Dante (Stone Society Book 3) (19 page)

Isabelle
had taken a shower and changed clothes. Most of what was hanging in the closet
was more formal than she cared to wear and probably cost more than she had ever
spent on clothes in her life. There were shoes from designers she’d heard of,
and some she hadn’t. She didn’t even want to fathom how much those cost.
Isabelle made a decent wage as a physician, but she never understood spending
extravagantly on clothes. She preferred to be comfortable. It’s not like she
got to dress up anyway, except when Dante took her to dinner. Isabelle allowed
herself a moment to remember how handsome Dante looked in his suit. If she ever
got out of here, she was going to tear his suit off of him.

After
digging through the drawers of the armoire, she found clothing more suitable
for being held prisoner. The clock on the wall reminded her it was almost time
to escape her room. While in the shower, Isabelle had allowed herself a small
pity party. Once that was over, she remembered the text Dante sent.
I’m
coming for you, Beautiful.
She momentarily worried about the message but
remembered Kallisto didn’t have the password to unlock her phone. Hopefully her
captors weren’t aware Isabelle had someone looking for her.

She
allowed herself a moment to daydream of her tall Gargoyle. Of Dante storming
the castle and rescuing the damsel. That made her sigh. Dante was no knight. He
was more the secret spy type, infiltrating the evil scientist’s laboratory
quietly before subduing the bad guys with his shifter strength as he rescued
the busty brunette. Isabelle couldn’t wait to bury Dante’s face in her bust.

The
house was quiet. Even using her shifter hearing, Isabelle could detect no
sounds other than the shuffling of her guard from one foot to the other. What a
boring existence it must be for him, standing guard of her door, twenty-four
seven. Was he a prisoner as well, or was he paid handsomely to keep tabs on
Isabelle? She would ask him, but then she would get in trouble. Did her captors
truly expect her to keep quiet at all times?  It was a good thing Tessa wasn’t
the one who was being held against her will. She would be sold into slavery
within the first half hour.

There
was a quick knock on her door before it opened to a very tall, very built man
motioning her forward. Was he not allowed to speak either? Isabelle followed
like the meek little mouse they wanted her to be. Question was, who was she
following? Another mouse, or the cat. Isabelle studied the man in front of her;
taller than Dante, broader than Gregor. He was about the same age as them, at
least the age they appeared to be. Short sleeves barely contained his bulging
biceps. His wide shoulders tapered down into a narrow waist that led to a
really nice, really firm, really round ass. Isabelle had to catch herself when
her guard stopped. Running into her appointed brick wall would probably be
frowned upon.

Isabelle
was confused at first since she was still in the hallway behind the Hulk. He
was standing sentry, legs spread, hands clasped behind his back. When Isabelle
didn’t move, he looked back at her and jerked his head toward the doorway.
Isabelle shrugged her shoulders at him. How the hell was she supposed to know
what was going on?  “Neanderthal,” she muttered as she brushed past him, her
elbow connecting with his rock hard abs. She heard a quiet grunt and couldn’t
resist glancing back at him, cocking her eyebrow. His face held the same blank
expression as before. Would Hulk tell on her for misbehaving?  She would find
out.

Isabelle
was mesmerized as she entered the dining hall. And what a hall it was. She took
in the high ceilings, the tall windows, and the tapestries and paintings
adorning the walls. This was larger than any room she had ever been in. Even
the dining room at Stavros’ home was a closet compared to this. A man and woman
waited at the table, obviously there to serve her. Neither one spoke as she
walked to that end of the long table. Isabelle tried to mentally count the
chairs before taking her own seat. The man placed her napkin in her lap, and
the woman took the lid off her serving plate. Both made their way out of the
room, not asking if she needed anything else, not caring if the food was to her
liking. She noticed there was only water on the table for her to drink. The
meat appeared to be prime rib. Asparagus, roasted new potatoes, and some type
of mixed greens accompanied the meat. There was no bread, no dessert. No salt
or pepper.

Isabelle
picked up her fork and knife, cutting the beef then placing a small bite in her
mouth. A small groan left her throat. She tried the vegetables. She looked
behind her to where the man and woman disappeared. She would love to at least
be able to nod at the woman, showing her appreciation. If the food was
poisoned, at least her last meal would be the best she ever put in her mouth.

