Gregor (Stone Society Book 2) (10 page)

Kaya
shut the door and motioned for Dane to sit. “Great job in there. Maybe one day
you will be Chief.” She smiled at him, but the frown on his face removed her
smile. “What?”

“Are
you planning on going somewhere?” Dane was not the same flirty, carefree man
she had known for years.

“Of
course not. But if I were, would that bother you?”

His
frown only deepened. “Yeah. Yeah it would. You’re the best Chief this
department has seen in a long time. And I have no desire to take your place. Too
much responsibility. What’s going on?”

“What
do you mean?” The wheels were turning behind those blue eyes, and she knew he
was thinking way too hard about things.

“I
mean, you’re different. You were abducted by a crazy man. Instead of seeming
traumatized, or at least stressed, you’re… I don’t know, happy. In all the
years we’ve worked together, I’ve never seen you so calm.”

“I
am happy. Happy to be alive. You’re different, too.  Instead of the
happy-go-lucky man, you haven’t smiled one time since I’ve been back. What
changed?”

“This
wouldn’t have anything to do with Rafael Stone would it?” Dane ignored her
question. She wasn’t going to let him turn this around on her just yet. She
wanted to get him to open up without her coming right out and telling him she
knew.

“We’re
talking about you. You seem tense. You know you can tell me anything, right? No
matter what it is. When I was kidnapped, I saw some things that opened my eyes.
I also realized there are people behind the scenes helping us do our jobs.”

Dane
studied Kaya’s face, chewing on his bottom lip. “You know, don’t you?”

This
wasn’t exactly the opening she was hoping for. “Yes. I know what you are. I
know what Jasper is, too.”

“Yeah,
well, it wasn’t nice of you to spring him on me like that.”

“I
had no idea you were a shifter nor that you had gone through your transition.
If I had, I would have handled things differently. Since I didn’t…” She let him
think about it.

Dane
stood but had nowhere to go in the small office. “He acts like this is no big
deal. It’s all new to me, and I can’t even talk about it.”

“Why
can’t you talk about it?  As far as Jasper’s concerned, he’s been a Gargoyle
his whole life. He’s a full-blood, so to him it isn’t a big deal. When you’ve
lived five hundred years, it won’t be a big deal to you either.”

“How
do you know all of this? Does it have to do with Stone?” Dane pinned her with a
look that said he expected the truth.

“Yes,
it has everything to do with Rafael. Now that you’re a shifter, you will meet
him, too. But not as a suspect being interrogated by a detective. You will be
introduced to your King.”

“King?
What the hell are you talking about?  Tes… nobody told me about having a King.”
Dane was getting agitated. Kaya was afraid his fangs were going to drop.

“There’s
a lot you don’t know about your kind, but there’s plenty of time for that. I
know you are still getting used to your new body. I think you should…” There
was a knock on the door and Jasper stuck his head in. “Sorry to interrupt my
Qu…Chief, but we have another redhead. The call just came in.”

“Dane,
go check it out, and take Jasper with you. Don’t forget, it really is good to
talk about this.” Kaya inclined her head toward Jasper. “Call me when you have
more information.”

“You’re
not coming with us?” Dane had his hands on his hips. If he didn’t look so
stressed, she might have laughed.

“No.
I have very capable detectives for field work,” Kaya told him.

 
He huffed at her then followed Jasper out the door.

 
Kaya and Rafael had talked at length about how much she should tell Dane. She
finally convinced him that telling Dane the whole truth, like ripping a Band-Aid
off, would be better than dribbling tidbits of information to him. He was
already struggling with the lack of knowledge. She really hoped he opened up to
Jasper. Rafael had given both she and Jasper carte blanche in speaking to Dane
about their kind. In turn, they hoped Dane could give them at least some
information about the half-bloods.

The
silence hung thickly in the air during the ride to the crime scene. Jasper
wanted Dane to talk freely with him, especially now that Kaya had admitted
knowing the truth. His new partner was obviously not ready for a heart-to-heart.

Dante
and CSU were already at the scene when they arrived. Dane, being the senior
detective, took lead. “Dante, what do we have?”

Dante
nodded his hello to both men then answered, “Same as the others. Female, red
hair, green eyes, approximately thirty years of age. COD appears to be
strangulation as there is bruising on her neck.”

Both
men waited on further instructions from Dane, but he seemed to be lost in
thought. Jasper clapped him on the shoulder. “Dude, you okay?” 

“It’s
these victims. They look quite a bit like someone I know.”

“Tessa,”
Dante and Jasper responded at the same time.

Dane
narrowed his eyes at them. “Oh my god, you’re one, too?” He was staring at
Dante when he asked. Dante looked at Jasper who just shrugged. It wasn’t up to
him whether or not Dante admitted he was a Goyle. Rafael had held a video
conference call, filling the Clan in on Dane’s becoming a shifter and the
redhead murders. He and Kaya agreed to keep each other informed of all happenings
so they all could work together.

“So
how many of us are there?” Dane asked, hands on his hips. Jasper was getting
used to the gesture. Even though it looked funny for a big, strong man to stand
like a put-upon woman, he really couldn’t blame him. If he had just
transitioned, not knowing what had been hidden in his core his whole life, he
might be agitated as well.

