Cronin's Key (2 page)

It was something Alec couldn’t explain. Despite the growing agitation in the room, the noise, the flying questions, and movement, all he felt was calm and quiet.

The other cops had guns drawn, but Alec didn’t care. He walked over to this strange, beautiful man, like his body wouldn’t let him go anywhere else.

The man smiled at Alec. “It is you. Finally.” There was an accent, Alec thought. Scottish? He wasn’t sure.

Alec paid no attention as the cops in the room barked orders to
show us your
hands
and
get on the ground
at this man. The room was in a flurry around them, yet he didn’t move. Alec couldn’t explain it; what had been confusing before now was crystal clear, everything that Alec didn’t even know was wrong was right. And he knew, he just
knew
, this man’s name was Cronin.

Cronin smiled. “Will you come with me?”

“Yes.”

“Put your arms around me and hold on.”

Alec did as he was told, feeling the man against him as he slid his arms around his waist, so perfect and so right. The last thing Alec heard was a soft sigh in his ear.

Then both he and Cronin disappeared into thin air.

Alec felt like he was being pulled apart at a cellular level. A pain, so absolute, so blinding, tore at his body. He could feel every nerve ending; every receptor, every synapse in his whole body was on fire. Bones, muscles, cells felt as though they were being shredded.

Pixelated
, his brain registered. It felt as though his body had disintegrated into a million pixels, tiny dots, held together only by raw nerves.

Then as quickly as it started, as quickly as it burned him, the impossible pain was… gone.

Alec pushed the man who held him away and sucked back a gasping breath. He staggered, still gulping for air. “What the… what the hell was…?”

“It’s called leaping,” the man said softly. “I apologize. I forgot what it was like the first time.”

Alec looked at him. The beautiful man with pale skin and ginger hair… Jesus, just two seconds ago he was standing in the middle of the department floor, surrounded by fellow cops all pointing guns at him… Earlier, he’d chased down some inhuman creature, then he tried to stop a man from bleeding out, only to have him turn to dust… God, Alec couldn’t think straight. His mind was still reeling, still scattered, from being pixelated or—what did he call it?
Leaping
?

This man… Alec couldn’t quite remember how he knew his name, but he knew it with absolute certainty.

“You are Cronin?”

“Yes.”

Alec spun around to take in where he was. It looked almost like a museum, complete with white walls, marble floors, expensive minimalistic furniture, and artifacts on the shelves, but the skyline out the glass wall told him it was a penthouse. A New York City penthouse, over Central Park, no less. Jesus.

Despite the extravagance, it was warm at least, and Alec was grateful for that. His clothes and boots were still wet and heavy, and he shivered.

Cronin put his hand out, then pulled it back, as if unsure. “I will find you dry clothes.”

Alec was sure the accent was indeed Scottish, but his head was still a little fuzzy. “No,” he said adamantly. “Answers first. Where am I? Who are you? Where are you from? And what the fuck is leaping?”

Cronin fought a smile. “You are in my apartment, 157 West 57th Street, New York City, to be exact. I am Cronin, and I am originally from Scotland. And leaping is the quantum removal of matter from one space and replacing it in another.”

“Of course it is,” Alec mumbled. His head began to swim again. Maybe it was because it was three in the morning, or maybe he needed to eat something or get some sleep. Or maybe, just maybe, he was losing his fucking mind. “I think I need to sit down.”

Alec half stumbled to the leather sofa, not caring that his wet clothes weren’t probably good for it. He sat forward with his head in his hands, trying to make sense of everything, anything, when a warm blanket wrapped around his shoulders. When Alec looked up, Cronin was kneeling in front of him. His eyes were dark and imploring, his skin was a near-flawless alabaster with just a few freckles on his nose, his red hair was still perfectly messy, swept up off his face, and he smelled so damn good… Alec was transfixed by the man in front of him, unable to look away.

Then Cronin tentatively raised his hand to Alec’s forehead and brushed his damp, shaggy hair from his eyes. He stared at Alec, seemingly as captivated with Alec as Alec was with him. Without any conscious decision to do so, Alec leaned forward as if to press his lips to Cronin’s, but he stopped himself just a half inch short of contact. He wanted to kiss Cronin; God, how he wanted to kiss him…

Alec pulled back quickly and made himself look away, embarrassed and confused by his reaction to this man he just met. The same man who made him disappear in front of a room full of cops. Alec leaned back on the sofa and covered his face with his hands. “Jesus.”

