Jekyll, an Urban Fantasy Read Free

“Let me go!” Sure, like that’ll convince him . “You said you weren’t going to hurt me!”
    “We’re not,” she said calmly, running her hands down her shirt. “If you get hurt, it will be your own fault. Stop fighting.”
    “Never. I will never stop fighting.” Never . As tears crested her eyelids, she knew she was weak. She wanted to be stronger. Needed to be stronger. “Never.” But it didn’t matter what her mind wanted—her body just wasn’t up to the challenge.
    “You are the ones responsible for this, aren’t you?” At least her voice wasn’t defeated. “This is The Clinic, isn’t it? Isn’t it?” The Clinic that Hyde had growled, that Carter’s confession had outed. The Clinic that had been drugging her for years, drugging Mitch for a decade and a half. That Jolie had worked for, that Carter had…betrayed her for.
    “This is The Clinic.” The woman shook her head. “But we aren’t responsible for your condition. Please, calm down. If you stop struggling, they will let you go and we can talk about it.”
    When the devil tells you to stop struggling, do you? “No.”
    “If you can’t calm yourself, or calm your Jekyll—”
    “My what?”
    The woman quickly glanced at the guard before refocusing on Eden. “We have a lot to discuss. But only if you are calm. If you can’t do that, then we’ll have to strap you down so you can’t hurt yourself or anyone else.” She took a step forward. “Don’t make us have to tie you up.”
    The men’s hands dug deep into Eden’s skin. She’d have bruises. Matching, angry bruises to prove just how weak she was. There was no way out. Not yet.
    She took a deep breath and willed her muscles to relax. Her body slumped, as if it had heard her command and let go of everything at once. Complete shut-down. Or death. She hung in their arms, her legs crumpled underneath her, holding none of her body weight.
    The guards grunted as they shifted their grips—holding her up instead of holding her still.
    “That’s…better,” the woman said, her head tilted. “I think.” She came closer and lowered her head. “Are you alright?”
    When she brought her hand towards Eden’s face, Eden jerked away. “I’m just fine. Thanks for asking.” Her legs felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each, but she pulled them underneath herself and stood slowly, glaring.
    “Good.” The woman smiled politely.
    Eden wanted to smack her. She squinted, trying to remember where she’d seen the woman’s face before. Not knowing if she was someone she’d met or Chastity had known. “I know you,” she said. “How do I know you?”
    “I was the psychologist you spoke with at the police station.”
    Vaguely, she remembered their conversation—the woman she’d thought was a police-shrink trying to lead her into a story about what had happened with Carter. A story that wasn’t true.
    Lies. Damn it, there were always lies.
    “Do you remember meeting me, Eden?” She looked at her quizzically. “After that unfortunate situation with Carter Poole?”
    “Unfortunate situation? You mean when Jolie tried to kill him?” Her words shot out like weapons, the only weapon she had at the moment. “Before she tried to kill me ? That unfortunate situation?”
    “That’s the one,” she said nodding as if it hadn’t been the worst day of Eden’s life. As if her picnic-of-a-life had been ruined by ants instead of a psychotic bitch. As if her life had been a picnic to begin with. “My name is Alexandra Bertram, and I’m the facility’s clinical behaviorist-slash-administrator. You can call me Alex.”
    “Gee, thanks. You can call me ‘Kiss My Ass’.” She blinked. It was as if Mitch had replaced her tongue with his. And it had happened like it was a habit. Which it wasn’t.
    “I think I’ll stick to Eden.” She stretched her neck and sighed. “Are you ready to talk now?”
    Eden turned her head to the goons holding her still. “Are your dogs ready to