Page 8 of In the Monster’s Wake (Monsters Amongst Us #1)

J asper stared at the card on the kitchen table in front of him. Archibald’s name looked like it was mocking him.

Why had Archibald helped him? Had he just been playing the good Samaritan, or was there something more to the situation? He’d told Jasper that he’d been looking for someone—maybe it was the monster Jasper was looking for.

It might be a coincidence, but Archibald might know something about the monster Jasper had fought at the park.

Jasper wasn’t sure where to look for the monster.

He wasn’t completely sure that the monster who’d apparently followed him was the same one he’d fought.

He needed information. Who better than a PI to give it to him?

Jasper had looked into Archibald. He hadn’t been surprised to find out that the hunters had a thick file on him and the monster he worked with, Braith.

Unfortunately for the hunters and fortunately for Jasper, Archibald seemed to be on the right side.

There’d been notes in his file that he was suspected of killing several monsters, but that wasn’t something the hunters would hunt him down for.

As far as they were concerned, he was helping them.

Jasper tapped his fingertips on top of the card.

He’d seen his fair share of death and pain when he’d worked as a hunter.

He wasn’t innocent. He’d killed monsters, just like Archibald.

He didn’t believe that all monsters were evil, but some definitely were, and they were a danger to everyone, humans and monsters.

Someone needed to keep people safe, and that was what the hunters were supposed to do.

More often than not, it turned into monster bashing and not caring about whether or not the monsters were responsible for what they’d been accused of.

Jasper found it surprising that the hunters hadn’t gone after Archibald yet. He was a good fighter, and clearly, he was strong enough to kill dangerous monsters. He could become a danger to the hunters, even though they weren’t that different.

“You know, you staring at that card the way you are makes me wonder if there’s something you haven’t told me about the other night,” Corey said as he walked into the kitchen.

Jasper’s first instinct was to grab the card and slide it into his pocket, but it was too late. Corey had seen it. “I don’t know what to think of this guy.”

Corey opened the fridge and stuck his head inside. “I’m pretty sure you do know what you think of him from the way you described him.” He closed the fridge after grabbing a can of soda. “Come on. Tell me everything. I’m your best friend, aren’t I?”

He slid into the chair in front of Jasper and reached for the card. Jasper snatched it from the table and put it in his pocket. His cheeks heated, and he carefully avoided looking at Corey, but he could feel his best friend watching him.

Corey cracked the can open and stayed silent. It made Jasper even more nervous, even though he knew what Corey was doing. He was waiting for him to crack.

Jasper sighed. “Fine. When we were fighting, he kissed me.”

Corey gaped. “What do you mean, he kissed you?”

“Exactly what I said. He tried talking to me, but I thought he was a monster following me, so I didn’t stop to listen. He pinned me against the wall and kissed me.”

“That’s incredible .”

Corey sounded way too excited. Jasper had known this was how he’d react, which was why he hadn’t told him yet. He’d hoped he’d get out of doing so entirely, but of course Corey could see right through him.

Corey leaned forward. “How was it? He’s strong, isn’t he? I’m pretty sure I remember seeing him at the club from the way you described him, and he was hot.”

“It was fine,” Jasper mumbled, even though it had been anything but.

It had been one of the best kisses in Jasper’s life. It had been so good that he wanted a repeat of it, even though he hadn’t exchanged more than a few words with Archibald.

Corey chuckled. “That’s what you’re calling it? Fine?”

“Look, the kiss isn’t important. I’ve been thinking about the monster we're looking for, and I believe that talking to Archibald might help. He’s a PI, and he’s a monster, which means other monsters probably talk to him.

He could know something about the monster from the park, maybe even where to find him.

At the very least, he could give me more details about what he saw at the club. ”

Corey’s smile had vanished. “I don’t like the thought of you going anywhere on your own. If the monster who followed you at the club was the monster we’re looking for, he’s dangerous.”

“I’m not letting you take more time off work to babysit me.” Jasper was lucky that he worked for an ex-hunter who knew what he was doing. He’d given Jasper as much time off as he needed because he wanted people in the city to be safe.

