Anthony cursed under his breath. “One of us will have to go. You know you can trust me, don’t you?”
He hesitated slightly. “Yes. I mean, of course, but…”
“What aren’t you saying, Kurt?”
“Can we step outside for a moment?”
Anthony glanced around. Nick, Sly, and Ruxandra could handle one little researcher, but what about the merman? He didn’t know him at all.
“I’ll help keep an eye on him too,” Jules said. Then he grinned at the man, showing two rows of jagged teeth.
“No. Don’t leave me with him,” the researcher said and squirmed.
Anthony was conflicted. He knew he could trust Nick, but he still wasn’t convinced Ruxandra had found an altruistic side. Nick wasn’t as fast as she was, but Sly was. He didn’t know Sly well, but Nick had vouched for him.
At some point, he’d have to trust that all the paras were on the side of their fellow paras. His plan to have them get to know, trust, and work together seemed to have worked well enough. The only loose cannon was Jules. He scrutinized the merman, who was eyeing the researcher like he’d make a good snack.
“Jules. You have to leave this guy alone. We need him to tell us what he knows. Can you do that?”
The merman crossed his arms and didn’t take his gaze off Dr. Odd. “Why should I? I know where they keep their keys.”
“But do you know their computer passwords? You’ve already told us you don’t know what the combination to the glass cell is.”
Jules sighed. “No. And I see your point. There’s a chance that he might. He does write up a short shift report on that one.” He pointed to a laptop on a desk in the corner.
“So, you won’t hurt him?”
“Fine. Better yet, I’d like to get back to my pod.”
“I thought you said you were kicked out of your pod,” the researcher said.
“Nah. I left. Personality clash with the leader. I thought I could make it on my own, but clearly there’s strength in numbers.”
“So there are more of you?” the researcher asked.
Jules gave a sharp, toothy grin again. “Still trying to get information out of me, eh? Well, you can suck it.”
Anthony glanced at the others in his vicinity. “Any objections to letting this man get back to his kind?”
The others either shrugged or said they had no objections.
“You’re free to go,” Anthony said. “But you’ll need clothing. Otherwise you’ll just trade one jail for another.”
“Yeah. I don’t have any. When they fished me out of the river, I was in fin-form.”
Anthony took the coat off his back and handed it to the man. “Here.” He walked him to the door. “You might want to avoid the river. Too many people could spot you there. And stay away from the Navy Yard in Charlestown.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take the subway to the aquarium. I can slip into the sea nearby. No fishing boats there.”
“Good luck, my new friend,” Anthony shook his hand. “And if you decide to visit land again, you can find me at Boston Uncommon.”
“The tea room?”
Anthony’s jaw dropped. “How did you know?”
“It’s all the day guys could talk about. They said they’d found a hotbed of paranormal activity there. If you don’t kill them, they’ll know where to find you too.”
Anthony’s lips thinned. “Yes. They found a couple of us there. I hope to avoid killing them as long as we can mesmerize them. Do you know why Dr. Odd can’t be mesmerized?”
“I have a theory, but I’m not sure if I’m right.”
“I’d be glad to hear it.”
“I’ve seen them giving him injections. I think he might be the one they’re trying to transfer the supes’ powers to.”
Anthony swore. “That makes sense. Has anyone else on the staff been injected?”
“No. He seems to be their guinea pig. Well, him and the actual guinea pigs.”
“Thanks for offering your opinion. That gives us something to go on.”
“Sure.” The men shook hands, and Jules sprinted down the stairs and off into the night. Before he disappeared, he called out, “Thanks for the coat.”
Anthony smiled and silently wished him luck. His smooth legs were bare from the calves down. He looked a little goofy, but as long as he was covered, he’d be okay.
Chapter 17
Kurt had given Anthony the list of ingredients needed from his apartment. While he was nearby, he figured he’d see Claudia, thank her for being so cool with everything, and give her a good-night kiss.
Instead of a kiss, he got a virtual slap upside the head in the form of a note tacked to her door. Apparently, she had gone to a friend of a friend’s house “to think.” He swore.
I knew she was accepting what happened with Ruxandra too easily.
Part of him was hurt. She didn’t trust him when he’d said he’d take care of the situation once and for all. Another part didn’t blame her. How could she have faith in his plan when he didn’t have one? He wouldn’t kill Ruxandra, but did Claudia know that? He had been quite angry when they talked about it…but she knew him better than that, didn’t she?
Anthony dropped his head in his hands. This was a disaster. He needed to make things right, but how could he if she was incommunicado?
Clutching at his last hope, he tried to reach out to her telepathically.
Claudia… Sweetheart… Can you hear me?
He waited. When no response followed, he tried again. Nothing. Was she not answering him because she couldn’t hear him, or because she didn’t want to? Or maybe she wasn’t able to? It wasn’t like Claudia to take off without making sure the tea room was covered.
The tea room! Was she hiding out down there? Even if she wasn’t, his Vampire Vintage was there, and he might need a flask with him if things at the lab took longer than planned. Charging down to the tea room, he found it locked. That was no big surprise. He used his key to get in and then entered the office.
She wasn’t there, either.
He raked his hands through his hair and paced back and forth in front of his desk for a few moments. He couldn’t think of anything that would help his cause except to give her the time she needed and have faith that she’d call him when she was ready.
And he had to get back to Ruxandra to make sure her nicey-nice behavior wasn’t just an act. Perhaps she’d hired someone to take Claudia away and never called off that person. One thing was for sure… Part of that truth spell would be used on Ruxandra.
He let out the deep breath he’d sucked in when he saw the note.
I’d better get to Kurt’s apartment and find those ingredients.
Twenty minutes later, Anthony had everything on Kurt’s list and had arrived back at the lab. Everyone seemed to have calmed down. Dr. Odd had stopped struggling, and Ruxandra had relaxed her grip on him. Nick and Sly were trying different combinations on the locking mechanism to the side of the large glassed-in cage.
“Did you find out anything more while I was gone?”
“No. We were waiting for you. What took you so long?” Kurt asked.
Anthony waved him over to the door. Step outside. I want to talk to you privately for a moment.
“In other words,” Ruxandra called out, “you don’t want me to overhear you.”
“Dr. Odd might overhear us too, honey,” Kurt said. “We don’t know which of our powers he may have now.”
Good point, Anthony thought. He was surprised he hadn’t thought of it himself. His mind was divided between freeing his friends and finding Claudia, so he wasn’t as sharp as he should be.