“Smart little bastards, aren’t they?”
“Go with them!” Eden yelled. “I’m safe in here! Just get out, get help, get…something!”
“She’s still in the cage?” Mitch asked.
“Yep.” He glanced away and then nodded quickly, his face distorted from the effort.
“Shoot him. A lot.”
“I don’t have my gun anymore. It got knocked out of my hand. I don’t even know where it is.”
“That ain’t good,” Mitch grumbled. “I need you to kick me. Preferably not in the balls.”
“What?”
“Cause me pain, or I turn into a statue—your choice.” He grunted as Landon’s foot met his shin. “Thanks, but that was weak.”
“I can’t let go, asshole!”
Mitch took a deep breath, focusing on anything other than the fucking tug-a-war happening inside of him. They couldn’t allow the key to turn. Couldn’t allow the beast to get out. But Mitch’s fingers were slipping on blood, losing traction on the hideous hand he held.
“Please, don’t do this,” he whispered to the monster. “If there’s anything human left inside of you, don’t do this.”
He looked for a glimpse of humanity. Some sign that his words were registering with the mind trapped inside the monster’s skull. Nothing.
How the hell was he going to stop the bastard from hurting Eden? Or Landon? “This isn’t working, cop. He’s too strong.”
“So what do we do? We can’t outrun him.”
When Mitch heard the lock click, everything fell into place. He knew what he had to do. The only way to free them…was to free Hyde. He knew.
“Alright, cop. Here’s what you’re going to do. Go get one of the Tasers and turn it all the way up.” He’d wanted to scream it, sound at least a little confident, but his voice had lost its strength. “Then get in the cage with her. Keep her there until it’s done.”
“What if—?”
“It doesn’t matter.” He knew what the cop was talking about. At the end of the war, only one Hyde would be standing. And no one could guarantee which. “Got it? It doesn’t matter.”
If you know death is coming, and coming soon, does the how make any difference? Either way, it’ll be quick—die in a fight with another monster or by an electrical current passing through a body that would no longer be his. Either way, he wouldn’t feel a thing. And he wouldn’t be any less dead.
She screamed like she was dying. “No,” repeated over and over again with his name thrown in sometimes.
“Listen, cop. If the bastards don’t kill each other, you’ll do it, right? You’ll do it. You’ll keep her safe from him.”
Landon held his gaze, nodding slowly.
“Then let go.”
Landon didn’t move.
“I’m not going to kiss you goodbye, asshole. Just let-the-fuck-go.”
“Ready?” he asked, waiting for Mitch to prep for the extra effort he would need once Landon stopped helping. “And…go!” He jumped backwards and ran behind Mitch. Hopefully to grab one of the Tasers.
He felt a surge of strength from the monster. And Mitch knew he wasn’t going to win this one. He readjusted his grip, to get a better hold. But even in tattered shape, Hyde01 was stronger than Mitch was. “Hurry the fuck up, Landon! I can’t do this much longer!”
“I’m moving as fast as I can, asshole!” he shouted back.
Mitch wanted to look, wanted to check and make sure the cop was doing what he’d asked. But to turn away—from his enemy, from what he really was—would kill them all.
With this realization came sadness. Sadness of knowing that the creature in front of him would be the last thing he saw. That he would never see Eden’s face again—its beauty, its strength, its love. Damn it, he wanted her image to be the one he died with.
Then he heard the scraping of metal and Landon scream, “I’m in! It’s locked!”
She cried out again, her voice broken up by sobs. “No, Mitch! Please, no!”
“Let him do what he has to,” Landon said.
“Mitch,” she called out to him, her voice muffled. Mitch wondered if the cop was holding her, cradling her into his chest like he used to.
As his hand slipped a bit more, he heard the lock click, felt the door shift as it opened. His feet slid backwards on the tile floor.
“I love you, Eden. Always,” were the last words he spoke. Which was fitting. She’d given him life, it was only proper he tell her that before he died.
With a deep breath, he relaxed. Stopped fighting what he was. And as Hyde broke free—for good this time—Mitch felt…
Peace.
