Malakai (The Stone Society Book 13)

by Faith Gibson

  This is nothing more than a distraction.

  Probably, but we don’t know what they’re distracting us from.

  His thoughts immediately went to Josie, but Kai knew she was safe with the other mates on the Clan jet. Someone growled behind him, and Kai turned, sword raised, just in time to block a set of claws slashing toward his face.

  It took a couple hours, but the three teams Frey sent out finally had the city safe again. Lorenzo drove around, helping secure the alive Unholy in the transport, while Dane worked with the city sanitation manager to gather the bodies of those slain. Coming from California where there were few Unholy, it had surprised Kai to find out all dead Unholy were taken to surrounding funeral homes for cremation. It didn’t surprise him the Stone Clan paid for disposal anonymously.

  Kai was tired and covered in blood. He and the others were in serious need of showers. Except Kai didn’t have a home to go back to. Well, he did. It just wasn’t livable. He had only taken a cursory glance around before being called to Frey’s home. Maybe it was salvageable.

  “You all are welcome to stay at my home, but I understand if you’d prefer a hotel,” Frey offered.

  “We already have rooms reserved, but after a shower I wouldn’t mind hanging out at your place,” Dominic said. The other New Orleans crew agreed.

  “Malakai?”

  “I’m going to run home first, and take a look around. But I’ll take you up on a spare bed.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll meet you all there.”

  After dropping off Dominic and the others who’d ridden with him at the hotel, he took a deep breath and drove home. His anger stirred when he had to put in the numeric code to open the gate. Fat lotta good it did keeping unwanted guests out. His eyes burned when the house came into view. It wasn’t completely destroyed, but he didn’t know enough about architecture to know if it could be salvaged using what remained, or if it would need to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch.

  The brunt of the destruction was to the garage and living areas in the house. The bedrooms on the west side were still relatively intact. Kai needed to call Sixx and let him know about the house as well as the Veyron. The Jeep had been parked far enough away that it only received cosmetic damage by falling debris. He made his way to the back of the house and cringed. The once-lush landscaping now lay under fallen stone pieces and scraps of wood. The swimming pool was filled with detritus as well.

  Kai continued around to the side where the bedrooms were. He opened his senses to make sure he was alone before removing his shirt and phasing. Using his massive wings, Kai launched himself to the window of the master bedroom. Or where the window had been. All the glass had been blown out in the blast. Since he wasn’t sure how sound the structure was, he retracted his wings to slide through the window frame but was ready to dive back out in case of collapse. Luckily, the floor held his weight. Kai moved carefully but quickly, gathering all of his and Josie’s clothes. He wasn’t as worried about his things as he was her pretty dresses and matching shoes.

  After tossing the bags out the window, Kai climbed through the frame and dropped to the ground, landing silently on his feet. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and took photos of the destruction so he could email them to Sixx. Taking one last look around, Kai grabbed the bags and tossed them in the Jeep and headed back to Frey’s. Normally, Kai loved the early morning, but with everything going on, all he could enjoy was knowing his mate was safe.

  He reached out to tell her good morning, but before he spoke, he felt her fear.

  Josie? Sunshine, what’s wrong?

  Oh, god. Malakai, I love you.

  Josie? Josie! Sunshine?

  “I found him,” Hagen said when Drago disconnected his phone. “Craven is in Mississippi.”

  It was about damn time. Hagen had been searching for the scientist for two months. “Great job. Where in Mississippi?”

  “Just north of New Biloxi, which is on the coast. Are you going to send a team after him?”

  “No. I’m going after him myself. I’m leaving Rennick in charge of the Unholy and their attacks. I’m sending Trexon to Florida to search for any Greeks who weren’t captured. Without Arden to direct the Goyles in New Jacksonville, they were holed up in their hotel rooms running up room service charges instead of finding more women for Mr. Collins. I paid Craven for more serum. I need that as well as him to create more Unholy, but we also need our income stream from the trafficking business to continue paying for our venture.”

