“Um….”
“It’s okay, boy,” Eddie said. “We’re all friends here.”
“So you know too?” Jared asked Eddie.
“Yup,” Eddie said. “And while you’re at it. Why don’t you tell us what you were doing following the girl in the first place?”
“Gramps!” Pure mortification colored Allie’s voice.
“No, no,” Jared said. “It’s okay. I mean, I get why your family would be nervous. It does look a little weird, I guess.”
“So?” Eddie pressed, and I hid a smile. He hadn’t had many times in his life to play the parent, or the grandparent, for that matter, and I was enjoying watching his style.
Jared shrugged again, one of those full-body boy shrugs, and then sort of disappeared into the sweat jacket he was wearing over his tee. “Yeah, it’s just, you know, my peeps like to keep it on the down-low.”
“Your peeps?” I said. “What are you in a gang?”
“Mother!”
I held up my hands “Sorry.”
“No,” Jared said, “It’s me. I’m sorry. I’m just a little nervous. I mean, I liked Allie even before.”
“You did?” she asked, her voice rising into a squeak.
“Yeah. Sure. What’s not to like?”
They shared a smile, and I bit back my own.
Eddie cleared his throat.
“Yeah,” Jared said. “Right. So, I’m a grade above Allie, and I noticed her before she quit cheerleading. Just because she’s cute, is all. But then we started hearing things. About a demon hunter in town, I mean, and I started paying more attention.”
“Why would you be hearing about a demon hunter in town?”
“My parents are kind of in the trade.”
“Kind of? You mean they’re rogue?”
“Huh?”
“Who do they work for?”
He shook his head slowly. “Work for?”
So he wasn’t involved withForza.Either that, or the kid could keep a secret.
“Oh,” he continued. “Right. Well, my great-grandfather was killed by a demon. Turns out he’d been hunting them. Nobodyelse knew, but they took out the whole family. So my parents don’t work for anybody. Well, except themselves.”
“The whole family?” Eddie asked.
Jared managed a combination eye roll and scowl, which was about as teenager-y as you could get. “You know what I mean. Noteverybodyobviously. But it became like the family vocation, you know?”
I looked at Eddie and Allie, my thoughts going to Eric and Eliza. As much as I hated to admit it, I did know.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Allie asked.
“Dunno. I guess ‘cause it’s this huge secret. And then recently, like right at the beginning of the summer, we heard about a demon hunter who was being targeted. We figured it was you,” he said looking at me. “But I wanted to keep an eye on Allie, too, because, well, you know,” he said looking down at his shoes.
