Dante (Stone Society Book 3) (20 page)

“I…
maybe.” Jasper sat up in his chair and reached back, shutting the door. He
rested his elbows on his legs. “How did you know Rafael was your mate?”

“Do
you think you’ve met yours?”

“I
don’t know. Rafael assured me the fates would choose the right type of person,
but I’m not so sure. I… I get these feelings when I’m around a certain someone,
but I honestly don’t think he’s gay.”

“Jasper,
if you’ve met your mate, you’ll know it. At first, the feelings are so intense,
you feel like you need your mate to breathe. You want to touch them constantly.
If they are in the room, you know it without looking. The intensity lessens
somewhat over time, but it doesn’t go away. Your mate is part of you and you
them.”

Jasper
nodded his head, thinking about what Kaya described. “Thank you, that helps. I
think.” His cell phone pinged with a text message, and he smiled when he saw
who it was from. “Excuse me,” he told Kaya as he glanced at the text.

Trevor
wrote,
“Call me.”

Jasper
stood up. “I need to go. Thanks for talking to me.”

“Anytime
Jasper. We’re family now.” Kaya smiled at him. Jasper opened the door, and
before he could step out, Kaya told him, “Tell Trevor I said hello.”

Rafael
called Jonas and set up a face-to-face. He would not tell the Gargoyle about
his daughter over the phone. Jonas had shocked them all when he stayed in New
Atlanta as Chief of Staff at the hospital. His cover as Joseph Mooneyham had
been blown when he treated Tessa, but only with the Gargoyles. The workers at
the hospital had no idea their leader was a full-blooded shifter or the famous
scientist who created the first human clone.

Rafael
called the meeting at his office. He had already shown himself in public too
much as of late. It was time for him to go back to being anonymous. Willow, his
administrative assistant, was sitting at her desk, early as usual. “Good
morning, Willow. How are you today?”

“Fine,
thank you. Welcome back.” The young lady was a bit shy, but she was the best assistant
Rafael had ever had. He would hopefully be able to keep her around for many
years to come. Of course, that meant trusting her with his secret since she
would eventually look older than he did. When she didn’t meet his gaze, he
picked up the messages on the corner of her desk and took the pause in
conversation to study her mood.

“It’s
good to be back. I am expecting a visitor, Joseph Mooneyham. When he arrives,
please show him to my office.”

“Yes,
Sir. A package arrived for you yesterday. I put it on your desk.”

“Thank
you. I’ll go see who it’s from.” Willow seemed a bit preoccupied, but other
than that, she didn’t seem upset, so he let it go. Rafael wasn’t expecting a
package. He pulled his suit jacket off and hung it up before picking up the
thick padded envelope. There was no postmark which was odd. He listened to make
sure Willow was still at her desk. When he could hear her typing on her
computer, he called forth a claw, using it to slice open the package. He
retracted it before pulling out the contents of the envelope.

Sorting
through the myriad of photos in his hand, Rafael declared,
“Sonofamotherfucker.”

“Is
this a bad time?” Jonas Montague asked from the open doorway.

Sighing,
Rafael shook his head. “No, this concerns you as well. Please, come in.”

Jonas
approached Rafael’s desk but didn’t sit. “What’s going on?”

Rafael
straightened the stack of photos in his hand and held them out to Jonas. “Might
as well start with these.” Rafe sat down in his leather chair while he kept his
eyes on Jonas’ face. The photos were of various people. Until he came across
one showing Nikolas with lots of sand in the background, Rafael had been at a
loss. He assumed the others were Sophia, her parents, and Ezekiel.

“I
don’t understand,” Jonas murmured while shuffling through the pictures.

“Sophia’s
parents disappeared. She went after them. Nikolas is her mate, so he went after
her. Tessa was going to go after them all until Elizabeth intervened and sent
Ezekiel. Nikolas has had no luck in finding Sophia, so Tessa put him and
Ezekiel in touch with each other. Somebody, probably whoever is responsible for
Sam and Monica’s disappearance, knows all the key players. They obviously want
me to know that they know.”