She
quickly devoured the delicious meal, remembering she only had twenty minutes to
eat. Hulk approached the table without speaking and pointed at his watch. Since
Isabelle didn’t have on a watch of her own, she could only assume it meant her allotted
time was up. Testing the waters again, she grabbed his wrist and turned the
watch over so she could see the face. She let out a
hmph
, glad she
hadn’t been given dessert. It would have gone to waste. She stood from the
table and gestured for Hulk to lead the way.

An
hour later, Isabelle had seen every inch of the grounds available to her. She
had pretended to be intrigued with the elaborate rooms. She also pretended to
be bored with the grounds, especially those on the perimeter. Tessa would have
already figured a way out of the compound. Isabelle would have to bide her
time, look for anything that might allow her to escape. Her biggest obstacle
would be the Hulk following her around. She had no way of knowing if he was a
shifter except to really piss him off. Even then he may be old and have a lot
of self-control. If he wasn’t, she still didn’t know if she was strong enough
to take him. Who was she kidding? She didn’t know the first thing about
taking
someone. Not in that sense of the word.

Dante,
please, please, please get me out of here.
Isabelle would continue to snoop around and pretend
to be the good sheep. She wasn’t ready to go back to her room, but she couldn’t
remember the way to the library. She looked up at Hulk and mimed opening a
book. He frowned at her. After several tries, she gave up. “Where’s the
library?”

“Breaking
the rules already?” A deep voice came from directly behind her.

Isabelle
turned to see the same man who visited her room. She had to assume he was the
one they referred to as the King. Knowing she should keep her mouth shut, she
couldn’t help herself anyway. “If you would hire guards with more brains than
brawn, I might not have to break the rules. I’m trying to get to the library,
and the Hulk here sucks at charades.” If Isabelle wasn’t a shifter, she would
never have heard the sound coming from her guard. If she didn’t know better,
she’d think he was stifling a laugh. Not wanting to take her eyes away from the
King, she said, “If you don’t want anyone speaking, is it possible to get a map
of this place?”

Something
flashed quickly in the man’s eyes. For a moment it looked like respect. She had
to be mistaken, because in the next moment, he was in her space. Damn he was
quick, sort of like…
Oh shit, he’s a Gargoyle.

“You
would do well to remember who you are speaking to.” The man was looking down at
her, doing his best to be intimidating. It was working.

“I
remember. I’ll just search the premises until I find what I’m looking for. No
more speaking to Bruce,” Isabelle told him as she thumbed over her shoulder at
her guard. She and the King both stood their ground. She would not give him the
satisfaction of cowering.

Without
taking his eyes off her, he told the guard, “Show Isabelle to her room. She can
find the library tomorrow. Isabelle, I suggest you remember what I said about
behaving. I’d hate to lose you so soon.” Without giving her time to respond,
the King turned and walked away.

Isabelle
let out her breath. She turned to her guard and gestured he lead the way. He
didn’t move so she looked up at his face. He wasn’t smiling exactly, but one
side of his mouth twitched. He gently placed a hand on her elbow, leading her
back to her wing of the house.

Normally,
waiting on dental records took weeks, but Trevor was holding a manila envelope
that contained the results in his hand. It was addressed to Dante since he was
the Medical Examiner, so Trevor didn’t dare open it. He texted Dante to let him
know the results had arrived, and he would wait until his boss gave him
permission to look at the contents of the envelope. Trevor had to wonder at the
quickness in which these results had been obtained.

It
had been a slow week in New Atlanta with regards to murders and unusual deaths,
so Trevor had some free time on his hands. Time he didn’t need, because with
free time came a free mind. He needed to busy himself with something so his
brain thought about anything but his new friend. Trevor should be studying. Or
dissecting bodies. Or looking at blood cells under a microscope. Anything
besides thinking about one hot detective.

Spending
time with Jasper had been absolutely awesome. The detective was not like most
cops Trevor met. Most of the men in blue ignored him at best. The Chief even
rolled her eyes at him for the most part. Not Jasper. When they were in the
field, he treated Trevor with respect. He even heard Jasper take up for him
with that nasty Quinn guy. Trevor had a bad feeling about him. He seemed like a
bigger asshole than most other bigoted rednecks Trevor had run across in his
twenty-eight years.