CHAPTER XXXII
Eden clutched Landon’s arm, the one holding the Taser. “Don’t do it, Landon. Don’t you dare do it.” Her voice sounded weak, broken up by a quivering lower lip.
They stood huddled together, watching the battle play-out in front of them. She wanted to look away, close her eyes, unsee the brutality in front of her. Her mind tried to tell her is wasn’t real. Couldn’t be real. The fight so gruesome, so raw, it could only be pretend. Because if the warriors were real, it would be unconscionable. Her entire body shook with grief, knowing there was no way to help. No way to stop what was happening.
She finally understood why Mitch was always so afraid, why he’d fought so hard to keep that side of himself away from her. From the world. And now…
There was nothing she could do. But wait. Wait for one of them to kill the other, or both of them to die. Hyde would win, she knew it. He was stronger, less beaten-down physically than the older creature. His only fault was his youth, that he’d only been free of his human confines for a few minutes. But he would win. Because he had to win.
And then what? Mitch will come back. Even as she thought it, she knew the chances were dismal. Alex always lied, but Fields didn’t. What if the man Mitch was had already disappeared? She only noticed her tears when the overhead sprinklers stopped pouring water down on them. Then the alarm went silent, and the only sounds left were grunts from the combatants outside the cage and the normally-peaceful sound of water as it did what it was meant to do—fall.
When Hyde was knocked to his knees, Eden’s legs buckled under her. They were connected by something neither of them had ever known or understood. Each strike landed on her as well. Branding images on her mind, her soul. A second later, she was lifted up by hope as Hyde took control of the fight again.
“Yes!” she called out. Then her teeth slammed together, and she hated herself. Because of what Hyde’s success meant for the other creature—suffering, destruction, unimaginable pain.
This wasn’t Mitch. Not anymore.
She’d lost him. With so much left unsaid.
“Eden, it has to be now.” Landon squeezed her closer to his side, holding her upright and away from the hyper-conductive floor.
“No, it doesn’t. Not yet.” She grabbed hold of his shirt, twisting it in her hands. “He’s winning. Please, Landon. Please, don’t.”
He looked down at her with shining eyes. “You think I want to do this? I don’t. I—” His jaw clamped down and he wiped his face. “Someone turned off the sprinklers. So anyone could come through that door. A firefighter or a cop. I can’t—” Sadness stopped him, made his breath hiccup. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let that happen.”
“No!” She yanked the Taser out of his hand and turned away from him. “Just give him more time.” Mitch hadn’t been beaten—he’d given into Hyde to save them. To give them a chance. So didn’t that mean they should give him one as well? A chance to come back to her?
“Waiting won’t make it any easier.” He blew out a breath. “He knew what he was doing. He knew what would happen.”
“Well, it wasn’t his choice!” she screamed, tears flowing down her cheeks. Her eyes a dam that had just cracked under the pressure. “It should’ve been my choice, Landon. He’s mine.”
“He’s gone, Eden.” He shook his head. “He’s already gone.”
>
She pulled away from him, knowing he was right but not wanting to face it.
With a snarl, Hyde took down his opponent. Savagely. Tearing him apart in a way that no one should ever witness. But Eden kept her eyes open, even as Landon looked away in disgust. She shivered, nauseous and horrified. But she didn’t look away.
Even animals walk away from a battle they’ve won. They don’t glory in the blood of their conquest. They don’t keep ravaging a dead enemy, laughing in celebration.
Mitch was truly gone. And Hyde had won.
There was no man left. No man could’ve ever done that to another living creature—no matter how evil.
Her pulse slowed, her heart silent. But she still lived.
I love you, Mitch. “Always,” she whispered. Then, with no more choices to make, nothing left to do or think about, she aimed the Taser toward Hyde. Turned the dial. And shot.
EPILOGUE
She’d never give up on him. Never believe he wouldn’t come back. Someday he would yell at her for lowering the Taser setting, for not frying the body he shared with Hyde. He’d yell at her, and she’d laugh. Because it would mean that he was really back.