  “What would you like me to do?” Hagen asked.

  “You’re coming with me. Pack quickly. We need to clear out of the apartment and head to the warehouse. Once we’ve located Craven, we’ll find a new place to stay for the duration of our plan.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Hagen rushed to his bedroom while Drago gathered his own clothes. He hated to abandon the apartment, but with Julian’s new hacker, it was only a matter of time until he found Drago there.

  Once they had their clothes together, Drago helped Hagen with the electronics. He had already double-checked they were leaving no identifying information lying around.

  The Reborn Drago had sent downtown with the Unholy were texting reports to Drago with the number of Gargoyles fighting them as well as photos of the males. Drago had the Stone Clan scattered. He knew blowing up their homes would have them ready for revenge, but Drago would soon have the number of his own army needed to go up against them. He didn’t have time to track down the scientist, but Drago didn’t trust anyone else to retrieve the man.

  Moving the Unholy to the new location had taken time, but it had been worth it. Hagen had proven to be invaluable when he set up a company under whose name they purchased the new property. Hagen blamed himself for Arden’s location being discovered, but Drago quickly put the young man’s mind at ease. Hagen was pitting himself against a Gargoyle with hundreds of years’ experience. Drago was proud of what Hagen had accomplished in his short life.

  “Ready?” Drago asked.

  “For anything,” Hagen responded with a smile.

  As Hagen pulled open the passenger door, he frowned. Drago got in the car, impatient to get on the road. “Hagen? We need to go.”

  The young man got in and buckled, but his attention immediately returned to his phone.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “I’m not sure. Either someone is playing with me, or…” Hagen was lost in thought, his bottom lip being mauled by his top row of teeth. When he looked at Drago, his eyes were bright with excitement. “Or Christmas has come early.” He handed his phone over. Drago read the message, then he read it two more times. He didn’t want to get his hopes up because Hagen was right; this could be a trap. But if it wasn’t? If it wasn’t… Drago handed the phone back. As much as he wanted to hope the sender of the message wasn’t playing with him, he couldn’t let his guard down. He would continue with the plan he had in place, and if the sender did make good on his promise? Drago shook his head, not allowing himself to think that far ahead.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Josie admired Sophia. The female was a month away from giving birth and had found out her home had been destroyed, yet she was comforting Trevor and Josie. Trevor, for his part, was more concerned about some journals he had hidden in his home. When he caught Josie frowning, he sat beside her.

  “When I was in high school, I met a few other clones. I started making a list. I’m not sure why, but at the time it felt important. When we left for college, my friends agreed to send me the names of any other clones they met. It sort of became an obsession over the years. Like when Tessa went through her ordeal with the Redhead Killer. All those other women who died could have been Tessa’s sister if not twin. While I had them on the autopsy table, I tested their blood.”

  “You didn’t tell me this,” Tessa said, coming closer. Trevor had the attention of everyone except Abbi, who was in the bedroom with the kids and Molly.

  “You and I weren’t friends yet. At the time, I didn
’t know the truth of Gargoyles or who Joseph really was. I added the deceased women to my journals, but it got me thinking, so I did some digging.” Trevor turned, giving Tessa all his attention. “I haven’t shared this with anyone because I don’t know what it means, but there are over twenty clones in and around Georgia who could pass for your sister.”

  “Are you saying my father cloned Tessa more than once?” Isabelle asked. The doctor looked like she was going to be sick, whereas Tessa appeared more confused than angry.

  “I’m saying someone did. You’d have to ask Jonas if it was him, or if someone else got their hands on Tessa’s DNA somehow.” Trevor turned back to Josie. “I don’t want that information to get in the wrong hands. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a clone, but not everyone wants that part of themselves made public.”

  “Why would Jonas do that? Make multiple versions of Tessa, I mean,” Josie asked.

  “Because she’s the second coming,” Isabelle muttered. “Always was the favorite.”

