Dante (Stone Society Book 3) (26 page)

“Alexi?
Why would he be drawing Alexi?” Unless his grandfather had shown him a picture
of Alexi, there’s no way he could know what his father looked like.

“Oh
shit, you haven’t told her?” Tessa sat up straighter in Gregor’s lap.

“Told
me what?” Isabelle’s heart sunk. The way the three of them were looking at each
other, they were hiding something. “Told me what, Dante?”

“Alexi.
He’s alive.”

Isabelle
jumped out of Dante’s lap, backing up against the balcony railing.

“No,
that’s impossible,” she whispered. “I saw him go overboard. They never found
the body.”

Dante
stood and came toward her, but she held out her hands. “No, stay away from me.
How do you know this?”

“First,
we saw his picture in the newspaper, but then I ran into him. When I was coming
out of a restaurant down by the pier, I literally ran into him.”

“I’m
married. I’m still married, and you knew it. You marked me knowing Alexi is
alive. Why would you do that?” Not that Isabelle wanted anything to do with the
monster, but if she were in fact still married, she couldn’t be mated to Dante.
Could she?

“I’m
sorry. I didn’t realize you would want to stay married to him. I’ll go call
Julian.” Dante left the balcony, a defeated look on his face.

“Belle,
please tell me you don’t want that douche bag for a husband! He’s kidnapping
kids!”

“What?
No! I don’t want him. Jesus H. What do you mean he’s kidnapping kids?”
Isabelle’s heart was torn. Shredded in a million pieces. She was still married
to Alexi, and she didn’t want to be.

“Dante
followed him and watched him abduct a second blonde girl from the boardwalk.
Connor has been drawing pictures, hopefully trying to give Dante clues as to
where he is.” Gregor gently pushed Tessa out of his lap. “If you’ll excuse me,
I need to check on my brother.”

Isabelle
couldn’t believe it. Her body was shaking; her fangs and claws popped out.
Blood was running down her chin, down her hands, but she couldn’t stop it. That
monster had her baby. The thunder of her heartbeat was pounding in her skull.
She couldn’t shut it off. Someone was shaking her, trying to bring her back to
her senses. It was no use. She was married to the monster, and he had her son.

Tessa
left the patio and returned with a wet towel. “Belle, stop it, right now. Get a
hold of yourself. Do you honestly think we are going to sit by and let Alexi
have anything to do with Connor? And Dante, holy mother of Zeus, you should
have seen him when he found out Alexi’s alive. And not just because you’re
still married to him, but because he has Connor. I don’t know what’s going on
with your mate and your son, but somehow they have a connection, and it’s a
beautiful thing. The first thing Dante did was call Julian. No, I take that
back. The first thing he did was lose his shit. The second thing he did, after
he gathered said shit back, was to call Julian to see if you can have your
marriage annulled. Belle, you mated with Dante for a reason. I heard you say
the words, so I know you wanted it. I saw the smile on your face when you and
Dante sat down. Don’t let Alexi take your happiness away from you. Don’t let
him win.”

Isabelle
should be mortified that Tessa and Gregor heard her having sex. She took in
everything Tessa just said, really took it to heart. She had wanted Dante for
her mate, still did. Was it possible she could get an annulment? That would be
too easy. While Tessa continued to clean her up, she asked, “Did I tell you
thank you?”

Tessa
looked up from wiping her hands, “You don’t have to thank me, Belle. We’re
family.”

“Oh,
god. Dante…”

“Shh,
Gregor’s gone to get him. He’ll bring him back. I promise.”

“What
if he changed his mind?” Isabelle was so tired of screwing up.

“Isabelle,
Dante is crazy about you. He wouldn’t phase with no thought if he didn’t love
you. That isn’t something he can just turn off.”

“Dante
loves me?”

