Chapter Six
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ARCHIE ALWAYS STOPPED for coffee in the morning.
It would’ve been less expensive to make it at his apartment before leaving for work, but he didn’t like homemade coffee.
He liked coffee shop coffee. Give him all the caramel, sugar, and syrup available, and he’d be happy.
Homemade coffee, on the other hand? Even with creamer, it just wasn’t the same.
So, he paid for an overpriced coffee at the coffee shop, and he didn’t even mind.
He knew the people who worked there by name now.
He was a regular, and they all had a smile for him.
They knew what he wanted without him asking, but they still checked every time just in case he’d decided to try something new.
Sometimes he did, especially when he came around with Jasper.
But he wasn’t with Jasper today, and he didn’t decide to try anything new. He got his caramel latte with enough sugar to keep him going for the next two hours, smiled at Jessica as he tipped her, and left.
Only to instantly regret leaving the place and wishing he could go back in.
He stared at his car. It was in the small parking lot next to the coffee shop, and people were giving the entire place a wide berth. That made sense considering that Kester was leaning against it, looking completely casual as if he hadn’t tried killing Archie’s boyfriend recently.
Was he here for his son? He’d been after Cullen before, and he’d left without getting what he’d wanted.
He’d said that in the end, Cullen didn’t matter, but maybe he did now.
Maybe Kester was going to ask Archie where Cullen was.
Archie wouldn’t be able to answer him because he would never do that to Cullen.
Was Archie about to die? Probably, if Kester decided to kill him, but he wouldn’t go down without a fight, and he wouldn’t give up Cullen.
He looked around. No one there would help.
He didn’t think they could, even if they tried.
He was tempted to call Jasper to tell him he loved him, but that would alarm him, and he might come, which would be a bad idea.
Kester might want to kill Jasper, but he was also intrigued by him, especially after finding out he wasn’t fully human.
He’d been the one to reveal that to Jasper, and maybe that was why he was here instead of his son.
Maybe he wanted to gloat or remind Jasper what he owed him.
Archie didn’t like that any more than he liked the other options.
He didn’t like anything when it came to Kester, if he was honest.
“What do you want?” he asked as he neared his car.
He wasn’t really afraid, even though he knew that Kester could kill him quite easily.
Kester wouldn’t do it without a reason. His reasons might not make sense to most people, but they did to him, and so far, Archie hadn’t done anything to him.
A lot of people thought that Kester killed because he was cruel and because he enjoyed it, and no doubt that was part of it, but Archie had always thought there was more to it, too.
Maybe he’d never find out, or maybe he was wrong. It didn’t matter.
Kester smiled, and Archie wished he hadn’t.
The monster had way too many teeth for anyone to be comfortable with.
Sometimes, in moments like these, Archie wondered how Cullen had come out as well as he had, considering who his father was.
It also made Archie wonder about Cullen’s mother, but he wasn’t sure even Cullen knew what happened to her.
It wasn’t something Archie would ask him, though.
If Cullen ever wanted to talk about his past and his mother, he knew he’d be welcome to.
Any of them would listen to him and comfort him if that was what he needed.
Especially Braith. That was definitely not something Archie was willing to think about right now.
“Hello to you, too, Archibald,” Kester drawled.
“Cut the shit. We both know you’re here because you want something, and I want to know what that something is.” It was business, something only Archie could give him because otherwise, he wouldn’t be here.
Kester didn’t look offended. If anything, he looked delighted. “I like you. It would be a pity if I were to have to kill you.”
“You don’t have to kill me. Just walk away and leave me alone.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t do that. I need your help.”
Archie blinked. That wasn’t what he’d expected. Was Kester asking for his help? It didn’t make sense. “You couldn’t ask anyone else?”
“I suppose I could ask your boyfriend.”
Archie had to resist the urge to growl. “Leave Jasper out of this. You’ve already done enough damage.”
“Was it damage or did I free him from expectations?”
“Just get to the point. I have better things to do than stand in this parking lot and listen to you.”
Kester raised his hands as he chuckled. “All right. I need access to the sanctuary ruins.”
