Page 32 of Sins of the Fathers

Emric turned to look at Jasper. His smirking never disappeared. In fact, Jasper was pretty sure that it grew.

“Well, look who joined us. I told your boyfriend there was no need to get you here, but clearly, he didn’t listen to me.”

“Because he knows I want to be here. Emric?”

“That’s my name, yes. Hi, Jasper.”

“I don’t remember you.”

“I would be surprised if you did. We were both very young.” His smile slipped. “Especially you. I wish I had been as young as you. My life would’ve been much easier if I hadn’t remembered what happened that night.”

Jasper couldn’t agree with what Emric had been doing. Even when it had been his job, he’d never liked killing people or monsters. He believed that killing was seldom justified, no matter what people had done. While he couldn’t agree, though, he understood the reasoning behind it. He knew why Emric had killed Daniel and the others. He wanted revenge, and he’d had years to think about it. That revenge had brought him here, in front of Jasper, and while Jasper had been looking for a killer, now that he had him in front of him, he wasn’t quite sure what to do. He already knew why Emric had been killing. He didn’t need to ask the reason. No, his questions were about something else, about their shared past.

He wasn’t sure Emric would answer any of them.

* * * *

ARCHIE WANTED TO SHIELD Jasper from whatever was about to happen, but he couldn’t. This was what Jasper had wanted all along. He’d been looking for someone with answers, and if there was one person who had answers, it was Emric.

Which was why, when Emric had tried to leave Kevin Johnson’s house, Archie had grabbed him and dragged him back to his office. It would’ve been easier to do everything at Johnson’s house, but the man would be an idiot if he didn’t come back with a small army of hunters, and Archie hadn’t been willing to risk it. Besides, Emric hadn’t really resisted. He’d made a show out of not being happy, but he’d followed Archie easily enough. That told Archie that his resistance was fake, and he probably actually wanted to talk to Jasper.

Well, he could talk to him now. Jasper was right in front of him, and he wanted to know about their shared past. If there was anything Emric had to say about it, now was his moment.

Emric and Jasper stared at each other. Archie didn’t have anywhere to go, but he kicked Emric’s leg under his desk. Emric jumped and glared at him, but Archie just smiled, imitating the way Emric had smiled at him earlier when he’d dragged him into the office. The man was infuriating, and if Jasper didn’t want to talk to him, Archie would be ready to kick him out.

It was almost as if Emric felt like he was playing a game. Maybe that was the case, but part of Archie could see deeper than that. Emric had lost everything, from his parents to his home to his childhood friends. He’d ended up alone all in one night, and while Archie didn’t have any details about what had happened to him after that, he could imagine it hadn’t been easy. Emric had mentioned something about watching Jasper from afar, so he’d been in town, and he’d known who Jasper was and where he’d ended up. It couldn’t have been easy seeing a man he knew was half monster, a man who’d lost his parents to the hunters, becoming a hunter. Emric had never said anything about it, though. As far as Archie knew, he’d never tried to contact Jasper.

Jasper sat in the only empty chair. He moved cautiously, as if he was afraid that moving too quickly would make Emric disappear, but Emric wasn’t going anywhere. Archie had made sure of that.

“I’m really sorry for everything that happened to you,” Jasper said gently. “And I’m sure that you’re right. Your life would’ve been easier if you hadn’t remembered. I know that my life was definitely easier for not remembering that my parents weren’t my parents.”

Emric snorted. “You call those hunters your parents?”

“They might not be my parents biologically, but they did raise me. For better or worse, they are my parents. It doesn’t matter how little I like that.”

Emric squinted at Jasper. “You were a hunter, too.”

“I was. I didn’t have a choice. My father was a hunter, and I was supposed to be one, too.”

“Except that you’re half monster.”

“I didn’t know that, either. I probably still wouldn’t know if a monster I was after hadn’t told me.”

Emric leaned closer. It alarmed Archie a little, but he didn’t move. Jasper knew how to defend himself if he had to, and Emric didn’t look aggressive or like he was about to do something stupid.

“How do you feel about that? You thought you were human, and you were a hunter, and now, you’re a monster, the same kind of people you used to come after. Do you hate yourself? Do you hate your biological parents?”

Jasper didn’t answer right away. He looked like he was trying to find the right words. He probably was. This had been a complicated situation for him. As much pain as Emric had gone through, it didn’t erase the pain Jasper had lived through, and it didn’t erase how complicated his situation was. That was something that Emric would never understand. He couldn’t because he hadn’t been raised by hunters. He hadn’t been lied to his entire life.

Archie wasn’t sure which man had it worse.

“I don’t hate anyone,” Jasper eventually said. “Although I should probably hate Leroy. Part of me certainly does, but like I said earlier, he’s my father, whether I like it or not. He raised me. But no, I don’t hate my biological parents. Why would I? No matter what they were, they couldn’t change it, and while I never got to actually know them, I’m told that they were good parents. They were trying to make a difference with the sanctuary, and they probably would’ve succeeded if it hadn’t been destroyed. I’m proud of that legacy, and I’m proud of who I am. I’ve always had conflicting feelings about my adoptive parents and being a hunter, which is why I stopped several years ago.”

“I bet the hunters hate you now.”

Jasper snorted. “Plenty of them hated me even when I was a hunter. I was good at my job, and I was Leroy’s son. They were jealous. They thought that because of that, I had advantages they didn’t, but I was just good. But yeah, they hate me more now, and they never miss an opportunity to let me know.” He paused. “They’re going to come after you.”

“Let them. I’ll kill all of them, just like they killed my parents and everyone I’ve ever loved,” Emric spat out.