Page 10 of In the Monster’s Wake (Monsters Amongst Us #1)

J asper was on his way back to Archie’s office.

He shouldn’t be as excited as he was at the thought of spending time with the monster, but he’d dug through the hunters’ archives, and he had some information.

It wasn’t enough to allow him to locate Kester, but maybe putting everything together with what Archie knew would help.

He could’ve emailed Archie. Hell, he could’ve called him and told him everything. He didn’t have to go all the way to the PI office, yet here he was, two coffees in hand, about to walk through the door.

He hoped Archie would be happy to see him.

He pushed the door open with his shoulder and walked in.

The waiting room was empty. The sad plant in the corner was the only sign of life—and Jasper wasn’t sure it was alive.

Jasper paused and listened, hoping like hell that someone was in the building.

He didn’t want to think about why the door would be open if that wasn’t the case.

A noise finally came from the direction of the office. Jasper smiled and started to move toward it, but the monster who appeared wasn’t Archie.

The monster was shorter than Archie, about Jasper’s height.

His skin was a dark blue with visible veins of an almost silver color running beneath it, creating a delicate web across his body.

His wings were tucked against his back, but they shifted and fluttered as if the monster was having a hard time keeping them in position.

The monster’s eyes were completely white with no visible pupils, which was creepy and gave him an unsettling presence.

His hair was long and silvery, the same color as the veins under his skin.

The monster smiled. “Is one of those for me?”

Jasper held the coffees closer to his chest. “Since I don’t know you, no, they’re not.”

The monster groaned. “Dammit. Why don’t I have a cute guy bring me coffee?” He turned toward the office he’d just come out of. “Archibald? There’s someone here for you.” He eyed Jasper. “I’m pretty sure it’s the hunter.”

There was the sound of something dropping, and someone yelped. Archie pushed the monster away as he stepped out of the office, a smile already on his lips. Jasper’s heart raced. No one should be so handsome, but especially not a monster Jasper shouldn’t have anything to do with.

Fat chance of that. He was involved in this mess up to his neck, and for the first time since his mother had suggested he look into this, he was happy he’d said yes.

He raised one of the coffees. “I didn’t know how you took it, so I hope it’s fine.”

Archie’s smile was easy. “I’m sure that whatever you chose is perfect.”

He took a sip, then pressed his lips together. Jasper tried not to laugh. It was obvious that it wasn’t perfect. “I drink black coffee, no sugar or cream. That’s what I got you. I thought it would be the easiest to fix if you didn’t like it.”

The second monster snorted. “He likes his coffee not to taste like coffee. The sweeter, the better, and you need to put as much creamer in it as you can.”

Archie glared at his friend—or was it his fellow PI? Jasper wasn’t sure, but he suspected he was going to find out. “It’s not my fault I don’t like the bitterness.”

“Then maybe you should stick to tea.”

“I will not drink dirty water.”

“What do you think coffee is?”

Jasper bit the inside of his cheek. These two had to be more than colleagues. They sounded like Jasper and Corey.

Archie turned toward Jasper. “This is Braith. We opened this agency together. He’s going to work with us on the Kester thing, although most of the time, it’ll probably be only us. We have other cases, and Braith agreed to take care of those while we focus on Kester.”

Jasper nodded. “Kester’s dangerous.” It was a relief to know that Jasper wouldn’t have to take care of him on his own.

“He is, and we were paid to take care of him.”

Braith cleared his throat and stared at Archie. Archie cocked his head as he watched him back, then shrugged.

Yep, definitely more than just two people working together. These two had an entire conversation without saying a word.

“I don’t care if you’ve been paid to kill him,” Jasper said, deciding to put Braith out of his misery.

“After what I read in his records, I don’t think there’s anyone who deserves to be killed more than he does.

” Jasper had seen too many things during the years he’d been a hunter not to be convinced that some monsters and humans shouldn’t be allowed to live.

Killing them saved many lives that would’ve been lost otherwise.

“Why don’t we go into the office?” Archie said as he gestured toward it.

Jasper followed him and Braith. It was a tight fit considering how small the office was, but he sat in the same chair as he had the other night.

“So, the records,” Archie started.

“I told you I could check them, and I did. Having a name made it easier. There was a picture, so I’m sure that the monster I fought at the park was Kester.

” He wished he’d never read those files because he would never be able to forget them.

Kester was a true monster. He’d hurt countless people, not caring if they were monsters or humans.

He killed for sport and entertainment, which made him one of the most dangerous beings Jasper had ever dealt with.

Archie’s expression was serious now. “I’m not surprised. He’s been terrorizing our community since he arrived in the city.”

“The bogeyman.”

“Yes. If he’s evil enough to scare monsters, he needs to be stopped, and that goes beyond the fact that Braith and I were hired to do that.”