Archie blinked. He never would’ve expected Kester to ask about the sanctuary. The monster obviously knew what the sanctuary was, but then, most monsters in the area did. Of course, Kester wasn’t from here, but he’d spent some time in town. He would’ve heard about the sanctuary.
Was that why he wanted to see the place? Was he maybe fascinated by the thought of humans and monsters living together?
Or repulsed, maybe.
“I’m not sure why you’re asking me,” Archie said. “It’s not like I can tell you not to go or stop you from going.”
“Can’t you?”
“I don’t even know if it’s protected at all.”
“Oh, it’s protected, or rather, it’s surveilled.”
“By who?” Archie knew. There was only one group of people who would keep an eye on a building that had been destroyed twenty years ago.
“By your family-in-law, of course. I wonder how that feels. Does your father-in-law want to kill you every time he sees you?”
Archie snorted. “Probably, but then, Leroy wants to kill pretty much anyone every time he sees them. Look, there’s nothing I can do for you about it.
I don’t have access to the sanctuary, and I don’t have any influence on hunters, let alone my father-in-law.
Besides, you know very well he’s not actually my father-in-law.
I think that you’re here because you wanted Jasper and I to know that you’re back in town.
You want us to be afraid. You want us to wait and grow anxious and wonder what you’re going to do next. ”
Kester’s smile grew. “Maybe. Wouldn’t you like to know for sure?”
“I very much would, but you’re not going to tell me, so fuck off.”
“I’ve killed people for less than that, Archibald.”
“You’ve killed people because they breathed wrong.” Archie was guessing there, but knowing Kester, he was pretty sure he was right. “Look, kill me or not, just make a decision. I have to go to work.”
“I thought you’d be more afraid.”
“I already know you can kill me very easily if you decide to. You haven’t decided to, though, and that makes me think that for now, I’m safe. That might change eventually, but I don’t think it’ll change today.”
Kester was silent for a moment before grinning again. “The day I decide to kill you, you won’t know I did.”
“Yeah, because you’re not suspicious at all, coming after me like this.”
“I was just asking for a favor.”
“A favor that has nothing to do with me since I don’t control the hunters or the area where the sanctuary was. Just go ahead and do whatever you need to do. I don’t know if the hunters will care, but I certainly won’t.”
Kester cocked his head. It made him look a bit like a dog—a dog with way too many teeth. “I think you might change your mind about that.”
Archie resisted the urge to ask why, but Kester wouldn’t tell him. “Can I leave now?”
“You can leave,” Kester confirmed. “But if you help me with this, I can give you information about Jasper. Maybe I could tell you that Leroy didn’t find him and take him by accident.”
Archie wanted to know what Kester was talking about, but he already knew he wouldn’t get answers.
That wasn’t the way Kester worked. No matter how tempting it was, there was only one answer Archie could give him.
“Leave Jasper alone. If there’s anything to find out about Jasper’s past, we’ll find it. We don’t need you to help.”
“That’s what you think.”
Archie might have just made a massive mistake, but he was sure that if he had, he wouldn’t find out for a while.
That would definitely give him time to call Jasper and tell him what had just happened.
* * * *
JASPER WASN’T USED to Archie calling him in the morning while they were both at work. Usually, when they wanted to communicate, they texted. They’d call each other at lunch, when one of them didn’t go to the other so they could eat together.
But Archie was calling now, and it made Jasper nervous. Something had to have happened, and there was a chance it wasn’t good. Part of Jasper didn’t want to know, but another part needed to know. If Archie needed him, Jasper would be there.
“Archie?” he answered after cleaning his hands on a rag.
“I just talked to Kester.”
It took Jasper a moment to wrap his mind around that. “Where?”
“In the parking lot of my favorite coffee place. He was waiting for me at my car.”
“What did he want?” Because Kester definitely wanted something. He wouldn’t have approached Archie if he hadn’t, and since Archie was alive to tell the tale, it looked like either Kester had gotten what he wanted or he still had a need for Archie.
Maybe he’d been after Cullen. They thought he’d given up looking for his son, but he might have changed his mind. This was Kester they were talking about. The man was a monster both intellectually and in the literal sense of the word.