“How
do you know about Sam and Monica?” Jonas narrowed his eyes at Rafael.

“Tessa
filled us in when she and Gregor made plans to go after them. Since Tessa is Gregor’s
mate, I am now her King. While you may have had a hand in raising her, her
loyalty is to me and my Clan. This is something you would do well to get used
to.” Jonas started to say something but Rafe stopped him. “That’s the least of
it. You really might want to sit down for the rest.”

Rafael
rarely saw grown Gargoyles pale, but Jonas’ color was a shade lighter. “Would
you like a drink?” When the doctor shook his head, Rafael continued. “Gregor
and Tessa’s trip to Egypt has been postponed. We have a more pressing matter.”

“What
could be more pressing than my child, his wife, and my grandchild missing?”
Jonas questioningly accused Rafael.

“How
about your grandson is missing, and his mother offered herself up to the
kidnappers?”

“What
the hell are you talking about?” Jonas asked as he leaned forward in his chair.

“I’m
talking about Isabelle. Do you remember Maria?”

“Of
course I do, but what does she have to do with anything?”

“I
probably shouldn’t tell you this, but it’s a dire situation, and we need your
help. When Isabelle returned from Greece, she was pregnant with Alexi’s child.
She turned to the only people she felt loved her, Rico and Maria. Isabelle was
afraid if Stavros ever found out about the boy, he’d try to take him. Maria and
Rico agreed to take in Connor as long as Isabelle remained a part of his life.
Fast forward six years to the present. Rico has been murdered, Maria was left
for dead, and Connor was taken.” Rafael gave Jonas time to digest the
information he’d thrown at him quickly.

“Where’s
Isabelle? And Maria, is she okay? Where is she? What do you mean Isabelle
offered herself up? By the gods, Izzy. I should have cloned her, too. I need to
call Caroline.” Jonas rose from his chair.

“Sit
down. You can call your mate later. And don’t give me that holier-than-thou
look. I’ve already been through this shit with Xavier. Do not forget I am King
here. I have allowed you to remain in my territory for years. Now, more so than
ever, it is important you claim your allegiance. Isabelle and Dante are mates;
therefore, she and Connor are part of our Clan. Tessa is mated to Gregor, as
you already know. Xavier has offered his Clan as backing against Alistair.”

Jonas’
head snapped up as if he had been physically slapped. Rafael didn’t let up. “We
know about your past with my uncle. While we cannot prove he is behind the
kidnappings, it would make sense he is. His beef started with both you and I over
two hundred years ago. Why he has waited until now to start trouble is a
mystery. Whatever the reason, we need to work together.”

Rafael
waited while Jonas studied the photos again. If the older Gargoyle decided he
wasn’t going to play on the Stone Society team, Rafael would ask him to leave
the States. He templed his fingers as he waited for a response.

Finally,
Jonas looked up. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

Dane
was just stepping out of the shower when his phone rang. “Abbott. That’s great
news. I’m on my way.” Quinten, the Gargoyle watching Maria, called to let him
know she was awake. Dane hurried and dressed, making the short drive from the
hotel to the hospital. When he arrived, Maria’s doctor met him at the door to
her room. “Mr. Abbott, your sister is awake, but she’s extremely weak. I had to
give her a sedative to calm her down. She’s going on and on about Rico and
Connor.” The doctor already knew the circumstances that led to Maria being in
the hospital.

Dane
was almost glad to hear the woman had been sedated. It would give him a chance
to talk to her while she was groggy, explaining who he was and why he was
there. He noticed the doctor looking at him funny. “I was adopted, if that’s
what you’re wondering.” He hit the nail on the head, as the doctor nodded.

“She’s
probably not going to be awake for a while, but you’re welcome to go in.”