Jasper agreed. He hadn’t wanted to be involved in this, and he still didn’t, but now that he knew more about Kester and what he’d been up to, he understood that the monster couldn’t be allowed to live.

He might not be a hunter anymore, but that wouldn’t stop him from stepping in one last time.

Kester was probably the most ruthless and cruel monster Jasper ever had to deal with, and he’d been a hunter for almost fifteen years.

He would have dropped all of this into his father’s lap if he’d been working on it alone, but he wasn’t.

Archie would do it with him, which meant that Jasper wouldn’t have to rely on the hunters and that he’d get to spend more time with Archie.

It probably wasn’t a good idea to allow himself to be so distracted, but for now, they only knew who Kester was.

They still had no idea where to find him or how to stop him, or even if he truly was behind all the recent attacks and murders.

They’d have to find out soon because Kester wouldn’t stop killing. He seemed to enjoy it too much.

* * * *

A RCHIBALD HADN’T NEEDED Jasper to go into details to know that Kester was a monster.

He’d looked into the murders he and Braith suspected Kester was responsible for, and he’d read enough details in the articles and reports.

Kester was one of the worst. He didn’t kill because he was in danger or felt threatened.

He didn’t even kill because he wanted something.

He killed because he felt like it and because, for him, it was easy.

He didn’t have a conscience and probably didn’t feel anything for the people he hurt.

Killing him wasn’t going to be easy.

“Where do we go from here?” he asked after Jasper explained what he’d found in the hunters’ archives. “We know he’s in the city, but how do we find him?

“You talk to people,” Braith said. “I don’t know if they’ll want to talk to you if you go around with a former hunter, but it’s the only way we’ll find him.”

“We could also use the fact that he seemed interested in me,” Jasper offered.

Archibald was shaking his head before Jasper could even finish that sentence. “We’re not using you as bait.”

“If it’s something we all decide we’re okay with, I don’t see why we shouldn’t.”

“We’ll never decide it’s something we’re okay with because I’m not okay with it.”

Jasper narrowed his eyes. “Why not?”

“It’s dangerous. If he’s already taken an interest in you, it makes him even more dangerous.”

“Which is why I’m offering to bait him. We can catch him that way.”

“Or you could become his latest victim. I’m not putting you in danger that way.”

“You’re not the one who decides whether or not I should put myself in danger. I’m offering. I’ve done this before, and I know what I’m doing.”

“This is better than a movie,” Braith muttered.

Both Archibald and Jasper turned to look at him. He didn’t seem to care. He gestured at them to continue talking, but Archibald couldn’t do it with his best friend watching him.

“Come on,” Braith complained. “It was just starting to get interesting. The sexual tension between the two of you is explosive. I wouldn’t want to be around when it finally comes to a conclusion.”

Archibald was going to strangle his best friend, and no one would blame him because anyone would want to do the same in his place. “Can we focus on the reason we’re here?”

“As far as I’m concerned, I’m here to watch the two of you.”

“Stop being an asshole.”

“I’m not. I’m trying to help you get in his pants.”

Archibald snorted. As if whatever Braith had been doing would work. “Why would he let you convince him to sleep with me? Besides, I don’t need you to do that. I don’t need help sleeping with people.”

Jasper made a strangled sound. It reminded Archibald that Jasper wasn’t used to the banter between him and Braith. He was going to have to learn to deal with it quickly if he was going to work with them, but it could be pretty weird initially.

“Don’t worry about Braith,” Archibald quickly said.

“I’m not worried about him. I know he’s joking.”

“He’s not.”

Jasper’s cheeks turned red. “I’m sorry?”

“Well, he’s probably joking about helping me get into your pants, but I do want to get there eventually.”

Jasper spluttered. “You can’t say that.”

“Why not?”

“Because you can’t. It’s not nice to lie to people.”

“Why would I lie about that? I thought the kiss at the club would’ve made it obvious.”

“You kissed me to get me to stop fighting you.”

“I could’ve done that in many different ways that didn’t involve kissing you. I kissed you because I thought you were hot. I still think you’re hot.”

For a moment, Jasper looked like his head might explode. He eventually cleared his throat and squared his shoulders, and when he opened his mouth, Archibald was dismayed to realize he’d decided to move on and ignore the fact that Archibald wanted him.

“We’re not a hundred percent sure that Kester is the monster who followed me in the club, though,” he said.

They were here to work, so Archibald followed Jasper’s lead and tried to focus on that.

“I don’t think it matters. If that monster wasn’t Kester, he probably wasn’t dangerous.

Hell, maybe that monster just needed to use the bathroom or something like that.

The reason I followed him was because I was worried he was about to kill a human in the bathroom. ”

Jasper nodded. “I agree. So, we have a name and a description. What do we do next?”

“We need to find him, which means we need to talk to people.” The more information they could find on Kester, the better. They needed to know all of his weaknesses before they got to him. It was the only way they’d win this fight.