for a while. I have some light work to do as time allows. I’ve also been put in charge of handling a few nasty bounties, but I’m the handler rather than the hunter on those. The hunter I’m handling has a reputation.”
“You got the new one, didn’t you?” Uncle Henry shook his head while rolling his eyes. “When they work you to death, put a good word in for me.”
Well, that had gone better than I had anticipated. Rather than expose myself as the lucky bounty hunter with the promotion and a job worth talking about, I kept my mouth closed. One day, I would confess my sins… about the same time I came home without a scarred face. With luck, by Christmas.
It depended on Sebastian’s blood type and how long it took me to take out the bastard killing women through the violent removal of their reproductive organs.
I really hated Jack the Ripper copycats, especially when they targeted women with scarred faces. One day, maybe people wouldn’t view a woman’s beauty as the rent she paid to exist.
That would be a nice day.
Rather than annoy everyone in hearing distance with my opinion, upsetting them as I wanted a face that didn’t make the kittens cry, I practiced staying quiet. Staying quiet kept my family from grumping over how I couldn’t just ‘accept my scars’ or ‘try not to worry about my face’ in my day-to-day life.
I needed to thank Sebastian later for understanding that I wanted to get rid of my scars because I didn’t want to continue going through life scaring the kittens and dealing with people flinching when they saw my face.
“I’ll do you one better. I’ll toss one of the stable hunters your way. He’s a tier up from the one I was just given to handle, so he’ll bring you in good change, and he is pretty hands off. It should raise your percentage by a few points without overworking you. However, he can be needy.”
“What do you mean by needy?”
“He likes big families but feels he’s incapable of settling down because of the blood on his hands. You’ll be in therapy with him a lot. He’s an old wolf, so you’ll want to keep him away from Harri, because he won’t flinch at her scars. He’ll have a meltdown and swear vengeance over them.”
“Wait. I like that kind of drama. I don’t mind meltdowns when they don’t involve flinching. And it was a fire. Is he good with kittens?”
“He’s one of the top hunters in the country for cases involving kids, so yes. He’s dedicated his life to getting rid of people who target children. I’m trying to convince him to open an orphanage once he’s unable to maintain his hunting. Right now, he’s between jobs, so it’s a good time for you to start working with him if you want him, Henry.” Sebastian got out his phone, tapping at the screen. “And that’ll free me up some time, too. The bounty I’ll be handling is an ugly one, and I need to be on hand as backup for the hunter.”
“That bad?”
“It’s probably worse than you think.”
“If it’s that bad, take Harri with you,” my uncle suggested. “Despite appearances, she’s useful.”
I choked on my own spit, and even Sebastian coughed. While I meant to do just that, I stared at my uncle, wondering what the hell he was thinking—or if he’d uncovered my dirty little bounty hunting secret. “Me?”
“Yes, you. You can, and have, gone up against every one of your brothers and your parents and emerged the victor just about every damned time. All you’d need to hold your own in a real fight is a knife.”
Damn it. I hated to lose, but I hadn’t thought my insistence on giving it my all during the family brawls had been noticed by my uncle, or anyone else for that matter. “I don’t have a knife,” I lied. “I mean, outside of my kitchen knives, and I don’t want to stab people with my kitchen knives, Uncle Henry.”
“That’s easily rectified. You don’t even need a knife. I’d be worried about fighting you if you were armed with even a spoon. But I’ve got a few pocketknives I can give you. That should give you all the weaponry you need. Just piss her off and point her at who you don’t like, Sebastian. She’s got good reason to have a temper, and she’s spent all of her life fighting with her brothers, so she can handle