Strange Case, an Urban Fantasy (Hyde Book III)

by Lauren Stewart

  So…what was the best way to get someone’s attention? Birdcall? Toss a pebble? What the hell does a rat cough sound like? He clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. Landon whipped his head towards him, as if he’d actually heard it.

  After a barely-there smile and a nod, the cop looked at his captors. “Hey, Newman! Am I supposed to pee in the corner or can a take a trip to the little boy’s room?” Oooh, the cop was smart—one less locked door to get through would save a lot of time and bullets.

  The man sitting at the desk briefly raised his head. “Piss in the corner now, or piss your pants when you die. Makes no difference to me.”

  The cop chuckled. “I think I’ll hold it until I’m standing over your grave.”

  As soon as Landon made eye contact again, Mitch pointed to the other door, then himself and did a few other things with his fingers before giving up and flashing his gun. He sucked shit at charades. He knew it and, from the look on Landon’s face, the cop knew it too.

  So Mitch stuck to using his fingers to count down. 4...3…2…Let the fun begin. He stood. “Hey, do any of you dickheads know where a guy can get a decent espresso around here?”

  Landon yelled, “Get down!” put his arm through two sets of bars, and pushed Danielle to the ground. A millisecond later, the men lunged forward, drawing their weapons. When the first shot was fired, Mitch had a moment of you’re-so-fucking-stupid. He should have shot at least one of them.

  It’s hard to aim while running, even harder if the target is running too. And Mitch never made anything easy on anybody. So as soon as he knew all the guards were coming for him, he kicked the shelf closest to him. When it hit its neighbor, that one fell too, continuing like a line of dominos the men would have to hurtle.

  Then he ran like a motherfucking Olympian. He’d have preferred his running shoes, but the boots had great traction—perfect for slick tile and sharp corners. Corners equaled good—bullets don’t corner well. Men shooting bullets do though, so he kept up his pace.

  He weaved through the hallways, trying to remember which way he’d come. Hitting a dead end would be his dead end, but he had to lead them away from the cage room, preferably without running into any other guards. Unfortunately, Clinic employees were like cockroaches. You don’t know they’re there, but when you see one, you can bet your ass that there are a million others behind the little bastard.

  Mitch slid to a stop as soon as he saw them, fired once, and then backed up a few feet to take another hallway, hearing the assholes firing back.

  “Shit!” he yelled as soon as he realized where he was. He’d gone in a big circle, leading all the guards right back to point A.

  At least everyone was outside the cages—Eden talking sternly to Danielle and Landon holding onto a man who looked very, very…floppy.

  Without turning or stopping, he pointed over his shoulder. “Good time to go, don’t you think?” They all headed towards the opposite doorway. “The loop-de-loop thing isn’t going to work much longer. So I’m thinking we follow the exit signs.”

  Mitch shoved the gun at Landon. Eden was in front, and the cop had one hand on Danielle’s waist and the other on his weapon. Mitch slowed down to kick open a few random doors, hoping to confuse the guards. Seriously, how smart could they possibly be if they worked for Whittley? The guy didn’t like smart people.

  “Move faster,” Eden yelled at Danielle. Maybe it was the stress of the cage or more likely, Danielle simply wasn’t used to this kind of fun, but she didn’t look like she could go much farther. And she was slowing them down.

  Mitch caught up with them and tapped Eden on the ass, warning her. “Calm down.” A tall order while you’re running for your life. But the last thing they needed was more drama.

  “You have to get her out, Eden,” Landon said. “She’s our best chance. She helped create one of the drugs and might be able to figure the others out. For the kids. For Mitch. Whatever it takes, Eden. Get her out.”

  Looking very, very irritated, Eden took Danielle’s arm and yanked her along.

  They fell into a groove, finally working as a team—Eden checking corners before hauling Danielle around them, Mitch and Landon watching the rear, shooting when the assholes got too close on a straightaway. They worked in tandem—conserving ammo as much as possible, never firing at the same time. Mitch was pretty sure they’d picked up a few stragglers because he heard more than four voices and four guns going off.

