Page 21 of In the Monster’s Wake (Monsters Amongst Us #1)

A rchibald usually enjoyed going to the clubs. He liked dancing and being part of a crowd. He liked being able to lose himself in the music and not think about work for a few hours.

He wouldn’t be able to do that tonight. He wasn’t here to lose himself. He was here to find Kester.

The floor vibrated under his feet as he danced.

He was trying to appear as normal as he could while keeping an eye on Jasper, who was dancing with his friends a few feet away.

They’d wanted to be part of this as soon as they found out what Jasper was planning, which had been a relief.

Archibald was confident in his ability to keep Jasper safe, but Jasper and Kester weren’t the only ones to think about tonight.

The club was full of humans and monsters, and if Kester decided to get to Jasper here, it could turn into a massacre.

Kester wasn’t stupid. Even if he saw Jasper and decided to do something about him, he’d have to know that Jasper wouldn’t just be here on his own dancing and putting himself in danger. Kester might be a monster, but he wasn’t an idiot. He’d be cautious.

But they’d planned for that. They’d planned for pretty much anything that could happen.

Archibald would have refused to let Jasper do this otherwise.

Still, Archibald and Jasper both knew that things happened sometimes.

They couldn’t know for sure what Kester would do or how he would react.

They couldn’t even know for sure whether or not he’d even be there.

Jasper had been coming to the club every night for the past three days.

So far, there were no signs of Kester. Archibald knew better than to hope that the monster had left town.

Whatever he wanted was here, and he probably wouldn’t leave until he got it.

Whether that was Cullen or Jasper, Archibald didn’t know, and he didn’t care. He just wanted Kester dead.

He wasn’t sure it would happen tonight. They’d been here for three hours, and so far, there were no signs of Kester. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t come. Jasper wouldn’t leave until he and his friends got kicked out of the club, which meant that Archibald was in for a long evening.

Eventually, he stopped dancing. He slipped back to where Braith was sitting, nursing the same drink he’d had since they walked in. Archibald slumped into the booth, his gaze still on Jasper. “He has more energy than me,” Archibald muttered.

“Honestly, I don’t know why he chose you. You’re basically an old man,” Braith teased.

“You’re two years older than me, so what does that make you?” Archibald took a sip of his bottle of water, but his attention didn’t stray from Jasper for long. He wouldn’t look away from his boyfriend for as long as he took them to get Kester.

“I’m vintage.”

“Keep telling yourself that. Maybe someone will believe it eventually.”

Braith scratched at something on the table. Archibald knew from that gesture that Braith wanted to say something but wasn’t sure he should, so he waited. He and Braith had been friends for years. When Braith was ready, he’d talk.

Archibald suspected it had something to do with Jasper, and he was right. Eventually, Braith tilted his chin toward the humans dancing. “I was surprised when I realized there was something between the two of you.”

“Not as surprised as I was.” Archibald hadn’t expected Jasper.

He’d only been trying to help a human, but instead, Jasper had confronted him, slammed him against the wall, and hadn’t backed down when Archibald had kissed him.

He didn’t care that Archibald wasn’t human.

He’d never shown any kind of fear or disgust when they were together, something Archibald had never seen in any other human.

Even when they weren’t afraid, they were still wary, at least initially.

Jasper hadn’t been. He’d treated Archibald as he would anyone else since the first second.

Well, maybe that was untrue because Archibald didn’t think Jasper would beat the shit out of people before even talking to them, but still. They shared something unexpected, and he wanted to see where that something went.

The only way to do that was to ensure that Kester wouldn’t hurt Jasper.

“You fit, though,” Braith commanded. “I think he’s good for you. He could do better, but I guess he’s decided to settle, which is a good thing for you.”

Archibald kicked Braith under the table. “You’re not wrong,” he admitted. He knew that Jasper could have anyone else he wanted, but for some reason, he wanted Archibald, and Archibald would cling to that.

“He’s going to the bathroom,” Braith said, interrupting their conversation.

Archibald started to get up from his seat to follow, but Braith caught his arm. He wasn’t watching Jasper. His attention was on something a little further away. Archibald’s stomach dropped when he saw what had Braith so interested.