“Eden, wait!” Landon said.
Ignoring him, she stepping down into the pool of water and blood on the floor, and then unlocked the cage. In one fluid motion, she pushed open the door and slid down to Mitch.
No. To Hyde.
His eyes were closed, but there was no peace on his face. It was contorted, still filled with rage and violence. So like Mitch’s and, yet, so different from it.
She reached out to nudge him, knowing that if her touch awoke the beast, it would mean her death. But she couldn’t help herself.
His body was stiff, muscles frozen in the spasm the Taser had caused. But he no longer twitched. She felt his neck for a pulse. Faint beats tapped her fingers. Four and then a pause. A Hyde’s rhythm, not a man’s. Not Mitch’s. But it was something. She blew out a breath, hearing the splatter of water behind her as Landon cautiously approached.
“Is he…?”
“No,” she replied, not really caring if Landon was asking if he was alive or dead. Because her answer would still be ‘no’. His body still lived, but Mitch didn’t. Not unless she could bring him back. Back from wherever he’d let himself go. Wherever he was trapped inside of Hyde’s body. Her eyes darted to Hyde01. Pieces of flesh missing, his body broken and then torn apart by a more-worthy opponent.
She wanted to think Hyde’s strength had come from Mitch, because he’d been fighting for her and for Landon. To save their lives. But she’d never be sure. It could simply have been because Mitch’s Hyde was stronger, more evil.
The dark side of the man she loved. Maybe all that was left of him.
What now? Her heart begged her to wallow here, wrap her grief tightly around herself. Block out the rest of the world and any future she might live. But her instinct was stronger. She rose to her feet, the weight of her fatigue throwing her off balance. Then she stumbled towards the line of glass cabinets against the far wall. Somewhere inside one of them was her only shot at bringing Mitch back.
The Clinic would provide help. Now, they couldn’t stop her. She picked up a small lamp from the desk and slammed it into the glass doors, ignoring the shards that tore open her skin. She grabbed every vial she saw, every canister, every bottle, and put them on the desk. One of them was the serum. All she had to do was figure out which one it was.
“Help me, Landon,” she said without stopping. “Find something to carry them in.” Out of her peripheral vision, she saw him shove a wastebasket towards her. “Grab everything you can.”
“Eden, we don’t know what they are.” His voice was sad. The pity it held felt like lashes against her back.
“We’ll figure it out later.” Words toppled over each other in their haste. “We need to find a chemist. And files.” She spared a quick glance to him, her hands still moving, still grabbing, still coping.
He was staring at Hyde, his mouth moving but no sound coming out. His face was white, his movements slow.
“Landon, move! We don’t know when they’ll be back.”
He flinched at the volume of her voice and then, with a nod, went to the file cabinet behind the desk. “Make sure you have some narcotic handy. Lots of narcotic.”
She understood why. If Hyde woke up, they’d have far graver things to worry about than the guards returning. She sped up, glancing at the vials, looking for a name she recognized. Most of them were labeled with a random letter and some numbers. Not very helpful for someone who can’t decipher code. I may need to learn a new skill.
In the next cabinet, she found it. Morphine. There were enough bottles to sedate everyone in the County. She grabbed all of them, shoving them into the trash can. She turned around to the sound of Landon breaking into the file drawer. Then saw him flipping through the folders.
“Just take them all,” she said. “We can go through them later.”
“There are too many. I’ll—” He stopped, lifting a thick green folder from the drawer.
“Is it his?”
Landon shook his head. “It’s Carter’s.”
She couldn’t care less why they had a file on Carter. “Find Mitch’s if there is one. And Hyde01’s. And any other…Abnormal.”
“Yeah,” he said, his hands moving again, stacking file after file into his arms.
She turned her attention to a small fridge at the end of the line of cabinets. It took a few smacks to break the lock and only a few seconds to empty the thing out. One of the bottles slipped out of her hand and smashed on the floor, sending out a puff of white powder. The largest piece of glass stared back at her from her feet, held together by its label.
