Page 10 of Sins of the Fathers

He didn’t remember his parents. He wasn’t sure he ever would, and sometimes, that was a complicated feeling to deal with. Maybe if he had more information about them and what happened to them, it would be easier, but he wasn’t going to get anything from Leroy or the hunters, and so for now, Sarah was his only hope.

Which was why he was happy she was calling. Whatever she wanted, he’d probably be able to glean some information from it. Maybe he’d find out about his mother’s favorite color, or maybe about his grandparents. There was no way to know.

“Sarah,” he said when he answered.

There was a pause, almost as if she hadn’t expected him to answer. He waited.

“I need to talk to you,” Sarah said.

Her tone immediately got Jasper’s attention. She sounded almost scared, which didn’t make sense. “What’s going on?”

“You know, you look like her. Your mother.”

This conversation was giving Jasper whiplash already, and it’d just begun. “How can you know that? We haven’t met yet.”

“You were a somewhat famous hunter, Jasper. It was easy to find information about you when you contacted me, claiming you were the son of two of my friends. I was sure you were a liar until I saw your picture.”

“And you don’t think so anymore?”

“I think it would be a weird coincidence if you looked like your mother but weren’t her son. Besides, I don’t think I have a choice. I need to tell you about them in case something happens to me.”

That didn’t sound good. Jasper might not be a hunter anymore, but it didn’t mean his instincts had vanished. “What’s going on? If you need help, Archie and I can come to you.”

“I’m probably being overly dramatic, and I can’t ask that of you.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”

“I’m offering to talk to you about your parents. Is it still something you want?”

“Of course it is.” Jasper straightened on the couch. “Look, Sarah, whatever’s going on, I’m sure Archie and I can help. You sound scared, and I don’t like that.”

Sarah sighed. When she next spoke, she didn’t sound as spooked as she had before. “Look, I’ll be fine.”

“You didn’t think you would be just a few minutes ago.”

“It’s just that I’ve heard about those dead hunters.”

Yeah, this conversation definitely was giving Jasper whiplash. “You’re not a former hunter. Why would you be involved in that?” There was an easy answer there, unfortunately. She wasn’t a hunter, but she’d been involved in the sanctuary, just like Daniel and apparently, so had the other hunter who’d died. Archie had found that bit of information a few days ago, which meant the murders were definitely related, but it was the only thing they could find in common between the two men for now. Being involved with the sanctuary was something Sarah also had in common with them, but that was where things stopped. There was no way the killer, whoever they were, would come after Sarah, right? Why would they?

“That’s what I meant when I said I was being overly dramatic. I’m not involved in it. I was never a hunter.” She snorted. “Can you imagine?”

Jasper couldn’t because she was right. She could never have been a hunter. She was a monster. Of course, Jasper was one, too, but he was ready to bet that, unlike him, she wouldn’t be able to hide what she was. The main reason he could was that one of his parents had been human.

“All right, but just remember that if you need anything, you just have to contact us. I’ll come and help however I can.”

“That’s something your parents would say. They’d be proud of you.”

“Even though I became a hunter?” Jasper had told Sarah everything when he’d first contacted her. He hadn’t wanted her to think he was hiding things, and he hadn’t wanted to hide them, anyway. He might not be proud of having been a hunter, but he wasn’t anymore, and he hadn’t been in a while. He also felt like he hadn’t really had a choice. With Leroy taking him in, everyone had expected him to be a hunter, and it was what he’d been raised to be. He hadn’t been given a choice.

But he’d made that choice anyway, and now, he was free of the organization. He wasn’t sure he would ever be free of Leroy, but he hoped so. Unfortunately for him, part of him still viewed the man as his father. It would probably take a while for him to stop feeling that way, if he ever could.

“Your mother was my friend,” Sarah said. “Well, she was friends with everyone. It was just the kind of person she was.”

Jasper settled back against the couch. He was still anxious, and he worried about Sarah, even though he’d never met her. Knowing that his biological parents had known and loved her meant that he felt inclined to want to help her, though. If she wasn’t going to tell him what was going on, though, it might be impossible for him to. Hopefully, she was right, and she was just being overly dramatic. If she wasn’t, well. Jasper would find a way to help her. He just hoped he could before something happened to her.

* * * *

“SHE SOUNDED SCARED,” Jasper said, a frown on his pretty face.