being around strangers." He pulled in a slow breath, and I felt him trying to center and calm down. "I need a bit of time. You all go on." He met my gaze, a little flushed, and seemed to be asking me not to make this a big deal.

"Okay," I told him. "Take it easy, then. Call if you need me."

He nodded and settled in his seat.

The EverythingMart wasn't close to Walmart-sized but it had a decent selection. Not Walmart-priced either, but since I was told the nearest big box store was an hour away, Jones could no doubt charge his premium. I dispatched Wilde to pick out clothes, since he'd seen Asher in his own stuff and had some idea of sizes.

Rob and I picked up a few toiletries, and then tried to find shoes.

"What about these?" Rob held out a pair of lightweight sneakers to me. I surreptitiously laid one on the sheet of paper where I'd traced Asher's foot, while Rob screened my actions.

"Those could work." They were flexible enough to have some give to them, in case the size wasn't quite right.

"If they don't work, he can hobble himself in here another time and do better," I decided. "Let's—"

A wave of panic so wild it snatched my breath blasted down Asher's bond into my head. I dropped the shoes and sprinted for the door with Rob behind me. Wilde looked up, shocked, as we passed, but I had no time for more than, "Asher!"

We burst out of the door and there, beside my truck, stood Asher and the sheriff. Asher's face was colorless, his eyes wide, and he clung to the door handle. The sheriff had his gun drawn and aimed.

"What's going on?" I demanded.

"Stop right there." The sheriff didn't take his eyes off Asher. "Don't interfere."

I stopped, because not even a werewolf could heal a bullet to the heart. In an easy tone, I said, "What's the problem? He's with me."

"Really?" The sheriff addressed Asher. "You confirm your name is Asher Wright?"

"Y-yes, sir." Asher raised his gaze from the gun, looking past the sheriff at me.

"Then you're under arrest for murder—"

"Murder? I didn't. I never!" He shook like a leaf, all trace of the strong wolf gone. "Sir!" That was a call to me, not the sheriff.

I took a small step forward. "I think there's been some mistake. He's been with one of us for the last two days." And not human for the last two years , though I couldn't say so.

"Stay back." The sheriff had Asher turn and put his hands on the roof of my truck. Then he patted him down one-handed, not holstering his weapon. "Why are you wearing rubber boots?"

Wilde said, "His shoes got soaked while he was at my house, and they were all I had that fit him. I think you're mistaken, Sheriff Frazer."

Frazer ignored Wilde to tell Asher, "Keep your hands where they are and kick off the boots."

Asher tried. The third time he staggered and almost fell, Wilde said, "Sheriff, let me help him."

"Keep your distance." Frazer crouched and grabbed one boot heel. "Lift now." When the boot came free, he shook it upside down and felt inside the top before tossing it aside. "Other one."

Wilde looked at me, frowning. I didn't like any of this but didn't want to jog the elbow of the man holding the gun, so we stayed still and quiet until the sheriff had Asher cuffed and turned to face us. Asher stood shivering in sock-clad feet. The day was warm enough. It had to be shock.

I tried again. "We can alibi him for the time of death, I'm sure." Whatever it was. I'd lie for my wolf if necessary, especially since I knew he wasn't guilty.

Frazer's lip curled. "Any time, right? Yesterday, last week, two years ago? Yeah, I totally believe that alibi."

"Two years?" Asher's face went from pale to green.

"Out-of-state arrest warrant, two years back. Asher Wright with a W. Wouldn't have remembered it when I spotted this guy except for those freaky eyes, and the crime." Frazer glared at me. "He murdered the local sheriff's wife."

"I didn't. I never!" Asher ignored Frazer to focus all his appeal on me.

I'd been in his head, I'd felt his fear. If the woman was dead, it was at his Alpha's hands. Which didn't help us now. "I believe you," I told him, putting emotion behind the words.

"He can tell it to a judge." A muscle in Frazer's jaw jumped. He hadn't holstered the weapon. "I'm taking him in to the station. You try to interfere, and I'll arrest you too." His voice was steady but a bead of sweat appeared at his hairline.

I put myself in his shoes. Here he had an apparent murderer and three possible accomplices, one even bigger than him, and he was alone, only his gun as an equalizer. I could see this going bad real fast if he got scared. "I'm not going to interfere." I gentled my voice to a tone I used for the pack boys. "You do what you have to do. We'll follow you there and talk when you feel safer."

