Rescued By the Mothman (Monster Bounty Hunters #1)

Chapter 6

Clarissa

My uncle passed me the cup of hot sweet tea and flopped down into the chair opposite me. He ran a hand through his gray shaggy hair before stroking the equally gray beard he’d had as long as I’d been alive.

“So, John is back. And he’s in trouble and he’s still a dick?”

I grimaced and drank some tea before responding.

“I guess. Look, my parents wouldn’t talk about what happened and neither would you. Him being a dick is new territory for me. Do you think he was involved with whatever went on at that prison?”

Uncle Rez nodded. His face looked pained.

“Oh,” was all I could manage.

“The argument was about his activities with a monster hating group of terrorists.”

My throat tightened. Maybe I didn’t want to hear this after all. But I let my uncle continue.

“He got real annoyed when I married your aunt Catherine.”

I remembered he hadn’t been happy about it, but I’d assumed it was just one of those personality clashes. Not everyone in families gets along.

“He came over here and told me he hated us monster scum and we shouldn’t be near human women. I told him that the decision to marry was down to Cat and had nothing to do with anyone else. He threatened me. Or tried to. I wasn’t scared of him. Maybe I should have been. Maybe we should have tried harder to help him see sense.”

I felt sick, but I swallowed it down so I could speak.

“It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but his. You couldn’t have known it would end up like this.”

“He was completely brainwashed. But I thought they were just a bunch of fools. Turns out even fools can do a lot of damage. When your parents told him to simmer down, he took a job that would put him nearer other members of his group. I guess he just got more and more hateful. Your parents kept trying to reach out to him. But it just led to more arguments, and he stopped responding to any of us. He told them when they died, he would use his share of the inheritance to help fund this group. So, they cut him out of the will. Of course, none of us expected them to go so soon. Or Cat.”

I nodded. We’d lost them all the past couple of years, and it had been rough. Uncle Rez and I had helped each other through it.

“And they never wanted to tell me?”

“No, they didn't want you to think badly of him. They always hoped he’d come back to his senses.”

We sat in silence for a while as he let me process what he’d told me in my own time. I was grateful for that, as my mind was buzzing. But it kept coming back to one thing.

“So now my brother has this mothman chasing after him. Where does he fit in?”

“One of my pack messaged me back as I was making the tea. He’s a bounty hunter.”

“So not a bad guy?”

“Technically not. Although I’m not pleased at him breaking into your house and scaring you like that. I might need to have a word.”

His voice was a snarl.

“No, it’s fine. I suppose he couldn’t just knock on the door to ask John to go with him politely. How often does that work?”

My uncle still looked like he was battling some rage, but his voice was calm again when he spoke.

“Nearly never. How did John get away from him?”

I hadn’t told him that John had used me as a human shield and shoved me at an unknown monster in my house. I shrugged.

“I don’t know. There was a scuffle, and it got very confusing.”

My uncle didn’t look convinced, but he let it go.

I finished my tea and put down the cup, feeling a bit more together, despite everything I’d heard.

“I should go back home and see if either John or this bounty hunter are still around.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“There’s no need. John may not be a good person, but he wouldn’t actually hurt me.”

I hoped.

“And the bounty hunter probably isn’t remotely interested in me. And he’s a good guy, right?”

Rez sighed.

“This bounty hunter has a bit of a past and a reputation, apparently. He might be on the side of the good guys now, but I know his type. Bounty hunters play a bit wild. I don’t trust him. Not with my only niece.”

I stood and gave my uncle a big hug. If this mothman had bad intentions, he would keep me safe. Because despite my brave words, the thought of him terrified me. My brother I could handle. But a winged monster who spent his days wrangling violent criminals? That was someone I didn’t want to mess with.