“What happened?”Jasper asked.
Cullen yelped and turned around to face Jasper.“Why are you sitting here in the dark?”
“It’s not that dark.”Itwasdark, but it hadn’t been when the TV was on.
“I thought you’d be at Archie’s.”
“He’s working late tonight.”Jasper got to his feet.“Cullen?What happened?”
“Will you believe me if I tell you nothing?”
“Not with that expression on your face.”Jasper turned the light on and squinted.“Yeah, definitely not.”
“I got fired.”
Jasper frowned.Cullen had found a fast-food job a few days ago, and while it hadn’t been his favorite, he’d told Jasper that he was enjoying it.He wanted to find his own place, which Jasper could understand, and he’d been working hard to be able to.“Why?”
“I guess a lady noticed me in the kitchen.She pitched a fit because she didn’t want her food to be made by a monster.”
Jasper bit the inside of his cheek hard.He didn’t need to tell Cullen that it was bullshit or to get angry on his behalf.Cullen already knew all of that.What hedidneed to do was find a solution to Cullen’s problem.Luckily for Cullen, he already had one.“You should talk to Archie and Braith.They’ve been getting more requests for help, and they can’t deal with everything on their own.They asked me if I wanted to work with them, but I don’t think it’s a good idea, and even if I did, I’d be investigating with them, but what they really need right now is a secretary.”
Cullen blinked.“And you think they’ll want me to do that job?”
“I don’t see why not.At the very least, you can talk to them before looking for another job.They’ll never fire you because you’re a monster.”
The smile Cullen gave Jasper told him that had been the right thing to say.Hopefully, things would work out.Cullen needed the job, and Archie and Braith needed an assistant who would take phone calls and make appointments.It seemed like a match made in heaven.It also meant that Archie and Braith would be able to keep an eye on Cullen in case Kester went after him again, which would be perfect.
“Come on,” Jasper said, gesturing at the TV.“Let’s order takeout and watch something.”
The happy smile Cullen gave Jasper made Jasper smile back.Everything wasn’t perfect, and it never would be, but it was a step in the right direction.
* * * *
WHEN ARCHIE’S PHONErang, he groaned.He wanted to go home, but instead, he was still at work.“Yes?”he answered, knowing he sounded exasperated and not caring about it.He hoped it wasn’t a client, but even if it was, he had plenty of those these days.If answering the phone in this manner made them not want to hire him and Braith anymore, he was fine with it.
“It’s Martinez.”
Archie blinked.“Martinez, as in the hunter?”
“Do you know any other Martinez?”
“I don’t.I just don’t understand why a hunter would call me.”
“I got your number from Kerry.”
“That’s the only way you could’ve gotten it, so I’m not surprised.What do you want?”
“I’ve been working on the hunters we caught in that warehouse.I was there for their interrogations and everything.”
“I’m not going to like what you’re about to say, am I?”
“My superiors certainly didn’t like it, but they’ve decided to ignore the implications.”
That really didn’t sound good, but Archie wasn’t surprised.“What?”
“We thought it was just a case of a few hunters working with monsters to get rich, but it seems like their network is organized, much more than we expected.I also suspect it might be connected to someone high up in our hierarchy.They want to brush everything under the rug.They don’t want this to be investigated.”
Again, Archie wasn’t surprised.There was a lot of bad apples within the hunters, and one didn’t become a powerful hunter by not getting their hands dirty.Besides, Martinez had mentioned getting rich.That was something a lot of people would want, even hunters.If they hated monsters, they wouldn’t care that some of them were getting hurt.They’d use them as much as they could, get rich off their backs, and feel righteous about it.