Corey’s boss didn’t know anything about this, though, and Jasper doubted that even if he did, he’d let Corey come and go as he pleased. Corey could get in trouble if he took too many days off, and Jasper didn’t want that.

“Maybe working with Archibald is a good idea if you decide you can trust him,” Corey said. He wrinkled his nose. “Although maybe we could call him Archie. It sounds better.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him that,” Jasper drawled. “I’m not saying I want to work with him. I just think he might have information that could help.”

“Look, if you don’t want me to take more time off, you’re going to have to start working with someone.

I’m not letting you go out there on your own when I can’t protect you.

Maybe we could hire Archie to keep an eye on you.

You could investigate together, and you’ll fall in love as you do so, and maybe he’ll save your life, and you can kiss him to thank him. ”

Jasper groaned. “This isn’t a romance novel.”

“But it could be. Look, I’m not letting you go out there on your own. If you want to continue investigating, you’ll have to find someone to work with you. If you don’t, it’s going to be me. I don’t care if I lose my job. I would care if I lost you, though.”

Jasper had been thinking about talking to Archie about the monster and finding out if he had more information than he did, like maybe where the monster was hiding.

He wouldn’t make any promises when it came to working with Archie, but talking to him was better than waiting for the monster to make his next move.

“I’ll go to his office and see what happens. ”

The smile was back on Corey’s face. “Can you imagine if the two of you started dating?”

“I don’t want to imagine it.”

“Whatever you say.”

Jasper wasn’t thinking about dating Archie. He was thinking about kissing him, but it was an entirely different thing, and it would never happen again because that wasn’t what Jasper was supposed to be focused on.

What a pity.

* * * *

A RCHIBALD WAS ALONE in the office when someone knocked on the door. He didn’t look up, wanting to write down the last few notes before he forgot first. “Come in,” he called out instead.

He heard the door open and close, and someone come into the office. He finished what he was doing, put on his best nice smile, and looked up.

Only to find Jasper standing on the other side of his desk.

He broke into a real smile. “Jasper.”

Jasper narrowed his eyes. “You remember me.”

“I’m sure I’m older than you, but not so old that I’d already have forgotten you. It’s only been a few days, and I promise you that the kiss we shared was unforgettable.”

Jasper’s cheeks turned pink. Archibald was delighted. He was pretty sure that Jasper had enjoyed the kiss as much as he had, so maybe he wanted a repeat. Hopefully, that was why he was here.

“Is that so?” Jasper asked as he flopped into one of the two chairs in front of Archibald’s desk. “It was just a kiss.”

“You know that’s not true. You wouldn’t be here if it’d just been a kiss.”

“I’m not here because of the kiss.”

Archibald wished that weren’t true, but he hadn’t thought that was the case anyway. Of course Jasper wasn’t here just because they’d kissed. “Why are you here, then?”

Jasper licked his lips. Archibald had to resist the urge to reach over the desk, grab Jasper’s t-shirt, and pull him forward to kiss him again. He’d show him unforgettable.

“I wanted to talk about what happened the other night.”

Archibald sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I’m listening.”

“You told me that someone was following me. Can you tell me more about who it was?”

“Not really. I can tell you more about who I thought it was, though.”

Jasper arched a brow. “I’m listening.”

Archibald loved the teasing. He wanted more of it, but Jasper was here for a reason, and Archibald was curious.

Anyone else would’ve freaked out and not looked deeper into it, but Jasper was here for more information.

It took Archibald a moment to decide what to tell Jasper. Jasper didn’t work with him, but it wasn’t like Archibald had signed anything that said he couldn’t tell other people what had happened to Varken’s daughter. “We recently got a new client,” he started.

“Well, you own a PI agency. I sure hope you have clients.”

“He wanted us to look into the monster who killed his daughter.”

Jasper’s expression turned more serious. “What happened to her?”

“Horrible things. Varken’s convinced that she’d been killed by the same monster who’s been killing people in our community, and I think he’s right.

He hired me and my associate, Braith, to look into it.

We have informants all over the city, and of course, monsters talk to us more than they ever do the police.

We found out about a new monster in town who’d been terrorizing the people who know him.

One of my informants gave me a description of Kester, and I thought I saw him at the club following you. ”

“Can you describe Kester to me?”