Page 85 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

“Interesting choice of viewing for a demon hunter,” Jed muses.

Aaden puts his laptop on the floor. “Are we going to talk about—”

“No,” Duncan, Jed, and I chorus.

“You don’t even know what I was going to say,” Aaden blurts out, crossing his arms.

I groan. “If it’s anything to do with the Jar, Pan, my near-death experience, god poisons, powers, or Archan, then the answer is no.”

Aaden huffs—but he knows there’s no arguing.

Zee, who’s sitting next to Jed, taps my leg. “Your choice, Natia. Being almost killed by a mythical substance gives you control. Only for tonight, though. Don’t milk it.” He winks. I lean over Jed to take the remote and flick through the movies. I debate whether to torture them with a rom com, but it would torture me, too, so I put onThe X-Filesmovie. Duncan groans.

Grabbing the popcorn bowl, I place it on my lap. “It’s a classic! Suck it up and get educated.”

“You’ve seen this a hundred times, Locks,” Duncan mutters.

“The existence of aliens is still a mystery. One I intend to solve.”

Jed’s eyes gleam with amusement. “You fancy yourself a Scully type, don’t you?”

I sniff haughtily. “We share certain qualities. I have a spooky sidekick.” I tip my head at Duncan. “I have a job investigating the weird and mysterious. But I’m supremely more badass than her. Then again, she has the whole doctor-intelligent-sexy thing going for her.”

Jed waves his hands up and down my pajama-clad body. “You have the whole sexy-intelligent-leather-wearing-warrior thing going for you. Wait, don’t Mulder and Scully almost get it on in this film?” Jed asks, eyeing me and Duncan. Duncan and I sport equal looks of horror, as I begin childishly mock retching.

“Natia is like my little sister,” Duncan tells Jed, explaining my bizarre behavior.

Zee grins. “I should be Mulder.”

I throw a handful of popcorn at him. Zee plucks the pieces off his shirt and tosses them into his mouth. “I think we’re more like the Scooby gang,” he declares.

“Only if I can be Scooby Doo,” I say. All four of them look at me in confusion.

“What? You expect me to be Daphne? How stereotypical. I suppose Aaden is Velma, because he’s nerdy. Zee is Fred, because he’s vain and full of himself. Duncan must be Scooby Doo, because, well… he’s a talking dog, and that’s magic. Leaving Jed to be none other than Shaggy himself.”

Jed holds a finger up. “I’ll be Shaggy on one condition. I get to drive the Mystery Machine.”

“Hey, I do the driving,” Duncan complains.

I snort. “How can you drive? You’re a dog.”

Duncan starts tapping on his phone. “Scooby Doo drives, it’s his van. I’ll prove it.”

We wait for him to complete his search. His face falls. “Oh, you’re right… It’s Fred.”

Zee fist pumps the air then turns to me. “You do know Daphne is in love with Fred, right?” I stick my tongue out at him.

Aaden’s cell buzzes on the table; he grabs it, and his cheeks tinge pink. Given he’s surrounded by a group of very observant government agents (plus whatever Jed is), he should expect what comes next.

“Who’s that?” Zee asks.

“Nobody,” Aaden mumbles, stuffing his phone in his back pocket. Our cells declare an incoming message. I frown and twist to scoop mine up off the floor. Zee starts laughing.

“Oh, buddy. I need to school you in the art of sexting if you’re wondering why she would be bringing the ‘girls’ to a date. She means—”

My eyebrows creep up as I lean forward and smack Zee upside the head, but I can’t help but grin at Aaden, while Duncan shows him his phone. Aaden’s face is bright red as he rubs his hands down it. “I must have accidentally sent it to the group text.”

“Is this to Emi?” I ask. Keeping his head in his hands, he nods. “I think it’s sweet you’re texting! Are you going on a date?”

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