Jekyll & Hyde Inc.

The door opened to a combination keypad, and the uniformed security man nodded respectfully to Tina from his little office. She ignored him, so Daniel did, too. They took the elevator all the way up to the top floor, shooting glances at each other and exchanging smiles. Neither of them said anything; they didn’t have to. The penthouse corridor was coolly elegant, with thick carpeting and expensive-looking prints on the walls, and the quiet charm that shrieks of serious money. Tina’s apartment turned out to be comfortable, but entirely lacking in character. No photos or personal touches, and only the most anonymous fixtures and fittings. Nothing to indicate that Tina had ever tried to stamp her personality on her surroundings.

“What did you expect?” she said. “Rows of fluffy toys, and lace doilies everywhere?”

“No,” said Daniel. “I didn’t expect that.”

“This is just where I am, when I don’t have to be somewhere else.”

“I know the feeling,” said Daniel.

“Thought you would,” said Tina.

She grabbed hold of him and slammed him back against the wall. He hit it hard enough to knock all the breath out of an ordinary man, but Daniel just grinned, grabbed two handfuls of her big red hair and hauled her face in close for a kiss. She turned her head at the last moment, and sank her teeth into his neck. He gasped, and then bit her bare shoulder, growling loudly as he worried at her flesh. The blood in his mouth was sharp and exciting. Their heads came up, and they kissed each other fiercely. Blood ran down their chins.

They rioted back and forth across the living room, wrestling and rolling on the floor. Not for control, but just for the fun of it. They crashed through the furniture, leaving it in pieces behind them. When they’d had enough of that, they knocked the bedroom door clean off its hinges in their eagerness to get into the room, and then they stopped abruptly, facing each other. They were both breathing hard, but it had nothing to do with their exertions. Without having to say anything, they both took the time to strip off their clothes, so as not to damage them.

When they were done they slammed together again, two naked bodies pressing hard against each other, as though they couldn’t stand the thought of anything separating them. They kissed until they were panting for breath, and when they finally hit the bed Daniel enjoyed the most animalistic, frightening, and intense sex he’d ever experienced. Because Hydes don’t hold anything back.

They finally ended up lying together in the wreckage of the bed, nursing their wounds and grinning at each other.

They huddled in close, sweat slowly drying on their bodies, as their breathing returned to normal. The sun was starting to show its face, and a faded gray light sneaked in past the drawn curtains, outlining various dim shapes in the bedroom. Most of which appeared to be broken, or at least walking wounded. Daniel lay stretched out on his back, one arm around Tina’s shoulders, while she rested a hand over his heart. He felt wonderfully comfortable, as though this was where he was supposed to be. He started to say something, and Tina slapped him lightly on the chest.

“I’m not much of a one for pillow talk. So unless it’s something important, like where the bathroom is . . . ”

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” said Daniel. “If we’re going to stay this close, and I want that more than anything, there can’t be any secrets between us. You know what happened to me; but I need to know what happened to you.”

Tina slowly raised her arms, holding them up before her and turning them back and forth.

“You can’t see the scars,” she said slowly. “But I can. They’ll always be there for me, even though they disappeared after I drank the Elixir.”

She lowered her arms again, staring out across her wrecked apartment, so she wouldn’t have to look at Daniel. When she finally began to speak again, her voice was entirely calm, almost casual. As though she was talking about somebody else. Daniel lay very still, so as not to distract her.

“I had to dig the razor blade in deep,” said Tina. “To make sure I was doing a good job. I knew it wouldn’t be enough to just slice across the wrists; I had to hack open all the veins, right up to the elbow. Otherwise some well-meaning idiot might find me and save me. It hurt like hell, and I cried a bit, but I was determined to get it done. Don’t judge me, Daniel. You don’t know what my life was like, back then. I would have done anything to get away from it.”

Daniel took his time answering, to make sure his voice was calm. He didn’t want to do anything that might discourage her from finally opening up to him.

“How did you survive something like that?”