Dante
couldn’t breathe. He would give anything to be home where he could fly and hunt
Unholy. Tessa had been spot on when she accused him of targeting the creatures purely
for sport. He couldn’t fly, but he could run. He didn’t care he was wearing
blue jeans. He needed to go, get away from the condo, from Isabelle. No matter
how far or how fast he ran, he couldn’t leave behind the memory of what
happened earlier. How she had given herself to him freely.

“Dante
hold up! Dante!” He should have known Gregor wouldn’t let him go alone. He
slowed his legs and eventually came to a stop. If he were human, he would be
winded. Since he had Gargoyle metabolism, he wasn’t even breathing hard. Dante
didn’t speak, just looked out over the water. Gregor was silent as well, a hand
on his shoulder for support. Neither one moved for what seemed like an eternity
until Gregor’s phone rang, breaking through the silence. “It’s Rafe.”

“Hello,
Brother. I’m with Dante. I’m putting you on speaker. Go ahead.”

“I
wanted to update you on what’s happening State side, but first, how are things
on your end?”

“We
have Isabelle. She’s safe,” Gregor told Rafael. “We have to thank you for your
diversion with Alistair.” Gregor explained their plan and how they worked with
Xavier’s Clan. “Now, we are going to focus our efforts on Connor.”

“Dante,
I’m sorry. I haven’t been able to reach him during meditation. You are his best
bet at this point.”

“I
appreciate you trying. I have reached him three times so far. Hopefully, I can
continue.”

“I
have faith in you, Brother. As far as Alistair, he’s going to be pissed when he
finds out my jet happened to malfunction. I have a feeling our uncle has just
begun to target us. I received a package in the mail. The post mark was from
New Atlanta and not Greece, but I know in my gut he sent it. The envelope
contained photographs from Egypt. The pictures were of Nikolas, Sophia, her
parents, and Ezekiel. Whoever sent the pictures knows we are helping in the
search. Julian hasn’t been able to reach Nikolas since we sent Ezekiel to him.
Jonas is working with Elizabeth to contact Ezekiel. I didn’t call so you would worry
about Nikolas. I wanted you to be made aware of the situation, especially you
Gregor since you and Tessa are planning on joining the search.

“Now,
for the good news. I wanted to let Isabelle know Maria is awake. Jonas pulled
some strings and is taking over her care. As soon as she is able to be moved,
he is bringing her to New Atlanta. From what he told me, Maria and Rico’s
families have been friends of Jonas for many years. It was why he felt
comfortable leaving Isabelle with them. There’s more to the story than we all
know, but that is something he will have to talk to Isabelle about. Speaking of
Isabelle, why aren’t you with her?”

Dante
groaned, “It’s a long story, but let me shorten it by saying I fucked up.
Royally.”

Gregor
squeezed his shoulder. “We need to get back to the women and make plans to get
Connor. Rafe, do you have anything else for us?”

“As
a matter of fact I do. Dante, have you spoken to Trevor?”

“Not
since yesterday. Why?”

“He
has the results of the burn victim. I thought he would have called you
immediately.”

Dante
frowned, “I texted him, telling him to open the results. How do you know who
was named?”

“Fuck,
I feel like I’m in a soap opera here. Jasper was sitting in Kaya’s office when
Trevor texted Jasper. Jasper went to see Trevor who showed him the results.
Jasper in turn came to the manor and told me and Kaya. I know that isn’t
protocol, but Dante, the victim is Gordon Flanagan.”

Gregor
let out a whoop. “Is he sure? Oh gods, this is wonderful!”

Dante
couldn’t help but be glad for his brother. This would be a great load off
Tessa’s shoulders and, in turn, Gregor’s.

“Jasper
saw the results with his own eyes. Unless someone fabricated the papers, it’s
true. Gregor, I know you’ll tell Tessa. Now, go get Connor and come home so we
can all celebrate. Be well, my brothers.”

“And
you, our King,” they said in unison.

“Brother,
this is great news. You should get back to Tessa and share it with her.”

