Hunting Tess by Kathryn Summers (funny books to read .TXT) 📕

those random patterns across the back of his hand, moving up to his arm.

“What do you mean something else? Like people with special abilities? Like me?”

“People with special abilities like Eliza and Ben, yes, but you’re a shifter.”

“I don’t think I’m a shifter.” He opens his mouth to disagree so I continue, “See that pile of books over there? The one at the bottom, farthest to the back that’s in shadow. What’s the title?”

He looks confused. “There’s an owl hunting about a hundred feet away. Which direction is it located? Or Leo just switched his brand of deodorant. Do you know what he changed it to? Can you tell any of these things right now? Because I can. I’m also stronger and faster than you, though I would be interested to test that in your wolf form, but I haven’t changed. Turning into a giant cat could be part of my ability, but I don’t think it’s mutually exclusive.”

His eyes flick to the pile of books, squinting like it will help him see better. I settle back on my side, enjoying the warmth he provides against my back as he figures out the title is a French dictionary.

“I’m sorry,” I say, venting what I’ve been thinking about on and off since the night my parents were killed. “I could be a shifter, but in all my experience I’ve only known shifters to turn into wolves. Not panthers.”

“We’ll figure it out,” he replies, resting his head on my pillow. “I’ll do some research.”

My body relaxes and it feels like it’s only been a day since our trip to Seattle instead of a week.

“I need to start looking for a job,” I blurt out, feeling heavy with ramifications of what being graduated actually means. At least, unless I want to pursue a Master’s.

“We’ll talk about employment opportunities in the morning,” he responds, giving me a chaste kiss on the cheek before getting up.

“What does that mean?”

“Tomorrow,” he chuckles, heading toward the door.

“That’s not an answer.”

“Tomorrow!”

***

Parker is pouring himself a glass of orange juice when I enter the kitchen the next morning.

“So, this employment opportunity,” I repeat his words from last night. The dark blue shirt he wears accentuates the time he spends working out in the basement gym, but I swiftly divert my gaze when he glances over.

“Yeah,” he says, breaking into a crooked grin while flipping sausage onto its opposite side. I don’t think I looked away quickly enough.

He sets down the spatula and crosses toward the stairs to scoop me up in a hug when I let out an embarrassing squeak. Definitely should not have worn this red shirt since now I’ll just be one red blob from the fierce blush enflaming my face.

“Parker,” I mumble into his chest. “Parker, the sausage will burn.”

Reluctantly placing me back on my feet, I’m glad when he pulls me along to join him in the kitchen where he switches out sausage for eggs.

Cracking the eggs on the counter, they sizzle and pop once hitting the pan. “Marc was impressed with your work at the warehouse.”

“More like stunned,” Caleb yells from the couch. “Or frightened.”

“Impressed,” Parker corrects with a glare toward the couch. “You handled the situation like a pro and Marc noticed. The job is yours if you want.”

“Job?”

“The Agency is offering you a job and Marc wants you on his team. He thinks you would be a vital asset.”

“Really?” I didn’t have the chance to see all of what the specialized team could do even though they seemed efficient at cleaning up the mess I caused. Parker did mention something about security footage. He must have seen what happened there.

“You’re an enigma,” Caleb interjects, his face glued to the screen on his phone. “But they do good work. Clearing away the garbage of the world that no one else wants to touch. Plus, I guess there would be some perks. Travel, pay. A few hotheads here and there, but as long as you can overlook those annoying little—”

“—And with that glowing recommendation,” Parker interrupts, leaning his hip against the counter as he faces me. “Is it something you would be interested in?”

My reflection in the ballet studio stares back at me, growing less and less firm until it’s nothing but a fuzzy blob. It’s still there, but first there is something more pressing to do. Those women should not have been kidnapped from Guadalajara. Hopefully the team in Mexico City find the responsible party. And now I get the chance to hunt down the same type of monsters. “Taking out the bad guys and getting paid for it? Sounds like my kind of gig.”

Pulling out a second cup he pours another glass of juice before dishing up breakfast for us both.

“Where’s Lorelai?” I ask, carrying the glasses to the table.

“Her sisters whisked her away for a girl’s day.” Caleb sounds mildly put out, but nothing like he did before their meeting. It’d be interesting to see if his happy-go-lucky attitude stays.

Diving into my food, it takes me a moment to see that Parker is watching me with a small smile before turning his attention to his plate.

It takes me a little while to settle the butterflies rapidly running into every internal surface of my stomach.

“I’ll be gone for a couple of days,” he breaks, spearing a sausage whole. “There are a few work-related things I need to take care of before the end of the week.”

“I didn’t know that as a tech analyst you had to travel.”

“It’s a special sort of case.”

My eyebrows raise at his leaving while we’re searching for a pack of demons. The guy at the bar gave us the name Stephany Wares. If I didn’t know any better, I would think he was going to meet her himself.

“A completely different case,” he explains, understanding my expression.

“Let me guess, any specifics are a heavily guarded secret?”

“Not heavily guarded, but, yes, technically it is classified. For the safety of all parties involved.”

“Alright. But to lessen the sting of ignorance I’m