  From the outside of the building, he’d seen five exits, so one of them had to be close. Because there couldn’t possibly be a strip of hallway in the entire building that they hadn’t run through.

  Thing was, as soon as they hit open air, there was nothing to duck behind, no corners to turn. So the ride had to stop for somebody, and it shouldn’t be the stronger sex. To give the ladies a chance to make it out, he would slow the assholes down, and the cop would be there for moral support. Or just in case Mitch fucked it up.

  Landon smacked him in the shoulder. “You up to helping me out, Turner?” He spoke softly, so neither the women in front of them nor the men behind them could hear. Not that they would—gunshots in corridors made a hell of a loud noise.

  “I was just going to ask you the same thing.” They slowed down just enough for a tete-a-tete, privacy during a flee-for-your-life scenario not being a thing of abundance.

  “Follow my lead?” Landon asked.

  “Right off the cliff, my friend.”

  “Hopefully it won’t come to that.” He dropped his voice even lower. “You get the ladies out while I slow the guards down.”

  Shit. “Not at all what I had in mind.” Did everyone want him to wait in the car now?

  “I can take care of them.” Landon pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

  “Really? You against, what, eight? You can’t even handle me. And those aren’t water guns they’re carrying.” Mitch looked at the guy, the way he moved, breathed, and…was that a fucking smile on his face? This was not the same man Mitch had dropped off at the lab a few miserable hours ago.

  “What’s going on with you, cop? You’re so…fresh.”

  “Danielle made up a batch of whatever they gave Carter. Now I’m walking proof of what the bastards did.”

  “Not getting it. How are you proof?”

  “I injected it. It’s in my blood.”

  “You what?” Mitch screamed as he slammed on the breaks. “Carter fucking died, you idiot!” He would have stayed stuck to that spot if Landon hadn’t yanked him by the arm as if he were starting up a lawn mower. So Mitch’s feet and mouth moved, but everything else stayed in shock-mode.

  “Damn it, cop! I let you out of my sight for a few hours and this is what happens? Between you and Eden, I’m never going to be able to close my eyes again.”

  “Once my blood is tested, the FDA will find out what The Clinic is doing. Not to you guys, to humans. Human testing, Turner. Illegal research on humans. The Abnormal shit stays completely out of it, and The Clinic goes down like Al Capon. They’ll be investigated, prosecuted, taken apart. But not by us. We can watch the bastards go down from the stands.”

  If his pause was to give a Mitch a chance to shout, ‘Hurray. I’m so glad you shot yourself up with poison’, he was going to be waiting a lifetime.

  “Don’t worry about me, Turner. I feel great. Amazing. Like I could move mountains.”

  Mitch swallowed bile. “How ‘bout you just move your ass so we can get out of here. Before that shit works its way out of your system.” What was done was done. And now was not the time for mourning or telling Landon how fucking stupid he was. That would come later and would continue for a very, very long time.

  He gave a silent ‘thank you’ to whoever made exit signs mandatory. Then another to whoever thought to put those little green arrows on them that glowed whether the building was condemned or not. And another to the cosmos that seemed to be leading them away from the front door. Because if Eden picked the lock to get them out, there was no way in
hell Mitch would be able to stop her from coming back in.

  Mitch pointed his finger at Danielle, but spoke to the cop. “Are you guys…”

  “No!” Either the run was getting to him—which didn’t seem likely seeing as how his breath had barely changed since the flee began—or Landon was blushing. A grown-ass-man blushing over a girl.

  So sweet it made Mitch’s teeth hurt. “My mistake.” He laughed.

  “It’s not as if I’ve had a lot of time for a social life lately.”

  “What’s a social life?”

  “Thank god it isn’t in public, but all the time you spend in bed with Eden qualifies as social.” Another reason to make sure the guy got out of this alive, as if Mitch needed another reason. Landon deserved to be bed-ridden for about a month—by choice, not necessity. With an attractive, intelligent companion.

  “We get them out and make sure no one follows, yeah?”

  “Why are you boys so slow?” Eden yelled, glancing backwards at them.

