by Faith Gibson
Tamian. Her brother was sitting in the Pen for some bogus rap, and she needed to figure out why. She had watched the news report when he was arrested at Lion Hart Dojo; some bullshit about him going berserk and attacking not only the owner, Geoffrey Hartley, but two others as well. Why had they called him Timothy? An alias, she presumed. Tamian St. Claire was the most calm, rational person on this planet. Jonas and Elizabeth felt it would be safest if she and Tamian kept their distance from each other, but with their bond being so deep, they usually ended up in the same area. They weren’t twins, but the connection she felt with him had to be just as intense, if not more so. He was created from her DNA after all. He just happened to get the goodness gene from their mother.
When she went with Belle to the Pen, she had seen her brother. He told her he belonged in there. Something about that wasn’t right, and she was going to get to the bottom of it. Belle taking the job was going to make her quest a little bit easier. She would only tell Isabelle about Tamian as a last ditch effort. Until then, she would just have to make herself a frequent visitor at the facility. She needed to observe and figure out Stone’s schedule. There was no sense in bumping into him if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. Once had been enough.
Tamian’s identity had remained constant for the most part. He wasn’t being stalked by Gordon Flanagan. Tessa, however, changed her identity often. It was amazing how easily you could become another person with a few strokes of the computer keys. She had different names for every city she visited. The man who thought of himself as her father was a monster and was hell bent on finding her. It was his life’s mission to tear the world apart until he found his child. He had never come close, until recently.
Flanagan was convinced his twin brother, Magnus, had been instrumental in Elizabeth’s disappearance with Tessa. When Flanagan got too close to finding either her or Elizabeth, the family would send in a decoy, trying to lure the man out. Taking Gordon Flanagan down was proving to be next to impossible. Over the years he created his own army of monsters who were dubbed the Unholy. These inhuman creatures were the worst of the worst, and they kept him sheltered and protected at all times, at all costs. When The World Council Delegation had recently been held in New Atlanta, a decoy, Conrad, had gone in, trying to flush Gordon out of hiding. Unfortunately it backfired.
Flanagan managed to kidnap twelve Delegates, one of those being “Magnus”, and the end result was a horrendous death for the man. Had her cousin been a full shifter, he could have protected himself. Since he hadn’t gone through his transition, he was merely a human. Tessa felt responsible even though she shouldn’t. Normally, only the cousins who had already gone through their transitions knew of the family. Somehow Conrad had found out and insisted on volunteering. Everyone in the family knew the risk of being undercover, as well as the possibility of coming face to face with Gordon. Tessa argued if Flanagan somehow found out his brother was dead, he would stop coming after him. They countered that if he thought Magnus was dead, he would turn up his efforts in finding Elizabeth. Wasn’t that his ultimate goal anyway?
Tessa was supposed to be flying to Louisiana in a few days to check on one of the cousins who had yet to change. Normally she would be looking forward to such a trip. Instead, she had a bad feeling in her gut about leaving. Whether it was Isabelle, Tamian, or someone else, she wasn’t sure. She just knew she was needed here.
She locked the back door behind her and straddled her bike. She still had a couple of days before she left, and she was going to make the most of them. Just before she cranked the engine, Tessa’s phone vibrated in her back pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID: Belle. Surely she had butt dialed her, because her cousin only called when she needed something. She’d made it perfectly clear she didn’t need Tessa anymore.
“Belle?” She answered just in case.
“You’re not going to believe what I found. My god, Tessa. The man experimented on the inmates.”
“Who, the doctor?”
“Yes, and he knew about us and the Gargoyles. It’s all here in his notes. He was secretly extracting blood from Unholy and injecting it in the inmates to see what effects it would have. Where would he get Unholy blood?”