  “Seriously, Belle? I thought we’d gotten past all that.” Tessa stood and went to follow her cousin who was walking toward the back of the plane. When Tessa grabbed for Isabelle’s hand, the doctor turned on the redhead.

  “I had. I have. I… It doesn’t matter. I’m going to check on Connor.”

  “Belle. Isabelle—”

  “Let her go.” Sophia stepped in front of Tessa. “Let her go, Tess.”

  Obviously, the cousins had omitted parts of their past when telling Josie their stories. She felt bad for them, especially Isabelle, because it was clear the doctor felt somewhat inferior in the eyes of her father, at least where Tessa was concerned. Josie knew all about that.

  “I’m sorry,” Trevor said to no one in particular.

  “Not your fault, Nerd Boy. This is all on Jonas. And you can bet your geek ass I’ll be talking to him about the clones next time I see him.” Tessa grabbed the half-empty bottle of tequila and strode to the front of the plane, taking a seat by herself.

  “Trevor, have you looked at any of the other clones to see if there were similarities between them?” Katherine asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you and I were cloned for a purpose. But those redheads… were they cloned for a purpose as well? Are there others out there who match your DNA? Or mine? What if whoever made us did the same thing? Saved some of our DNA to make others who look just like us?”

  “No, I haven’t because in cataloguing all the ones I know about, I never saw photos of anyone who looked like me. And I haven’t come across any more of our kind lately.”

  “Have you figured out who the doctor was? Who was behind the procedures? I mean Jonas isn’t the only doctor out there doing the cloning, so what if there’s another doctor making multiples?”

  Trevor grinned. “I see that reporter brain of yours hasn’t been lost behind a camera lens. But no. I honestly haven’t given it much thought lately, what with school and all.”

  “Did Jonas work alone?” Josie asked. When Trevor and Katherine looked at each other then back at her, she continued. “What if someone else knew what Jonas was doing and they also knew who and what Tessa was? If I recall correctly, all the women who were killed were the same approximate age. If it wasn’t Jonas, then may—” The plane shook violently, and Josie screamed.

  Karson came bursting through the cockpit door at the same time Abbi and Isabelle emerged from the bedroom with the kids. “Listen up. I didn’t go over safety precautions because all of you have flown before, but we have a situation. We’re about half an hour away from Hawaii, and we have engine trouble.” He raised the cushion from an empty seat, showing them a flotation device. “Everyone, look under your seat and grab your life vest.” Karson pulled out two smaller vests and passed them back to Isabelle and Abbi for the children.

  “What about Molly?” Connor asked as Isabelle secured the vest to her son. Isabelle looked at Karson, and everyone waited.

  “I’ll do my best to get her to safety, but I have to make sure all of you are secure first. Bryce has already called in a MAYDAY, but like I said, we’re not close enough to the islands to try to land.”

  “Are we going to” — Tessa looked at the children — “What is the plan?”

  The oxygen masks were released from the area above their heads, dangling back and forth. “The cabin of the plane is a pod. Bryce is going to lower the altitude as easily as he can, but with the engines failing, it’s not going to take long until… Everyone strap in and put on your oxygen masks. As soon as you’re all secure, I’m going back to the cockpit. The pod will release much like an ejector seat. There are two massive parachutes which are supposed to deploy, but in case they don’t, once the pod is ejected, Bryce and I are going to eject from the cockpit, and we’re both going to do our best to phase and direct the pod to the water. If we don’t get to you in time, I’m not going to lie; it’s going to be a rough landing, but you’ll all be secure inside. The life jackets are just in case.”

  Josie tightened the seatbelt as the jet jolted again, secured the mask over her face, and grabbed the edge of the arm rests. Karson doublechecked everyone was secure in their seats.

  “Hand me Molly,” Tessa instructed as she sat on one of the sofas. Karson did as she requested, and Tessa wrapped her arms around the dog. That was easier said than done, since the animal was clearly aware something bad was happening. Tessa put her mask over her nose and nodded.