There’s
no way he or any of the other cops could know about Trevor’s preferences. It
was one reason he kept to himself. He was looked down upon enough without
adding homophobia to the list of reasons people didn’t care for him. Trevor
dressed the part of assistant since he was required to, but his hair was a
little long with a random purple streak running through his bangs. At least he
was told it was purple. It could be pink for all he knew, but the girl at the
hair salon was nice, and he didn’t think she would fool him on purpose. He kept
his tattoos covered while in the field. Dante never mentioned his hair or ink,
never looked twice. Now that Trevor was studying to advance his career, maybe
he should think about a more professional look. He decided to cut his hair and
dye it back to its natural color

He
couldn’t do anything about his ink unless he wanted to spend a lot of money to
have them removed, which he didn’t. Each piece told a story. Jasper asked about
the various tattoos covering his arms and listened intently while Trevor told
the meaning behind each one. He found it odd Jasper had no ink. Most badasses
he came across had at least one tattoo. Jasper may be a detective with a goofy,
geeky side, but Trevor knew a badass when he saw one. His boss was a badass, as
was the warden. There was something about the way they carried themselves that
screamed “don’t fuck with me”. Maybe Trevor should join a gym, spend more time
worrying about his appearance than playing video games. If he was going to be
taken seriously, he needed to make some changes. He pulled out his laptop and
set about starting on his new way of life. His cell phone pinged with a text
message. It was Dante responding, telling Trevor to open the envelope.

Excitedly,
Trevor did just that, removing the results of the dental records. He couldn’t
believe the name staring back at him. “No fucking way.”

Dante
wanted to kill the bastard. Claws out, fangs bared, rip the sonofabitch in two,
dead. Keeping an eye on the ball cap, Dante followed Alexi. If his vision was
correct, Connor had been in the same room with his father and grandfather.
Scratch that. Dante wouldn’t give them the privilege of those titles. Being a
sperm donor did not a father make. The crowd was gathering on their side of the
road as an open air market came into view. Dante kept his eyes on the blue cap
as it weaved through the throngs of tourists. The cap stopped moving. Dante
continued closer, but not close enough Alexi would notice.

Alexi
was looking at his phone and periodically glancing around. Dante scanned the
crowd trying to determine who had Alexi’s attention. When a large family moved,
Alexi proceeded to move with them.
What are you up to?
The kids were
seated at a table, and the parents left to purchase food. The oldest and
youngest girls made their way to the restroom with Alexi slinking toward them.
The smallest girl looked like the one in Connor’s drawing. Had the picture been
a foreshadowing of things to come? The older girl made her way back to the
table, whispering to her other sister and pointing at some boys. Alexi left his
spot by the door and purchased an ice cream cone, only to return to his out of
the way place by the restroom. As the little girl emerged, Alexi dumped the ice
cream cone at her feet. Dante reached out with his shifter hearing to listen in
on their conversation.

“I’m
so sorry! Did it get on your shoes?”
Alexi
asked as he squatted down, wiping at her shoes with a paper napkin.

“It’s
okay,”
the
little girl answered, smiling shyly at Alexi.

“Would
you like some ice cream? I’m going to buy myself another one.”
There was the bait.

The
little girl didn’t answer; instead she looked around, obviously for her sister.

Alexi
smiled and said
, “I told your sister I’d watch out for you while she went
back to the table. I have a little sister your age. I was getting the ice cream
for her. Do you want someone to play with?”
And there was the hook.

“Okay…”
The little girl was sunk. Alexi
didn’t take her hand. He walked off toward the ice cream vendor, the little
girl trailing behind him. Dante wanted to yell at the parents that their child
was being lured away, but if his gut was right, Alexi would lead him to Connor.
He would follow and make sure the girl was safe. Instead of stopping at the ice
cream stand, they continued on. The little girl tugged at Alexi’s shirt,
informing him they had passed the ice cream. Alexi mentioned sprinkles and
puppies, and the little girl was completely gone. Had her parents not told her
of the dangers of strange people? Especially ones who lured children away with
promises of sweet concoctions.

