Gregor (Stone Society Book 2) (4 page)

Gregor
stood off to the side of the room observing Rafael with Kaya. Just a couple of
weeks ago all the brothers had little optimism in finding their mates. Now,
hope was back. In the beginning, Kaya had been reluctant to let Rafael into her
personal life, mostly because Rafael was a murder suspect. As soon as he had
been cleared, she accepted his love and the bond. She seemed right at home in
the manor. The only drawback Gregor could see was the fact she was a veteran
cop and put her life on the line every day. Rafael was not happy about this,
but he would not command her to quit. That was no way to start their
relationship.

Laughter
coming from the kitchen grabbed Gregor’s attention. “You should have seen him,
he was as surprised as I was.”  Jasper, a cousin who had recently relocated
from the west coast, was telling a tale. When he first arrived, the man would
barely speak. Now he fit right in with the rest of them.

“Who
are you talking about?”  Gregor clapped him on the shoulder as he walked by.

“Dane
Abbott, Kaya’s detective. We shook hands, and his fangs popped out.”

All
conversation ceased as everyone turned to Jasper. Kaya dropped her coffee cup,
the hot liquid splashing on her jean-clad legs. “What did you say?”  She gripped
Rafael’s arm for support. Priscilla, the housekeeper, grabbed a towel, mopping
up the spilled coffee. “Please, Priscilla, I will clean up the mess. I’m the
one who made it.”  Kaya pulled at the older woman, trying to get her off the
floor.

“Priscilla,
we’ll clean this up. Please continue with breakfast.”  Rafael asked everyone to
make their way to the dining room. Once everyone was seated, he turned to
Jasper. “Are you saying Dane Abbott is a shifter?”

“Well,
yeah, but I think he’s a newbie. He had no control over his phase.”

Kaya
asked, “What’s a newbie?”

Rafael
explained it to her. “Someone who has just started their transitions. Mason is
a newbie, but he had control of his phasing after the first day. Jas, how did
he explain it?”

“He
didn’t really, just said he was still getting the hang of it and wanted to know
how I knew about phasing. I told him because I was one of his kind. He then
mentioned Kaya being out for a few days, and I told him I had met Kaya and
thought she was really nice. He wanted to know when I met her, and I said when
she was kidnapped.”

“Did
you tell him I’m a shifter?” Rafael sounded a little irritated.

“No,
he said he had a brief to conduct, and he dropped the subject. Seriously
though, he’s too old to be a newbie.”

“Kaya,
when Dane was missing, where did he say he had been?” Rafael threaded his
fingers through hers while he spoke to his Queen. If they were in the same
room, Rafael was usually touching her.

“He
said he was in the hospital, or a private clinic to be more precise.”

“This
doesn’t make any sense. If he were one of ours, we would know about it. Jasper,
get close to Dane and find out as much as you can. If he won’t open up, then I
will think of something else. Kaya, don’t let on that you know anything just
yet. If he didn’t tell you the truth before, I doubt he will now. We need to
find out all we can about Dane.”

“Gregor,
any word from our inmate?” They were hoping to get information voluntarily out
of Vincent Alexander.

Gregor
shook his head, “Not yet. He must have been a chain smoker, because all he
writes is ‘cigarette’. The doctor prescribed the patch for him, but I’ve
watched him through the window. After a few minutes he pulls it off and throws
it on the floor. As far as any information, nothing. I’m going to give it a few
more days.”  He didn’t have to finish his statement. If after a few more days
they still didn’t have any information on Gordon Flanagan, Gregor would get
tough with him. Try to make him communicate.

After
breakfast was over, the men all went their separate ways. Gregor hung back,
asking to speak with Rafe.

“What
is it my brother?” Rafael asked Kaya to excuse them as they walked outside to
the patio.

“I
think I’ve found my mate. There’s something strange about it though. Dante and
I went out last night, and I saw a redhead who bumped into me a few years ago.
Back then, I didn’t think anything about the reaction my body had to hers.
Knowing about the possibility of mating with humans has me taking a closer
look. Last night, I thought I was going to pass out. Just being close to her
had my head in a fog. I wanted to see if I could get a reaction from her so I
kissed her. Rafe, I thought she was going to fuck me right there in the bar. Until
she bit me. The brat bit me.” Gregor was laughing now even though it hadn’t
been funny the night before.

“Then
what happened?”

