Page 21 of Hunting for Love

Jeff laughs. “Not every hunt is something extravagant, thankfully. Sometimes we fight evil. But on good days, we just have to harass an old man into not using his magic for his own entertainment.”

“Papa? Can I harass old men?”

I look over at my son, doing my best not to immediately burst into laughter. My eyes meet Ronny’s and we share an amused look. I take a deep breath. “Umm? Maybe it’s best to leave that to the professionals for now, okay? Maybe when you’re older.”

“Old people get to have all the fun,” JJ murmurs, pouting in my direction.

“Maybe when you’re older you’ll want to be a hunter,” Ronny says carefully, rubbing JJ’s back. “But maybe you’ll realize you want to choose another path. Maybe you’ll wanna be a firefighter. Or something stable, like an accountant.”

“That sounds boring,” JJ says with a wrinkle of his nose.

“The important part is that you can be whatever you want and this group will all do their best to make that happen, okay?”

JJ looks at Ronny for a long moment before giving him a big hug. “I love you, Ronny. I’m gonna be an astronaut so that I can go to the moon and look back at you being tiny as an ant. Okay?”

Ronny’s face is overcome with emotion. He kisses the top of JJ’s head before murmuring. “I love you too, buddy. And that sounds like a good plan to me.”

Seeing them together like this threatens to bring tears to my eyes. They fit together better than I could ever dream. Maybe this shift won’t be as hard for JJ as I feared. Apparently it’s me holding everything up with my doubts and insecurities. Thankfully, these people don’t seem to be going anywhere and don’t mind me taking as much time as I need.

Jeff clears his throat and Ronny looks over. “So, have you found us something new?”

“I have actually,” Ronny says, readjusting JJ on his lap. “I think we’re heading to the coast.”

“What’s caught your attention?”

“There’s cases of people going missing near the coast. But it’s strange. They go missing for a weekend before seemingly being deposited back at the same bar they were last seen at with no memory of what happened.”

“What are you thinking?” Cooper asks, looking intrigued. I can’t say I blame him. I’m interested in knowing more too.

“My gut says a succubus. They could be seducing people, taking them for a weekend of feeding, before depositing their victims back at the bar. Possibly a mage who’s capable of clearing memories. Maybe even some vampires, though there hasn’t been any signs of bites so it’s probably not that.”

“Well check it out,” Jeff says with a nod. He reaches over, lacing his fingers with Axel’s.

“I’ve never been to the coast,” Axel says with a smile. “It might be cool to have my toes in the sand for a little while.”

“Afterwe’ve finished the case,” Jeff says, kissing the back of Axel’s hand.

“Don’t worry, I have no plans of getting myself into trouble again. But once everything is said and done, I’m sure JJ wouldn’t mind swimming in the ocean for the first time either.”

My stomach flutters with warmth, thinking about everyone thinking about JJ as part of the team. They think ofmeas part of the team. I reach over, taking Ronny’s hand in my own, lacing our fingers together. He squeezes my hand, his silent way of saying he’s here and that he cares for me.

I want to keep walls up high. I want to protect myself from being hurt. But the longer I’m here and the more I get to know these people, the safer it feels to let those walls down.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

RONNY

“Doyou mind if I talk to you for a moment?”

Zander looks up at me and nods. I watch him as he kisses JJ’s head before straightening and walking out of the bedroom. He pulls the curtain closed. It won’t block out the sound of our talking but it’ll keep the room dark to keep JJ from waking up.

I push out a chair for Zander and he plops himself down into it. I step towards my computer and then step back over to him. I run my fingers through my hair as I turn away again. I pace back and forth as my nerves get the best of me. Fuck. I shouldn’t be freaking out like this. It’s a kind gesture. I didn’t do anything wrong. But what if Zander takes this as me trying to pin him down, trying to push him into something he’s not ready for. Shit.

“What’s going on?”

I freeze, slowly turning to face Zander. “Okay, so I might have gone a little overboard but I wanted to run something by you.”

“Okay?” Zander says slowly, wrapping his arms around me and watching me with bright, amused green eyes.

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