Rescued By the Mothman (Monster Bounty Hunters #1)

Chapter 3

Sable

My contacts had gotten back to me quickly. Sadly, what they’d gotten back with was days of CCTV footage. They all owed me favors, but not big enough favors that they were willing to comb through it all for me. That was a mug's job, and I was the mug. Luckily, the information from my sister’s friends had pinpointed him moving east from the prison in a stolen car, according to a monster who’d been caught recently. But that still left a lot of towns and footage to look through.

No one came near my desk as they sensed the simmering annoyance that was oozing out of my pores by hour 5. This was the worst part of the job. I had multiple photos of Delaney from different angles pinned around my desk so I could spot him in the footage easily. He was ingrained into my brain.

My phone rang, and I paused the video file before answering the unknown number.

“Sable Argent.”

“Sabe, it's Denny.”

I sat up. If Denny was calling, then either he had something good for me or he was fishing for something himself. Either way, it was best to play it cool and let him think he was leading me around the conversation.

“What's up, Den?”

“I heard you’re looking for someone.”

“You heard that, huh?”

“Yeah, our usual mutual friends reached out. Look, I'm not gonna mess around. That monster hating dick has family in Graybury.”

“Yeah, they checked in with an uncle not long after the prison breakout. No sign of him and the uncle claimed he wasn’t welcome there. Wouldn’t have thought that he’d be stupid enough to go to family, anyway.”

“Well, he’s stupid enough to think enough time has gone by that he can visit now. It’s been 18 months. He’s run out of money. Got word from a loan shark friend of the boss over there that he was trying to borrow money from him, using his sister as a guarantor. She inherited all the parents’ cash and the house. She’s not rich, but she’s got enough. Shark turned him down. He’s literally a shark and knows the guy is a monster hating dick. So, I guess he’s tapping the sister directly for cash now.”

“Your boss seems interested in his comings and goings. Does he want him for anything?”

The boss he was referring to was part of a monster mafia with people stretched across Appalachia. We tried not to get caught up with them where we could avoid it.

“Mainly for being a monster hater. He’s part of some group. They’ve got some ideology or something. They want to make monsters look bad by any means and there were some good guys that the boss liked in that prison.”

I thought that the use of the term ‘good guys’ in this situation was a bit of a stretch, but I let Denny continue.

“This guy’s in tight with this group. But if you want your piece of him, the boss will wait his turn, if you know what I mean? He hasn’t directly gone for us and you’ve kept your nose out of our business.”

I knew what he meant. I could bring Delaney in alive and well. He could do time or not, as the law decided. But in the end, there was going to be a nasty surprise in the form of a nightmare demon with a grudge and a lot of resources.

“I want to give my sister the chance to see him pay for his crimes legally. She’s a decent person like that.”

“Alright. I’ll let him know. Good luck. Give him a good kick for me.”

“Will do, Den.”

I hung up and searched for Graybury in the CCTV files, half still stuck in my head. Delaney had no idea how many people he’d upset. I set the most recent video of the main street playing and watched the world of Graybury go by.

My whole body twitched, and my eyes locked on to the screen. I felt like I’d been slapped across the face. It was Delaney. But that wasn’t what had grabbed my attention. He stood talking on a street corner to a young woman. Gesturing wildly at her while she looked around awkwardly. The picture was fuzzy, but my body reacted to her. Red hair fell down her back in waves. She was tall and slender. I couldn’t even see her face, but I knew it would be stunning.

After some time talking, she leaned over to Delaney and gave him a hug. Irritation spiked through me and my lips curled. She was on his side then. This beautiful human woman who’d given me an uncomfortable hard on at work was another monster hater. Or at least willing to hug one.

Pull yourself the fuck together, Argent.

The video was dated yesterday. This was recent. He was probably still there.

Maybe I should go there and track him? Make sure he’s still around. Then I’ll call Lyla when I’m certain.

I focused on the footage again and watched the woman lead Delaney off. I flipped through the other videos until I’d tracked their movements all the way to a house on the edge of town. She’d driven him there. The sister. I tugged on my pants and willed my cock to stop acting up. Now was not the time to get caught up in an attraction to a woman. Certainly not a human woman with a brother like this.

It was getting late and everyone else was leaving. I waved goodbye with my crotch hidden under the table, cursing this weird betrayal by my body. Even as a horny teenager, I’d never had such a stubborn boner. Once I was alone, I began playing all the Graybury footage for the past couple of weeks. I saw Delaney arrive in town in a hat, his head down, but I knew it was him. He bought some groceries and stayed at a motel. He’d only been there a couple of days.

I couldn’t stop myself. I started trawling the videos and watching her. The women. Watching her come and go from the local library that must be her job. I watched her meet friends at the movie theater and go for drinks. It was research, I told myself. If she was hiding Delaney, then I need to know her movements, her life. But try as I might, I couldn’t ignore the endless throbbing of my cock at her every movement. It was like an obsession had kicked in out of nowhere.

I shot a message to Vedrac, the lich who wanted to bring him in, to let him know I had a lead, then pocketed my phone. If I traveled that night, then I could set up outside the sister’s house before morning. I tried to convince myself and my cock that it was solely for Delaney. It had nothing to do with wanting to see this woman in the flesh.