“Isabelle, don’t mention this to anyone, especially Gregor. I’m on my way.” She disconnected her phone and buckled her helmet in place while letting her bike warm up. Sonofabitch. Tessa had overheard about Dr. Henshaw being killed in a riot. The guards should be careful who they gossiped around. What if the doctor had been in the middle of the riot on purpose? The man was either really brave or really stupid. Tessa voted on the latter. Wasting no time, she headed to the Pen, praying the whole way Gregor would not be hanging around Belle’s office.
Dane walked into the precinct for the first time since his transition had taken place. It was almost sensory overload. Several people welcomed him back and asked if he was feeling better, but for the most part, it was business as usual. He walked by the dispatcher’s desk and said good morning. Kim replied, “Good morning, Dane. There’s a guy named Jasper waiting for you.” She pointed to a tall redheaded man sitting in a visitor’s chair, drinking a cup of coffee.
“Thanks, Kim.”
“Jasper?” Dane held out his hand as the guy stood. As they shook, something passed between them. Some sort of recognition on a molecular level. Dane searched Jasper’s face to see if he felt it.
Jasper was laughing and pointing. “Dude, fangs.” He grinned and took another sip of his coffee.
Dane touched his hand to his mouth only to cut his finger on a sharp canine. “Fuck.” Maybe he should have taken more time off. He thought he had all this phasing shit under control.
“You okay? Seriously, phasing in public? Tsk tsk.” Jasper obviously thought it was funny. Dane did not. Wait, why was this Jasper not freaking, and how did he know the terminology?
“Why don’t we go to the back?” Dane concentrated, and his fangs retracted. He headed to the back of the precinct where they could speak privately. When Jasper followed him into a conference room, he shut the door. “How do you know about phasing?”
Jasper, grinning, answered truthfully. “Because I’m one of you. But seriously, why are you showing fang in public?”
Dane was confused. Was this guy one of his brothers Caroline had mentioned? “Because I am still getting the hang of this shit. I thought I had it under control, but then when we shook hands… I don’t know, something happened.”
“You look older than most newbies. I transitioned when I was about sixteen.”
“That’s uh, interesting. I’m Dane Abbott, but I guess you already know that. Chief Kane is taking a few days off. For now, I’m in charge, and we need to have our early morning brief.”
“Yeah, I’ve met Kaya. She’s pretty cool.”
“You’ve met her? When?” Dane didn’t like the fact that Jasper was already familiar with Kaya.
“When she was abducted. That was some bad shit that went down. I’m just glad Rafael got to her in time.”
“She told me a little about him.” Actually, she was pretty vague about the guy.
“Yeah, he’s a great leader,” Jasper said with admiration in his voice.
Now Dane was really confused. Jasper was another shifter, and he knew Stone. Did that mean… Shit. He had a department to get going. He would have to worry about Rafael Stone later.
Three
Gregor was already thinking about going out for a beer. Most days he didn’t mind being behind his desk or patrolling the halls at the Pen. Ever since his initial meeting with the new doctor, he had been feeling out of sorts. Now that Rafael had found his mate, Gregor couldn’t think of anything else. Until a few weeks ago, he and his brothers lived their lives without any expectation of finding the one person they were meant to bond with for life. The few female Gargoyles who were still living were already mated.
The King had found his mate in the police chief, a human. Why the fates had now decided to let them bond with
humans was a mystery, like the fates themselves. All the Clan could figure was because their own females were nearly extinct. If the Goyles could mate with humans, there was hope for them all. Hope was one of those feelings Gregor hadn’t felt in a long time. He spent his days watching over the prison, making sure the evil they captured stayed put. He spent his nights patrolling New Atlanta, helping his brothers in taking down the Unholy. The Stone Society ruled the shifter community with his older brother as King. They rarely interfered in the human matters. Kaya Kane, Rafael’s mate, was an excellent leader of the human law enforcement.
When the recent murders fell in the Society’s lap, they had no choice but to get involved. Vincent Alexander was arrested for targeting Rafe and the family. They were still trying to find out why he had attempted to take Kaya out in the process. It was possible she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Both Rafael and their cousin Julian had shielded her from a sniper rifle. The second time Rafael had phased fully, wrapping her in his wings. He was left with no choice but to confide in her with the knowledge of what he and his family were: primordial shapeshifters.
