Club Monstrosity (9 page)

Alec frowned, and any teasing they had shared earlier was long gone.

“This is bad,” he finally said softly.

She nodded. “Yeah. These things . . . they can’t be coincidences. Not with so many matching details.”

“I don’t think even Kai can claim that after this,” he agreed.

She shook her head. “Look, as much as I’d like to go home right now, I have to finish my shift. You should go back to the apartment and let the others know. That is . . . if you are actually going to live with me.”

His brow wrinkled. “Um, yeah. That’s what we talked about, right? Unless
you
changed your mind.”

She shifted. She shouldn’t be so happy he’d said yes. She didn’t really want him there.

Not much.

“No, of course not,” she said with what she hoped was a nonchalant shrug. “I need a roomie to make rent and you need someone to keep you from running wild when you werewolf out. It’s just that you never came back to my apartment to bring any of your stuff after work last night. So I thought maybe you changed your mind.”

Now it was him who shifted, and he looked a little guilty for second. “I was beat after last night. Being so close to the full moon does that to me. I run ragged, then collapse. I crashed when I got back to the old apartment. But I will stop by my old place when I leave here and get my stuff.”

Natalie smiled, though she had no idea why this inconvenience was making her so happy. “Excellent. I mean, fine. Whatever. Then, uh, you should get to that. And I’ll be home soon.”

Alec looked at her for a long moment and she girded herself for some kind of string of arguments. Instead, he nodded.

“Okay.”

She blinked. “Okay. Good.”

He stood up and moved toward the door, but he didn’t leave. “Nat, are you okay?”

She slid back into her own chair and looked up at him with a weak smile. “Well, I haven’t been burned to death on a pyre. Yet. So I guess I have to be okay.”

He hesitated, and she felt like he wanted to say something else, but then he shook his head. “I’ll see you at home.”

“Yup,” she said as she pretended to go back to work. “See you later.”

But as he left her alone, she knew that the one thing this situation was not was okay. And no matter how much she lied, it wasn’t going to be.

The night shift dragged on and the eight hours felt like twenty by the time Natalie got off the train and trudged up to her street and finally to her apartment. Her whole body ached from holding it so stiff all night. Her cheeks hurt from faking smiles.

She reached for the doorknob, and for the second time in as many nights it opened before she could turn it. This time, however, there was no angry Whitney waiting for her. It was Alec, and from behind him she smelled eggs, bacon, and other breakfast delights that made her mouth water.

“Hey,” he said as he motioned her in. “Come sit down.”

She blinked as she saw her little round kitchen table set and ready for breakfast for two. “What is this?”

“You seemed bummed when I left you last night,” he explained. “And what can fix anything quicker than bacon?”

Natalie was going to argue, but at that moment it seemed like the best logic she’d ever heard. He handed her a plate and she took it, digging in before he even started.

“So did you talk to the others?” she asked between bites.

He handed her orange juice and nodded. “Yeah, to Kai. And she’s on board now. She gets this is serious, no more denials.”

Relief flooded Natalie. “Great! Then we just have to meet up at the church and see what everyone else found out. And come up with a plan of some kind. Not that it’s going to be easy, but—”

Alec’s lips pursed and he gave her a worried glance that cut her rambling off instantly.

Her heart sank. “What?”

He shrugged. “There’s some other news. The church, um, kicked us out.”

Natalie had been lifting a forkful of eggs to her lips, but she hesitated now. Her appetite wavered and she set the fork down.

“What do you mean, they kicked us out?”

He shifted. “Apparently Kai was the last one to leave our meeting and the priest stopped her. He told her that Blob was the only reason they were allowing us to meet there. And now he’s dead. They said we’re too . . . too . . .
odd
and they don’t feel comfortable with us there anymore.”

Natalie shut her eyes as she thought back to the women cleaning the pews. The way they’d looked at her was so familiar. So horrifying when she thought of the consequences of it.

“Oh my God,” she groaned.

“Natalie,” Alec said, his tone a warning. “Don’t freak out about this.”

“Don’t freak out?” she asked as she stared at him. “How can I
not
freak out? This is always how it starts. First you’re odd, then you’re dangerous, then you’re a monster and everyone has pitchforks and—”

She could have continued on like that for the whole day, but to her surprise, Alec reached over, cupped the back of her neck, and pulled her against him for a kiss. For a moment she could hardly even register what was happening, but then it really sank in.