  “Coming, babe,” Mitch called back.

  “She’s going to be pissed, Turner.” He wasn’t talking about Danielle.

  “I know. But I’d rather she be pissed than any of the alternatives.”

  “If we get out of this, I’ll try to keep her from killing you.”

  He slugged the cop on the shoulder. “If I didn’t already have a soul mate, I’d think you were it, asshole.”

  “Ditto.” Landon picked up the pace, easily catching up to the women. Without warning or breaking stride, he scooped Danielle into his arms.

  Whatever she’d brewed up for him was some seriously powerful shit. And while that was great for an escape, what would happen once the women were out and the goal wasn’t only to run? Mitch had to be very careful, just in case the strength of a Hyde came with some of his less-pleasant qualities.

  Eden hit the door first, slamming it open. There was nothing but black outside—no street lamps and no bad guys. She held the door as Landon put Danielle down and shoved her out. Mitch was there two seconds later.

  “What are we waiting for?” Eden asked, shaking with impatience.

  No goodbyes. No hints of what he was about to do. This isn’t gonna go over well. She trusted him, specifically told him not to do anything like this. But someone needed to make sure Danielle was safe—without her, there would be no more good dope for anyone. As soon as he and Landon made sure the guards couldn’t walk well enough to chase them, Mitch would have a chance to apologize and feel her wrath.

  And hopefully, he’d at least start the conversation with all of his blood inside his body.

  Chapter XXXVI

  “What are we waiting for?” How many times had Eden asked exactly the same question and gotten exactly zero answers? “This isn’t a bus stop, boys.”

  “I’ll meet you back at the warehouse,” Mitch said. “Take Danielle and go. She’s important.”

  If there was any other sound, she didn’t hear it. The only things she could hear were the pounding of her heart and the words he’d just said. Words that didn’t make any sense.

  And then they did. “No!” She grabbed his shirt, pulling him. “You promised!”

  “I choose you.” His shirt ripped when he shoved her backwards. Hard.

  She stumbled, caught herself, and ran for the door. “No!” It slammed shut a second too early. A second before she could get to it. She clawed at the edge, trying to get hold of something, anything. But there was nothing she could grab onto.

  “No-no-no-no-no!” She pounded on the door, crying out, her breath coming in gasps, her fist denting it. It still wasn’t enough. No matter what she did, it was never enough. She leaned her head against the metal, listening to the shouting fade away and watching her tears fall onto the pavement.

  He promised. No, he lied.

  When she heard breathing that didn’t match her own, she flipped around. The scientist, Danielle, stood there, shaking, gasping for air, her arms wrapped around herself.

  “Come on.” Eden grabbed the woman’s arm and dragged her around the building to check every goddamn door there was.

  Asshole. He’d promised. No heroics, no solo missions. All bullshit. When she heard a whimper, she realized her hand had turned into a vise around Danielle’s arm and released her. She kicked the front door, but the plywood behind the glass kept her from doing any real damage to it. The only way she’d get through it was with a car.

  “We need to get out of here,” Danielle said, her eyes darting around the darkness.

  “No.”

  “Fine. You stay. I’m going. Good luck.”

  As she turned to go, Eden grabbed her by the back of the neck. “How do I get back inside?”

  “I don’t know.” Danielle’s voice was confused, pained. “I didn’t even know this place existed. That any of this existed.”

  “Bullshit. You’re one of them. How do I get in there?”

  “Why would they have put me in a cage if I was one of them?”

  “Because that’s what they do.” She shook the woman by both arms, knowing how close to the edge she was. Any progress she’d made towards control was gone now. And Danielle was the closest punching bag.

  Shit! Eden shoved her away. Danielle stumbled, fell, and caught the concrete with the side of her face. Her cheek was scraped and bleeding, her hands too, probably.

  Damnitdamnitdamnit! “I didn’t mean to— Sorry. You’re right. Let’s go.” After taking one last look at the door, one last chance to find a way in, she dragged Danielle through the parking lot until she saw the car.

