Dante (Stone Society Book 3) (29 page)

Isabelle
was once again sitting in the back seat of the SUV beside Dante. She was
wearing comfortable clothes he had picked out for her. Clothes she herself
would have chosen. She didn’t miss the fact the bra and panties he picked were
matching lace numbers. Everything he bought her fit perfectly. She had to
wonder how he knew her sizes, unless he had looked at the tags on her dirty
clothes. No matter how he knew, it warmed her heart he had taken the time to go
shopping for her. These gifts were so much more intimate than the chocolate diamond
bracelet sitting at home on her dresser.

After
her mini melt down, she had showered quickly. She was ready to get her son
back. If Dante’s visions were accurate, Connor could be in Zakynthos on
The
Magdalena
. She really hoped not. If she never set foot on a boat again, it
would be too soon. At least this time she would have Dante by her side. She had
no desire to come face to face with either Alexi or his father, but she would do
whatever necessary to get her son away from them.

When
they arrived at the villa Connor had drawn, Gregor slowly drove past. This
particular villa wasn’t as secluded as most of the ones Stavros owned. This one
was just off a main thoroughfare and easily accessible from the road. Isabelle
had told them as much about the layout of the grounds as she could remember.
She had only visited this particular home a couple of times, and it had been
six years ago. They had decided searching for the girls and Connor in the
daytime would be less conspicuous. If they happened to get caught, they could
claim to be tourists looking for their rental home.

Gregor
parked a few blocks down from the home in a public lot which led to a small
pier. Tessa grabbed her backpack out of the rear of the SUV and placed the
straps over her shoulders. Tessa’s bag was filled with all sorts of gadgets.
After they had explained how Tessa supplied the Gargoyles with the tech toys used
in her rescue, Isabelle had a new appreciation for how much of a genius her
father was. The couples walked down the sidewalk, holding hands, taking in the
scenery. To anyone passing them, they looked like any other tourists with their
sunglasses and casual clothing.

When
they approached the first house that was used as a servant’s quarters, they all
stopped under the guise of Gregor tying his shoelace. All four of them reached
out with their shifter senses. The men, being Gargoyles, had keener hearing,
but the women listened anyway. After it was determined the house was empty, they
continued on, walking past the main house. Each shifter listened as they
passed, not hearing anyone inside. Standing in front of the second servant’s
home, the women took pictures of the other couple with their phones. Finding
that house empty as well, they circled back to the main house.

They
walked around the house to a side door leading into the garage. Tessa pulled a
small black kit out of her backpack along with a small electronic looking box.
She placed the box over the alarm and after a few seconds, the alarm was
disabled. With a quickness Isabelle admired, Tessa picked the lock on the door.
She used her shirt to turn the doorknob, careful not to leave fingerprints. They
all entered the garage that was empty of vehicles. Gregor stepped into the
house first, listening again for any sign of life inside. “Clear,” he said and
the others followed him inside. Isabelle led the way up the stairs to the
kitchen.

Leftover
breakfast dishes were still on the table. Isabelle noticed only one place
setting. The food had barely been touched. Tessa picked up the coffee cup.
“It’s cold.” She walked to the coffee pot and placed her hand on the carafe. “It’s
still warm. Whoever was here hasn’t been gone long.” Other than the table, the
room was immaculate.

Isabelle,
remembering the layout of the house, headed for the bedrooms. The first door
she came to showed a made up bed that looked like it had been sat upon. A box
of crayons sat atop the dresser. Her heart clenched. “Connor,” she whispered as
she stepped farther into the room. Dante came up behind her and picked the
crayons up, closing his eyes. She didn’t know how his special abilities worked.
“Are you getting something?” she asked, holding her breath.

“No,
Beautiful, it doesn’t work that way. I just wanted to feel close to him for a
moment.”

