Chapter Six
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“WE NEED MORE PEOPLE,” Jasper declared.
Archie watched his boyfriend. Jasper seemed fine, which was a relief, but Archie wasn’t sure it wasn’t a lie.
Jasper didn’t want to talk about Kester or his biological family anymore.
He wanted to focus on the case, which was good because Archie wasn’t sure how long Finn and the other kids had, but he was also worried.
It couldn’t be good for Jasper to ignore the massive, monstrous elephant in the room.
But he wanted to, and for now, Archie could go along with it. He wouldn’t let it last forever, just the time to recover the kids. Once that was done, he’d sit Jasper down, and they’d talk.
Archie hadn’t been kidding when he’d said that no one really cared who Jasper’s parents really were.
It would be nice to know, if anything, because Jasper wanted to know, but Archie just wanted his boyfriend to be happy.
Who his parents were wouldn’t change the person he was.
He’d still be Jasper, a man raised as a hunter who’d left them because he hadn’t liked what they were doing.
He’d still be the man who was here today, planning on rescuing a bunch of monster kids.
He didn’t have any reason to do so beyond wanting to do the right thing.
That wasn’t something that Leroy had taught him. That was all him.
“Where do you suggest we find more people?” Braith asked. “Archie and I don’t work with anyone.”
“I can’t believe you don’t have people who would happily step in to help if you asked them,” Jasper told him. “You can’t tell me you haven’t made allies since you opened the agency.”
“We have, but it’s one thing to have informants and another for them to put themselves in danger to help kids they don’t know.”
“It doesn’t hurt to ask. Besides, isn’t that exactly what I’m doing?”
Braith snorted. “Yes, but you’re doing it for Archie.”
“I’m not. I’m glad Archie asked, but I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do, and I’m sure I won’t be the only one feeling that way. Kerry and Corey have already agreed to help, as did Cullen.”
“It’s probably best if he doesn’t get involved. You said that he fell on his face while trying to fight two monsters.”
“It was sweet.”
“We don’t need sweet. We need people who know what they’re doing.”
“Which is what I was saying. We need more people.”
Braith huffed, but even though he and Archie were used to working on their own, Archie couldn’t say that Jasper was wrong.
Considering the number of guards and customers they’d seen at the warehouse, even five of them—Archie didn’t count Cullen—wouldn’t be enough.
Besides, Archie didn’t only want to get the kids away from that mess.
He also wanted the people involved to pay, and it wasn’t something he and Braith could take care of on their own.
“What did you have in mind?” he asked his boyfriend.
Jasper chewed on his lower lip for a second. He didn’t look happy, which made Archie wonder what he was thinking.
He didn’t have to wonder for long.
“The hunters’ organization was created to protect people,” Jasper said.
“To protect humans, not monsters,” Braith pointed out.
“You’re right,” Jasper said. “Most hunters agree with that. They want to protect humans, but not monsters.”
“I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”
“Most hunters feel that way, but others don’t. We’re talking about kids. A lot of hunters probably would feel that whatever happened to these kids, they deserve it, but some won’t. Others will want to stop the fights and will help because of that.”
“Why would they want that?”
“Because it involves monsters. I’m sure that some humans are taking advantage of it, but who’s organizing this? Who’s earning money from it?”
“Probably monsters,” Archie said. “Some humans, but hunters won’t like that because these humans are working with monsters.”
“Exactly. As little as the hunters will like this, they’ll probably want to help just because of that.
They’ll be able to stop a bunch of monsters from hurting people.
Besides, not every hunter is an asshole.
Some of them want to help people, but they have to be careful.
Being a hunter sometimes feels like the only way to do that, and getting kicked out for standing up for their beliefs would ruin that. ”
Archie and Braith looked at each other. Archie didn’t like it, but they might not have a choice. “Braith and I have a few friends who might want to help,” he offered. “We can reach out to them.”
Jasper nodded. “Do that, and I’ll reach out to the few people I think will still agree to talk to me within the hunters.
I can’t make promises, especially if they know what I am, but I might be able to find someone.
Even better, I’m sure that Kerry and Corey still have friends in the organization.
They’ll probably have more success than I will. ”
“We’re doing this, then?” Braith asked. “We’re involving hunters in this mess.”
“Only so that we can get Finn and the other kids out,” Jasper promised. “You’ll never have to work with hunters again after that if you don’t want to.”
Archie didn’t want to, but he couldn’t deny that the thought of having that kind of support was appealing.
He and Braith always worked their cases on their own, and sometimes, it was dangerous.
Sometimes, Archie wondered how close they came to getting hurt, or worse.
Luckily, not all of their cases involved going against organized crime, but when they did, it was dangerous.
Archie might not have cared that much before, but he had someone to come home to now.
That meant he couldn’t be as reckless as he had been in the past. Jasper would never forgive him if he got hurt.
“I don’t like this,” Braith grumbled, soft enough that Jasper, who’d already taken his phone out, didn’t hear him.
“Neither do I, but think of the kids.”
“It’s the only reason I’m agreeing to it.”
The same went for Archie. As soon as they were done with this case, he never wanted to see a hunter again.
* * * *
“I ASKED,” KERRY SAID when Jasper answered her phone call.
“What did he say?”
Martinez had been one of her closest friends among the hunters.
From what Jasper knew, she still talked to him, but hunters in general disliked it when people left their organization.
Most hunters probably avoided Kerry and Corey because of that, and being Jasper’s friends no doubt didn’t help.