“She
told me I creeped her out, threw her pool stick down, and stormed out of the
place.”  Gregor didn’t laugh at that. He wasn’t a desperate man who hit on
random women. The women came to him. “At first I was confused, because I had
these feelings at work. Then I remembered what Nikolas said about Tessa being a
redhead and riding a motorcycle. It took me a while, but I think I’ve finally
put two and two together. Rafe, I need to see a picture of Tessa.”

“I’m
sure Nik or Julian can provide you with one. Go to the lab before you go to the
Pen. Gregor, if Tessa is your mate, this could be good for us.”  Tessa had
knowledge about Jonas Montague that the men needed.

Gregor
shook his head sadly. “I hate to say this, but I don’t think I’m going to get
the fairy tale romance you and Kaya have, Brother. Red obviously doesn’t like
me, and I pretty much can’t handle being around her. No, for whatever reasons,
the fates have decided to play a joke on me.”

“You
don’t know that. I felt the same way at first when I met Kaya, but let me tell
you something. When you get the beast under control, it will be like nothing
you ever imagined.”

“I
hope you’re right. Now, go be with your woman. I’ll talk to you later.”  Gregor
pulled Rafe in, clapped him on the back with a quick hug, and released him. “Be
well, my brother.”

“And
you as well.”

Gregor
wasn’t concerned about his beast. He didn’t think this woman would let him
close enough to need to contain his inner hunger. For whatever reason, she
didn’t like him. If he didn’t know this, he would think she was the perfect
woman. She was a feisty redhead who rode a motorcycle and shot pool with the
best of them. She had a smart mouth, and she cursed too much. While that might
turn some men off, Gregor found it appealing. She was a tough broad, and that cranked
his motor.

When
he arrived at the lab, Gregor parked his Hummer between Julian’s Corvette and
Nik’s Audi. The sports cars were cool but Gregor preferred the more rugged
vehicle. While he did have a few muscle cars tucked away in his garage, if he
needed speed, he would hop on his motorcycle and ride the wind.

Once
inside, he found both his cousins at their computers, fingers tapping away at
their keyboards. It never ceased to amaze him how geeky they both were. If
geeky meant being the best at what they did, who was he to judge?

“Gregor,
what brings you here?” Julian asked while continuing to type.

“I
need to see a picture of Tessa Blackmore.”  He really didn’t want to get into
the mate discussion again, but he knew they wouldn’t let this go with no
explanation.

Nikolas
stopped typing and asked, “Didn’t you say she had visited the Pen? How do you
not know what she looks like?”

“Yes
she visits. It’s just that every time she has, I’ve been busy with something
else, you know like putting Unholy in the Basement.”

“Here
you go.”  Julian pointed to his computer monitor. “Oh shit, I know that look. It’s
the same one Nik has when he returns from the library.”

Gregor
grimaced when he noticed Nik’s expression. “I hope I don’t have
that
look.” His cousin was not happy.

Julian
inclined his head in his brother’s direction. “Nikolas’ mate has been M.I.A.
the last few days. Tessa’s
your
mate, isn’t she?”

“I’m
not sure, but yeah, I think she is.” Why would Tessa tell everyone at The
Tavern her name was Trixie?

“If
you’ve never seen her face, how do you know?”  Nikolas asked, frowning.

“Oh,
I’ve seen her face, I just didn’t know it was Tessa. About three years ago she
bumped into me at a gas station. Then last night she came into the bar where
Dante and I were having a drink. I thought I was going to black out. You know
the feeling, Nik.”  His cousin nodded. “I challenged her to a game of pool to
get closer to her. That in itself was a mistake. After a few minutes of barely
containing myself, I couldn’t take it any longer. I kissed her. I’m pretty sure
she’s the one.”

“That’s
great news, right? Not only do you have Isabelle working for you, but now you
can possibly get the information we need from her cousin.”  Nikolas had spent
many hours poring over the family journals, searching for information on
bonding with humans.

“We’ll
see.”  Gregor didn’t want to admit to his cousins that the woman who was
potentially his mate couldn’t stand him.

“I
need to get to work. I’ll catch you two later.”

Gregor’s
mind tried to sort through everything he knew so far about the spitfire. If
Tessa was Trixie, he would make sure the next time she came to see Isabelle he
was ready for her.