Kester was here.

Part of Archibald was relieved. It was why they were doing this. They needed Kester to be present if they wanted to kill him. Having him here meant that Jasper was in danger, though, which wasn’t something Archibald appreciated.

“This ends tonight,” he said.

Braith nodded and got up. Instead of following Jasper, they kept their attention on Kester. It wasn’t a surprise to see that Kester was following Jasper.

They’d talked about this. They couldn’t do this in the club, not even in the bathroom. They couldn’t risk getting anyone else involved, especially when there were so many humans in the club.

They had a plan. Jasper would slip into the hallway, but instead of stopping at the bathroom, he’d continue and sneak out of the back door. It was something people did often when they wanted to smoke or to have some privacy. What better place to do that than the back alley?

Jasper didn’t even get to the hallway. They should have known that Kester would be prepared, but even though they knew he was smart, Archibald was surprised when Kester grabbed a woman.

She screamed, but it still took the people around her several moments to realize that something was happening.

Most only did when Kester slit her throat and her blood spattered on them.

Archibald swore. People started screaming and running, creating chaos that no one could afford. Archibald was sure Kester was going to take advantage of it—it was the reason he’d created it.

Archibald couldn’t allow him to.

* * * *

J ASPER SHOULD’VE EXPECTED something like that from Kester, but he hadn’t thought that the monster wanted to get people’s attention.

He’d been wrong.

Kester dropped the woman he’d just killed.

Her body slumped on the floor, but no one tried to check whether or not she was still breathing—although it might be because she was obviously dead.

People were screaming and running, bumping into each other as they tried to get as far away from Kester as possible.

A woman fell and screamed loudly when Kerry helped her to her feet.

Jasper understood. He wanted to run, too, even though using himself as bait had been his idea. Part of him knew that Kester was a predator and that he was in danger, and that part didn’t want to be anywhere near the monster.

But Jasper wasn’t going anywhere. They needed to put a stop to Kester’s rampage, and they would do so today. Jasper wasn’t sure how exactly yet, but they’d find a way. They couldn’t afford not to.

“Jasper?” Archie called out as he reached Jasper’s side.

He touched Jasper’s arm, but Jasper couldn’t look away from Kester. For some reason, the monster was watching him and smiling . He wasn’t trying to run. He wasn’t grabbing anyone else. He was just staring.

“I’m fine,” Jasper promised.

“He didn’t hurt you?”

Jasper shook his head. He wasn’t the one who’d been hurt.

It wasn’t the first time he saw a monster kill a human—far from it.

It definitely wasn’t the first time he had to deal with death.

That didn’t make it any easier. Kester had killed that woman as if she was nothing—as if she didn’t matter.

To him, she didn’t, but she probably had a family who would be destroyed by what had happened tonight.

It was Jasper’s failure. He should’ve stopped Kester sooner. He’d done what he could to make that happen, but Kester was too powerful, ruthless, and smart.

That was why Jasper had wanted to be bait. It was why Jasper was here tonight. He may not be a hunter anymore, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t protect the people who needed him.

“We have to help these people,” Jasper said, never looking away from Kester.

“Your friends are already doing it,” Braith told him. He stood with Jasper and Archie. All three of them were staring down Kester.

Jasper was glad to hear that Corey and Kerry were helping people out and that they’d be far away from Kester.

He was worried enough about Braith and Archie.

He didn’t need to worry about his very human best friends, too.

He had no doubt that they’d try to come back in once they were done evacuating everyone, but he hoped that by then, this would be over.

“You’re interesting,” Kester eventually said.

It was hard to hear him over the sounds of people running for their lives and the music still going, but Jasper was paying attention. “I’m really not.”

“The fact that you don’t realize how interesting you are makes you even more interesting. You don’t know, do you?”

Jasper could tell he wasn’t going to like whatever Kester was about to say. Still, he needed to know. “What don’t I know?”

“That you’re part monster.”

Jasper blinked. He wondered how Kester would react if he laughed in his face. He’d probably kill him anyway, but maybe laughing would give Jasper some kind of satisfaction. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“That’s what I said. You don’t know.”