Alec’s lips were full and soft against hers, with just the right amount of pressure. Although his strength was apparent in the way he cupped her neck, he didn’t use it against her.

She hadn’t been close to anyone like this very often in her life. Her scars, her past, her identity kept her from letting anyone near her. But Alec knew all that stuff, and when his mouth parted over hers, she found herself responding in kind and letting him deepen the kiss.

But then her logical mind kicked in. She was kissing
Alec,
werewolf playboy who always had an angle. And that meant what was happening here had an angle.

With a gasp, she pulled away and jumped to her feet. He stayed just where he was, looking up at her with a hooded expression that didn’t reveal anything about what
he
thought about what had just happened.

“I should—should call Kai and help her figure out where to meet tonight. Thanks for”—she cut herself off and blushed—“breakfast.”

He arched a brow as she left the room, and she heard his voice quietly behind her. “Any time, Nat. Any time.”

9

Natalie had never really figured out exactly how Jekyll and Hyde made their money. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure she
wanted
to know, because she sometimes imagined it had to do with jewel heists, extortion, the mob, and probably there was some murder involved.

However they’d done it, they clearly had a ton, because as she and Alec walked up to the huge, posh building on Park Avenue, she couldn’t help but stare up and up . . . and up.

The building was older and when it had been renovated, it had retained its early New York charm through its intricate brickwork, keystones, and borders. There were even gargoyles staring down from the corners on each floor, wincing and grimacing their protection like little baby monsters.

“Holy shit,” she muttered.

“Um, yeah,” Alec agreed.

“So much nicer than any apartment I’ve ever dreamed of,” she finished.

Alec shrugged. “Your apartment is great. This place is pretentious. But then, that’s Jekyll and Hyde.”

As she laughed, a doorman opened the door for them and they entered the lobby to the building. But it wasn’t any ordinary lobby. This was more like a high-security office or even a government building. A guard sat at a high, U-shaped desk near the back of the lobby and as they entered he stood up, revealing a holstered Glock just like the ones cops carried.

In addition to the safety his presence provided, there was a glass partition in front of the bank of elevators next to him. On it a warning had been etched:
THIS GLASS IS BULLETPROOF. ALL PROJECTILES WILL RICOCHET
.

“Have you ever seen anything like this?” Natalie muttered under her breath as they took the long walk toward the guard station.

“Once,” Alec said. “In Halle Berry’s building.”

Natalie stopped walking and turned to stare at him. “You were in Halle Berry’s building?”

He shrugged. “Long story. Doesn’t matter now.”

Natalie opened her mouth to protest that statement, but the guard at the back of the room interrupted.

“May I help you?”

Natalie glared at Alec, who was looking around, all innocence, though she
knew
he was enjoying her confusion and curiosity (and perhaps a little jealousy) about the Halle Berry story.

“Miss?” the guard said, emphasizing the word with an arched brow.

“Yes, sorry,” she said. “Distracted, I’ve never been in an apartment building like this.”

The guard gave a thin smile. “Nothing but the best for our residents. Your name, please.”

Natalie swallowed. Right. Her name. He kept asking for it and she could see the fact that she hadn’t given it yet was starting to annoy him. And this was how people got shot.

“Sorry. I’m Natalie Gray, this is Alec Dunham. We’re here to see Dr. Je—”

She broke off the sentence. Jekyll didn’t go by his real name, did he? Too obvious, drew too much attention. But what did he go by? Shit, she should have thought about this earlier.

“We’re here to see Dr. Henry,” Alec supplied with a friendly smile. “He should be expecting us.”

The guard gave them a long, appraising stare and then leaned over to grab a list from the desk. He scanned over it and his eyes went wide with surprise. “You
are
on here. I’ll just need to see some ID and I’ll let you up.”

Natalie dug into her purse for her wallet. Dr. Henry, that was right. Thank goodness for Alec. It wasn’t very creative to go by his first name as his last, but it solved a lot of problems for Jekyll.

As he handed back their IDs and checked their names off his list, the guard depressed a button under the ledge of the desk. Slowly, the glass partition slid away with a whoosh of hidden hydraulics.

“Dr. Henry is located in Penthouse A. Press
P
on the elevator. By the time you’ve reached the top floor, Dr. Henry will have been notified of your arrival,” he said with a tight smile. “Have a good day.”

Alec saluted him and Natalie rolled her eyes and hauled him toward the elevator. On second thought,
he
was why people got shot.