The sheriff jerked his chin up. "This is my town and I'm safe anywhere in it."

"Yes, sir, I'm sure you are. And you have nothing to worry about from us. This is all a misunderstanding and we'll get it cleared up soon. Go with him, Third." I dared the title, which would mean nothing to Frazer, to remind Asher who he belonged to. He nodded jerkily.

"Step well back." The sheriff gripped Asher's arm with his free hand and propelled him, stumbling, over to his parked cruiser. Once Asher was stowed in the back, Frazer walked around the car, finally holstered the gun, and swung into the seat.

"Wilde," I said urgently. "Call Phillip or Blake to come get you. Or a cab, whatever you can get. Here's my card. You buy the stuff we picked out while you wait. He's still going to need it. Then get to the local lawyer. I assume there is one?"

"Two, but Macy Silverstein's the one we want."

"Tell her I'll cover the fee, whatever, and get her over to the sheriff's station. We're going to follow the sheriff. I doubt there's immediate danger, but Asher needs to know he's not alone there."

"You don't think this means his Alpha's here?"

"No, not if Frazer simply spotted him. But if his Alpha's a sheriff, the bastard may hear about Asher's arrest sooner rather than later. Call me. Keep in touch."

Rob had snatched my truck keys out of my pocket, jumped in the driver's seat, and started the engine. The moment I joined him, he pulled out after the disappearing cruiser. "We'll lose him if he goes to the siren."

"Hopefully, he's not that freaked out. Don't get too close though."

"'Course not." Rob picked up speed.

"Well, fuck. Shit! Motherfucking hell…" I gave myself a moment to exercise every swearword I knew.

When I drew breath, Rob grunted. "Feel better?"

"Not much."

"You think Asher told us the truth?"

"Yes."

"Me too. Poor guy's shitting a brick about now."

"Uh-huh." I had Asher's bond shut down enough to concentrate without his panic distracting me. Rob would be getting a little of that from his packmate too. "As long as he doesn't lose his head. We can tell the sheriff he was living with me two years ago. Nowhere near the place, wherever that was. Sherman and the old pack will back me up if we need them to."

Wolves weren't allowed to be arrested and jailed. A wolf forced to spend years in skin would be almost as damaged as one that spent years in fur, and our DNA was not for humans to see or record. Any wolf would do whatever it took to keep another out of the prison system.

"Hopefully, that's premature. We still don't want Sherman to know where you are."

"Well, cross all your fingers and toes, Second, because what we want is starting to matter less and less." I was surprised to find that the prospect of contacting my old pack didn't raise a tide of emotions this time. Some stress, yeah, and low-key worry about staying in the closet while that was done, but neither the yearning nor the anger nor the terror I'd once felt. I'm moving on.

I glanced over at the main reason for that and laid a hand on Rob's thigh. He covered it with his own briefly, then took a tight left turn behind the cop car.

The sheriff tapped his horn as he turned in at the station. He parked by the front door and before he got out, a deputy appeared in the doorway, weapon in hand.

I told Rob to park well down the row and got out with my hands high. "I don't want any trouble, Sheriff. I'm just here for my friend."

Frazer got Asher out of the backseat. "Well, you can't see him or talk to him. Not unless you're a lawyer."

"I'm not, but I hope to have Ms. Silverstein here for Asher ASAP." I looked at him as I said it. "I'm told she's the best lawyer in town."

Frazer huffed. "If she shows up, she knows the rules. Now you two stay there while I bring your buddy inside."

"Sure thing. Hang in there, Asher. Don't say anything except, ‘I want my lawyer.' Got it?" I kept my hands where the cops could see them as Asher was pulled in the door and gone. "There must be a public lobby. Something."

"No doubt." Rob rounded the hood and grabbed my arm. "And we can go on in there, but count to ten. Let them get clear and relaxed and all."

"Right. Frazer's probably used to arresting brother number eight of the local moonshiners and having to face down bros one through seven."

"I'd say you were stereotyping," Rob drawled. "Except where I grew up, it was the Lawton boys, six of 'em, and meth."

"What did your sheriff do?"

"Mom said he called in the state cops. Busted 'em all."