J-0026
She rummaged through the others. All with the same code: J-0026. The number they’d labeled her with was twenty-six. ‘J’ could stand for Jekyll. But it could also stand for Jolie, Juvenile, Jackass, and a billion other things.
Landon’s voice broke her out of the thought. “We need to get out of here before they come back. Let’s take what we have and go get help for...” He looked down at Hyde.
“I’m not leaving him.”
“Come on, Eden. He’s gotta weigh at least 350 pounds. Solid muscle. Dead weight. We aren’t going to be able to just carry him out.”
She grabbed a vial of Morphine and a bag of syringes, ripping it open and filling it. “Do you know how to hotwire a car?”
“What?”
“Hotwire a car. Do you know how?” If he said no, she’d have to go. Without questioning how, she knew she could do it. But she didn’t want to leave yet. There was still more to do.
“In principal, yes,” he said. “But I’ve never tried it.”
“Well, now’s the time to start. It’s a lot more difficult with something high-tech, so look for a van or a delivery truck. Something old-school.”
While she spoke, he’d stopped moving and started staring.
“Hurry up,” she told him. “Once you get a vehicle, we’ll put him in the back.” It was going to be hell to drag him into it, but she knew it was possible. If for no other reason than it was the only option.
“How do you know all that?” he asked.
She didn’t know and, right now, she didn’t have the time to figure it out. “I’m sure there are a lot of things I don’t know about you either, Landon.”
“His house won’t be safe—they know where he lives.”
“We don’t have a choice. The brothel’s cage isn’t strong enough.” Not anymore. They could find another cage, a safer place to take him to, but that would take time. Hopefully less time than it would take for The Clinic to deal with this. The cover-up. Cleaning out the entire facility. “Once they finish covering their tracks, one of two things will happen. They’ll either run for it or they’ll come after us. But by then, we’ll be ready.”
He eyed her skeptically. “How the hell are we even going to get him upstairs? Have you tho
ught about that?”
She looked at him, knowing her face showed no emotion. Knowing it also showed no weakness. “Are you giving up on him, Landon?”
He glanced to where Hyde lay on the ground, and then wiped a hand across his mouth harshly. “No. I…I don’t know.”
“Are you giving up on me?”
“No.” He sighed. “I promised him.”
“Then help me do what I have to.”
His nod was slow, unsure. But it was there. “We’ll need a pulley system, a hell of a long rope, and a shitload of luck.”
“The first two we can buy. And the last one isn’t necessary.”
“Really?” he asked doubtfully.
“Really.” She nodded. “What we need is a miracle.”
The End
Author’s Notes
Thank you for reading Jekyll, an Urban Fantasy. Yes, there is a book three. And yes, it’s already in the works. And no, I’m not giving out spoilers. J Please visit my website to join my mailing list, friend me on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter for updates.
If you enjoyed Jekyll (or any of my other work), I would greatly appreciate if you left a review wherever you purchased your copy, as well as on Goodreads. Every review helps put the book in front of more potential readers.
Thank you
When I released Hyde, the first book of this series, I crossed my fingers and did a lot of positive self-talking. But I never expected it would lead to meeting such fantastic people—both readers and writers. It’s been amazing, and I’m incredibly grateful for those who’ve reached out to me. Particularly the obscenely hysterical and magnificent ladies on Goodreads. You have made my writing journey beyond anything that I could make up. J Thank you so much! Oh, and Dawn—I owe you a few drinks.
And, of course, I have to mention my critique partners, Caroline Hanson and Christina McKnight, without whom I would be sobbing in a fetal position right now. Seriously, they’re more like therapists than critique partners most of the time.
Other Work
Writing the Summer Rains series is my way of finding balance with the dark, tumultuous stuff like the Hyde series. Summer is the kind of girl you want as a BFF. Her stories are light and fun mysteries with a wee bit of romance. If you like novels along the lines of Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Bond, or Meg Cabot, then my Summer Rains series might be just your cup of organic herbal tea.
Jekyll, an Urban Fantasy Page 31