I scoffed, defiance rearing its head. “I’m assuming none of yourassignmentswere killers because I assure you, I can make it to my front door without your help.”
“Yeah, well, I take orders from Li, not you,” he called over his shoulder.
I hurried after him, about to protest a second time, when he turned as if waiting for me to catch up.
“This is really your first time working with an agent?”
I rolled my eyes as I trudged forward. “We try to stay as far away from the Bureau as possible.”
Hill frowned. “I’ve never understood why that is. Our lifestyles are lonely enough as they are. And we want the same thing, don’t we…? To protect?”
I scoffed. “Maybe in the beginning, but the Bureau’s decision of what to‘protect’changes based on what y’all stand to gain.”
“Right,” Hill replied with hard sarcasm, “because thinking like a selfless hunter with your righteousstab first, ask questions laterattitude has done so much for humanity.”
“When the Bureau is off our asses with their red tape, absolutely.”
Hill gave a mirthless laugh, forcing his lips into a fake smile. “You’re trained to kill, Joey. We’re trained to negotiate, but we do kill when necessary.”
“Not efficiently,” I challenged. “Do you know what hunters call Bureau agents?Jack.”
Hill’s beautiful eyes narrowed.
“Jack of all trades, master of none?You agents may know surface-level facts about shapeshifters, vampires, and all the monsters that hide under beds at night, but that’s it. You don’tknowthem, Agent Hill. Not the way hunters do. So, we’re always left cleaning up your messes.”
“See,” Hill exclaimed as he stalked toward me, “that right there is what makes hunters so fascinating. You learn the world is full of monsters and still decide that one kind is worth more of your time than the others. My conscience didn’t grant me thatluxury, Joey. I took an oath that requires me to consider all of them threats. So, forgive me if I don’t know what temperature a werewolf likes its steak or what age a vampire turns to dust. But you know what I do know? Where to find wolfsbane and an ash-wood tree.”
I snickered, challenging him with another step forward. “Knowing where to find wolfsbane didn’t stop a mole from infiltrating the Bureau, did it? It didn’t stop rogues from threatening exposure and risking the peace that werewolf hunters fight to maintain every fucking day.”
Hill flexed his fingers. “Because your vigilantism doesn’t have any consequences, right? I think your werewolf boyfriend would disagree.”
My breath hitched. I lowered my gaze, blood rushing to my cheeks.
Isthatwhat people were calling him?
“Have you told him how many of his kin you’ve killed?”
I swallowed hard before raising my chin to meet Hill’s stare with my own. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I said lowly.
A complication.
He was only a complication, damn it.
Agent Hill dragged a hand down his face, then tilted his head toward the sky in disbelief. An indignant chuckle slipped past his lips, carried off by the wind. “I don’t get paid enough for this…”
I waited for him to finish. Instead, he swallowed the word, and intrigue caused one of my eyebrows to raise.
“Go on,” I said, taunting him.
He removed his hand from his mouth. “Go on with what?”
I smirked. “Li isn’t here, Agent Hill. You don’t get paid enough for this… what? Shit? Bullshit?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets, a frown replacing the pressed line of his lips. “This shameful behavior, Miss Sullivan,” he said, shoving past me. “Have a good night.”
I laughed as I watched him retreat to his SUV.
“What happened to walking me to my door?” I jeered.
