As the train slowed, huge boats loomed ahead behind the buildings, taller than the train tracks. Not like the sleek, car-sized boat he’d rode in across the Hudson River back to Harry’s house, but the goliaths able to float a whole town’s worth of people across the ocean.
Rory swallowed.
They got off the train a couple of blocks before the water and walked to a four-story building. It looked like it had been nice at some point, but now the windows had been broken and then boarded, giving the block an abandoned feel. Hyde grabbed Rory by the biceps and marched him into the building. The lowest floor was a vast open space with concrete floors and bare walls, just as cold inside as it had been outside. There were several doors on the far end and Hyde pulled him that way, opening one door to reveal a small windowless room that might’ve once been an office.
Hyde shoved him in first. Rory stumbled, half crashing into the wall. He swallowed a grunt, hunching against the wall as Hyde came in, his bulky muscles filling the office and his head nearly brushing the ceiling.
“Back off, Hyde,” Sebastian snapped, from the doorway. “He’s already in cuffs, we can just gag him.”
“He’s not going to shout.” Hyde held up a hand and flexed his fingers. “Not while I’m here.”
Rory narrowed his eyes but didn’t speak.
“Go secure the place,” said Hyde.
Sebastian folded his arms.
“I’m not going to hurt the precious subordinate paranormal,” Hyde said mockingly. “I know he’s valuable. Maybe you should make sure there’s no one else in the building for me to hurt. If Shelley finds them first, they’ll be having nightmares for weeks.”
Sebastian’s jaw tightened, and he turned and vanished through the doorframe.
Hyde came closer to Rory, rubbed his own fingers together through the glove. “I saw you flinch when I mentioned Arthur Kenzie.”
Rory flinched again, before he could stop himself.
“You’re so soft,” Hyde said derisively. “You think we don’t know you’re connected to the lieutenant? You called him at City Hall. How did you think we found you? Shelley has an excellent memory for the names of her fellow subordinates.”
“Leave Arthur alone.” Rory was surprised to hear his own voice, darkly furious. But the thought of this asshole anywhere near Arthur—
Hyde laughed, a cruel bark-like sound that echoed off the concrete. “You have no idea what kind of history Lieutenant Kenzie and I have.”
Hyde reached for the glove on his left hand, slowly pulling each fingertip to loosen it. “Once upon a time, Lieutenant Kenzie thought he was a hero, charging in to save his paranormal friend from capture by a squadron I’d sent. We lost Ellis Taylor that day, but Kenzie was a fine consolation prize. He had vital information that Baron Zeppler wanted, and I was sent to retrieve it.”
Hyde slowly pulled off his glove and held up his hand with its claws. “So Kenzie and I had a chat.”
Rory’s stomach turned over with horror. The scars on Arthur’s chest—
He was coming off the wall before he’d realized it, fueled by a rage that burned hot as fire.
Hyde slammed him back into the wall, hard enough to jolt the air from Rory’s lungs. “He told me nothing.” Hyde’s hand gripped Rory’s throat. “With more time, I could have broken Kenzie. But his paranormal friends came blazing in to rescue him and we lost him. And I had to tell the baron.”
Claws pricked the skin of his neck as Rory struggled for breath. “The baron was unhappy with my failure.” Hyde’s hot, foul breath ghosted Rory’s face. “As punishment, he took my blood to see if it would unlock his relic dagger.”
He bared his teeth, showing pointed fangs. “I took the name Hyde because I could shift at will. After the relic, my magic was no longer mine to control. The baron took my fully human form away and the blame is on Kenzie.”
Rory clenched his teeth. “Blame’s on you,” he choked out, glaring up at Hyde. “You shoulda left him alone.”
Hyde’s nostrils flared. A claw dug in deeper, and Rory felt the wetness of his own blood on his neck.
“Hyde, stop!” Shelley stepped in through the doorframe, lips pursed. “We are taking him back to the baron and we need him alive.”
Hyde closed his eyes for a moment. “I am so very tired of you telling me what to do.”
He let go of Rory’s neck and Rory slumped forward, breathing hard. Hyde took a step toward Shelley. “You go on and on about the baron like a lapdog when he betrayed us all.”
“What?” Shelley narrowed her eyes. “He sent us here for glory.”
Hyde laughed, too loud, too mean, the sound unhinged. “You naïve fool.”