  Karson took one last look before he disappeared behind the cockpit door.

  Josie? Sunshine, what’s wrong?

  Oh, god. Malakai, I love you.

  Josie? Josie! Sunshine?

  Before Josie could answer Kai, the cabin was shot into the air. Everyone screamed, Josie included. The pressure from the seatbelt was painful, and even though she was wearing an oxygen mask, Josie felt like she was going to pass out. Her eyes hurt from how tightly they were closed, but when the pod changed directions, she opened them and screamed again. The cabin was in freefall, and her heart threatened to stop. Josie’s life didn’t pass before her eyes, but Kai’s face was front and center in her mind.

  Oh, Malakai.

  Something in her peripheral made Josie look out the window. Two large figures were flying toward the pod, and when they got closer, she could see both Bryce and Karson in their shifter forms, diving through the air toward the cabin. They disappeared from view, and Josie waited for the pain to come with hitting the water, but instead of crashing into the ocean below, the pod jerked. She figured it was the parachutes opening. Then the pod slowed and swung back and forth. The splash came, but it was nothing more than a jarring halt, then the pod tilted sideways.

  “Wheee, that was fun!” Amelia squealed.

  “Are we dead?” Trevor asked.

  “Is everyone okay?” Tessa asked, as she allowed Molly to jump off the sofa. The dog whined and began pacing the aisle, causing more rocking.

  “Should we stay seated?” Willow asked.

  “I think so,” Isabelle answered. “Molly’s rocking the pod, and if we all stand, it’ll be like trying to walk in a canoe.”

  “How the hell are we going to explain this to the Coast Guard?” Tessa asked, looking around at everyone. “Sophia? Abbi? Are you two okay? Connor?”

  “I’m fine,” Connor said, less enthusiastically than Amelia had.

  “I’d rather not do that again, but I’m okay,” Abbi responded.

  “Sophia?” Isabelle called out, but the woman didn’t answer. “Soph!” Isabelle unbuckled and knee walked to where her niece was sitting. “Shit, she’s unconscious.”

  “I don’t feel so good,” Katherine said. If this was a commercial plane, there would have been barf bags in the pocket of the seat in front of them, but since it was a private jet, the seats were mostly facing the aisle. Katherine couldn’t put her head between her legs because of the life jacket.

  Josie unbuckled and slowly crawled over to the redhead. “Unbuckle.” Katherine did,
and Josie helped her remove the life jacket. She directed Katherine to lean over, and she rubbed small circles on the other woman’s back.

  Josie?

  I’m here, but holy hell. Our plane…

  Katherine sat up suddenly and shoved Josie out of the way. She made it three steps, rocking the pod, and then she vomited. At least they were toward the back of the cabin.

  What about the plane?

  We had engine trouble. The pod was ejected, and now we’re floating on the ocean.

  Josie grabbed her head when her Gargoyle roared.

  Sunshine? Please tell me you’re just messing with our beast.

  Why would I joke about something like that? Either the parachutes did their job, or Bryce and Karson intercepted the pod because we splashed down instead of crashing.

  Is everyone okay?

  Sophia’s unconscious. Katherine threw up, and Molly’s unsettled.

  Where are Bryce and Karson now?

  Josie crawled onto the seat and looked out the window. Bobbing in the water.

  Hang tight, Sunshine. I need to tell the others.

  I’m not going anywhere.

  Kai was lucky he hadn’t wrecked. He was close to Frey’s house when his shifter spoke to their mate. He jumped out of the Jeep and yelled, “Frey!” even though yelling wasn’t necessary.

  His boss came running around the side of the house. “What is it? Did you see Unholy?”

  “No, it’s the jet. I’m not sure what happened exactly, but Josie and the others are in some kind of pod floating in the middle of the ocean.”

  “Come again?” Frey stared at Kai like he was an alien.

  “I’m not joking. I just talked to Josie. The plane was going down, and a pod was ejected.”