Chapter Three
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“WE COULD GO BACK,” Cullen said as he reached Jasper’s car. “He’s gone.”
“Do you want to start a fight? Because that’s how you start a fight,” Jasper told him as he gestured toward the passenger door.
“No, but you have every right to be here. You’re as much of a monster as he is.”
“Maybe, but he doesn’t know that.” Hell, Jasper didn’t even know if both his parents had been monsters. He didn’t look like any monster he’d ever met. He looked human.
“You should have told him.”
Jasper wasn’t sure how to explain to Cullen that he wasn’t ready for people to know.
He supposed that it didn’t matter. The people he loved already did, so what would it change if some random monster knew that he was one, too?
“You have to remember that I’m not just a guy who recently found out that he’s a monster. These people know me as a hunter.”
Cullen wrinkled his nose. The gesture made him look younger than he was. “That’s a little weird,” he said. “I mean, no offense, but I don’t see you as a hunter.”
“I was one before. It’s how I was raised.”
“I hate my father, but it sounds like yours isn’t great, either.”
Jasper laughed. “He’s not.”
“Then maybe it’s a good thing that he’s not actually your father.”
“I don’t know. He’s the only father I’ve ever known.”
Cullen shrugged. “If you ask me, fathers are overrated.”
Maybe he wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t like Jasper had ever been close to Leroy. He’d wanted to be while growing up, and he’d wondered what he’d done for his father to behave the way he had. Now, he knew. It wasn’t just that he wasn’t actually Leroy’s son. He wasn’t even human.
That made it even stranger that Leroy had kept him around.
Jasper would have expected Leroy to dump him in an alley or something.
He certainly wouldn’t have expected him to keep a monster kid around, and while he was sure there was an explanation, he doubted he’d ever get it.
He might have to torture it out of Leroy, which wasn’t something he was willing to consider.
For now.
A noise behind him made him turn. When he saw the two monsters approaching, he knew he and Cullen were in trouble.
They were tall, one probably around seven feet, the other a few inches shorter.
They both had dull orange skin, and they looked similar enough with their tusks and dark hair that Jasper was willing to bet they were related, maybe brothers. Not that it mattered in this situation.
“Get in the car,” he ordered.
Cullen frowned and looked ahead. He paled a little when he saw the two monsters, but instead of getting inside the car like Jasper had ordered, he walked around it and came to stand next to Jasper.
“Do you ever do what people ask you to do?” Jasper asked.
“Not really. I’d be dead if I did.”
He probably wasn’t wrong, but unfortunately, he was making Jasper’s life harder. Jasper couldn’t focus on both saving himself and keeping Cullen safe.
He looked around. He doubted anyone would come to their rescue, and he didn’t want to fight. It wouldn’t help anyone, but especially not them. The street was empty, though, as if people had decided to stay inside until Jasper left. Maybe they had.
Movement at the end of the street caught his attention. He wasn’t fast enough to see who it was, but someone quickly stepped away, and he lost sight of them. It was probably someone trying to stay out of the fight, but the silhouette of the person reminded Jasper of someone.
He didn’t have time to wonder. The two monsters were getting closer, and Cullen was clearly an idiot.
He rushed forward, apparently intent on fighting them.
Jasper was horrified. Cullen didn’t seem to have any idea what to do when it came to fighting.
Hell, he didn’t seem to have any idea what to do when it came to walking, either, because before he could reach the monsters, he tripped on something and fell flat on his face.
It would’ve been funny if the situation hadn’t been so dire.
Cullen groaned. Jasper wanted to ask him what the fuck he was doing, but instead, he grabbed the kid and hauled him to his feet.
Cullen had tried to put his hands forward to stop his fall, which had been a good instinct, but unfortunately for him, it had only resulted in him scraping both his face and his hands.
He was bleeding from both. It looked like his nose had taken the brunt of it, but there was a deep wound on the palm of one of his hands.
Jasper shook his head and hauled Cullen back toward the car. He squeezed Cullen’s arm and opened the driver’s door, stuffing Cullen inside. Cullen protested, but Jasper didn’t care. He pushed harder, then slid into the car as soon as Cullen was far enough in.
“I could have gotten in through the passenger door,” Cullen grumbled.
“You didn’t when I asked you to,” Jasper pointed out.
