by E A Price
“I could never have allowed you to be hurt. Not that you needed my help,” he added wryly.
Melissa sighed. “What are we going to do now? We can’t stay up here forever.”
Gracchus sighed even louder, wishing that they could. There could be something to be said for just hiding away with Melissa for the rest of his life. “I am not sure.”
“Perhaps you should tell me everything.”
“Everything?”
“Everything that happened to you since you woke up. How you know Chris, how you happened to know that Bell guy – everything.”
Gracchus breathed in and out. There was no doubt in his mind that Melissa could be trusted, so yes, he needed to tell her about his clan, and everything they were facing. He wanted Melissa to be a part of his future, one way or another.
“Yes,” he agreed, “but,” he looked around the rooftop, “not here. We should return to your home.”
Melissa nodded and clambered onto his chest. “Let’s go, giddy up!”
Gracchus’ chuckles echoed into the night.
*
Captain Bell surveyed the damaged window. “Anything?” he barked into his phone.”
“Nothing,” confirmed Lane. “No body, no blood – the gargoyle wasn’t hit.”
Bell grunted and hung up. He didn’t think the creature would have been, but he could always hope.
He nodded at his men who had done the shooting. They were starting to clean up the glass. “Leave that. Get the gargoyle ready to go.”
They nodded and moved over to the statue. Clean up, and repairs could happen later; they needed to relocate the creature stat.
The vile Marsters woman had called Bell to come and move her gargoyle – she hadn’t asked, she had ordered. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t react quite so obediently to her summons, but given his most recent arrest, he was still on thin ice with Blackthorne and the council. He had to play at being a good boy, at least for now.
It was just lucky that he had sent two men on ahead; otherwise, there wouldn’t have been anyone there, guarding the stone gargoyle. He supposed the alarm would still have been active, but that wouldn’t have stopped the live gargoyle from getting in and stealing the stone creature. He could have been long gone before they even made it to the lobby.
His men could only say it was a gargoyle; they couldn’t describe the beast. But Bell bet it was one of those mangy creatures from Devil’s Hang. Bastards. He would like nothing more than to storm in there and smash them all to pieces during the daytime, but then he really would see Blackthorne’s bad side. Plus, he wasn’t entirely sure the witch, Kylie, hadn’t set up some nasty security measures.
Well, whichever gargoyle it was didn’t matter. They needed to move this one and quickly before he came back looking for him. Bell was sure he would get the chance to face the gargoyles another day.
Twenty-Three
“Damnit!”
Melissa rubbed her forehead and glared around the office accusingly for a few moments before she realized what happened. She had fallen asleep in her chair, and banged her head on her desk, waking herself up again. All her late nights with Gracchus were really catching up to her.
She had to catch a nap before he woke that evening. She ought to have ended their time together earlier, but they had been talking for a long time, and well, she was absolutely amazed to learn about his clan and the human mates they had taken. Chris! Straitlaced Chris was mated to a female gargoyle! It was unbelievable! Not to mention his sweet little niece and apparently half the female population of Devil’s Hang!
To think of all the times she had received reports of giant flying bats up there! Well, twice – she received two reports, but still, she had no idea it had actually been gargoyles. Ooh, Chris had known all this time and not said a word – even when she went up there to investigate! Oh, he was going to get a punch on the arm the next time she saw him.
She wondered how soon she could meet them all. Oh, the questions she would have! Plus, she couldn’t wait to see a female gargoyle and a baby gargoyle. It was no wonder she had barely slept after Gracchus left in the early morning – she was far too excited.
However, her excitement was tinged with worry. She still had two dead bodies with apparent gargoyle connections, a stone gargoyle in that evil witch Marsters’ office and that kidnapping lunatic Bell was hanging around.
Melissa wasn’t exactly surprised when Colt burst through the door. Nor was he surprised to see her at work on a Sunday. Neither of them appeared to have any kind of life to speak of – well, that wasn’t true. Melissa kind of had a social life; it was just that the person she was socializing with could only socialize with her at night.
“Hey,” she muttered, still rubbing her head.
“You okay?” he asked, smiling slightly.
“Ummm hmmm. Just tired.”
He grunted and sat down at his desk. Melissa noticed that Colt was looking a little tired himself. Though, when she looked tired, she looked like she was smuggling suitcases under her eyes. When Colt looked tired, he just seemed more rugged.
Melissa had checked for reports regarding any kind of weird animal sightings outside of Morgain headquarters, or anything about the alarm going off, but there was nothing. To her, that confirmed her suspicion that Marsters already knew the truth about gargoyles. That just made her more wary about what Marsters and her company were up to.
She had, however, seen some reports about giant dogs running around Fey Park. A friend in the police department had sent her the details. They had taken statements from the witnesses and contacted Fish and Wildlife, but they weren’t really taking it seriously. Melissa, on the other hand, didn’t discount the sightings just yet, mainly as one of the witnesses had called them wolves and not dogs.
