Rescued By the Mothman (Monster Bounty Hunters #1)

Chapter 1

Sable

My clenched fist rested on the table as I tried to stay calm. My sister, Lyla, was sniffling down the phone as she told us about the riot at the prison she’d worked at. I’d already heard the more detailed version of the story. But it was just as hard hearing it the second time. Death and destruction I could deal with. My sister being caught up in it? That was a different matter. My boss glanced at me and I nodded. The moose skull-headed monster cleared his throat.

“Lyla, it's Garris, so they haven't actually arrested this Delaney character for anything yet?”

“No. I know it technically isn’t in your job description, but you have access to tools I don’t, to find people.”

She was right. Our jobs were to provide bail for criminals and hunt them down if they skipped out on it. But this was my sister. Garris looked me in the eyes. He knew me. He wasn’t happy about it, but I saw the moment he relented.

“Ok, since I know Sable is going to do this anyway, with or without my permission, I’m going to give him my permission. He’ll find him for you. But…” he glared at me. “If anything illegal happens, I’m going to deny all knowledge of it. I can’t have crimes committed under our name.”

“Thank you. When it comes down to it, we’ll do the work of bringing him in. We have a very keen lich for that. We just need to know his location. No crimes needed from any of you.”

A snort from behind us earned a glare from Gariss. I tried not to smile, and I didn’t dare look back at the hulking gray Sasquatch that I knew was grinning behind me.

“Ok sis, don’t worry. I’ll get on it and update you later.”

“Thank you so much. I’ll send you all the information we’ve gathered on his whereabouts so far. Love you, bro.”

“Love you too.”

I hung up the phone.

Gariss looked at me quietly for a few moments. I tried not to shift uncomfortably under the scrutiny.

“Don’t get in trouble. Don’t make it complicated.”

“I won’t.”

Another snort from behind us. Gariss spun around in his seat, green eyes shining out of his skull to glare at the Sasquatch, who then tried his best to look innocent.

“And you can keep your thoughts to yourself.”

Gariss left the room without looking at either of us again. He’d built this business up from nothing. If I dragged its name through the mud, he wouldn’t just be pissed, he’d be murderous. But he wouldn’t stop me from helping family.

A large, hairy hand patted me on the back. It would have sent most creatures toppling over.

“I bet $100 you somehow make this complicated, or get into trouble.”

“Who me?”

I placed a hand on my heart and pretended to look wounded.

“Yeah you. I remember that trafficker and his accidentally broken legs.”

“He had fragile bones.”

“You’re a menace, Sable, and you can’t resist trouble.”

“Thanks, Kiy. You could try having some faith in me,” I retorted.

“I do have faith in you. Faith that you are going to wreak some havoc. And I don’t blame you. If that was my sister, I’d rip his arms off.”

I slouched back in my seat.

“I’m not looking to rip any arms off, but if it gets rough, so be it.”

“There he is. The monster I know and love.”

His rumbling laugh followed me as I went to grab more coffee and stretch out my wings in the break room. All my tension tended to build up across my shoulders and wings and I was feeling a hell of a lot of tension right now. My sister. All that she’d been through because of this guy, Delaney. Her job, the life she’d known, gone. The things she must have seen. My fists clenched again. The only shining light in the whole sorry mess was that she’d found her mate, and they were expecting their first child. She seemed blissfully happy, and I was glad for her. Falkon was protective of her, but so was I, so we got along ok.

I poured the scalding coffee down my throat. I knew the basics of mates, although I privately thought the whole thing was a crock of shit. A little dramatization added to make people feel like their relationship was special. Mom and dad had tried to drag me to the seer, but I’d made a run for it and slept in the park all night. I wasn't going to let anyone dictate my path to me. I’d choose who I spent my time with. Not some weird mystical shit.

Not that I’d ever really been interested in anyone. Not long term. It was easy enough to find a monster looking to pass the time at a local bar. The human women kept their distance. Dumb rumors about mothmen being harbingers of disaster still circulated. Well, I was certainly going to bring down a whole heap of disaster on this Delaney. There was nothing complicated about it. I’d tie him to the back of my car and drag him all the way to the jail if I had to. It wouldn’t be any trouble at all.