“You’ve had quite a night so far,” Cronin said, speaking softly to the floor. “And I fear it will only worsen yet.”

Alec’s hands fell heavily to his lap and he stared at Cronin. “Worse?”

Cronin looked at Alec then, and Alec swore he’d never seen eyes that dark. “I will tell you everything,” Cronin promised. “We have much to discuss. But the others are expected to join us soon, so if you will—”

“Others?” Alec interrupted. “What others?”

Before Cronin could answer, an elevator dinged, and Cronin smiled as he stood. He moved fluidly, Alec realized, as he watched him walk away. Not a moment later, Cronin came back into the room with two people behind him.

People. Well, they were the least normal people-looking people Alec had ever seen. A man, Japanese, with his hair shaven underneath, a bun on top, and strikingly beautiful. The woman had long straight white-blonde hair and the bluest eyes Alec had ever seen. Both of them were pale, and he was unsure who was more attractive.

It was a natural beauty, Alec thought. Just not an entirely
human
beauty. Yet he felt no fear; in fact, he felt totally at ease.

Alec stood, his tired body protesting, but his manners wouldn’t let him stay seated for introductions.

“Alec,” the Japanese man said with a nod and a smile, as though they were old friends. Alec had never seen this man before—surely he’d remember him—but a sense of déjà vu crept over Alec’s skin like a hundred baby spiders.

The woman smiled at Cronin for a long second before walking over to Alec and touching his arm. “We have waited a long time for you,” she said. Then she glanced at Cronin. “Some a little longer than others.”

Cronin was suddenly between the woman and Alec, smiling, but Alec saw a look of warning pass between them. “Alec, this is Eiji”—he nodded toward the man—“and this is Jodis,” he said, introducing the woman. “They are my oldest and dearest friends.”

Alec gave them a smile but then, looking at the three of them in turn, asked, “Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on? Because I get the feeling that I was expected to be here, but I don’t know any of you. I mean, it’s great that you guys are friends and all, but I’ve had one helluva night where not a great deal is making sense and I’m pretty sure the whole NYPD is in lockdown right now, given what they all saw. I’m either on their MIA list or their most wanted list. And quite frankly, neither is good.”

“What has Cronin told you?” Eiji asked.

“Uh, nothing,” Alec answered. Ignoring the way that both Eiji and Jodis glanced at Cronin, he continued. “I had a rather weird night at work, for the lack of a better word, and that was before Cronin here turned up and said, ‘Will you come with me?’ Which I did, by the way. If anyone here would like to explain what the hell
that
was about? How did I know his name without being told? How did I know, I mean
really
know, that I had to go with him? The entire police department had their guns pointed at him. I should have had my gun pointed at him, but oh no, what did I do? I put my arms around him and did this leaping thing—which hurts like a bitch, I have to tell you. It felt like the cells in my body were being ripped apart, then we turn up here, just like that.” Alec snapped his fingers. “Then you two show up, and I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m guessing from the shit I’ve seen tonight, that the three of you don’t exactly fit neatly into the human box, and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why that doesn’t bother me. Because it should. So that’s been my night. Now excuse me if I sound a little fucking crazy.” Alec knew he was ranting, but he couldn’t seem to stop. “Oh, and Cronin also told me that the worst is yet to come, which is awesome. Can’t wait for that, because I can deal with weird—I’ve been dealing with weird my whole life—but tonight’s been… well, it’s been a whole new definition of fucking weird, and he tells me it’s going to get worse? Because I can’t see how that’s even possible!”

Cronin flinched, as though Alec’s words physically wounded him.

“Okay,” Jodis said calmly. She put her hand on Cronin’s arm. “Alec has obviously had a stressful night. He’s seen things which are… difficult to define rationally.”

Alec snorted. “Difficult to define rationally. That’s one way to put it. I saw a man turn to dust. There was nothing rational about it.” Alec shivered.

“Are you cold?” Jodis asked. She turned to the red-haired man. “Cronin, have you offered dry clothing?”

“He refused,” Cronin said quietly.