Given the sightings, she was glad that she had actually managed to persuade Gracchus to spend the day sleeping in her apartment. Her worry about Bell had managed to tip him over the edge. She had put him in her spare room – it was the one place her nosey mother wouldn’t venture.
Melissa shuffled the printout across her desk to Colt’s. “Check this out. Possible wolf sightings in Fey Park.”
Colt’s eyes darted to her before he picked up the printout and scanned it. His face seemed to harden as he read it. “It’s probably nothing,” he said slowly.
“Three people say they saw two creatures,” argued Melissa mildly.
Yes, that did go against their previous mauling sightings, but hey, maybe it was a werewolf and its mate!
“Two out of three just say it was two dogs. It was probably just dogs. People take their dogs for walks in the park, so I’ll bet some of them go missing.”
Melissa uneasily thought of the warring couple she met the previous night when meeting Gracchus for his wake up.
“Yeah, maybe,” she muttered, “but one of them said they were wolves.”
Colt almost glared at her for a moment before relaxing and chuckling. “Why are you so convinced that a werewolf committed our murders?”
Melissa held up her hands. “I’m not exactly convinced. But the lab reran the tests, and while they can’t identify the hairs they found, they do say that the closest match they could make was to a wolf.” She held up the new report, waving it triumphantly.
He shot out of his seat and grabbed the report from her, almost giving her a paper cut. His lips pursed as he read the statement over and over.
“So if it claws like a werewolf and walks like a werewolf…”
Colt rolled his eyes and sat down again. “In all my cases, I’ve never had any substantial proof that they exist.”
Melissa smiled sweetly and wagged her finger. “But you’ve never had any substantial proof that they don’t.”
His forehead furrowed. “So in the absence of solid proof they don’t exist, you believe they do.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “Pretty much. C’mon I thought you were a believer.”
Colt claimed he believed, and yet he seemed to wan
t to argue at every turn – at least when it came to werewolves. He didn’t seem quite so argumentative when they were looking at gargoyles.
He shrugged. “We don’t know that the samples the lab tested weren’t contaminated. But we do actually have these photos of gargoyles.”
He opened up the folder containing the printed photos they had taken with their phones of their first victim’s – Dr. Addams – secret office. The images weren’t overly helpful; given that they were of other pictures and were taken with phones, they were kind of blurry, but they were better than absolutely nothing.
Melissa withheld a sour glare. Yep, not argumentative at all when it came to gargoyles. She tamped down her irritation.
“Our second victim was killed in daylight though,” she reasoned, conveniently ignoring what Gracchus had told her about the potential gargoyles who could stay awake during the day.
“So?”
Melissa dove into her bottom drawer and pulled out her favorite book on supernatural creatures. It had been updated with new versions over the years – and she owned the later versions too – but this one was her favorite because it was this book that really got her hooked on the supernatural.
She flipped through the book until she found the short chapter on gargoyles. It was the most worn part of the book; the part she had read over and over repeatedly ever since her first sighting all those years ago.
“Read this?” Melissa held out the book to him, and reluctantly he took it.
Colt looked over the brief passages. “This is just supposition, Sanchez.”
“The author knows what they’re talking about,” sniffed Melissa.
She knew for a fact the author did because Gracchus had confirmed all the facts listed to her in person.
He gave her a ‘yeah sure’ look and flipped to the front of the book, looking at the biography of the author. Melissa already knew it. The author was only known through the name A. Smith – it was just a pen name, but it did state that they held a Ph.D. in cryptozoology and spoke about their various experiences. The book had a strong fan base, and there was a lot of speculation about the true identity of the author.
Colt’s eyebrows knit together and he placed the book on his desk and peered at it closely.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“This is the author’s signature here, right?” He tapped his finger on the page.
“Yep, mine was signed and everything,” she told him proudly.
The author, obviously, didn’t do public appearances, but for an extra ten bucks, you could get a hand signed copy of the book. She was glad her dad had sprung for the extra ten back when he bought it for her.
Colt pulled one of the photos out – the photos from Dr. Addams office – and started comparing it to the book.
“What are you doing?” asked Melissa.
She scooted around their desks and peered over his shoulder. She still couldn’t see whatever it was that he found so fascinating.
“What?”
“The signature,” he murmured, “the writing.”
“You’re going to have to give me another clue.”
“Doesn’t it look similar to you?”
Colt eased out of his chair and pushed Melissa into it so she could closely examine the book against the photo.
“I don’t know,” she said honestly after a minute or two, “the photo’s too blurry.”
“Well I think they’re the same,” said Colt, grabbing the book, turning it over.
“What are you looking for?”
Colt snorted. “Search for Monster Publishing – can’t be too many publishers with that name. I want their phone number.”
Melissa used his computer and found their website. “What are you going to do?”
Colt tapped the number into his phone. “I’m going to find out whether our victim and this A. Smith were the same person or not.”
*
After some cajoling, some flirting, and some downright flattery, Colt finally managed to get the publishers to admit that the author of the book, A. Smith, and Dr. Addams were one and the same. Since she was dead, the publishers didn’t suppose it mattered much anymore anyway.
It was progress… of a kind.