Gregor’s desk phone rang. “Stone.”
“Sir, this is Whitley at the guard shack. There’s a Tessa Blackmore here to see the doctor. I thought the doctor was deceased.”
Ah, the elusive redhead. Nikolas had the pleasure of meeting Isabelle’s cousin when he inquired into Jonas Montague’s journals. He said she was a real firecracker. Tessa had accompanied Isabelle for her interview, but Gregor hadn’t seen her anywhere. “We have hired Dr. Henshaw’s replacement. Dr. Isabelle Sarantos started earlier today, before you came on duty. Tessa is Isabelle’s cousin. Please add her name to the list of approved visitors.”
“Yes sir.”
Gregor hung up the phone then dialed Isabelle’s extension.
“Dr. Sarantos.”
“Isabelle, it’s Gregor. You have a visitor.”
“I apologize. I will not allow my personal life to interfere with my job, but I need to speak with Tessa regarding my clinic.”
“No need to apologize. You are welcome to have visitors any time Isabelle, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the inmates.”
“Thank you. I will meet her at the back door.” They disconnected. Gregor had to play nice. The main reason for hiring the doctor was to get close to her and find out if she knew anything about her father’s missing journals, or even better, human bonding. Nikolas was of the opinion this Tessa knew just as much as her cousin did. Not only did they know about the journals, but they both knew Jonas Montague was a shifter and that he was indeed alive and well, hiding out somewhere.
Gregor stayed in his office, out of the way. He wanted to observe the women together, and his Goyle hearing would allow him to eavesdrop. He rolled his chair over so he could see out his door, through the outer waiting area. Isabelle passed by. The rumble of a motorcycle echoed outside. A few minutes later the sound of female voices passed by his door headed toward Isabelle’s office. A wave of lightheadedness hit him. What the fuck? He rose from his desk and waited until the sound of their shoes was farther down the hallway.
He silently headed in their direction. Luckily, the supply closet was next to Isabelle’s office. He could hide in there and listen. He was just about there when his cellphone rang. Shit. He reversed directions so they wouldn’t hear his conversation. He slid the phone open but didn’t speak until he was once again in the privacy of his office. “Stone.”
“Something amiss?” His brother Dante, the city’s medical examiner, had some type of ESP. He could gauge moods by just the tone of voice.
“I was just about to eavesdrop on the doctor and her cousin. What’s up?”
“I happened to run into several Unholy this afternoon. Why they were out in the daytime is beyond me, but luckily for me, they were. I got to have a little fun, and now I am bringing them to you. I wanted to make sure you were still there.”
“Yeah, I’m here. How far out are you?” Knowing his brother, not far.
“I’m pulling up to the gate now. I will see you in a few,” Dante informed him.
Gregor headed toward the Basement. Isabelle and Tessa would have to wait. If it weren’t for the special restraints Julian created, it would be a battle to apprehend and detain the Unholy. Instead, the restraints did their job, and less than an hour later, the Unholy were in their cages. Dante followed Gregor to his office. They quietly passed by Isabelle’s office in case Tessa was still there. Gregor turned when Dante’s footsteps slowed down then stopped. His brother had one hand on the wall, head hanging down.
Dante shook his head then continued on. When they arrived at Gregor’s office, he asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, fine. I’m sorry I interrupted. The Unholy could wait; the women, maybe not. That would have been the perfect opportunity to listen in.” Dante was back to his usual frowning self.
“I probably should have, but honestly, I’m not so sure I’m ready for that.”
“What do you mean?” Dante took the empty chair opposite Gregor’s desk and leaned back on two legs.
“That’s the second time I’ve been disoriented, and both times were when this Tessa was around. At first I thought it was Isabelle, but I’ve been around her enough now that I am either immune to her or she isn’t the one.”