Merrick tracked the redhead
through the passenger window of his Mustang. He glanced at the picture in his
hand then back at the woman. Greta Powell, age 33. He put the photo back in the
manila file folder and tucked it between his seat and console. Was she a dog
lover? Most women were. He pulled up alongside her. “Excuse me, ma’am, have you
seen a white poodle? My dog decided to run away, and I can’t find her
anywhere.”

The pretty woman
stopped and bent over, taking in Merrick’s features. He didn’t look like a
stone-cold killer, did he? He flashed his straight white teeth and his dimpled
grin. “Hi. Please tell me you’ve seen her. She’s kinda old, and I’m really
afraid for her.”

“I’m sorry, I
haven’t.” Greta was eyeballing Merrick’s physique. He probably should have on
long sleeves with the weather being cool, but the way she was checking out the
swirling tattoos wrapping around his bulging biceps could work to his favor.

“Would you help me search?
Please?” Greta studied his face and nodded. He unlocked the door and like a
mouse to the proverbial cheese, she slid into the trap. “I really appreciate
this. I’ll drive slow and you call for her.”

“What’s her name?”
Greta must not watch the news, or she would know she fit the profile of the
most recent murder victims.

“Gretel.” He couldn’t
resist.

“What did you say?”
It was obviously similar enough to Greta to alarm her.

“Gretel, as in Hansel
and Gretel. You know, where the kids are shoved in the oven by the witch? My
mother just loved that story.”

“Yeah, I know the
one. I just…” Greta turned toward the window and started calling for the
missing dog. Driving slow gave Merrick the opportunity to check out his latest
catch. She was just like the rest: red hair, slight build, beautiful face. He
might have to have a little fun with this one before he snuffed the life out of
her.

Isabelle
was ready to give the warden her list of things she needed for the clinic. The
medicine cabinet was stocked with items that at first glance didn’t make sense.
After she read the notes Dr. Henshaw had scribbled in various files, they made
perfect sense. She hated to think ill of the dead, but the man had been crazy. If
she didn’t know better, she would think he had been on Gordon Flanagan’s
payroll instead of the Pen’s.

Tessa
told her to keep this information to herself, to not tell Gregor. What if
Gregor already knew? She didn’t know the warden at all. No, until she had no
doubt she could trust him, she would not divulge that she was aware of what
Henshaw had been up to. Isabelle still hadn’t made it through every inmate’s
file. There were so many, and the ones she had looked at required more than
just a cursory glance. The inmates who were truly in need of medication were
the ones who were being neglected.

She
didn’t care that they were criminals; they were human. Isabelle had taken an
oath, and that oath didn’t allow her to discriminate. She wanted to check on
those prisoners who had been used as guinea pigs. She also couldn’t stop
thinking of the albino. Something about him spoke to her, told her there was
more to the man than just what was on the surface. The one thing she did know
was he needed nicotine. The patch she was giving him obviously wasn’t strong
enough, so she ordered a higher dose. She also ordered the medication that
would help alleviate his cravings. If he was going to be stuck in a cell the
rest of his life, he would not see a cigarette ever again.

Isabelle
gathered her papers and headed to Gregor’s office. She would probably need to
explain some of the medications. At her clinic, she ordered her own supplies. She
needed to find out the protocol for the Pen and also find out who besides her
could order prescription drugs. Stopping just outside his office door, she
listened to make sure Gregor wasn’t on the phone. When she didn’t hear talking,
she knocked. “Come in.”  She should find his deep voice sexy. Instead, it was
just another sound to her.

“Good
morning, Sir. I have the list of supplies and medications I need.”

“I
told you, Isabelle. There’s no need to call me Sir. Let’s see what you have.”

She
handed the long list to him and waited while he read over everything. He didn’t
flinch at the list of medications. “Do you want to order the meds yourself, or
did you want us to get them?”

“I
wanted to ask you what protocol is in that regard. With Dr. Henshaw being
deceased, I didn’t know if you had someone else to order the medicine. I will
be glad to place the order.”

“I
have a cousin who is a doctor and he could order them, but since you are
running the clinic now, I don’t see a reason you shouldn’t do the ordering
yourself.”

“Can
I ask you a question?”  Isabelle still didn’t know why they had singled her out
for the job. Gregor nodded so she continued. “Why didn’t you ask your cousin to
take this job, why me?”