He didn’t put on his seatbelt. He didn’t think that the two demons looking for a fight would give him the time to do so. Instead, he stuck the key into the ignition and turned the engine on.
He didn’t drive recklessly because he didn’t want to crash the car, but he did move as quickly as he could.
He drove past the two monsters, who stopped walking and glared.
Jasper was glad that he and Cullen had been fast enough, but he could too easily imagine what would’ve happened if they hadn’t been.
He might be used to fighting monsters, and he might keep up with his training even though he wasn’t a hunter anymore, but this wouldn’t have been good for him.
It wouldn’t have been good for anyone if he’d had to fight the two monsters in full sight of who knew how many people.
“Well, that was a bust,” Cullen said. “You think they were there for me or for you?”
Jasper frowned. “Why would they be there for you?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if my father had sent people after me. He might have given up himself, but I suspect it won’t be for long. When he wants something, he gets it, and he wants me.”
“He said he didn’t anymore.”
Cullen looked at Jasper in disbelief. “And you believed him? Yeah, he’s gone for now, but I’m going to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder because I know he’s going to come back for me eventually. He doesn’t take no for an answer, and he doesn’t give up easily.”
Maybe Jasper should’ve tried harder to kill Kester.
He couldn’t imagine what Cullen’s life would be like, always on the run because he didn’t want his father to hurt him.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything Jasper could do about that right now.
The best thing would be for him to keep Cullen safe, but he wasn’t sure he had the capacity to do so with everything happening.
Luckily, he knew someone who would probably be okay with keeping an eye on the kid.
Cullen was going to need it if he couldn’t even walk without hurting himself.
“It’s still bleeding,” Cullen murmured, sounding more like a kid than he ever had before.
Jasper sighed. He hadn’t been planning on making a trip to the hospital today, but this day was full of surprises.
* * * *
ARCHIE WASN’T SURPRISED to get a text from Jasper. He was surprised to see that, apparently, Jasper was at the hospital.
Braith had been moving toward the next house to talk to the people who lived there, too. Archie stopped following him and turned toward the car.
“What are you doing?” Braith asked.
“I just got a text from Jasper. He’s at the hospital.”
Braith’s eyes widened. “Is he okay?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t give me any details.
” Which, as far as Archie was concerned, meant that he was probably on death’s door.
It was an exaggeration, but maybe not as much of one as Archie hoped.
Why wouldn’t Jasper have given him more details if he could have? It had to mean that he couldn’t, right?
“I’m driving,” Braith declared.
Archie was fine with that. His heart was racing, and he was pretty sure he would’ve crashed in his haste to get to Jasper.
Braith would go more slowly, and while it would drive Archie nuts, it would keep both of them safe.
Archie didn’t need to join Jasper in whatever hospital room he was in right now.
He didn’t know what to think, and things didn’t get better when they reached the hospital to find two cops outside of the room Jasper was in. Archie didn’t want to talk to them, but they were blocking the entrance, so he didn’t have a choice.
“Can I see my boyfriend?” he snapped.
Braith cleared his throat behind him. “What my friend here meant to say is that he’s worried for his boyfriend since we know he’s here. Can you tell us what happened?”
The two cops looked at each other. One of them shrugged. “Fight between monsters. None of our business.”
Archie narrowed his eyes at them. “Someone was hurt. Isn’t your job to ensure that doesn’t happen?”
“The guy’s not human. If he didn’t want to get hurt, he should’ve been more careful.”
Archie took a step forward. His hands were squeezed into fists, and while he knew that punching a cop was the worst thing he could do right now, he couldn’t help the anger swelling in his chest. That man was saying that because Jasper wasn’t human, he didn’t matter.
The door opened behind the cops, and Jasper appeared. He glanced from the cops to Archie, then reached out and grabbed Archie’s arm. “Come in,” he murmured. “And thanks for nothing,” he added, looking at the cops. “Why are you still here if you’re not going to do anything?”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He pulled Archie inside the room, with Braith quickly following. When Jasper slammed the door shut, Archie relaxed, but only for a few seconds.
He grabbed Jasper’s shoulders and held him at arm’s length, looking him up and down to find out why he needed to be in the hospital. He looked okay. There wasn’t any blood on him. There wasn’t even a scratch that Archie could see. “What happened?”