“What if,” started Melissa, letting her mind run riot, “what if, what if,” she muttered over and over until an idea formulated. “Okay, what if, Morgain pharmaceuticals is a front for this company that is doing experiments on supernatural creatures, and our two victims work for them – as a doctor and nurse. It would explain why Dr. Addams wouldn’t want to use her real name when publishing her book – Marsters might have freaked about her spilling their secrets.”
It would fit in with what Gracchus told her about the experiments that were happening on gargoyles, Twenty-Six being created and Ric being kidnapped. Maybe Morgain owned the facility the gargoyles attacked.
She looked at Colt who was staring at the book. She assumed he was going to raise some objections, to tell her she was leaping to conclusions and there was no way that could be the case. He didn’t say a word, so she continued.
“And maybe Marsters is having one of her… creatures, kill them.”
That did raise a weary smile from him. “Why is she killing them?”
“I don’t know.” Melissa started pacing up and down their small office, apologizing to Curtis as she knocked him over. “Perhaps… perhaps they knew too much. Or, ah, perhaps they… they saw something they shouldn’t have. Perhaps one of the creatures killed someone and they’re covering it up and the women were witnesses and… and…”
“You’re getting very fanciful.”
“Because I wasn’t before?” she quipped.
He laughed without much amusement. He almost seemed to be deflating. His handsome face was drawn and worried, and she wondered at the change in him.
“I don’t think Marsters knew about the deaths,” he said slowly. “I couldn’t… sense she was lying. I think we surprised her.”
“Okay, well,” she started pacing again, reconfiguring her theory, “then one of the creatures they have locked up escaped and they’re killing off the people who were studying them or doing tests on them or…”
“No offense, but that’s idiotic,” he grumbled and abruptly rose to his feet. “See you tomorrow,” he muttered slamming the office door behind him.
Melissa stared after him. “No, no offense taken,” she chuckled and looked at Curtis, “someone sure got their panties in a bunch.”
Twenty-Four
Waking up in Melissa’s apartment was much more pleasant than waking in the park. For one thing, no humans were yelling at one another about their lost dog and clearly crumbling relationship. For another, his leg did not ache from the various wildlife which had tried to bite it, and finally, he did not need to wipe bird droppings off his shoulder. Yes, for Gracchus, sleeping in Melissa’s apartment was altogether more appealing, not least because he woke to her gentle, lulling scent.
He had dreamed of her all day. The memory of her lips on his, and the way her small body felt pressed against him had made his sleep very happy. His worries over his feelings for her had not left, but he had other concerns to attend to first. However, that did not mean he could not enjoy himself in the meantime.
He listened for sounds in the apartment, and given that he could not scent anyone other than Melissa, he ventured out of the room. Gracchus was immediately met with the yowling, demanding presence of her cats. He petted each one in turn, knowing that the needy felines would not leave him until he did, and sought Melissa.
Gracchus scented her in the only room he had not entered until now – her bedroom. He tapped on the door, but on receiving no response, he pushed it open. He knew from clan mates that human females were quite precious about their bedrooms. By Merlin did he know it; he could not forget Danica’s response when Grey had dared barrel into her room without permission. To say she was flaming mad was an understatement for the young woman.
“Melissa?” h
e rumbled.
He folded his wings through the door and stepped into her room. In the darkness, he saw her form, lying on her bed, her chest rising and falling evenly. Her scent was so much stronger here, the soft smell mingled with her perfume, her deodorant, her face cream, all those delightful scents that made up Melissa.
She let out a soft moan, and he skirted several piles of clothing to get to the bed.
“Melissa,” he purred.
“Gracchus?”
She flipped on a bedside light, her just woken face was smiling sleepily at him. She was wearing nothing but a vest and panties, and he gulped as his eyes devoured her shapely brown legs. His claws itched, wondering what it would feel like to run his hands up and down the silken skin of her thighs.
He waited to see if she would object to his presence, but her expression was as warm and welcoming as it always was. She patted the edge of the bed.
“Melissa,” he murmured again. Carefully, he perched on the edge of the bed, making it dip and making her body roll a little towards his.
“Can’t believe I slept all afternoon,” she said lazily rubbing her eyes.
“I fear spending your evenings with me is proving too tiring for you.”
“I wouldn’t say too tiring. I mean, isn’t this why afternoon naps were invented?”
“So that you may stay up all night frolicking with gargoyles?” he teased, smiling at her.
Melissa giggled and lifted her leg, playfully pushing one of her feet against his bicep. “Frolicking?”
He clasped her ankle. “Frolicking,” he repeated, his cheeks heating slightly.
Her vest top rose slightly, revealing her stomach, and the small indent of her belly button.
“You have had a good day?” he asked.
“Getting better all the time,” she cooed.
Gracchus was surprised to find his hand was rubbing her calf. He had not even noticed himself starting to do that.
His tail flicked, and he rumbled uncertainly. “Melissa, I… I am not sure… the future…”
Melissa pushed herself up to a sitting position. She took his face in her hands. He was still clinging to her ankle like it was a life preserver.