Chapter Ten
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“AND THEN THIS LADY just started screaming at her husband,” Cullen said as he bounced on the balls of his feet.
Jasper was amused, but he tried not to show it. It was sweet how excited Cullen was about his new job, though.
Just like Jasper had hoped, Cullen had started working with Braith and Archie.
He was at their front desk, answering phone calls and helping clients when he could.
That also meant that he was in the front row when something happened, including when this lady had apparently found out that her husband was cheating on her.
Jasper hiked the grocery bag on his shoulder higher and nodded so that Cullen knew he was listening. Cullen was carrying two bags, too, but he didn’t seem to feel their weight. He was bouncing ahead, excited to tell Jasper about all that had happened during his first few days of work.
“So I told her that she needed to quiet down because people were trying to work,” Cullen continued. “I thought she was going to hit me. She looked so mad.”
“She didn’t hit you, though, right?” Jasper asked, alarmed. He’d become a bit protective of Cullen, which maybe didn’t make sense since Cullen was an adult, but after having to deal with Kester, Jasper couldn’t help it. Cullen was just a kid, and he’d already had to deal with so much.
“No,” Cullen quickly reassured. “Braith came out of the office, and he was so big and threatening that he made her squeak. I think he’s been hitting the gym more often because I’m sure he wasn’t that big when I first met him.”
Jasper grinned. “Oh? I didn’t notice.”
“I did.”
“Is there anything else you’ve noticed about Braith?”
“He’s great.”
That sounded like Cullen had a bit of a crush, which wasn’t a surprise.
Braith was a good guy. He was Archie’s best friend, so Jasper was close to him, and he knew that Braith wouldn’t hurt Cullen.
That didn’t mean Cullen wouldn’t hurt himself over this, but unfortunately, there was nothing Jasper could do about that.
They turned the corner to take a shortcut back to the apartment.
The grocery bags Jasper was carrying dug into his shoulder and fingers, but they were almost home.
He couldn’t wait to put everything away and flop down on the couch.
Maybe they could get takeout again tonight.
They had food now, but Jasper wasn’t sure he’d have the energy to actually cook it. He could do that tomorrow.
A small group of men stood at the other end of the alley. It was a normal occurrence, so Jasper didn’t think too much of it, but his skin prickled when he realized they were wearing clothes that identified them as hunters. He swallowed, his instincts going on high alert.
There were four of them, and they didn’t look friendly.
“Are we in trouble?” Cullen asked quietly.
“I hope not.”
But as they got closer, one of the hunters moved toward them. Jasper didn’t stop walking. He acted as if everything was normal and went past the man, but when a hand grabbed his arm, he knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of this mess.
“Can I help you?” Jasper asked.
“We just want a little chat,” the hunter said.
“Well, I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Do I look like I care?”
“That’s rude,” Cullen piped up, getting the hunter’s attention.
Jasper put down the grocery bags. He could tell how this would end—not well—because he and Cullen were outnumbered.
Jasper knew he had to use the element of surprise.
The hunter was distracted by Cullen, and his three friends were still a little further away.
That gave Jasper the opportunity to punch the hunter in the face, hoping to knock him out.
The hunter stumbled back and hit the wall, looking slightly dazed, but he wasn’t down.
And neither were his three friends.
They rushed forward. Jasper sent a prayer to whoever was listening that he and Cullen would make it out in one piece, but he didn’t have high hopes. This was going to hurt.
The first hunter reached him fast, throwing a punch that Jasper barely had the time to block. The impact jarred his arm, sending pain shooting up to his shoulder. These men knew how to fight, and they knew how to fight monsters specifically.
Cullen tackled one of them, using his weight to bring the hunter down, but another one grabbed him from behind, yanking him off easily. Jasper tried to get to him, but the hunter he’d punched had recovered and was coming at him with a knife.
Jasper dodged left and felt the blade slice through his jacket, but not his skin. He grabbed the hunter’s wrist, trying to disarm him, but someone else hit him from the side with a punch to his ribs that knocked the air from his lungs and sent him staggering back.
“You think you can do what you want?” one of them snarled.
Jasper couldn’t answer, but then, he didn’t think that the hunter expected him to.
Jasper thought he recognized him, but he couldn’t remember the man’s name.
Cullen was holding his own against two of them, but barely.
Blood trickled from his split lip, and he was favoring his left side.
