Page 16 of In the Monster's Wake
JASPER STOOD THERE, wondering what had just happened as he watched Archibald disappear around the corner.For a moment, he didn’t move.Who the hell was Archibald?And what kind of namewasArchibald?
Jasper looked down at the card he was still holding.What Archibald had said seemed to be true.His name was on the card, and it said that he and another guy owned a PI agency.
But why would a PI follow Jasper to help him?That was the job of the police or the hunters.
Jasper snorted.It might be their job, but it didn’t mean they did it or that they were good at it.As far as he knew, there were no hunters in the building right now.There certainly weren’t any police officers.If a monsterhadbeen following him, Archibald might just have saved his life.
Jasper wasn’t sure how to feel about that.He didn’t know Archibald, and even though the monster didn’t seem to have been lying when he’d said that he was a PI, there might be more to this than Jasper could see.Hell, even if Archibaldwasa PI, he might still not be one of the good guys.
Jasper bit his lower lip.Archibald had kissed him.What did it mean?Didit mean something?
Maybe Archibald had kissed Jasper just to get him to stop fighting him.It had worked, and the kiss had been the hottest thing that had happened to Jasper recently.He should stop thinking about it because it had no doubt been a one-time thing, but he could still feel Archibald pressing him against the wall and his tongue in his mouth.
He wanted Archibald to kiss him again.
Jasper rubbed his face.He was here to find the monster from the park, even though he didn’t want to.He shouldn’t let anyone distract him, not even someone as appealing as Archibald.Besides, there was a good chance that he’d never see Archibald again.The PI didn’t know where to find Jasper.
But Jasper knew exactly where to find Archibald.
There was a phone number and an address on the card.If Jasper wanted to talk to Archibald again, he could call or go to his office.Archibald had followed Jasper, but he hadn’t done it to attack Jasper.He hadn’t felt dangerous, even when they were fighting.He especially hadn’t felt dangerous when he kissed Jasper, or after that.
Jasper didn’t think Archibald had anything to do with the string of brutal murders in the monster community.He had no proof of that, but he was convinced that the monster he’d fought at the park was responsible for all of that.
That didn’t help him much.He didn’t know anything about the monster except how he looked, and he had no idea how to find him.Clearly, the same couldn’t be said for the monster.He seemed to have found Jasper easily.Jasper didn’t want to think about what might’ve happened if Archibald hadn’t intervened.
He glanced down at the card.Maybe he should look into Archibald, just in case.He wasn’t a hunter anymore, but through his father, he still had access to their records.He could check if there was anything there about what Archibald was up to.
Asking his father for help would come back to bite him in the ass, but he needed to start somewhere.He might not have been planning on keeping his promise to look into it and find the monster, but he was pretty sure he wouldn’t have a choice.He needed to know if the monster from the other night had followed him to the club and had been coming after him.
He didn’t like involving Kerry and Corey in this, though.It was getting more dangerous than he expected—and he’d expected this mess to be extremely dangerous.If the monster was coming after him, Corey and Kerry might be in danger just because they were close to him.They could defend themselves, but it might not be enough.If the monster from the park attacked Archibald, Archibald could stand up to him better than Corey, Kerry, and Jasper.
Jasper tapped the card on his hand.Yes, maybe he should give Archibald a visit—if anything, to make fun of his name again.
He slid the card into his jeans pocket and left the hallway.He didn’t stop in the bathroom because thinking about what might have happened there if the monster had gotten to him gave him the creeps.Instead, he went straight back into the club to find Corey.They needed to talk.
Chapter Six