That
could possibly be the sweetest thing she had ever heard in her life. Dante
picked up the garbage can and pulled out the crumpled up piece of paper. He
unfolded the paper, placing it on the dresser, using his large hands to carefully
smooth it out. “This is the same picture as before, he’s added to it though.
This little girl is the fifth, the same one from the news broadcast. And those
two are new.” Dante pointed at the men. “He has Stavros standing with the
girls. Alexi is off to the side with himself. If this isn’t a clue, I’ll streak
my hair purple like Trevor’s.”

Gregor
and Tessa were somewhere down the hall. “In here, Brother,” Gregor called to
them. Dante folded the paper neatly and put it in the side pocket of his cargo
shorts. He and Isabelle took in the sight of the next two rooms. Both beds were
still unmade, and a stuffed penguin was lying on the floor. There was a jar on
one of the beds containing a dead lizard. “The girls were here,” Tessa said,
peeking into the last room on the hall. “We must have just missed them. We need
to figure out where they would go.”

Isabelle
said, “I know where the office is. Follow me.” She led them to the office on
the far end of the villa.

As
they were walking, Dante said, “We found a drawing Connor left. I’m pretty sure
he was letting us know Stavros has taken the girls, and he is with Alexi.”

Gregor
nodded, “If that’s the case, we may need to split up. First we need to figure
out where they’ve gone.”

The
office was immaculate, like the rest of the house. There were no papers strewn
about the desk, no stray coffee cups marring the surface. The only article on
the desk was a laptop. Tessa pulled latex gloves out of her backpack and opened
the computer. As soon as it powered up, she began typing away, various files
flashing quickly as she opened several folders. Isabelle watched in amazement
as Tessa expertly searched. “There. What a fuckin’ idiot. Even though his files
are encrypted, he didn’t have a password.” She pulled a thumb drive out of a
small pocket on her backpack and inserted it in the side of the computer. She
began typing codes into the laptop until the encryption was broken, copying the
files from Stavros’ hard drive. “We can’t use this as evidence with the police,
but if he somehow gets away from us today, I want to have the evidence we need
to at least confront him.”

As
the information was copying, Tessa opened Stavros calendar. In pencil, he had
scribbled noon. “Look, something’s going down today, in just a few hours. I bet
he’s offloading the girls. Question is, where? Belle, do you have any idea of
properties they own that would be off the grid?”

Isabelle
was thinking when Gregor’s phone rang. “Stone. Hey, Donovan. That’s great news.
Text me the address and we’ll head that way. Yeah, thanks.” Gregor hung up and
relayed the information, “One of Donovan’s men is a computer genius, much like
Julian. He spent all night hacking into Stavros’ system. He found one email
between a buyer and Stavros regarding the purchase of one of the girls and the
meeting place. Stavros responded telling him to never email him again.
Obviously, he didn’t want the electronic trail, but the damage has been done.
Lucky for us. The meeting is today at noon, and Donovan’s sending us the
address. He’s meeting us there, just in case we need back up.”

Tessa
pulled the thumb drive out of the computer and closed it back down. They
retraced their steps, making sure they didn’t leave fingerprints or any
evidence they’d been there. Isabelle’s stomach was in knots. She took a couple
of deep breaths, calming herself. It would do no good to lose her breakfast. Once
they were seated in the vehicle, Dante laced their fingers together. Her body
immediately calmed even further. She would never yell at him again for helping
her gain control of her emotions.

The
address led them to another villa. This one was secluded and gated. The
property was surrounded by a beautiful ornate fence. Olive trees lined the
driveway. The road leading to the villa was void of traffic as this was one of
the few properties on the street. Even though it was secluded, they couldn’t
sit and wait without being seen. “Isabelle, are you familiar with this place?”
Gregor asked as he pulled over to the side of the street.

She
didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Her throat was closing up, and she wasn’t able to
breathe. The one and only time she had been here had been when she was sick.
She had taken off from work because she had the flu, and Alexi insisted they
get away from Zakynthos for a while. He thought a change of scenery would do
her good. All the change did was make Alexi even more intolerable than usual.
She was sick, and he was drinking. He didn’t care how bad she felt, only that
she had neglected his sexual needs for too long. Isabelle had come downstairs
to get a drink of water and her antibiotics. Before she could make it to the
sink, Alexi grabbed her, pushing her face first over the arm of the sofa. Her
fever kept her from wearing too many clothes. Dressed only in a sheer nightie
and panties, she was easy prey for her husband.

