Dante (Stone Society Book 3) (18 page)

She
opened the envelope and pulled out a photo. Isabelle was staring at a picture
of a surprised Stavros and a very scared Connor. Isabelle’s heart stopped.

Dante
slid the plastic card in the reader, waiting for the light to turn green. He
had traveled on ahead of Gregor and Tessa, securing the top floor at a posh
condo in Athens. Eventually they would be seen together, but for now, they
wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible. Dante quickly unpacked the suitcase
he had borrowed from the villa. Looking out the window of their suite, he
scanned the surroundings. Several cruise ships were docked in the distance. He
would prefer to be on a small island, but this gave them more cover to come and
go freely.

Dante
felt Gregor’s presence in the building. His brother knew of his abilities, but
he was the only one who knew just how powerful Dante was. All the Gargoyles
could sense moods, and after hearing Rafe confide in him about his unborn
child, he had to wonder if they all were even more special than each other
realized. Maybe they all had gifts they didn’t disclose with one another. He
heard the elevator ding, so he opened the door to the suite, waiting on his
family. Family. Their family was growing a little at a time. First there was
Kaya, now Tessa. If Dante was lucky, Isabelle and Connor would be added to the
list.

Tessa
and Gregor headed to their own bedroom to unpack. Dante continued to look out
the window and was surprised when Tessa made her way over to him, wrapping him
in a hug. “We’re going to get them back,” she whispered. A low growl sounded
behind them, and Tessa laughed. “Down, big boy,” she told Gregor as she let go
of Dante and went to soothe her mate’s jealousy. Dante couldn’t blame his
brother. He wouldn’t want Isabelle in someone else’s arms either, even if it
was Gregor.

Tessa
placed her back to Gregor’s front and wrapped his arms around her waist. She
didn’t look like someone who had been in a horrific car wreck weeks earlier.
She leaned back into her mate as she told Dante, “I spoke to my dad before we
left the island. Since you don’t trust your mother, I decided to call Xavier.
He agrees with our assessment that Alistair is behind all of this. He is
calling on a few of his Clan who have ties to the Greeks. Alistair is not a
popular King, and there are those who are willing to risk going up against him.
It seems things aren’t all rainbows and kittens where he is concerned. There is
talk that some have been planning an uprising for some time. Dad is going to
put us in contact with some of his men who know the setup and security on each
of the islands. When we get our plan in place, he is willing to call a meeting
of the Council to draw Alistair away from Greece, giving us time to go in and
get Belle. He is also going to do some digging of his own on the Sarantos
family.”

Dante
was glad to hear Xavier was willing to help. Having someone with inside
knowledge would certainly make their mission easier. “I appreciate all the help
we can get. I’m going to go for a walk, get a feel for the city. I’ll be back
later.” He knew they had probably taken care of personal business before they
left the island, but Gregor and Tessa’s relationship was still new, and they
probably relished any alone time they could get. “Here’s an extra room card.
I’m going to find something to eat while I’m out, so I will see you in a couple
of hours.”

Dante
took the stairs instead of the elevator. He would love to go for a swim in the
hotel pool, but he wouldn’t be able to get in laps with all the guests enjoying
the water. He was going to miss being able to take to the skies as well. His
wings were ready to unfurl and lift him up. There was no headier feeling than
soaring above civilization, the wind in his face, the cold air burning his
lungs as he rose higher and higher. Exiting through a side door, Dante walked through
the parking lot that led to the busy street. He directed his feet to the Piraeus
Port. Once the largest port in all of Europe, the gateway was considerably less
traveled now than before the apocalypse. When the world fell apart thirty years
prior, most modern travel ceased to move forward for many years.

With
technology as advanced as it was, Dante would have expected space travel to be
commonplace by now. Instead, all space exploration had stopped until recently.
Automobiles were much the same now as they had been thirty years ago.
Electronics were only now beginning to see advancements. The biggest difference
Dante noticed was governments had reverted back to less democratic times. In
most countries, Kings ruled in place of Presidents. Slave traders were on the
rise, and the governments were having a hard time getting a handle on the
situation.

The
Gargoyles had seen all types of humanity over the years, and instead of moving
forward, it appeared civilization was regressing. When he sat alone at night,
contemplating the state of the world, he often wondered about the extinction of
the females of his kind. Were they better off if their species died out? His
heart ached at the thought of his kind just slowly drifting away. Sure, the
ones who were alive now would carry on indefinitely, but without a mate to keep
you company, what was the point?

The
fates must have seen how the Gargoyles were needed, now more than ever. Was
this why they could bond with humans and have children? Isabelle already had a child,
but he was human. Or was he? He did have strong shifter blood running through
his veins, and Connor had his own special abilities. Dante was anxious to see
if Connor would be a shifter as well. Thinking of the boy, Dante wanted to try
reaching him again. Having arrived at the pier, he sought out a spot close to
the water. An outdoor café proved to be the perfect place. He was directed to a
seat overlooking the water. The waitress arrived, and he placed his food and
drink order. Once his scotch was delivered, he took a sip of the fiery liquid,
allowing it to warm his throat.

