Anton Strout - Deader Still

I didn’t say a word. Little did she know that my hands held a talent greater than picking locks.

When I didn’t respond, Mina looked more and more pissed. “Wouldn’t it just be the worst luck if Krueger or Myers got wind of where you’re living now? Think of what they’d do to you if they got their psychotic little paws on you. You’d probably live, but I’m sure it would take you quite some time to heal, and you’d probably walk with a permanent limp.”

She stopped by the sofa and picked up a picture of Jane and me from the D.E.A. ice cream social a few months back.

“And I shudder to think what they’d do to this cute little number of yours,” she said. “Or perhaps I’ll just hurt the girl. Jane Clayton-Forrester, right? Lives on West Twentieth Street?”

I felt an intense wave of panic. “What synapse in your brain isn’t firing, Mina?” I said, tightening my grip on my bat. I couldn’t allow any of those sociopaths back into my life, and certainly not near Jane.

Was I really willing to strike down someone who wasn’t an actual monster or undead? Creatures were one thing, but raising my weapon against another person . . .

I wasn’t sure what I would do if Mina pressed the issue, but I also doubted I could talk her out of this heist, given the desperation in her voice. She was unpredictable on a good day, and I wanted her to get the hell out of my life as fast as possible.

“Don’t threaten me or Jane with those goons,” I said. “If I help you—and it’s a mighty big if , Mina—you’ve got to swear I’ll never see you or them again. I don’t know what the hell you’ve gotten yourself into, and maybe it’s better I don’t know, but I mean it. I help you this once and we’re through. And you certainly can’t tell Jane.”

Before Mina had a chance to answer, the door creaked open behind me.

“Can’t tell Jane what?” Jane chimed in.

I didn’t dare turn around. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was only a few minutes before midnight. If I was lucky, the shittiest day of my life was almost over. If I wasn’t, maybe my life would be. Either way, I was just looking forward to an end to it all.

I just couldn’t turn around to face Jane yet. Instead, I simply stared at Mina, who peered over my shoulder to check out my girlfriend. She slid her knife into her jacket. I didn’t think Jane could see it from her angle. At least, I hoped she couldn’t. Explaining why I had a choke hold on my bat in front of this strange woman in my apartment was going to be tough enough.

Before I could think what to do, Mina’s face melted from psychotic to a big, cheery smile. Chalk one up for the mood swings of a sociopath, I thought. She brushed past me and offered her hand to Jane. I turned around. Jane had a metric ton of books in a shoulder bag. She lowered it to the floor to take Mina’s hand in hers.

“You must be Jane,” Mina said, sounding like the mom on Leave It to Beaver as she faked being charming. “I’m Mina. Simon’s told me so much about you.”

Jane shook her hand and smiled back, but there was still a little of that darkness from back in the bookstore in her eyes.

“He has?” she said, and looked to me.

“Yup,” I said, not skipping a beat.

Jane looked at the bat resting on my shoulder.

“Is everything alright here?”

“I was just showing her my bat,” I said lamely, realizing how innuendo laden that must have sounded.

Jane’s eyes narrowed. “Is that some sort of euphemism?”

“Boys and their toys,” Mina said with a pleasant laugh. Hadn’t she been threatening my life just five minutes ago?

Jane rolled her eyes and stepped toward me, but not before looking Mina up and down. There was no denying the fact that Mina was physically hot; most of her ugliness was hidden in that messed-up little brain of hers.

“I didn’t realize you were going to have company tonight,” Jane said. I knew that tone. “Company” came out like it was a dirty word.

“I didn’t either,” I said. I lowered my bat, but didn’t let go of it just yet. I wasn’t sure what Mina was up to, and I didn’t want to get caught unaware if she suddenly changed tack in the middle of all this.

“Simon and I are old friends,” Mina said, circling behind the couch. “We used to work together.”

“Oh, really?” said Jane, relaxing a little. She gave me a mischievous grin and sat down on the couch. “He doesn’t really talk all that much about his past with me. I’d be curious to hear all about it.”

There was an undeniable hot side to Jane when the little bits of her old darkness came out, the same ones that no doubt had made her a valued asset when temping for the cultists, but the idea of Jane chumming it up with this truly evil psycho from my past was a bit overwhelming.

“Um . . . how about not?” I said, trying not to sound too defensive, and failing completely.

Mina put on an apologetic face and circled behind Jane on the couch.

“When I came into town, I had plans with friends, but they bailed on me,” Mina said. She gave me a pointed look. “You know how unreliable friends can be.”

She started pantomiming strangling Jane and slitting her throat so only I could see. “I know it was very last minute, but I had nowhere else to turn, and Simon was gentleman enough to give me his sofa to crash on for a couple of nights.”

I could see Jane’s face fall, but I wasn’t about to contradict Mina. I needed to get Jane out of here safely.

I turned to Jane.

“Hope you don’t mind,” I said, giving her a weak smile. I didn’t know what else to say. I’m sorry one of the psychos from my past is extorting me into helping her and I’m just trying to keep her from killing you didn’t seem to fit. Plus, I hadn’t told Jane much at all about my criminal past, and now didn’t seem like the time to start.

“You can stay,” Mina said with a sweet smile. “I don’t want to be an intrusion. Don’t mind me.”

Jane stood up, gathered up her bag of books, and moved toward the door before turning to face us. She looped the bag over her shoulder, cradling the books protectively close to her chest.

“No, thanks,” she said, her face showing signs of agitation. “I’ve got a lot of reading to do, and it sounds like you two have some catching up in store.”

It didn’t surprise me that she wasn’t taking it so well. I put the shoe on the other foot. If I had shown up at her apartment to find a hunky old coworker of hers, I didn’t think I’d be taking it so well either. Still, a relationship like ours was new to me and I found myself at a real loss as to what to do.

“Nice meeting you,” Mina said with a sweet smile, waving.

Jane nodded. “Same to you.” She walked over to me and gave me deep, territorial-marking kind of kiss. When she pulled away, her eyes were cold. “Talk to you tomorrow?”

“Sure,” I said, nodding.

Jane headed out the door, closing it behind her as she went. None of this sat right with me. The monkey wrench that was Mina just added to my problems with Jane. I had to do something.

“Give me a second,” I said to Mina. “I’ll be right back.”

I headed for the door.

Mina cleared her throat and I looked at her. She put a finger to her lips.

Shhh.

She lowered her finger away from her mouth and waggled it at me slowly.

Don’t tell Jane anything, it said.

As I ran out into the hall, I watched Mina slide herself behind the door and I heard the sound of the knife coming out of her jacket again.

“Janey, wait,” I called out.

I caught up with her halfway to the elevator.