  Then she started laughing. When Mitch had so dramatically gotten rid of her, he hadn’t dramatically given her the keys. But, even though the car was as big a piece of shit as he was, she could hotwire it.

  More than anything she wanted to drive right through the front of the building. But Landon said Danielle was important, that Eden needed to keep her safe. For everyone, including Justin and all the others. And keeping her safe didn’t involve testing out the car’s airbags.

  Nor did it involve giving her a concrete facial. “Shit!”

  She should just leave him. That was what he wanted—to push her far enough away so that she couldn’t help. The little woman can babysit the scientist while the menfolk take care of the danger.

  Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

  Her phone rang, and she answered with a growl. It had better be Mitch apologizing for being such an asshole. “You bastard!” When he didn’t respond, her anger was immediately extinguished by fear. “Mitch? What’s going on? Open one of the doors! I can help.”

  Still nothing.

  She looked at the phone—maybe she hadn’t accepted the call. But she had. Except it wasn’t Mitch’s name on the caller ID.

  “Justin, I can’t talk right now.”

  Still nothing.

  “Justin, are you there?”

  “What’s wrong?” Danielle asked.

  Eden shushed her. She closed her eyes and listened for something, anything that would let her know he’d just butt-dialed her and that nothing was wrong. Despite the heaviness of the night air, a chill ran up her spine, as if her body had caught on to something her mind hadn’t processed yet.

  And then she heard breathing. Shallow. Labored. “Justin, answer me!”

  Still. Nothing.

  “Ryan?” she whispered. “Ryan, are you there? Can you hear me?” Her fingers tightened around the phone. “Ryan, put Justin on the goddamn phone right now!”

  Still. No. Answer.

  If Ryan did anything to him...it would be her fault. “Get in the car.”

  Danielle looked around. “No offense, but I think I’ll take the bus.”

  “Get. In. Now.”

  Danielle slid into the passenger side and closed the door, staying as far away from Eden as she could. Smart woman.

  Eden shoved the phone at her. “Listen for anything.” Then she tackled the car’s wiring.

  “Justin?” Danielle said softly. “
Are you there?” She was silent for a minute.

  As soon as the engine turned over, Eden looked at her, hating everything about her. Especially the small shake of her head and the tiny shrug of her shoulders.

  “Give it to me.” She held her hand out for the phone. Barely able to breathe, Eden pulled onto the street without looking back. This was what Mitch wanted—the only card he’d given her to play. Trying not to wonder if she was making another mistake by leaving, she focused on what was in front of her and not behind her, something that she could do instead of be hobbled by.

  Landon would make sure Mitch was okay. He’d been doing it for weeks, and Mitch would come back to her. Unless he was seizing. Shit! No, he wouldn’t. He had time left before she needed to worry about that. She had time. And Mitch had Landon and the syringe.

  But Justin was alone with Ryan. She steered with one hand and held her phone in the other. Because the line connecting Justin’s phone to hers was still live. Like him.

  He’s still alive. Because she knew how tight those knots were.

  She drove fast enough so that Danielle wouldn’t get the crazy idea of jumping out. She wouldn’t get far, but chasing her down was something else Eden didn’t want to deal with. She didn’t press her for information either. The interrogation could wait until they got back to the warehouse.

  Until then Eden could spend the time going through bad scenario after bad scenario.

  “I wanted to ask you…” Danielle sighed. “Do you know how much of the J-0026 your Abnormal side took? In the powder form.”

  Wow. Great, another memory she never wanted to revisit. “I don’t know,” she snapped. “As much as she could fit up our nose, I guess.”

  “She snorted it. Is that when you—?”

  “Why are you talking to me?” Eden shouted.

  “Is that when you stopped transforming?” she asked, reacting to Eden’s anger with control. Impressive control. The kind Eden didn’t seem to have any of.

  “I don’t—” She shut her mouth to think because keeping it open wasn’t doing her any favors.

  After Eden had woken up with a straw in her hand and powder on her face, Mitch took her home and spent the next few days loving her. And then… And then Chastity didn’t show, even though she was scheduled to. But she showed the next night, when Jolie almost killed Carter. And then—