“The one, as in your mate?” Dante sat his chair down and leaned his forearms on his legs.
“Yes. No. I don’t know, I mean I haven’t been around her long enough to really tell.”
“Well, it’s too late tonight. What do you say we hit The Tavern? We haven’t been out in a long time. It isn’t either of our nights to patrol. Who knows, maybe you’ll see a nice young blonde to take your mind off the redhead.”
Gregor considered it. “Why not? Let me run home and shower, and I’ll meet you there.”
“Sounds good. I need to take the van back to the morgue anyway. I’ll see you in a couple of hours. By the way, what is that smell?”
“What smell?”
Dante shook his head, “Never mind.” They both stood and walked out the door. Dante turned right, headed back toward the entrance to the Basement. Gregor went left, headed to his Hummer.
Tessa couldn’t believe Dr. Henshaw had been secretly trying to create more Unholy. It was a good thing for her the idiot had been caught in the mayhem. If he were still alive, Belle wouldn’t be working at the prison, and she wouldn’t have access to her brother. She read over the files with her cousin, making notes and giving suggestions. She knew more about the cloning process than most scientists, having learned from the best. While Henshaw wouldn’t truly have been creating clones, he could have succeeded in turning normal, if somewhat psychotic, men into monsters. The same way Gordon had created his army.
After about an hour, Tessa told Belle she had to go. She wanted to read Dr. Henshaw’s notes, but right now she wanted to look for her brother more. She left Isabelle’s office and headed down the hallway. She thought with it being so late there would be fewer guards for her to run into. Tamian? She reached out with her mind. Her extra-sharp hearing allowed her to gauge when guards were in the vicinity. She would stop and listen then continue when the coast was clear.
Tamian? Either her brother was on a different level or he was asleep. Loud footsteps halted her progress. When the noise lessened, she peered around the corner just in time to see the retreating back of a tall, fit guard. She admired his backside as he stopped at an unmarked door. He slid a keycard in the slot, waited for the light to turn green, and then went through. Shit. I need to get my hands on one of those. She tried Tamian one more time, to no avail.
Retracing her steps, she quietly walked past Belle’s door toward the exit. Voices coming from Gregor’s office piqued her curiosity, so she paused and listened in on the conversation. “Why not? Let me run home and shower and I’ll meet you there.”
Oh crap. She had to get out of there. Now. She took a chance and rushed past the open doorway, not s
topping until she got outside. There were only a couple of vehicles in the parking lot. One of those surely belonged to Gregor. If she cranked her bike now, he would hear it and know she was just leaving. She toed the gear shift up into neutral and pushed her bike as fast as she could, which was pretty fast considering her shifter strength and speed. When she was out of sight from the back of the building, she hopped on, cranked the engine, and threw her helmet on. She eased on the throttle, making as little noise as possible on the tricked out bike.
She didn’t breathe until she got past the guard shack. The sentry lifted the security barrier before she got there, so she just rolled on through. She gave him a two finger salute and grinned. Tessa wanted to forget about wardens, clones, and her brother being locked up, and she knew just the place. Even though she was going to a biker bar, she decided to go home and clean up a little first. Maybe add a little silver to her mostly black attire. It was still early, and anyone she knew would get there later as well.
Tessa didn’t normally fuss too much with her looks. Her long, red hair was naturally wavy. Her shifter skin required no makeup. Not wanting to look too plain, she did swipe on a little mascara and some lip gloss. She swapped her plain black belt for one with a blingy Harley buckle and added silver hoops to her ears. The woman in the mirror was as close to dolled up as Tessa ever got. If she couldn’t go somewhere dressed in jeans, she would rather not go. Tessa once again straddled her bike. She hit the back roads and headed in the direction of her favorite hangout in New Atlanta. It was a local biker joint where she could toss back a few beers and shoot some pool. It was just the place to forget her worries for a few hours.