“Did you forget Jekyll’s first name?” Alec whispered as they reached the elevator. The doors were already open and waiting for them, so they stepped inside and selected the
P
button.

She shrugged. “No, I just forgot which name he went by. But it makes perfect sense, especially for them. Jekyll and Hyde are too well known. People would get squigged out.”

Alec looked at her for a moment. “Is that why you go by Gray and not Frankenstein?”

She flinched. “I’m
not
Frankenstein, the
doctor
is Frankenstein. People always screw that up. I’m just his . . . monster. Well, one of them.”

Alec nodded. “Yeah, but he’s kind of like your dad. You never went by his name?”

She shook her head. “No way. He wouldn’t have wanted that; I was a creation, not a daughter. Anyway, that guy torpedoed my life. I wouldn’t
want
his name.”

She folded her arms and tried not to let the complicated, angry feelings she still had for Frankenstein invade her mind. She had way too much other shit to deal with to face any daddy issues that might be lingering.

“Wow, he did a number on you, didn’t he? We should talk about that more in group. You know, if we survive,” Alec said.

Natalie opened her mouth to snap at him, but before she could, the doors opened and revealed a short hallway with two doors a few feet in front of them. They looked at each other.

“Must be the penthouse.” Alec hesitated. “Why am I whispering?”

“I don’t know,” Natalie whispered back as they stepped out of the elevator and she knocked on the door marked
A
. After a few minutes, it opened and revealed Jekyll, annoyed and pale.

“You’re late.”

She shrugged. There was really no point in denying who she was. “I’m always late.”

Jekyll pursed his lips, but he motioned them through a marble-accented hall to a huge parlor on the left. As they entered, Natalie couldn’t help but suck in a breath.

The apartment was a mausoleum, but it sure was a snazzy one. All the floors were marble and polished to a high shine, no doubt by a servant who was never seen by guests. The furniture was of the highest quality, including Persian rugs (that were probably really from Persia . . . when it had been
called
Persia), leather chairs, and a sterling silver tea set on a marble-topped side bar.

The rest of the group was already gathered, perched on the fine furniture in varying states of discomfort. Only Kai looked like she belonged, with her black suit and sky-high black heels with the red on the bottom. Those things probably cost the same as a month’s rent at Natalie’s place.

“About time,” Kai muttered, though her tone was filled with a lot less annoyance than usual. The Mummy Girl even spared her a brief smile.

Natalie shrugged. Why Kai was lowering herself to Natalie’s level, she didn’t know. “Sorry. To make it up to you, I brought these.”

She dug into her purse and grabbed the copies she’d made of the police reports the night before. She had highlighted all the parts that related to The Story for both men.

Alec gave her a quick glance. “Good thinking, Nat.”

She felt the heat of a blush creep up her neck. He was complimenting her
and
calling her by that nickname . . . in front of everyone. Not that it meant anything. She ignored the embarrassment as she shoved copies of the reports into his hands and moved toward Linda, who was the closest to her on the nearest couch.

Linda’s hands shook as she took a set of copies and held them in her lap. Drake had no such reaction, snatching both and immediately perusing them. Kai did pretty much the same thing, though she was less snatchy.

With a frown, Natalie approached Hyde. He was standing at a bank of windows with his back to the group.

“Here,” she said, holding out the papers.

He didn’t turn. “Don’t bother.”

She wrinkled her brow, but couldn’t press him because at that moment Jekyll appeared at her elbow. He looked tired as he tapped her arm.

“Just give it to me,” he said softly. “No need to trouble Hyde.”

Natalie shook her head, but did as she’d been told. Not that she wanted to have a big heart-to-heart, but Hyde needed to be involved in this as much as anyone. Still, she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him.

She found a spot on a chair where Alec couldn’t join her. He chuckled like he knew exactly what she was doing, but remained standing behind the couch.

She scowled. Let him laugh, as long as he stayed away. Right now he disconcerted her. From his suddenly supportive and interested attitude to the fact he’d kissed her. He made her feel all discombobulated and
human
.

The monsters were silent as they read the reports, but Natalie could see when they reached the key points. Frowns turned to scowls, tears formed in eyes, sighs grew heavier and way more appropriate for overwrought horror stories.

Jekyll was the first to finish and set his papers aside. Hyde, who had moved to a high-backed chair across the room, shook his head. “This is worse than we thought.”

Alec glanced up and glared at Hyde. “But you didn’t take a copy of the papers.”

