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casspurrjoybell-17 · 1 month

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Hart and Hunter - Chapter 16 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

Despite Dane's attentions, I wake up in pain and after a light breakfast, I decide to take Chloe's advice.

The urgent care is mercifully empty and I don't have to wait long to be seen.

A couple of X-Rays reveal Chloe was right... I've got two hairline fractures and I need a partial cast.

That takes a while and the nurse keeps asking me weird questions about my home life while I wait.

Finally, with a brand new cast and a prescription for painkillers in hand, I rejoin Dane, who's been waiting for me in the café across the street.

Now that my arm no longer hurts, my appetite returns and I grab a pastry and a coffee before we head for his car.

Awkwardly juggling several items with one hand while trying to open the door, I drop the bundle of papers and pamphlets the nurse had given me.

I'd thought it was just instructions for the proper care and wearing of a cast but as Dane bends to collect them, I see she'd slipped something else in as well.

"Domestic violence?" he lifts his brows at me as he examines the pamphlet.

My face warms as the nurse's strange questions make more sense.

"I said I tripped."

"Hmm. And the injuries are probably more consistent with a twisting motion than with an impact," Dane says, rubbing the back of my neck with his free hand.

"Speaking of, you sure you're up for this? You don't have to talk to him in person, you know. In fact, you don't have to talk to him at all."

I know what he means and shake my head.

Ian Foley and I had a history... one I'd only barely managed to put behind me in the past year.

I'd forgiven him for hurting me and I was glad he'd finally moved on and forgiven himself as well but seeing him still raised painful memories.

He'd also helped save my life last year and lost his father in the process.

Dane would say he didn't deserve an award for acting like a decent person but I knew he'd changed at least as much as I had since the brief time we'd been together.

"He could have valuable input," I say.

"And some things are easier to explain face to face. Besides, what if he's on grandma's hit list?"

"Eh," Dane shrugs.

"You win some, you lose some."

I shoot him a look but bite back a smile.

Ian's not his favorite person, either.

"Come on," I say, handing the rest of my things to him as I climb into the car.

"Play nice and let's get this over with."

Ian Foley is tall and bulky, with red hair, a beard,and a patch over one eye, he looks like a cross between a Viking and a pirate and dresses like a lumberjack.

His remaining eye is bright blue and when he Shifts, he takes the form of a great bear.

He'd agreed to meet us at Lagrange's shop for a proper investigation of the tunnels.

We're expecting Halloran to join us but I'm surprised to see that Ian has brought his new boyfriend, Sam, along as well.

After losing his Dad, Ian had taken off on some kind of soul-searching trip up north.

I'd honestly thought he hadn't meant to come back but he had... minus an eye and plus Sam.

They were clearly happy together and I didn't grudge either of them that.

Sam is short and slender, with sleek black hair, dark eyes and pale gold-toned skin.

He looks too young to have anything to do with Ian's thirty-something but apparently, half his consciousness belongs to an ancient demon and he holds his own.

He's got the larger man wrapped around his little finger, anyway, which is proof enough.

Ian waves and smiles as we approach, while Sam's expression remains guarded.

I don't know Sam all that well, but it seems he's got something of a possessive streak.

Which I suppose makes sense, for a demon.

"Ian, thanks for coming and Sam," I offer what I hope is a warm smile.

"I don't know if we'll find any ghosts down there but I'm glad you're here, too."

Sam frowns at me.

"I don't just 'see ghosts.' If there's anything demonic, I'll sense it, as well as portals to 'fairy-hell' or whatever. I'm just here to keep Ian safe, anyway."

I glance at the larger man, whom I've seen fight off multiple werewolves single-handedly and hope the skepticism doesn't show on my face.

Ian flushes a little and rubs the back of his neck as his eyes stray to my fresh cast.

"Sam's a little worried about this killer grandma of yours, is all. Sounds like she's got a grudge."

"Sounds like she may have a right to one, from what we've gathered so far," Dane says.

"You know anything about that?" Ian shakes his head.

"Chloe filled me in last night but none of it rang a bell," he sighs.

"I've said it a hundred times and I'll say it a hundred more but I wish my Dad were here. He knew all the family legends and lore... not just ours but other Clans, too."

"He didn't happen to write any of it down, did he?" Dane asks.

"Nah. It was, uh... 'oral tradition, he called it. S'posed to pass it down in stories, father to son."

"But he never did?"

"Uh, well..." Ian flushes as red as his checkered shirt.

"He might've but I don't recall."

Dane scowls, Sam bristles and I move to intervene.

Ian probably has at least one learning disability, which is only one of several reasons he might not remember things.

Before I can speak up in his defense, however, Halloran arrives, followed closely... to my surprise... by Ingrid, Chloe and Grace.

Suitably distracted, we turn to greet the newcomers and make introductions.

"This isn't a guided tour, you know," Halloran says, eying the three women doubtfully.

"It'll be dirty and possibly dangerous down there and we don't know what we'll find."

I wince as I see three pairs of eyebrows lift at his words but Dane surprises me and speaks first.

"I can vouch for them," he says.

"They've all got useful skills or knowledge and we'll have safety in numbers."

Halloran frowns but nods.

"Very well. We'll go in pairs then. I think I've brought enough torches for everyone."

He opens the bag of gear he'd brought along and hands small flashlights around.

I also glimpse a pair of helmets, lengths of rope and some equipment I recognize as climbing gear but can't name.

"What's that for?" I ask.

"The cavern," he says.

"Just in case we discover another passageway."

Inside, Dane pulls back the rubber mat concealing the trapdoor and opens it.

The square of blackness in the floor yawns wide and Sam shrinks back with an expression of distaste.

"What is it?" I ask, wondering if there might be ghosts after all but Ian slips an arm around Sam's shoulders.

"You don't gotta go down there if you don't want to, darlin'," he says in an undertone.

"I'll be just fine."

"Nope," Sam shakes his head stubbornly.

"Where you go, I go, remember?"

I bite back a smile.

Part demon or not, I don't know how a guy who gives off kitten vibes plans to protect a guy who can turn into a bear.

Then again, like most of our friends, there's probably more to Sam than meets the eye.

"Wow. This is amazing," Grace exclaims as we descend the steps into the tunnel.

"The Historical Society would kill to get down here. Well, not literally."

"Maybe literally," Chloe counters.

"I've been to one of their meetings, remember?" Grace giggles and the sound echoes up and down the tunnels like a flock of small birds.

She covers her mouth with her hands in apology but no one minds.

I certainly don't... the place seems far less creepy and forbidding, with a group of friends at my side and Dane at my back.

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