Page 34 of Sins of the Fathers

She blinked. “Did you?”

“Since Archie and I thought that this was connected to the sanctuary, we looked into it. Do you remember Emric?”

Sarah beamed. “Of course I do. I also remember the time the two of you brought several buckets of sand into the kitchen from the backyard. We were finding sand everywhere for weeks, including in places where sand has no business being.”

Jasper barked a laugh, surprising himself. He’d heard childhood stories from Sarah, but nothing like that. “So we were close?”

“Yeah. He’s a few years older than you, but he took his protective role very seriously. He tried taking all the blame about the sand, and to this day, I still don’t know who had the idea. Both, probably.”

“It’s weird because I don’t remember him.”

“Maybe you don’t have to remember him. Maybe now that you’ve found him, you can bring each other back into your lives again. You’re going to have to build a new relationship, but that’s what you’re trying to do with me, too, isn’t it? You wanted the connection to your past, and now, you have several.”

Jasper nodded. Sarah was right. He’d wanted to know more about his past and his family, and he’d found out through Sarah, and now, hopefully Emric. Maybe he didn’t need to remember Emric. Maybe he just needed to be open to the possibility of them growing close and see what happened. Of course, he didn’t know if Emric would give them a chance, but he suspected that eventually, he would. He just had to trust Jasper first, and that was going to take some time.

“Thank you,” he told Sarah.

She shook her head. “There’s nothing for you to thank me for.”

“I think there’s more than you think. I wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for you. I probably wouldn’t have found Emric.”

“I think that eventually, you would have. You’re as stubborn and strong as your parents were. You’re going to do great things, Jasper.”

Jasper wasn’t sure he believed that, but maybe he didn’t need to. He had enough people who believed in him, and maybe that was enough.

* * * *

ARCHIE GESTURED AT Petra to sit on the other side of his desk before walking around it and taking his chair. She was wearing all black and was pale, and she looked apprehensive.

She was right to be. She was here because she’d paid Archie to find out who had killed Daniel, and he had. He just wasn’t going to tell her who it was. Doing so would put Emric in jeopardy, and through him, it would do the same for Jasper and what remained of the sanctuary. Jasper might not know what he wanted to do about that yet, but Archie knew him. Once this mess was over and he had time to think, what Emric had said would stick in Jasper’s mind. He wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it, and he’d want to help. Maybe the sanctuary wouldn’t be the same as it had been twenty years ago, but it could still be a place where interspecies couples and families could be safe. Hell, they’d probably be safer considering Jasper was an ex-hunter.

But that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. In the meantime, Archie had bad news for Petra.

He looked at her. She was tired, with dark shadows under her eyes. She wore all black and clutched a tissue as if she expected she was going to need it. She waited for him to say something, but Archie wasn’t sure where to start.

“Did you find the person responsible for Daniel’s death?” she asked.

“Not quite, unfortunately. As far as we can tell, it was someone from Daniel’s past. I mentioned last time we talked that it appeared he was at the sanctuary. There weren’t many survivors left, but we suspected it was one of them. Unfortunately, it’s pretty much impossible to know who survived that night. Most of the adults were killed, but not all of them, and there were some children left, too. I can continue looking into it if you want, but I can say for sure that Daniel was killed because of what he did that night.”

Petra sucked in a breath. “I still can’t believe he was at the sanctuary when it was destroyed. That’s not the kind of man Daniel was.”

“Maybe it’s not the kind of man he was when you met him, but he was a hunter back then. I’m sure he changed, but the killer didn’t care about that. They only cared that Daniel hurt them.”

Petra looked down. “I guess that some people will think that’s what he deserved.”

“I don’t think he deserved to die. I do think he deserved to pay for what he did, and that never would’ve happened.”

She nodded and got to her feet. She seemed a little lost, so Archie gave her time to gather her thoughts. “Well, as far as I’m concerned, you did what I paid you to do. You found out what happened to Daniel. I hate that I lost him the way I did, but maybe you’re right. He should’ve paid for what he did, and eventually, he did.”

“I’m really sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry any of this happened. I wish Daniel had never been a hunter.”

Archie didn’t know what to say to that. He walked her to the front door, keeping it open for her, then watched her walk away. The waiting area was empty, but it didn’t stay empty for long. Cullen and Braith appeared from Braith’s office, both of them with a grim expression on their faces.

“What did she say?” Braith asked.

“What do you think she said? She hates that her partner was a hunter. She hates it even more that he was involved in the sanctuary. There’s nothing she can do to change any of that, though.”