Jekyll & Hyde Inc.

“How many alphas are we talking about?” said Tina.

“Maybe twenty,” said Edward. “Nothing you can’t handle.”

“Where do we look for them?” said Daniel.

“Elstree Park,” said Edward. “The nearest thing to a wild place left in London.”

“What about witnesses?” said Daniel. “There are bound to be some, no matter how late it is. People go to a park for all kinds of reasons.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” said Edward. “People’s instincts will be enough to keep them out of the park tonight.”

“How are we supposed to kill the alpha males?” said Tina. “Load up with silver bullets and shoot anything that goes furry in the moonlight?”

“Pretty much,” said Edward. “Except . . . you can’t simply open fire the moment you see them. When threatened, the wolves attack as a pack. You might pick off a few, but the rest would be sure to bring you down. You need to stand back and let the alpha wolves fight each other to the death, and then move in to finish off the survivors. Without leaders, the pack will turn on each other. It’ll be a bloodbath, and by the time they’re done there won’t be enough of them left to pose a real threat. We can put on our hunting pink, and chase them through the streets at night.” Edward laughed softly. “Perhaps I’ll make a killing, supplying wolf skins to the fur trade.”

And then they all looked round as Miss Montague entered quietly through the open door. The nice little old lady in charge of the armory smiled sweetly as she moved forward to join them, carrying a heavy leather case. Edward laughed softly, his eyes sparkling with malice.

“Come in, my dear Esme! It’s not often you grace me with your presence.”

“There’s a reason for that,” said Miss Montague. “But now the war against the monsters is finally reaching its conclusion, I thought I’d bring your people the appropriate weapons in person. Because there are things they need to know.”

She gave Edward a look that Daniel didn’t understand at all. Edward stared calmly back at her.

“It’s been a long time,” said Miss Montague.

“You were the one who walked away,” said Edward.

“I’m still embarrassed at how long it took me to realize you were never going to care about me,” said Miss Montague.

He grinned at her. “Did you care, as long as we ended up in bed?”

The little old lady smiled briefly. “It’s always the bad boy who makes the good girl’s heart beat that little bit faster.”

“You saw yourself as a good girl?” said Edward. “After all the missions we worked together? And all the things you did for me?”

“I was good compared to you,” said Miss Montague. “And in the end, I walked away to save my soul.”

Edward shrugged. “But you still stuck around, making yourself useful. I like that in a woman.”

“You haven’t changed a bit,” said Miss Montague.

“You have,” said Edward. “You got old. It’s your own fault. I did offer you the Elixir.”

“I never wanted it,” said Miss Montague. “I saw what it did to people. They stopped being those people, and turned into Hydes.”

Edward turned abruptly to face Daniel and Tina, who didn’t even try to conceal how much they were enjoying the situation. Edward smiled sardonically.

“You’ll have to give me a moment. It seems Esme and I have some old history to deal with, before we can move on.”

“Of course,” Daniel said lightly. “Take all the time you need. I’m sure Tina and I can find something to keep us occupied, while you and Miss Montague admire the scenery down memory lane.”

He would have said more, but Edward’s gaze was getting colder by the moment, and Daniel decided this would be a good time to put some space between him and Edward. He set off for the far side of the lab, and after one last searching look at Edward and Miss Montague, Tina went after him. They pretended to take an interest in some particularly complex glass tubing, while keeping their hearing focused on Edward Hyde and Miss Montague. Distance was no object to Hyde senses. Daniel was pretty sure Edward knew that; he was just making a point about privacy.

Daniel frowned a little as he thought about that. Edward couldn’t be protecting Miss Montague’s feelings, because he didn’t care about things like that. And it couldn’t be guilt about their past relationship, because he wouldn’t give a damn about that either . . . unless there was some old scandal that Edward didn’t want to acknowledge. Daniel and Tina looked at each other, smiled briefly, and then strained their hearing to pick up every word Edward and Miss Montague said.

“You know I never loved you,” Edward said bluntly. “And I never promised you anything.”

“Of course I knew,” said Miss Montague. “You told me often enough. But I loved you. I’d never felt anything like the way you made me feel. A heat in my heart, so great it still warms me after all these years.”