Page 31 of A Brighter Yellow
Steve shrugged. “There are a lot of bikers, but some other people too. Mostly men. No one likes them. They’re creepers. But so far, they’ve kept to themselves, and it’s private property so….”
“Warlocks,” growled Anna.
“Yeah, those are the patches I’ve been seeing,” agreed Steve.
“We should have gone in,” said Anna.
“Without knowing what we’re up against, we could have ended up in just as much trouble as Charlie,” said Ochre.
“We can help with the recon,” said Steve, then he glanced at his watch. “Just give us until tomorrow morning.”
Anna knew the noise she made was too wolf-y, but she couldn’t stop herself.
“We will get Charlie out,” said Ochre. “We’re just being safe.”
Anna nodded but didn’t feel any happier.
“Are you guys staying anywhere?”
“We just arrived in town,” said Ochre. “We haven’t got anything lined up yet.”
Steve nodded as if he’d been expecting that answer. “I’ve got a trailer you can stay at. It’s on private property. After you left, there was some friction with the security guys. Now I’ve got media and cops about to come around. We usually shove Sue at everyone. She’s a retired pediatrician, and she comes across like a grandma with all the answers. It’s awesome. However, too many meatheads like me around ruins the vibe and, no offense, but you two are kind of setting off the weird-o-meter.”
“I am not weird!” exclaimed Anna. Then took a deep breath. Nothing said not-normal like getting upset over being called weird.
“You’re too hot to be running around with us,” said Steve with a grin. “And he’s just plain tall and stands out,” said Steve. “It makes people start to wonder, and I’m thinking you don’t want them to do that.”
“We’ll take the trailer,” said Ochre, sounding sour. “Do you know anyone who can help with finding out who owns the bunker?”
“I’ll make some calls,” said Steve, with a shrug. “You can leave it with me.”
“Thanks,” said Ochre. “We appreciate it. You don’t have to.”
“The world is connected, Ochre,” said Steve, looking him in the eye. “Everyone and everything. I know that now because of you and your family. You need help, and I can help. That’s the way it should be, and that’s how I choose to live now.”
Anna blinked. She’d thought Ochre had been humorously exaggerating about changing Steve’s life. This wasn’t humorous—or at least Steve didn’t find it funny. It was just more proof that Ochre was out of her league.
Ochre nodded and held out his hand, and Steve shook it. The two of them seemed to have cemented whatever bond was between them, and Anna felt left out.
They followed Steve to a farm just outside of town. Out in the back, past two junker trucks embedded in the lawn, was an RV probably from the early nineties judging from the maroon and forest green upholstery. Steve headed back to town and left Anna and Ochre to themselves. Anna didn’t know what to say. She checked her phone. Somehow it was nearly four.
Ochre’s phone pinged. “Oh, great. Azure sent me a place where I can get some magic supplies. Although, I think I saw some comfrey and peppermint in the yard, and that would get me halfway to a lot of spells.”
“I’m hungry,” said Anna. “I don’t suppose you can go by yourself.”
“You don’t want to get dinner together?” he asked, looking surprised.
She didn’t want to admit that, aside from food, what she really needed was to shift and get out in the open air and run off some of her pent-up frustration. It made it sound like she couldn’t control herself.
“I was going to go out and get some of the rabbits in the gulch down there. I didn’t think you’d want to be around for that.”
“Oh,” said Ochre. “Um, no. Not really.”
“Yeah,” said Anna, watching him process the situation. They weren’t compatible. He ought to figure it out now before either of them got hurt. “Anyway,” she said, looking around the shitty trailer. It smelled musty.
He looked frustrated. “Yeah,” he said. “OK. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“OK,” she said with a nod.