They needed help, but no one was coming.
A door slammed open somewhere. “Hey!” a female voice yelled. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Jasper risked a glance and saw Mrs. Chen from the apartment above his favorite restaurant.
She was a small woman, barely five feet tall, but her eyes were blazing red with fury.
Behind her, Mr. Robinson from the bookstore emerged, along with three other monsters Jasper recognized from the neighborhood.
“This is none of your business,” the hunter with the knife spat.
“Like hell it’s not.” Mrs. Chen stepped forward, and Jasper saw her raising her hands. She had claws. “You’re attacking someone in our neighborhood. That makes it our business.”
“Stand down,” Mr. Robinson said, his voice deep and calm. He was easily six and a half feet tall and built like a brick wall—he was the same color as one, too. “We don’t want trouble, but we won’t stand by while you hurt people who live here.”
The hunters hesitated. The other three looked at the one with the knife as if he were their leader. Maybe he was.
“You’re protecting a former hunter,” one of them said. “He hurt people like you. “
“We’re protecting our neighbor,” Mrs. Chen corrected. “Jasper’s been nothing but respectful since he started living here. He doesn’t cause trouble and treats everyone like people. That’s more than I can say for you lot.”
“He’s dangerous,” the lead hunter protested.
“The only dangerous people I see here are the ones who jumped two guys in an alley,” another monster spoke up. He was a young guy, maybe mid-twenties, who worked at the corner market. “Now get out of our neighborhood before we make you leave.”
The hunters looked at each other. The math wasn’t in their favor anymore, and they knew it. They were outnumbered now.
“This isn’t over,” the lead hunter said, pointing his knife at Jasper. “We’ll be seeing you again.”
“Looking forward to it,” Jasper managed, even though his ribs were screaming and his arm felt like it was on fire. Maybe he had been stabbed there after all.
The hunters backed away, keeping their focus on the group of monsters until they reached the end of the alley. Then they turned and ran.
Jasper sagged against the wall, feeling banged up. Cullen was in a similar shape, breathing hard and clutching his side.
Mrs. Chen hurried over to them. “Are you boys okay? Let me see—oh, you’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine,” Jasper said automatically, then winced when she poked his ribs. “Okay, maybe not fine.”
“Definitely not fine,” Mr. Robinson agreed, examining Cullen’s split lip. “You both need medical attention. Come on, my husband’s a healer. He can fix you up.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Jasper started.
“Nonsense.” Mrs. Chen was already herding them toward the door she’d come out of. “You think we’re going to let you walk around bleeding after saving you? What kind of neighbors would we be?”
“Why did you help us?” Cullen asked, sounding confused. “You don’t even know us.”
“We know enough.” The guy from the market picked up Jasper’s grocery bags.
“You’re respectful, and you don’t cause problems. And you,” he said, nodding at Jasper, “made Mrs. Rivera feel safe enough to let her kids play outside again, and she’s not the only one.
We like having you and your friends around here. ”
“I didn’t do anything,” Jasper protested.
“You did.” Mrs. Chen patted his arm gently, careful of his injuries. “You don’t treat us like we’re dangerous just for existing. That matters. It makes this place feel a little safer, knowing someone like you is around.”
Jasper felt his throat tighten. He’d been so worried about whether the monster community would accept him, whether they’d see him as an outsider or a threat. He hadn’t considered that his presence might actually mean something to them.
“Besides,” Mr. Robinson added with a slight smile, “It’s good to remind the hunters that we look after our own.”
They were ushered into Mr. Robinson’s apartment above the bookstore, where his husband—a quiet man with gentle hands and soft-spoken words—immediately set to work on their injuries.
Jasper was relieved when the pain in his ribs dulled to a manageable ache, but he knew that Archie would be pissed when he found out what had happened.
“Well,” Cullen said after a moment. “That was intense.”
“Yeah.” Jasper touched his ribs gingerly, still feeling the echo of pain even though the injury was healed. “Thanks for having my back.”
“Always.” Cullen bumped their shoulders together. “That’s what friends do. Even if it means getting our asses kicked by rogue hunters.” He paused and wrinkled his nose. “And monsters.”
Jasper laughed despite everything. “We didn’t get our asses kicked. We just...strategically retreated until reinforcements arrived. And that other time, it was the ground, not the monster. You did all of that by yourself.”