"We'll try to avoid that."

"Yeah, let's."

My fury had settled to a low simmer, which was a good thing. "Are we ready now?"

"Sure. Lead the way."

The lobby of the sheriff's station held six straight chairs, a large corkboard, and a desk behind bulletproof glass. I guess even a small town had to face today's realities. A middle-aged Black woman in uniform— the first non-white person I'd seen around here— sat behind the desk. She gave me a glare my local librarian would've envied. "Can I help you?"

"The sheriff just arrested a friend of mine, and I wanted to make a statement and see if I can pay bail or something." I didn't think confinement would be good for Asher's state of mind.

Her glare shifted to something more like amusement. "You can sit down, and if the sheriff wants a statement he'll come out and get it. As for bail, that's up to a judge, and it won't happen today."

"Won't?"

"This isn't Cheyenne. We don't have a courthouse on the corner. Soonest he'll see a judge would be tomorrow."

"Well, crap." I wasn't na?ve enough to think I could change that. Maybe a good lawyer could find something wrong with the warrant. Murder didn't have a statute of limitations, so being two years ago didn't matter. Maybe Asher could say his name was spelled wrong. Except he had no ID on him to support that. Shit. I could get him ID, had been planning to, but it took time for a wolf to get papers that would stand up to scrutiny, and I couldn't do it without a recent photo.

Rob bumped my shoulder and I realized I'd been gritting my teeth.

Smile for the nice lady. "Thanks for the information. Can you tell the sheriff that my friend has PTSD about small spaces and handcuffs, so if he's acting wild or upset, it's from a panic attack?"

She looked me over for a moment, then said, "That I can do." She stood, typed a code into the lock of the door behind her, and went through.

I turned to Rob. No doubt, everything in here was being filmed. "I guess we wait." Choosing the chair farthest from the front door, I sat down. The sheriff shouldn't expect to get rid of us easily.

Rob sat beside me, his knee touching mine. I opened my bond to Asher wide. The emotions that flooded me were just this side of panic. I pushed calm and support and protection toward him as best I could. I didn't want to go deeper and distract him, but I let him get a taste of my wolf, roused and pacing, ready to rip his enemies to shreds. You're okay. I have you.

I felt Asher's panic ease slightly.

Rob said, "Never a dull moment around you even in a small town, Davey." When the desk officer returned and took her seat, Rob proceeded to fill the dead air with a long and convoluted story about the time when he was seven and his little friend Lucy talked him into running off to join a traveling funfair. I was grateful for the sound of his voice, though I only half-listened, focusing inward on supporting my Third.

Wilde came through the doors alone about half an hour later. Rob had switched to what I was sure was a bunch of lies about a trip he once took to Vegas. He stopped in mid-sentence and we both eyed the elder wolf. "Lawyer?" I asked when he reached us.

"Not till tomorrow. She's out of town, down at the county courthouse, and not due back till the morning.

"Crap." I was back to controlling my swearing for the public image, but I wanted to let loose. "You said there's someone else?"

"Yeah, but he mostly does wills and property, and he's not the sharpest knife in the block. Asher's better with no lawyer than him, and there's no local public defender, either."

I looked Wilde in the eyes. Despite me being in my Third's head, I thought Wilde might know him better. "You think he can hold out until tomorrow without doing something we'll regret in a panic?" Like shifting? Asher wasn't stupid, but he'd been reckless in fur and panic could override all kinds of common sense if he was desperate to escape. Wolf paws would slip out of human handcuffs.

"I don't know." Wilde looked worried. "I'm glad he has you as a friend , but he's had a rough time, and PTSD doesn't listen to logic. You might know better than I do how he's feeling." He eyed me intently.

"Hanging on by his fingernails, I expect," I told him, blinking to survey my Third's dark-blue bond pulsing with fear. "But hanging on."

Wilde nodded and took a seat beside Rob. I nudged Rob with my knee and he went back to his make-believe tale of six chorus girls and a fountain.

The sheriff appeared twenty minutes later, glowering. "Where's the damned lawyer?"

"At the courthouse," Wilde told him. "Coming in the morning. She says if you interrogate her client without her, she'll get him cut loose for a rights violation."

The sheriff huffed an angry sound.

I said soothingly, "If the crime was two years ago, surely a day's delay doesn't matter, does it?" Except to Asher in his cell.