It was lucky that Kerry still had contacts, but that didn’t mean Martinez had agreed to help.
“He warned me,” she said.
Jasper suspected that he wasn’t going to like this. “What did he warn you about?”
“There’s some unrest amongst the hunters.”
Jasper snorted. “When isn’t there?”
“I suppose you’re right. There is always someone fighting someone. This isn’t that, though. Apparently, a lot of hunters are growing resentful about you and monsters in general.”
“They don’t want us in the city.”
“And they’re angry because of you. They thought you were one of us.”
“I was, no matter what I am.” In fact, Jasper had been a hunter for way too long and for the wrong reason—his parents.
He hadn’t wanted to disappoint them. He’d wanted to uphold his father’s legacy, and he had.
He’d hurt countless people as he did so, and he still felt guilty about that.
He should have left the organization sooner.
All of that was in the past, and there was nothing he could do to change it.
Finding Finn and helping him wouldn’t be enough to atone for what he’d done, but that wasn’t why he was doing it.
He was doing it because it was the right thing to do.
Finn was just a kid who didn’t deserve what was happening to him.
He deserved to be home with his parents, not fighting for his life because people were cruel and heartless.
Braith had left to get lunch. Jasper and Archie had stayed behind, mostly so they could have a little time together. Between their jobs and everything else, Jasper felt they barely had time to see each other. He’d take even half an hour alone in Archie’s office.
But of course, that was when Kerry had called, and Jasper had answered because they needed to know whether someone would help them recover the kids.
Jasper still didn’t have an answer to that question.
“So what did Martinez say?” he asked. “I don’t care how angry people are.
They were already angry at me for leaving, so it doesn’t change much.
” That probably wasn’t true. The hunters had been leaving him alone after he’d left, even though they’d been pissed that he had.
They hadn’t had a reason to come after him.
Now, they did.
Jasper wasn’t human. They knew for sure that he’d been trained to fight.
He could be dangerous, and some of them might use that as an excuse to attack him, but he hoped none of them would be stupid enough to do that.
Wondering wouldn’t help, though. The best thing he could do was focus on helping Archie and finding his birth parents.
Kerry sighed. “He’s not angry. He’s confused, and he has questions, and he’ll probably ask them when he sees you. He’ll help us, though. He’s sure he can get a bunch of other people to do the same.”
Jasper relaxed back against his chair. This was what they’d wanted, and, more importantly, what they’d needed. “Good.”
“Yeah,” Kerry said with a sigh. “It’s still a mess, though.”
“I can deal with a mess. We just have to get the kids out of there first.”
“Will you answer Martinez’s questions when he asks them?”
“I’ll try, but what am I supposed to tell him? I didn’t know what I was until Kester told me, and my father confirmed it. I have no idea who my parents are or how I ended up with the hunters. I don’t know what Martinez wants from me.”
“Answers. I think that’s what most of them want.”
“And they won’t get them, not from me.”
“I’ll warn him so he doesn’t have high expectations.”
“And you think he’ll help anyway?”
“He’s not one of the bad ones, Jasper.”
“I know.” Sometimes, Jasper wondered if all hunters were bad, but he knew that some of them were trying to change things from the inside.
Maybe he should’ve tried doing that, too, but he hadn’t even tried.
He’d known he’d fail. His father was who he was, and Jasper had known that people would only see him as his father’s son, no matter what he did or said.
He was ready to bet that had changed now.
Back when he’d left, though, he’d known he’d never be able to step away from his father’s shadow.
Other hunters would always wonder why he was doing the things he was and what was in it for him.
They probably wouldn’t have believed that he was trying to help people.
He’d always been glad he’d left the hunters, but never as much as he was now.
He couldn’t imagine what it would’ve been like for him if he’d found out he was a monster while he was still with the hunters.
His father wouldn’t have helped him. He’d have been in danger, and he’d have been mostly alone facing it.
He’d have been in the wolf’s den with no way out.
“Anyway, I’ll be the link between you guys and Martinez,” Kerry said. “He’ll be there when we need him to be. He wants to save these kids as much as we do.”
“Even though they’re monsters?”
“They’re kids.”
Jasper agreed, but he was slightly surprised that a hunter did. He was curious about Martinez. They’d never been close, but Jasper trusted Kerry. If she trusted Martinez, then Jasper could do the same. “I’ll let you know as soon as I know something,” he told her.
“You do that. I’ll see you at home tonight.”
“Let me know if anything else happens.”
They hung up, and Jasper glanced at his boyfriend, who was watching him. He knew that Archie had heard most of the conversation, even though he’d been working. “I hope this isn’t going to be a disaster,” Jasper said.
“That’s all we can hope for. I’m not usually one to trust hunters.”
“You trust me,” Jasper pointed out.
Archie stared at him for a moment before smiling. “I do. Sometimes, I wonder why, but then, I look at your pretty face, and I know.”
Jasper snorted. “Oh, so you trust me because I’m pretty?”
“And because even though you were a hunter, you’ve proved yourself to be someone I can trust and love.”
Jasper sucked in a breath. Now wasn’t the moment to be emotional, but God, he’d needed to hear that. “You, too.”
“Whatever these hunters say to you, ignore it. The people who love you know who you are, and that’s all that matters.”
“What matters are the kids.”
“We’ll save them.”
It was their goal, but Jasper couldn’t help but wonder if Martinez and the other hunters who would help were in this for the kids or for him.