Like Jasper, most of the hunters had been trained since they were children, and it was the only thing they knew how to do.Jasper had struggled to find jobs when he’d left, and the only reason he eventually found one was that an ex-hunter had taken pity on him.He’d been lucky, but not every hunter was.
“And obviously, we know that’s not something that happens these days,” Kerry continued.“Humans and monsters don’t live together anymore.We’re told that monsters are dangerous, and we stay away from them.”
“Not us,” Jasper pointed out.
“Because we know the truth.We were hunters.The general population has no idea what’s happening behind the scenes, though.They just know what the news tells them.They trust the hunters because it’s what they’ve always done.”
“You think that something happened when I was born, and hunters destroyed Sanctuary on purpose?”
“I don’t know anything about that, but I think I found someone who does.”
Jasper frowned.“What does that mean?”
“Exactly what I said.I haven’t found more information about Sanctuary, or rather, I haven’t found anything we didn’t already suspect.Ihavefound the name of someone who survived whatever happened back then, though.”
Jasper sucked in a breath.Kerry had found a survivor.She’d found someone who might have known Jasper’s parents.That person might have answers, and they might be able to tell him who his parents were and what had happened to them.He could find out how he’d ended up raised as a hunter, even though he was a monster.
Suddenly, Jasper was afraid.
He told himself that he didn’t have to do anything with this information.Kerry wanted him to have it, but she wouldn’t push him to contact this person.She had to be curious, but she’d understand.
But as afraid as Jasper was, he was also curious.He understood why some people would want Sanctuary and what its existence had meant to stay a secret buried in the past.Where did Jasper fit in the story, though?Who had his parents been?It sounded like they’d been involved with Sanctuary, but how?
The only way for Jasper to know would be to contact this person and ask questions.It felt like adding to the many problems he already had, but at the same time, he wasn’t going anywhere.He was stuck in this room until Archie felt better about his safety.Maybe this was something he could do.At the very least, he could look into this person and find out more about them before meeting them.
“Give me everything you found out about this person, starting with their name,” he told Kerry.
* * * *
ARCHIE WOULDN’T SAYthat looking through financial records was his favorite part of his job.In fact, it was a part that he hated.He’d started the agency with Braith to help people no one else would help, but unfortunately for both of them, they also needed to keep a roof over their head and to eat.That meant accepting jobs they didn’t want, usually painful divorces or people who suspected their business associates were scamming them.Archie had become good at digging through financial records because of that, and he was happy to say that it was coming in handy for other investigations, too.
Like the one into the fighting rings.
No one was paying him to poke into this, but that wasn’t going to stop him.He was glad he hadn’t given up because now, he was staring at a name on his computer screen.Archie wasn’t a hunter, but he still recognized the name because of the many times he’d crossed paths with hunters.He was sure that Jasper would know this person, too.After all, the man was one of the most powerful hunters in the organization.He was respected and beloved.
He was also at the head of the fighting ring.
Archie leaned back in his chair and continued staring at the screen.He wasn’t surprised by what he was seeing there.It had taken him a while to get all the way up to this name, going through records and following payments, digging into shell companies, and even making a few phone calls.He’d double-checked everything because he’d wanted to be a hundred percent sure before accusing anyone, even someone he didn’t respect.
He was sure now.
Eric Johnson was one of the most influential and powerful hunters in the association.The hunters didn’t have only one person in charge of the whole operation, but rather, they had something like a council.Those people met and made important decisions as a group.That didn’t mean they didn’t have any authority on their own, though, and Johnson had clearly been using that authority.
He’d been abusing it, really.He’d used information he got through the hunters to find safe places for his fights and monsters to fill the rings.He’d used the money he was being paid as a hunter in a position of power to set up his operation.He’d become rich on the backs of the monsters who’d fought for their lives and had sometimes lost them.Hewas the real monster, even though he was human.
Archie had all the proof he needed.He could hand it over to a journalist, like he and the others had talked about.He could hand it over to Martinez and see what the man did.
He couldn’t make that decision on his own, though.He and his friends were in this together, and together, they’d decide what the next step should be.
He leaned forward again and clicked around on his computer.He needed to put everything he’d gone through and everything he’d found over the past few hours together.Once he did, he’d call Jasper and everyone else to tell them about it.They could decide what their next step would be after they looked over all the proof.Jasper wasn’t going to be happy, but then, Archie doubted anyone would be.He wanted this mess to be over, though.He wanted to save the kids who were still being held hostage by the people working for Johnson.He wanted to take them home and take down the entire thing so that no one else would be hurt ever again.
He couldn’t do that on his own, but hewasn’ton his own.He had Braith, like always, but he also had Jasper, Corey, and Kerry.Hell, he even had Martinez, which wasn’t something he’d expected.He didn’t know if all these people would be enough, but they would certainly be enough to try, and they would.They were saving those kids and taking Johnson down, one way or another.
Chapter Twelve
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JASPER STARED AT ARCHIE’Scomputer screen.He could see how Archie had gotten all the way up to the name he’d just mentioned, but Jasper’s brain was still having a hard time making sense of all of it.He’d never been one for research.He was more of an action person, and he usually left the research to someone else—someone like Kerry, who looked as stunned as he felt.