Hyde shrugged and dug into his pocket for a thin gold cigarette case. And from the way it shone in the light, Natalie guessed that was
real
gold. In today’s market, worth a little more than her electric bill in a six-month period.

Alec tilted his head. “So you couldn’t have read them. How do you know what’s worse and not worse?”

Hyde didn’t answer for a long moment, but lit a cigarette and took a long inhale of smoke. “Not all powers are about strength, Wolfie, dear. Some of us have more sophisticated taste
and
ability.”

Natalie’s eyes went wide. They talked about their powers at group, of course, and how to use them to their advantage when it was safe to do so. But she was constantly amazed when she heard about new ones.

“So you’re saying you don’t need to read what Jekyll does, but you still know what he saw?” she asked.

He nodded. “Always. What he reads, I read. I don’t have to bother to actually do it. It can be quite tedious.”

Jekyll set the pages aside and shook his head. “And horrifying,” he added.

Hyde chuckled, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “You simply need to expand your horizons, brother.”

The two men met eyes and all kinds of unspoken communication passed between them. A tug-of-war that was as obvious as if they’d met in the center of the room to grapple.

Natalie shivered. Those kinds of monster powers freaked her out. She preferred strength or the ability to change into a beast or whatever. Those things made sense, they were straightforward. But mind control, thought sharing? Weird.

“So, what did anyone
else
find during their searches?” she asked, hoping to change the subject and get everyone back on topic.

Jekyll dropped his eyes to the floor. “Last night, Hyde and I felt like we were being . . . followed.”

Hyde stood up and paced to the window. “I wanted to break apart and beat the guy to a bloody pulp.”

“Hyde—” Jekyll began.

Hyde turned from the window and glared. “Henry, you are too soft on these people. These humans. They aren’t worth protecting. And sometime . . . you won’t be able to protect yourself from them. I might not be there. And what will happen then?”

Dracula got to his feet. “I also felt as if I were being followed last night. I was on my way home. It made me so disconcerted that I—” He stopped.

Kai stared at him. “What did you do, Drake?”

He pursed his lips. “I turned into a bat on Fifth Avenue.”

Natalie shut her eyes and flopped back against her seat. “Shit.”

“Shit is right,” Kai burst out. Any annoyance she had spared Natalie for her tardiness was fully turned on Drake. “What were you thinking?”

Drake shifted. “There were theatergoers, but I don’t think anyone saw me.”

“Really? In New York, you think no one saw you? Someone
always
sees you in New York!” Kai jumped to her feet and raised her arms in frustration. “What the fuck is wrong with you?
All
of you?”

She looked around the room and in that moment Natalie could see her as a goddess, an ancient priestess, someone who would draw others to her and use their worship to her own ends. Of course, that hadn’t ended so well for her before . . .

“Don’t you get it?” Kai continued. “Changing shapes in public, breaking apart from one man to two and beating someone to death on the street . . .
that
is acting like a monster! That kind of thing will only make this situation worse. And for what?”

“If we’re being followed, I can understand why everyone might freak out,” Alec offered. “Give them a break.”

Kai turned on him with a glare. “But we don’t
know
that we’re being followed. We might all just be paranoid thanks to the deaths.”

Natalie jerked her face toward Kai. Back to denial, it was. Why did she always do that?

Alec pondered Kai’s statement for a minute and then he smiled. “Actually, we
can
know if we’re being followed. Jekyll, you do have a computer in this museum, don’t you?”

Jekyll shot Hyde a hooded look and then nodded slowly. “Yes. I use a computer for my work.”

Alec got up and stretched out his fingers. “Well, hand it over, buddy!”

Jekyll didn’t budge from his seat, just kept staring at Alec like he’d turned into a werewolf right in the living room, then piddled on the Persian rug.

Natalie shook her head. She could understand Jekyll’s hesitation. After all, Alec didn’t exactly look like a guy who knew his way around a computer.

“Look, just do it,” she said with a shrug. “Despite the shagginess, he actually knows what he’s doing. What he wants to do is probably a felony . . . but he’s good at it.”

Alec sent her a quick grin. “Aw, thanks, Nat.” He turned back to Jekyll and held out a hand. “Come on, Doc. Computer. Let’s go.”

Jekyll let out a put-upon sigh, but he got up and walked across the room to a rolltop desk beside the window. Mid-eighteenth century, if Natalie remembered her French furniture correctly. Worth a fortune.