Dante’s
cell phone pinged with an incoming message. He pulled it out of his pocket as
he kept his eye on Alexi and the girl. The text was from Trevor stating the
dental records were back. Dante had called in a favor with another Gargoyle,
one who worked for the government. Dante’s gut told him the charred remains
were those of Gordon Flanagan, and if his instincts were correct, he wanted to
give Tessa the good news as soon as possible. Since Flanagan had served in the
military, his records were easily available if you knew who to ask. He
responded to his assistant to open the envelope and keep him posted. He hit
send and looked up, just as Alexi was putting the girl in a car. Fuck! He took
off running, trying to catch the car, but it was no use. He could chase him,
but it was too risky for him to use his shifter speed in public. Instead, he
memorized the license plate number.

The
right thing to do would be to call the cops, tell them everything that
transpired, but then the police would want to know why he didn’t stop Alexi
before he got that far. He would be detained and questioned himself. So instead
of doing the right thing, he did the smart thing and called Julian.

Arriving
back at the hotel, Dante was frazzled. Gargoyles didn’t tire easily, but
mentally he was frustrated. He reached out with his hearing to make sure Gregor
and Tessa weren’t doing anything he didn’t care to see. He wasn’t a voyeur or
an exhibitionist. He didn’t think those descriptions fit Gregor either, but he
had walked in on Gregor once, and his brother had continued as if Dante wasn’t
in the room.

As
he listened, he could hear Gregor singing to Tessa. It wasn’t a song Dante was
familiar with, but it was a slow, sweet, love song. His brother had a beautiful
voice. He waited until the song was finished before entering the room. Dante immediately
poured himself a drink, noticing the dining table was covered with maps and
computers. “Let’s take this to the patio, shall we?” Dante didn’t wait for them
to respond. He opened the sliding glass door that led outside. Instead of
sitting in one of the wicker chairs surrounding the table, he leaned his hip
against the railing and stared out into the cool Greek afternoon.

“I
know who has Connor,” he said without looking at them. His heart was warring
with his brain with regards to who he should rescue first, mother or child.

“Is
it Sarantos?” Gregor asked as he and Tessa took a seat at the table.

“Yes.
I actually ran into the sonofabitch.” Dante wearily pulled a chair out and sat
down.

“What
do you mean
ran into him
?” Tessa asked.

Dante
recounted what happened earlier, from his lunchtime meditation to leaving the
restaurant and literally running into Alexi. His phone rang with Julian’s name
showing on the screen. “Jules, you’re on speaker.”

“I
was able to run the license plate. The car is registered to Jorge Kastinopolous.
So either the car is stolen, or Alexi has borrowed a vehicle, possibly an
employee’s. It makes sense he wouldn’t use his own car if he is kidnapping
kids.”

“We
need more information. Dammit! Is this how he and his old man made their
millions, as slavers?” Tessa stood and began pacing the small area.

Thankfully,
Gregor pulled her into his lap as he asked Dante, “Did you tell Julian about
your vision?”

“No.
Julian, during meditation, I reached out to Connor. I connected with him after
a fashion. He was coloring a picture. It was crude, unlike his other drawings,
but it was evident who was in the picture. It was of Connor and both Alexi and
Stavros. There was a blonde headed girl in the picture as well. This happened
before I watched Alexi take the child from the market. Either Connor has
premonitions, or they already have another little girl.”

“Fuck!
This makes me sick.” Tessa tried to stand, but Gregor kept a tight grip on her.

“It
does me too, Red. That’s why we have to stop them.” Gregor said as his lips
brushed against her forehead. “Julian, do you have an address on Kastinopolous?”

Julian
was tapping away at his keyboard as usual. “Give me a minute, and I’ll text it
to you. Dante, I won’t stop digging. Until we get a better handle on where
Connor is being held, I think your best bet is to concentrate on Isabelle. At
least you know where she is.”

“Agreed.
We are meeting up with some local Goyles who are loyal to Xavier. We’ll check
back later.” Dante thumbed off his phone. He had a bad feeling about Alexi. If
he was the type of man to kidnap and sell kids, how would he treat his own son?
Would he accept him, or would he offer him up to the highest bidder? Gods,
Dante felt nauseous. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how Isabelle must be
feeling. “I’m going to start calling names on the list. I want to meet as soon
as possible. I feel like we are already losing so much time.”