Frazer glared at me. "You. What do you know about all this?"

I raised my hands, palms wide. "I don't even know what he's supposed to have done, but I know Asher. He's an old friend. Whatever the warrant says, I know he's innocent."

"Sure. All your old friends are innocent, I suppose."

Rob choked a man to death after beating him half unconscious. I ripped a throat out. Does that count? Kane and our Second had deserved it, forced our hands, but we'd killed them. I gave Frazer my best winning smile. "Most of them are."

"Your friend will be held here until we get his lawyer, a prosecutor, and a court date to start the state extradition process. Anything you have to say will wait for those folks." Frazer grunted. "I hate extradition cases. So damned much paperwork."

"You could just let him go on his own recognizance."

"Ha. Thanks for the laugh." Frazer looked us over. "Wilde, you know these people?"

"Yes, I do. Old friends."

"Huh. Well, unless you're here on some other matter, get out of my lobby and let us do our work."

I asked, "Can we bring him anything? A sweater? A book? Shoes, for God's sake?"

The sheriff hesitated. "Shoes, okay. No laces. Leave them with Officer Lincoln and we'll check them over. We have heating. His precious skin will survive the night without a sweater."

"We'll do that," Wilde said before I could protest. Not that Asher would get cold, but a sweater with his Alpha's scent on it might have soothed him.

Frazer gestured us toward the doors and we obeyed, stepping out into the afternoon sun.

"Fuck," I gritted between my teeth, soft enough that only wolf ears would hear it. "Motherfucker. We did not need this."

"Asher didn't need it," Wilde said.

"For sure." I followed him toward where Blake leaned against an unfamiliar truck, asking, "Did you get the stuff we picked out?"

"Yeah, and the shoes you dropped. Hopefully, they were the right ones."

"Should be. Hey, Blake." I greeted him as we reached his side.

"Alpha." He dropped his gaze to his feet, the gesture we defaulted to when a head-bow might be noted by humans. "How can I help?"

"Driving Wilde was a good start." I clapped him on the arm. "Stuff in the back?"

"Yes, sir." Blake pulled the passenger door open.

I climbed in the back despite the cramped space and Rob followed me. Wilde got in the front seat so Blake went around to drive.

"We're not going anywhere yet." I pulled the shoes out of the bag, popped the plastic tie holding them together, unthreaded the laces, and shoved one sneaker into each armpit under my sweater. "Blake, you got any reading material in this truck? A book, a magazine?"

"T— my guy likes to read. Check the door pocket, Wilde."

Wilde dug into the space and came out with a paperback and a magazine.

Blake flushed and grabbed the book, sticking it in his own door. "Not that one. It's, um, explicit."

That could've been fun to get the sheriff to leaf through, but I did still hope to live here later. Although not if I had to run with a fugitive. Shit. Damn his old Alpha. Wolves didn't get humans involved in pack fights. That was part of our code, and his Alpha breaking it was one more bad sign. Packs policing ourselves like little kingdoms fell apart when there was a bad king. Someone needs to take that bastard down. Although if the warrant was two years old, maybe they already had.

Wilde leafed through the magazine. "Pretty harmless. Asher won't know half these celebrities, but it'll be a distraction."

"Put it against your skin," I told Wilde. "Get your scent on it. He trusts you, too."

Wilde gave me a sharp look, but pulled his shirt out of his jeans and stuffed the magazine underneath it against his chest.

"Did he tell you where his old pack was?" I asked.

"No more than you did."

"Pittsburgh suburbs for us." Although he probably knew that from Blake and Philip. For a moment, I wondered how the packmates I'd left were doing. If Jack's boy's broken arm had healed and how long they'd make the kid wear the cast, for appearances… Not my circus anymore. I now have wilder and less predictable circuses.

"Phillip can do an online search, sir," Blake offered. "With Asher's name and murder of a sheriff's wife. He might find them."

"Worth a try," I agreed. "Call him."

I pulled the shoes out from under my arms and breathed into them, then stuck a hand inside each, rubbing my fingers on the soles. "Wilde, you bring the shoes and magazine in. They know you. Leave them for Asher and then Blake can drive you home—"

"I'm staying."

"Huh?"