Dante
held out his hands, palms up. “Tens of thousands? We would have to ask Nikolas
since he is the keeper of the archives. There actually may be more than that
since we don’t know how many half-bloods there are. Do you know how many of you
there are?”

Dane
shook his head. “No, not really. I only know that I have sixteen brothers and
sisters. I don’t even know all their names. Only one.”

“And
that is?” Jasper was fishing.

 “I
think we should get back to the crime scene. We can talk about less important
stuff later.” Dane walked off to where the body of the latest victim was being
bagged for transport to the morgue.

“The
fact he has sixteen siblings bodes well for Rafael and Kaya,” Dante told
Jasper.

“I
was hoping he would spill about Tessa. It’s going to suck if his girlfriend
turns out to be Gregor’s mate. Maybe I can get him to open up a little more on
the ride back to the station.” Jasper left Dante to do his M.E. stuff, and he
went to observe Dane. Having never actually been a police officer, there was a
lot to learn.

Jasper
walked up right as one of the CSU mentioned a possible break. A couple of her
fingernails were broken off.  If they were lucky, there would be DNA evidence
on her hands they could use in all databases available to them. Once the body
was loaded up, Dane told Jasper there was nothing more for them there. They
headed back to the office.

“Since
we have more than one body that resembles your friend, are we going to treat
this as a serial killing?” Jasper asked, still learning protocol within the
department.

“That’s
the Chief’s call, but yeah. I’m sure she will. We need to get the profile
together of the killer and get it on the news. These women need to be careful. We
don’t know who this guy is or why he’s killing the look-alikes.”

 “What
if it’s to draw your friend out? Or maybe they are searching for her and don’t
know exactly what she looks like. Then again, maybe this bastard just randomly
chose redheads because they remind him of his mother and she abused him as a
child.” Jasper was throwing theories out, hoping to offer something useful to the
case and to see if Tessa meant something to Dane.

Dane
scowled at Jasper, “Or maybe it’s because they look just like Tessa. And before
you try to get inside my head, she’s not my friend. She’s my cousin.”

Excellent.
Gregor’s not going to have to kick his ass.
The rest of the ride back to the office was made in
silence.

Gabriel
smiled as Rebekah squeezed his hand tightly. She loved walking through the
woods during the fall. She could stand and admire the changing colors of the
leaves for hours. Gabriel could admire Rebekah for hours. The way the sunlight
glinted off her honey blonde hair beckoned for him to touch it. The silky
strands slid through his fingers as she rambled on and on about the trees and
the weather. “Did you hear what I said?” She was grinning at him, her beautiful
smile as bright as the sun shining down on them.

“I’m
sorry, my love. I was admiring your beauty.” Gabriel cupped her soft face in
his hands and placed his lips on hers. Rebekah moaned into his mouth, and he
drew her closer, wrapping his arms around her.

When
they came up for air, Rebekah placed a hand on his cheek and whispered, “You
are the beautiful one.”

Gabriel
grinned at his fiancée. “Men are not beautiful.” He once again touched his
mouth to hers, but she pulled back quickly. “Ouch! What the?” She was backing
up and pointing at him. When she found her voice, she screamed. Gabriel looked
behind them; a Gargoyle stood in the clearing, fully phased.

“Rebekah,
it’s okay. I’ll protect you.” Gabriel turned to place himself between the
albino looking monster and his woman, but the Gargoyle was gone. He turned back
to face Rebekah who was still screaming and held up his hands. “It’s okay. He’s
gone.” Gabriel noticed the claws at the end of his pale fingers. “No, Rebekah,
I’m not…I won’t…” Rebekah was running away from him. He had to stop her, to
explain. Using his shifter speed he caught her easily.

His
hands gripped her slender arms that were now covered in ribbons of blood. His
claws cut through her skin, marring the perfect canvas. “Oh gods, no. Rebekah,
I am so sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“REBEKAH,
I’M SORRY!” Vincent flew off of his prison bed, wings unfurled, chest heaving.
Rebekah.
Who was the girl in his dream? Why was she so familiar?
He needed a
cigarette. Fuck the patch. He banged on his cell door. He continued hitting the
metal door with his fist until a guard stood at the window. This was the same
guard who came to his door every time he beckoned. He held up the same worn
message: cigarette. By now, he knew the guard wouldn’t give him a smoke, but he
would at least get a patch. The small scrap of material wouldn’t help for long
but it would take the edge off. The guard opened the slot and slid the small
square through to him. He grabbed it, pulling the paper backing off and slapped
it on his arm.

If
the guard was surprised at seeing an inmate with fangs and wings, he didn’t
show it on his face. This guard, Deacon, didn’t walk away. He waited until
Vincent was under control. “Are you ready to talk now?  I have a feeling if you
give the warden the information he wants, he’ll get you a whole carton of
cigarettes. Think about that.” Deacon walked off, and Vincent considered it. If
he didn’t give them the information he had on Flanagan, he would rot in this
hell hole. Alone. If he did talk, he would still be held prisoner, but maybe he
would be taken out of solitary. He could have a cigarette. Maybe he could feel
the sunlight on his face.