Gregor
moved Tessa off his lap and walked over to where Dante was sitting. He squatted
in front of his brother, placing his hands on Dante’s knees. “We’ll get them
back, Brother. This I promise you.” Gregor remained that way, offering his
support, until Dante nodded his acknowledgement. With the type of connection
they shared, he didn’t have to say the words aloud. The two of them had been
through a lot together over their five hundred years. When one was ready to
move to a new location, the other followed without question. He didn’t worry
about their future together, not really.

 Tessa
was a world traveler having homes in several cities. Isabelle might be a little
harder to convince. He didn’t truly know the woman whom the fates had destined
to be his. Having spent time with her over the past few weeks, he had noticed
little things about her. The way she took her coffee. The fact she added extra
mushrooms to her omelets then covered them in ketchup. How she tucked the same
too-short strand of hair over her ear only to see it come loose again. How she
pushed her non-existent glasses up her nose when she was nervous. The way her
brown eyes lit up when he said something that made her smile. Isabelle may not
want a relationship with him, but they were getting along well. He had waited
over five centuries to find her; he could be patient a while longer and give
her time to come to the conclusion they were meant to be together.

Dante
went back inside the suite to begin calling the local Gargoyles. They would
meet that evening and share as much intel as possible. Then they would set
about getting his mate back. He was worried more about Isabelle than he was
Connor. At least with the boy, he had their connection, as tenuous as it was. Having
no idea what Isabelle was going through was going to drive him crazy.

Jasper
couldn’t stop thinking about the kid. No, not a kid, Trevor. Yes, he was young,
but he was a man, even if he had such a youthful energy about him. Rafael had
assured Jasper the fates wouldn’t be so cruel as to mate him with a female.
What about a straight male? Would they play such a sick joke on him? He didn’t
even know if Trevor was his mate, but if the way his body reacted last night
was any indication, he was fucked. Well and truly, just not in the good way.

With
Gregor, Dante, Dane, and Nikolas all out of town, his Unholy patrol schedule
had doubled. Frey was starting sword training as well. Between his Clan duties
and his job, he didn’t have much free time. He wanted to talk to Rafael before
assuming Trevor was his mate. He also wanted to spend time with the… his friend.
Gods, he had to stop thinking of him as a kid. Jasper wasn’t slated for
training until tomorrow, so he could slip away at lunch time and head to the
hospital. Since Dante was out of town, Trevor would be manning the morgue and
would more than likely be alone.

Kaya
called Jasper into her office. Even though he had written a report on the
charred remains that were now on a slab at the morgue, she would want to go
over the details since she hadn’t been around yesterday. Just as he got to her
office, the dickhead Troy walked past and shoved his shoulder into Jasper’s. “What
the fuck, Quinn?” Troy just kept walking, giving Jasper the finger as he did.
Shaking his head, Jasper stepped into Kaya’s office and sat down.

“What
was that about?” Kaya asked him.

“Quinn
being Quinn. He didn’t like the fact I took up for Trevor yesterday. It’s
obviously still stuck in his ass.”

“Why
did you have to take up for Trevor?” Kaya leaned forward, propping her elbows
on her desk.

“He
called Trevor a weirdo. I didn’t like it and told Quinn as much. He got his
bigoted hackles up.” Jasper slouched down in the chair a little, getting
comfortable. When Kaya waited for him to continue, he asked. “How was the trip
to Tennessee? Is Maria going to make it? Has Rafael heard from Dante and
Gregor?”

Kaya
arched an eyebrow but let his abrupt change of subject go. “Maria was still in
a coma last I heard. We have round the clock protection at her door, but now
that Connor is gone, we doubt the unsub will return to finish the job. We are
going on the assumption he or she thinks Maria is dead. Still, we aren’t taking
any chances. This is Isabelle’s family, and we protect our own. As far as the
others, I haven’t spoken to Rafael for a couple of hours, so I’m not sure
what’s happening across the pond.” Kaya cocked her head to the side and
squinted her eyes. “What’s going on with you?”

“What
do you mean?”

“You
seem, I don’t know, distracted. Do you want to talk about it?”