Gregor
didn’t hesitate. “My cousin happens to be the city’s medical examiner. He loves
what he does and would never consider leaving his position. Your name came up
when we researched local doctors who specialized in infectious disease. While
you will not be dealing with Unholy, your background made you a frontrunner. There
are several inmates who have become ill while serving their time, and Dr.
Henshaw was having a difficult time with a diagnosis. If he were still alive, I
would have probably reached out to you anyway. When you go through the inmate
records, I want you to concentrate on the open cases he was working on. Hopefully
you will be able to discover what he could not.”

This
made Isabelle feel much better. Of course he could be lying, but then again, if
he was telling the truth, it would make her job much easier. Maybe soon she
would be able to confide in him.

Tessa
paced across her living room. Her fifth phone call to Sam had gone straight to
voicemail just like the first four. She hated to call Sophia, but she was
getting desperate. She thumbed through her contacts and found the girl’s
number.

“Hello?”

“Sophia,
this is Tessa. How are you?”

“Hey,
Tessa. Honestly, I’m not doing too good. I was just about to call you. Have you
spoken to my father?”

“No,
I haven’t. I take it you haven’t spoken to your mother either?”

“No,
it’s like they’ve both disappeared. Tessa, this isn’t like them. Either of them.
They would never leave and not tell me.”

“You’re
right. Shit. I have to take off to Louisiana, and I wanted to see if he could
keep an eye on Isabelle. I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone. I realize
this is really shitty timing. I’m pretty sure she’ll be okay, but you never
know.”

“Of
course. The clinic is close to the library, so I can check in on her during
breaks.”

“Uh,
actually she has a new job. She started working at the penitentiary a few days
ago.”

“Why
would she do that? She has her own practice.”

“Somehow
she stumbled onto Dane, and I had to tell her the truth. While she was watching
him transition, she came face to face with her mother. Talk about a shock; seeing
Caroline after all these years, and the woman still looks to be in her thirties.
She also found out Jonas is still alive and that I have spent time with both
her parents over the years. Isabelle feels betrayed, and she wants nothing to
do with any of us. Taking the job at the Pen was more an act of rebellion than
anything.”

“I
guess I would feel the same way. Of course I’ll check in on her. You go ahead
on your trip and don’t worry about Isabelle. Just promise me you’ll keep an eye
and ear open for my parents. I’m really worried about them, Tessa.”

“I’m
going to make a few phone calls as soon as I hang up. We’ll find your parents.”

“Thanks.
I need to head to the library now.”

“Speaking
of the library, did you ever find out how Jonas’ journal ended up there?
Nikolas Stone getting his hands on the first diary is not what we need.”

“Um,
it had a fiction jacket on it. Someone must have planted it there. I will ask
around and see what I can find out. I’m running late, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Later.” 
Tessa hung up. She had a nagging feeling in her gut that something bad was
going on with Sam and Monica. And that damn journal. Somebody must have put it
in the library on purpose. Her first thought had been Sophia since the girl
worked there, but what motive would she have?

Tessa
placed several phone calls, but nobody had heard from Sam. He had not been sent
out of the country and should be at home. Since Elizabeth also lived in New
York, she was going to personally check on him. Elizabeth and Xavier never moved
around. That was not the norm for the Gargoyle community. It was hard to
explain why you never aged. Xavier had more money than the gods and had set
Elizabeth up in a fortress. An extravagant, multi-million dollar fortress on a
thousand acres. The area above their property was a no-fly zone. How Xavier had
managed that was anyone’s guess.

While
Tessa roamed the world looking after her cousins, Elizabeth stayed put, rarely
leaving her home. Xavier did not take chances with his mate. He would kill
Gordon Flanagan with his bare hands should the man ever find Elizabeth’s
location. Technically, Elizabeth was still married to Gordon, but there was no
way she could file for divorce without him finding her. Staying married on
paper was the lesser of two evils.

No,
until Gordon was dead, Elizabeth was stuck with that particular burden. Using
half-bloods as decoys to lure the man into the open had so far proved fruitless.
He sent his army to do his dirty work. Even though he was getting on in age, he
was still proving to be a pain in the ass. The recent murders of the delegates had
put a halt to their plans in locating him. Human casualties were just not
acceptable.

Before
Tessa left the state, she needed to make one more trip to the Pen. She wanted
to tell Isabelle she was leaving, but more than that, she wanted to see Tamian.