He
dragged the panties down her thighs and forced her legs apart. She fought back
as best she could, but her body was weak. He was so much larger than her
anyway, she had no choice but to let him take her. And he did. Alexi took her,
bare. That’s the thing that always stuck out most in Isabelle’s mind. Alexi
never had sex with her without a condom. Even though she was on the pill, he
made it perfectly clear he wasn’t ready for kids. Between him spilling his seed
without the use of protection and Isabelle’s contraceptives being made
ineffective by the medicine, Alexi got exactly what he didn’t want that night.
A child.

“Isabelle.
Izzy, look at me.” She was no longer the wife being raped. She was now a little
girl, bouncing on someone’s knee. She was giggling and clapping her hands.
“Izzy’s my girl, aren’t you? The only one who loves me. Promise you’ll never
leave me, Izzy. Promise Gabriel.” There was that name again, the same one
Vincent mentioned.

“Belle!”
Tessa’s voice was like ice water. Isabelle’s eyes focused and all three of them
were staring at her. She was sitting on Dante’s lap.

“Beautiful,
what happened? Where did you go just then?” Dante was frowning, not his usual
somber look. Dante was scared.

“I…”
She cleared her throat and wiped her hands down her face. “Yes, I know this
place. It doesn’t have happy memories. What do you want to know?” Isabelle
would think on her vision of herself as a child later.

“Belle,
are you sure you’re okay? You look like you saw a ghost.” Tessa was turned in
her seat, looking at her much the same way Dante was.

“You
could say that. But yes, I’m fine. Just…Gregor, you’re going to need to park somewhere
on the main road. There is nowhere to park here without being seen. The fence
surrounds the property completely. The house sits on a couple of acres that
slopes down to the beach. There is a private gate we can probably get in. After
that, we’ll need to climb the steep path leading up to the house.”

“Probably?”
Tessa asked.

Isabelle
nodded and remembered who she was talking to. “I guess since it’s you, definitely.
I haven’t seen a lock you couldn’t pick.” She felt Dante tense up beneath her.
Turning from Tessa, she asked, “Dante, what is it?”

“Connor…”
Dante shut his eyes and held still. Isabelle held her breath, not wanting to
disturb him. When he opened his eyes, he sighed. “That’s a first. I felt the
tug at my brain. Either he just figured out how to open the connection himself
or…”

“Or
what?” Isabelle asked.

Dante
shook his head. “He’s on an airplane.”

“Oh
god, he’s taking him to the boat. I just know it.” Isabelle couldn’t stop the
tears from rolling down her cheeks.

“Dante,
we need to split up. Call ahead and have the jet readied. You and Isabelle go
to Zakynthos, and Tessa and I will handle things here,” Gregor said as he
pulled back onto the road, heading toward the airport. Isabelle moved off
Dante’s lap and put her seatbelt back on. Dante placed the call to the pilot
who was on standby.

“We
need a taxi.” Isabelle was anxious to get to Connor, but she also didn’t want
them to miss rescuing those five little girls, too. “If you drive us to the
airport, you won’t have time to get back here before the meeting.”

“Dammit,
you’re right,” Gregor said as he kept his eyes on the road.

“Head
back toward town. The farmer’s market brings in tourists. We’ll be able to find
a cab there.” Isabelle couldn’t admire the beautiful scenery floating by. If
she had been paying attention earlier, she would have been prepared when
arriving at that particular location. Having had six years to suppress the memory
of Connor’s conception, she had learned to look at it as a blessing. Dante’s
strong hand pulled her smaller one to his lips.

“I’m
not going to pry, but if you ever want to tell me what happened, just know I’m
here for you. I’m here for you in every way you need me to be. I will not judge
you or abandon you for anything you tell me.” He kissed her knuckles again
before threading their fingers together. She leaned her head against his
shoulder. It seemed to be her favorite spot on his body.