“What about something to eat or drink?” she asked him.

Cronin looked horrified, quickly turning to face Alec. “Forgive my manners,” he whispered. “I’m out of practice in such things. Can I offer you something to eat or drink?”

“Uh, coffee?” Alec asked. “Coffee’d be great.”

Cronin took a step back toward what Alec presumed was the direction of the kitchen, but stopped. He seemed torn between wanting to cater to Alec’s needs and not wanting to leave.

With a quiet laugh, Eiji said, “I’ll go. You stay here. There is much to be said.”

Everyone watched him leave through the elevator. “Is the kitchen on a different level or something?” Alec asked. Jodis led him to the sofa, sitting down gracefully beside him. Cronin sat opposite. He was clearly agitated, Alec realized, and he wondered if his little rant had offended him. “If you don’t have coffee, a glass of water will be fine,” Alec said.

“Oh no. It’s not that,” Cronin said quickly. “The kitchen is through there,” he said, pointing to a door on the far wall. “Though it is empty. I apologize for not having anything you require. I don’t eat… here.”

Jodis fought a smile, and before Alec could question Cronin’s phrasing, she said, “Alec, if you would, please start at the beginning. What happened tonight?”

Alec pulled the blanket over himself and sighed. He recounted the ordeal from the beginning: chasing the guy in a long coat, the unnatural speed and agility, the mouthful of teeth, shadows that moved and followed him, then, of course, the guy who was injured and bleeding who became dust that washed away in the rain.

Alec held up his hands, still slightly stained black. “His blood was too dark for a chest wound,” Alec told them. “He said the bullet missed his heart but he could feel it moving. He said, ‘It’s you. It really is you,’ which has happened a lot tonight, just so you know.” Alec shook his head. “Then he said, ‘He will come for you. Tell them it’s started, they’re coming. It’s not one, it’s both,’ just like that. Those were his exact words. He said I must tell Cronin that. That it’s started, they’re coming, and there’s not one, but two. Now I have no clue what that means,” Alec said, looking at Cronin. “But I assume you do?”

Cronin looked at Jodis with wide eyes, her expression much the same.

“Oh,” Alec said as he remembered, “then just before he turned into dust, he looked at me all excited and said he touched the key.”

Both Cronin and Jodis now stared at Alec, their intent stares unsettling him.

“He said what about a key?” Cronin whispered. “What were his exact words?”

“He just said that,” Alec answered. “I touched the key.”

Cronin and Jodis turned to each other again, and although neither of them were actually talking, Alec could have sworn they were having a conversation.

The elevator pinged, and Eiji walked into the room holding a takeout drinks tray with four cups on it plus two brown paper bags of what Alec hoped was food. He obviously sensed something was not right between Jodis and Cronin, but still gave Alec a small smile, though it was strained at best. “I didn’t know which coffee you preferred, so I brought you a range. There is also a small selection of foods,” he said.

Alec grabbed the closest coffee, not caring what type it was, and took a mouthful. Then he riffled through the brown paper bags and pulled everything out, sprawling contents onto the coffee table. Sandwiches, chips, fruit, deli pasta salad, brownies, and a can of refried beans. Alec picked up the beans, blinking, wondering what on earth had possessed Eiji to add those to the collection.

“Are those to your liking?” Cronin asked.

Alec looked up to find the three of them were watching him. He put the beans back on the table and picked up the sandwich. “Perfect, thank you.” He nodded toward the other three coffees. “You guys want one?”

They each shook their heads. “No, thank you,” Cronin said quietly.

Jodis gave Alec a smile. He liked her. Sure, she was beautiful—even if women weren’t his type, he could appreciate beauty when he saw it. But she smiled at Alec as though she was truly happy he was there.

Eiji seemed happy as well, though more amused than pleased. Alec noticed he watched Cronin a lot, looking for what, Alec had no clue. A sign? A reaction?

Cronin, on the other hand, seemed agitated, scared almost. He glanced at Alec often, sometimes smiling, sometimes not. It was confusing. The whole night had been confusing, yet what was most absurd was how Alec felt about a man he didn’t know. It wasn’t rational. This Cronin, whoever he was, made Alec’s whole body thrum.

Alec put the coffee and half-eaten sandwich on the table and pushed them away.