“Thank
you,” he told the doctor as they shook hands. He gave Quinten a knuckle bump
before entering Maria’s room. Dane should be used to full-bloods by now, but
each one he met seemed larger than the last. Quinten could go toe to toe with
Geoffrey in size. He wouldn’t dare put money on who would win that fight.

Maria
was hooked up to various monitors and machines. Dane felt bad for the woman who
had done nothing other than help raise someone else’s child. He thought back to
his own mom. Not Caroline, but the one who raised him as if he were her own. In
his opinion, someone who raised a child that wasn’t biologically theirs was
pretty special. He pulled the metal chair closer to her bed and sat. He knew Quinten
would be able to hear his conversation, but if he was part of the Clan, Quinten
would keep the information to himself.

Taking
her hand carefully in his, Dane whispered, “Maria, my name is Dane. I’m a
friend of Isabelle’s. Actually, I’m more than a friend, but we’ll get to that
later. Isabelle wanted someone to be with you.” Maria squeezed his hand so he
stopped talking. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she smiled at him. Hmm, must
be the drugs working. He continued, “Your doctor says you’re going to be okay,
but you need to rest.”

“Connor?”
she whispered, her voice scratchy. Dane poured a small amount of water in the cup
on her bedside table and allowed her to sip a little through a straw.

“Isabelle
has gone after him. She said not to worry, she will bring him home.”

“Rico…”
Her voice drifted off as the tears rolled from the corner of her eyes.

“I’m
so sorry about Rico.” What else could he say? Being a detective, he had to
inform families of their loved one’s death way too often. The words were never
enough.

“Dane,
please, tell your mother about Connor, about Isabelle.” Maria’s eyelids
drooped. She was trying to stay awake. “Tell… your… mo…” Her eyes closed before
she could finish. Why would he tell his mom about Connor? Unless she was
talking about Caroline. Dane sat the cup of water on the table and leaned back
in the chair. Did Maria know Caroline? If Jonas left Isabelle with Maria all
those years ago, it was possible she knew of Caroline. Dane pulled his wallet
out of his back pocket. On a folded piece of paper was a phone number and
nothing else. Caroline had given it to him when he was going through his
initial transition. She’d told him, “If you ever need me, for anything, at any
time, just call.”

Hopefully
Rafael hadn’t called Jonas yet. Dane didn’t think two phone calls were
necessary, and he wasn’t ready to speak to Caroline. Making sure Maria was
asleep, Dane thumbed through his contacts, dialed Rafe, and told him Maria was
awake before filling him in on her short conversation.

Maria
slept for the next few hours with nurses coming in to check her vitals. The
woman was lucky to be alive. Dane wanted to get his claws on the bastards who
left her for dead. He closed his eyes and thought of his sister and what she
must be going through. When she was safely back in the States, he was going to
let her have it for not trusting him, not trusting her mate. Thinking of mates
brought a vision of Katherine Fox to mind. He had transitioned soon after
meeting with her, but Julian was positive she belonged to him. What if he was
right and Dane had no clue who his mate was? She could be anyone. The only
people he was around on a regular basis were the people he worked with. After
listening to the Gargoyles talk about how strong the bond was, he knew his mate
wasn’t someone on the force or a member of the Crime Scene Unit. He didn’t feel
anything out of the ordinary being around them.

Dane
wasn’t even sure he was ready for a mate. He was still getting a handle on
controlling his phasing. He didn’t need to add being spurred on by a sexual
partner to the mix. He watched Dante lose his shit over something concerning
Isabelle, and they hadn’t completed the bond yet. If a five hundred year old
full-blood couldn’t contain himself, Dane was afraid of what would happen when
he figured out who tripped his trigger. He was better off being single for now.

Maria’s
monitors beeping erratically brought Dane back to the here and now. He jumped
from his chair, sending it flying backwards. Nurses ran in with a crash cart,
yelling for him to leave the room. He didn’t want to comply, but he couldn’t do
anything to help. Before he could clear the door, Maria flatlined.