“Not
without you. Dante, Isabelle chose you. She mated with you of her own free
will. You’ve heard her talk about how badly Alexi treated her. Put yourself in
her place. She thought her husband was dead, and she was free to love whomever
she chooses. Now, after six years, she finds out he’s alive. It’s not bad
enough Stavros has his hands on Connor, but Alexi as well? Come on, don’t give
up on her so soon. She chose you. After you walked out, Tessa asked her point
blank if she still wanted Alexi, and she adamantly said she does not. She’s in
shock and confused.”

“She
doesn’t want him? He’s…”

 “He’s
a fucking loser who kidnaps little girls, for the gods’ sake! Give her a little
credit, Brother.”

Dante
nodded. “Okay. Yes, let’s get back. I need to apologize for keeping that from
her.”

Gregor
clapped him on the shoulder. “Did you have to run so fuckin’ far?”

Dante
gave a hint of a smile, and his heart loosened a little. He could always count
on Gregor to make him feel better. “Have I said thank you?”

“For
what?” Gregor asked as they jogged along the pier.

“For
coming with me, helping me get Isabelle back.”

“I
wouldn’t be anywhere else, you know that.”

“I
know.” And he did know. Dante was grateful for his brother.

They
made it back to the condo in twice the time it took them to get to the pier. When
they reached the door, Gregor reminded Dante, “Be patient with her. If I know
my mate, Tessa’s already laid it out for Isabelle including the fact Julian is
working on getting the marriage annulled.”

“You
go ahead in. I need a second.” Dante wanted to pull himself together. He leaned
against the wall and closed his eyes. Visions of Isabelle spread out in the car,
laid out naked beneath him on the bed, claws digging into his back, it all came
to mind. Gregor was right, she wanted him. At least she had before she found
out she was still married. Dante took in a deep breath. He knew he was being a
coward, hanging out in the hallway, but he couldn’t face her rejection again.
Not yet.

 He
wanted to attempt to reach Connor. Considering they had the top floor to
themselves, he shouldn’t be bothered by any other guests. He slid down the wall
until he was sitting, legs crossed in the lotus position. Closing his eyes, he
put Isabelle out of his mind and replaced her beautiful face with the sweet
face of Connor.

Connor
can you hear me? Connor, it’s Dante. Come on, Buddy, help me. Help me find you.
I have your momma here with me.

The
door opened and a shaky, unsure voice whispered, “Dante?” Isabelle called his
name, breaking his concentration. She shut the door behind her but didn’t come
closer. “Are you okay?”

He
probably looked out of sorts, sitting in the hall meditating. “Yes, I was
trying to reach Connor,” he said as he stood.

“Did
you? Reach him?” Isabelle wrapped her arms around herself. Dante wanted his
arms around her, but she needed to come to him. He had marked her, and in his
heart, she was his. If she didn’t want him though, he would do his best to
forget what happened less than an hour ago. He took a step toward her but
stopped.

“I
had just closed my eyes, so no.” He looked at his feet instead of into her
eyes. He was afraid of what he would see there.

“I’m
sorry,” they both said at the same time. He did look up then. “You don’t have
to apologize. I should have told you about your husband.” He lowered his eyes
to his shoes.

“He’s
not my husband,” Isabelle huffed as she took a step closer. “At least not in my
mind. Or my heart. Dante, please.”

He
couldn’t resist the pleading in her voice. He closed the gap between them,
pulling her chin up so he could search her eyes, seek for the truth of her
heart. The shimmer there was his undoing. He pulled her into his embrace, and
she circled her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest. “I’m so
sorry I freaked on you. It…it was just a really big shock,” Isabelle whispered
into his shirt. “I don’t want him, don’t want to be married to him. Please tell
me you didn’t call Julian to stop the annulment.”

“I
didn’t call Julian. I couldn’t.” Dante kissed her hair. They stayed quiet for
several minutes, just holding each other.