Dante
closed his eyes. The sounds of tourists talking and laughing filled his ears.
The saltwater breeze floated around him. He shut out all the sounds, focusing
on one small boy. He called Connor’s name as he had before. Several minutes
passed with no connection. He tried one last time, and the feeling of fear
washed over him. Concentrating harder, Dante opened his senses further. He was
looking at a drawing. This wasn’t as artistic as before, but the crayon sketch
was definitely being produced by the talented boy. In this drawing were four
people; Connor, a little blonde haired girl, and two men. The men favored each
other but the drawing was incomplete. All of a sudden the paper was wadded up
and thrown away. The connection was lost.

The
waitress placing Dante’s food on the table interrupted his thoughts as Connor
slipped away. “Can I get you anything else?” the waitress asked.

“Another
scotch, please,” Dante answered as he downed the rest of the first glass. The
men in the drawing had to be Stavros and Alexi. But who was the little girl,
and what did she have to do with them? Dante finished his meal as well as his
drink and headed back to the hotel. He stepped out onto the busy sidewalk, lost
in thought, and ran into someone walking down the street.

“Watch
where the fuck you’re going.”

Dante
opened his mouth to apologize to the irate pedestrian. Instead, he closed his
mouth, unable to speak. He watched as the stranger strode away angrily. Dante couldn’t
move. He could only stare at the back of Isabelle’s husband.

Goddamn
tourists. Alexi didn’t care that he was the one who ran into the man just now.
He was still reeling at his father. A kid! His fucking kid. Was his father
crazy? No way in hell did he have a kid with Isabelle. He made sure he wore a
condom every single time. Not once had he fucked her with… Fuck! How could he
have been so stupid? Isabelle had been sick for about a week. He couldn’t
remember what she had, pneumonia or some shit. He took her to one of their
villas, needing to get away from his father for a while. Jacking off was
getting boring, and his favorite whore had been out of town. One night,
Isabelle finally came downstairs, and Alexi had been drinking. Not caring that
she was tired, he bent her over the couch and fucked her. Bare. But she had
been on the pill. Fuck!

His
father could play
dad
to the kid all he wanted. Until he got a paternity
test, he wasn’t wasting his time on the brat. Hell, even if the kid was his, he
wasn’t wasting his time on him anyway. He had business to tend to, and right
now, that business was walking about fifteen feet in front of him. A family was
arguing about where to eat. The parents were trying to corral six kids without
losing any of them. Three boys and three girls, a regular goddamn American
Brady bunch, were the perfect targets. He stopped on the sidewalk, pretending
to look at his cellphone. The arguing continued as the boys wanted pizza, the
older girls wanted hamburgers, and the little one, the one he needed, wanted
ice cream. The parents were explaining they were in Greece and wanted the kids
to try Greek cuisine.

After
what seemed like an eternity, they decided on an open air market with a food
court that had mostly local options but also American basics. They each could
get what they wanted. Pulling his ball cap lower on his forehead, Alexi
followed at a safe distance. The food court was busy, and it wasn’t hard to
keep up with the family. They continued arguing about who was getting their
food first. Why did they all have to stand in line together? Why couldn’t they
sit down and the parents get their food? Obviously exasperated, the father agreed
to the kids sitting at the table while the parents divided and conquered the
food orders. Stupid fucking sheep. Why have this many kids if you couldn’t
handle them? Why have kids at all? All they did was take up time better spent
doing important things, like drinking and fishing. And fucking.

Alexi
waited. The older kids were supposed to watch the little ones. However, typical
of teenagers, the boys were watching for girls, and the girls were watching for
boys. The younger boy was about the same age as his… as Connor. The little girl
looked like his twin. She tapped one of her older sisters on the arm and told
her she had to go pee. “Mom said we couldn’t get up, just hold it.” The little
girl squirmed. She whispered something to her sister who rolled her eyes and
looked around. Spotting the restroom not too far away, she conceded to the
little one.

The
older girl stood outside the door while the little girl went in by herself. The
teenager spotted a cute boy, and her attention turned from the door. Alexi had
an idea. It was probably a stupid one, but it just might work. He quickly
bought an ice cream cone and returned to his spot by the door. The older sister
walked back to the table, whispering to the middle girl about the boy she saw.
They were giggling and pointing. When the little girl came out of the restroom,
Alexi took a big chance. Not seeing the parents, he
accidentally
spilled
his ice cream cone. It dropped on the ground at the girl’s feet with a splat. She
looked up at him, wide-eyed.

 “I’m
so sorry! Did it get on your shoes?” Alexi asked as he bent over, brushing at
the toes of her shoes. He took another look around. People glanced at him, but
none paid enough attention to recall a strange man with a little girl. Stupid
fuckers.

“It’s
okay,” the little voice said as she gave him a tentative smile.

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

She
looked around, obviously for her sister. He assured her, “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?”

“Okay…”
She wasn’t convincing, but he would go with it. Again, he walked in front of
the child. If she followed, it wouldn’t look like they were truly together.
When they passed the ice cream stand, the girl pulled on his shirt. “There’s
the ice cream.”

“But
the stand down here has sprinkles. My sister always has to have sprinkles.” He
winked at her and continued walking. Eventually the crowded sidewalk swallowed
them up, and he took a chance on picking her up. “My sister’s name is Alyssa.
She’s pretty just like you, and she has a puppy. Do you like puppies?” The
little girl forgot about ice cream and sprinkles and wanted to see the puppy. Alexi
kept the kid occupied long enough to get out of sight. He heard a commotion
from the food court and knew his time was up. Walking quickly, he made his way
to his parked car and shoved the kid in the back seat. A police car pulled into
the parking lot behind him.