“He’s interested in the sanctuary,” Archie said.
That wasn’t what Jasper had expected. “Why?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. He told me he wanted access to the building that was once the sanctuary. I told him that there was nothing I could do for him because I have nothing to do with the sanctuary. He mentioned my in-laws, so I think that maybe he believed I had an in with Leroy.”
Jasper snorted. “My father would try to kill you before he’d tell you anything about the sanctuary. Hell, I’m pretty sure he’d rather kill me than tell me anything about the sanctuary.”
“That’s what I told Kester. He tried to get me to change my mind by telling me about you. Apparently, he has information on how Leroy got you.”
That was information Jasper would give anything to know.
He still hadn’t talked to his father because the man even refused to pick up his phone, let alone see him face-to-face.
Jasper was pretty sure that if it was up to Leroy, he would never find out the truth about what happened at the sanctuary.
It sounded like Kester knew that, though.
Or he was making it up.
“You said no.”
Archie sighed heavily. “I did. I don’t know what he wants from the sanctuary, but there was nothing I could do for him there. I’m sure he’s going to go there, though.”
That got Jasper’s attention. “So he wants something physical from the building.”
“It sounded like it, but you know him. It’s not like he’d give me any details.”
“But he’s going to go there. Maybe we can be there, too, and watch him. Maybe that’ll give us information.”
Jasper had never returned to the sanctuary.
He knew where it was, but he also knew the state it was in.
There was nothing left there. The building had burned down that night, and while the area had been cleaned up a few weeks after that, nothing had been rebuilt.
It was just an empty lot now, and even if Jasper remembered things, the place wouldn’t hold any memories.
Everything and everyone that would’ve made up the memories were gone.
“You think Kester actually knows something about my past?” he asked.
Archie was cautious when he answered. “I think he definitely knows something and that he’s interested in the sanctuary, so he’s interested in you by proxy.”
“Maybe I should meet with him. Maybe he would answer if I asked questions.”
“Or maybe he’s just playing with you. You know how he is, Jasper. Begging him to get answers isn’t going to help. If anything, it would make things harder because he’ll know that he has you where he wants you. He’d have leverage over you, and he wouldn’t be afraid to use it.”
“Besides, it’s not like I know how to reach him.”
“Even if you did, I don’t think it’s something you should do. Remember what happened the last time the two of you were together.”
There was no way Jasper could ever forget. Kester was the one who’d told him he wasn’t human, and he’d been right, which was one of the reasons Jasper wanted to talk to him again. Kester seemed to have a lot of information that Jasper didn’t. Apparently, some of that information involved Leroy.
“Please tell me you’re not going to look for him,” Archie said, his tone making it obvious that he was anxious about it.
Jasper didn’t want to make Archie worry.
He knew that he would probably never find out what happened that night.
He could get information on the people who’d lived at the sanctuary and the work they’d done from Sarah and maybe the historian Archie had reached out to.
But he’d never find out about the night the sanctuary had been destroyed unless a hunter or Leroy agreed to talk to him, and that wasn’t going to happen.
Maybe Kester knew something, or maybe he didn’t. Archie wasn’t wrong when he said that Kester knew he had power over Jasper with this. Jasper wasn’t going to let him win. He’d rather never know what happened than have to pay whatever price Kester would demand of him.
“I won’t look for him,” Jasper promised. “But you know him. I might not have to go and look for him because if he wants to talk to me, he will.”
Archie groaned. “I know. I’ve been resisting the urge to lock you in your apartment since I talked to him.”
“Well, unless you’re willing to pay my rent and my bills, that’s not going to work.”
“I know.”
It was more than Jasper’s rent, though. Jasper wasn’t going to give up his friends and his social life because of Kester.
That would allow him to win, too. Was Jasper afraid of the monster?
Definitely. He’d seen what Kester did when he killed people, and for some reason, he was intrigued by Jasper.
There was no way that was a good thing, but until he did something, Jasper’s best bet was to stay away and continue living his life.
But both him and Archie knew that if Kester really wanted to talk to him, he’d find a way, and that terrified Jasper.