Page 2 of In the Monster’s Wake (Monsters Amongst Us #1)

Archibald didn’t like it, either, but the fact that the attacks against their community were on the rise was none of their business, and it wouldn’t be until someone paid them to look into it.

It wasn’t like attacks on monsters were a rarity, anyway.

Humans were increasingly worried about anything that wasn’t like them, and monsters were prime examples of that.

It was easier to blame them for everything wrong in the world than to look on the inside and admit that humans could be monsters, too, albeit not physically.

“Do you think someone will hire us to look into it?” he asked Braith.

Braith shrugged. “Maybe. Someone’s bound to want to know what happened to their loved one. It’s not like they can go to humans and ask them to investigate.”

Archibald was sure that every person involved in the attacks had a family who wanted to know what had happened to them, but a lot of them wouldn’t be able to afford to pay him and Braith to look into it.

Maybe they could do so pro bono. It wasn’t something Archibald would think of normally, but it might be worth it if it meant having fewer cases to work on eventually.

If they stopped whoever was brutally murdering monsters across the city, that person wouldn’t be able to continue hurting people.

“You’re thinking so hard I can see smoke coming out of your ears,” Braith teased.

Archibald rolled his eyes. “You’re not writing that report, are you?”

“Why don’t you do it yourself? It’ll be faster and more efficient.”

Archibald almost did it because Braith wasn’t wrong. Besides, Archibald was picky when it came to doing things his way. Braith tried, but a lot of the time, he made a mess, even when he was trying to do the right thing.

But Braith didn’t want to deal with the paperwork, and giving in and doing it for him would only push him into trying this every time he wanted to get out of filing reports.

Archibald glared at him. “I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work. Start writing.”

Braith groaned and flung himself back in his chair, but he also picked up his pen, so Archibald didn’t say anything. He didn’t care if Braith wanted to compile reports flopped over in his chair or upside down, standing on his hands as long as he did it.

He glanced at the TV screen. He couldn’t help but wonder.

Who in the city was killing monsters? Why were they killing so many of them? It could be the hunters, but it wasn’t their style. They were much more righteous about killing monsters and usually bragged every time they did so.

But if not the hunters, who?

* * * *

J ASPER COULD HAVE CRIED with happiness when his parents finally left.

His father had hinted pointedly at Jasper coming back to the hunters several times, but Jasper acted as if he didn’t understand what his father was saying.

He’d learned from the best. His father always behaved as if he didn’t understand what Jasper was saying, after all.

“That was something,” Corey said as he locked the door behind them. He probably didn’t want them to try to come back in.

“Next time someone knocks on the door and we’re not expecting a delivery, don’t open it,” Jasper told Corey and Kerry. “Please. If you do, and it’s my parents again, I’ll leave you alone to deal with them.”

“You wouldn’t be that cruel,” Corey argued.

“You mean as cruel as you were when you snuck out of the kitchen and abandoned me with them?”

“They’re your parents, not mine.”

“Why do I like you again?”

“Stop bickering, boys,” Kerry said as she pushed them both toward the living room. “Sit down. I’ll order dinner.”

“Check if it’s them before opening the door,” Jasper insisted.

She rolled her eyes, but he wasn’t offended. He was being kind of ridiculous.

He couldn’t help it. This was what spending time with his father did to him. He’d do pretty much anything to avoid doing so, but unfortunately, his father knew it, which was why he always tried to catch him by surprise. He’d managed today.

Jasper would make sure he wouldn’t next time.

He flopped on the couch next to Corey, who bumped their shoulders together. He didn’t have to say anything. They’d been through this more times than Jasper could remember.

Corey and Kerry had been his friends since he was a kid.

They knew his father as well as he did, but they had the advantage of being able to avoid him.

They weren’t related to him, and their parents didn’t care that they didn’t want to be hunters.

In fact, their mother had been happy when they’d told her they were out. Jasper liked it when she visited them.

He didn’t like it when his parents did.

Corey turned on the TV. The news was on, so Corey moved to change the channel, but Jasper put a hand on his wrist to stop him. “Turn the volume up a bit,” he said.

Corey glanced at him but obeyed.

“The current wave of violent crime in the monster community is worrying,” the guy sitting behind his desk was saying. “It will eventually spill over to us, which is something no one wants.”

A second man was sitting there, nodding along. Jasper gritted his teeth. These people didn’t care about monsters. They only cared about themselves and were acting as if human-on-human crime wasn’t a thing.

It was one of the reasons Jasper had left the hunters.

Monsters might be physically different from humans, but as far as he was concerned, there were good and bad people on both sides.

He didn’t care if someone had tentacles instead of hands as long as they were a good person.

The hunters didn’t see things that way. They thought that all monsters were dangerous and acted accordingly.

“More rules need to be put in place,” the second man agreed.

“Monsters have been allowed to wreak havoc for too long, and if we’re not careful, we’ll pay for that.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we got news that humans have started dying, too.

When we do, it’ll be too late, and whose fault will it be?

We need the people in charge to protect us, but they’re sitting back and letting monsters do what they want. ”

Jasper was tempted to find out who the fuck was killing monsters just so that all of this would end.

It was unfair to the monsters who were just trying to live their lives.

There was nothing he could do, though. He wasn’t a hunter and had no plans on becoming one again.

He was fine with being a mechanic and staying away from that part of his life.

But he was worried. His father wouldn’t continue taking no for an answer if this continued and more hunters got involved, and people were dying. The situation was explosive, and Jasper couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if this killer set their attention on a human.

Unfortunately, he thought he knew the answer to that question.