"I know where the holding cells are located." His raised eyebrow dared me to ask how, but I wasn't that foolish. "There's no windows in them, but there is at the end of the corridor. Barred, of course, but if I stand there, I can talk to him. All night if need be. Wolf ears, he'll hear me. They'll think I'm crazy talking to walls, but it'll help."

"I'm sure it will. Thank you."

He shrugged one shoulder. "Asher was here before you, Alpha, and if he screws up, we're all in trouble."

I'd bet Wilde hadn't noticed that unpremeditated "Alpha" sneaking out, and I wouldn't mention it. My wolf preened. Pack elder. "Still, I'll owe you. Again. When would you like me to bring you food?"

He blinked as if that hadn't occurred to him. "I usually eat around six."

"Six it is. Any orders from the diner?"

A slow smile curved his lips. "And if I asked for a steak?"

"Rare or medium rare?"

"What do you think?"

"One bloody steak, coming up." I slid the sneaker off my right hand and held it out. "You're a good man, Jefferson Wilde. Even if you are all pretentious using your last name."

He laughed and shook my hand. "You might turn out to be all right yourself." No title, direct look into my eyes. Elder is a work in progress.

Rob said, "What's the chance that Asher's Alpha will be willing to sit back and let the wheels of human justice bring Asher back to him?"

We all chuckled grimly. Not a hope in hell.

"He'll be here as soon as he hears," I said. "I'd bet my life on it. Unless he's already dead."

"Would solve our problem," Rob agreed. "But unlikely. So we need to plan for what we'll do when he shows."

"Besides drag him into the woods and rip his throat out?" My wolf really liked that suggestion.

"Jesus, Alpha, there's a reason I've been your fixer all these years." Rob shook his head. "Imagine it. Bereaved sheriff shows up in the vicinity of the man who killed his wife plus a bunch of the guy's friends, and then vanishes? Human law enforcement would be on that like a ton of bricks."

"Then what's the plan?"

"We stick to the fucker like glue. And if he vanishes, it happens a long way from here and not linked to us."

When, not if. As soon as that bastard showed his face near me, he was dead meat, one way or another, for what he did to my wolf. Someday, maybe wolves would have access to other forms of justice, but right now, the bad ones had to die. We might argue about what "bad" included, but torturing subordinates was a no-brainer. I counted to three and told Rob, "You take point on our strategy. You've never steered me wrong."

"I'll give it some thought."

"What can we be doing tonight?" Blake asked.

I looked him over. "How many ways are there into town?"

"Three main roads."

Too many to cover, even if we could pick out a wolf driving by with perfect accuracy. "If he comes, he's likely to show up here at the station. Cop to cop, right? Trying to get access and take Asher away."

Wilde said, "Sheriff Frazer's not stupid. No state would send the victim's husband to transport her murderer, even if he's a cop."

Rob hummed. "If I was the Alpha, I'd come in disguise. Fake ID from one of his deputies or something."

I nodded to him. "Makes sense. I guess we'll see how smart he is. We'll need to stake out this place."

"Not for a few hours," Wilde said. "If he's out of state, he's got a long drive or a plane ride. He won't get here till the station closes for regular business. Tomorrow morning would be the earliest he can get to Asher. He can't be reckless enough to try to break in."

"We hope," I agreed. "Okay. We have a few hours. Blake, get Phillip going on that online search. Do you have to head back to work?"

"I barfed and got sent home sick."

"Good job." I saw him sit straighter under my praise. "Get a nap, then. Come on back out here around six with Wilde's steak." I handed him a couple of twenties. "Feed yourself, too. We'll take turns keeping an eye on this area in case the bastard Alpha decides to arrive early to check out the situation." I sure would. "You'll call me the moment he shows and don't let him spot you or try to take him on, right?" I gave both Blake and Wilde a hard look. My weaker wolves were not allowed to risk their lives around this guy.

Blake said, "Yes, Alpha," with a head bow, and Wilde dropped his gaze for a second. Good enough.

"We'll relieve you around two a.m.," I told Blake. Odds were the murderous Alpha wouldn't arrive before that. "Right." I tapped the sneakers in Wilde's hands. "We have a plan." Of sorts. Minimally.

Rob's eyes met mine filled with humor, but he just said, "We should nap too. Be fresh for tomorrow."

I could get on top of that. Or underneath it.