Jasper (2 page)

Both
Dante and Isabelle told how Alistair had Connor kidnapped, held Isabelle
hostage, and how Dante, Gregor, and Tessa got them back. Their cousin Nikolas
was off in Egypt looking for his mate and her parents. Trevor now understood
why the badasses had reacted to the news of Theron being Alistair’s son.

“I
don’t get why your uncle is just now going after all the women. Why wait two
hundred years?”

Dante
moved to sit next to Isabelle. They looked like a couple who had been together
years, not weeks. “We think Rafael finding his mate in Kaya set Alistair off.”

“Kaya,
the police chief? And the plot thickens,” Trevor joked.

“Yes,
only now she is retiring, and Dane is taking over as the new chief. When Kaya mated
with Rafael, she became our Queen.”

“Is
she one of the half-bloods?”

“No.
She is a human mate. Like you,” Dante said softly.

“Me?
If you haven’t figured it out by now, Boss, I’m gay. I doubt I’m anyone’s
mate.”

“Do
you think there aren’t gay Gargoyles? Trevor, Jasper is gay, and you are his
mate.”

Trevor
couldn’t breathe. “No. You’re wrong. I’ve seen the men he’s been with, and
they’re gods like him. And you. I’m not anyone’s mate.” He began pacing the
room. There was no way the fates, or gods, or whoever was out there picking and
choosing, would burden a Gargoyle with Trevor. Especially one like Jasper.

Isabelle
stood and stopped Trevor’s pacing. She placed her hand on his chin, holding his
gaze. A low growl came from Dante, but she ignored him. “I thought the same
thing when Dante told me I was his mate. Tessa, yes. She’s beautiful and
free-spirited, and a little crazy. She is prime mate material. Me? I’m just
quiet, plain, mousy Isabelle. What did I have to offer a male as amazing as
Dante? He made me believe I was worthy. Just as you are worthy of Jasper, and
he of you. From what Dante has told me about you, you’re highly intelligent,
you’re funny, and you have great taste in music.” The last comment got a
hmph
from Dante. Isabelle backed out of his personal space, but she said, “You’re a
very handsome man, Trevor. Do not sell yourself short, and definitely do not
compare yourself to Jasper’s past dalliances. I promise you, they meant nothing
to him. You, however, mean everything.”

“If
what you say is true, Jasper doesn’t have a choice. He didn’t pick me. I was
chosen for him.”

Dante
stood and pulled Isabelle to him. “We always have a choice, but I guarantee the
fates know what they’re doing. Now, let’s go spend some time with Connor. I
want to tell you how special he is.”

Jasper
drove Matthew back home. The teen was being unusually quiet. When they got
inside the house, Jasper broke the silence. “Okay, buddy, what’s up? You’re
only quiet when you sleep, yet you haven’t said one word since we left Dante’s.
Are your ribs hurting? Do you need a pain pill?” Matthew was still recovering
from where his asshole brother-in-law beat him within inches of his life. If
Jasper ever got his hands on Troy Quinn, he’d make the man pay.

“Yes,
no. Yes, my ribs hurt, but not so bad I need a pill. I was just thinking about
what you said earlier, you know, about being mates. If Trevor’s your mate, why
was he ignoring you?”

“First
off, he doesn’t know he’s my mate. Second, someone from my past was following
Trevor, and he probably blames me. I doubt he feels very safe right now. He
also received some shocking photos that don’t exactly paint me in the best
light in his eyes. Right now he feels betrayed, and he’s not letting me explain
what’s happened recently. I don’t blame him though, not really. His life hasn’t
been exactly stellar. Why would he want to be with me when all I bring is
trouble?”

Jasper
didn’t blame Trevor at all. Sure, he’d like the chance to explain about his
past and why it was coming back to haunt him. Until he got the go ahead to tell
him about the Clan, he’d have to be patient.

“Are
you hungry?” Jasper’s breakfast had worn off with his intense training.

“Nah,
I’m still full from breakfast. You go ahead, though. You probably need about
four thousand calories to keep your stamina up, big guy like you slinging that
sword around like it was a toy. Where did you learn to do that, anyway?”

Before
Jasper could answer, a vehicle sounded in the driveway. He walked to the front
window, peering outside. Lorenzo’s truck parked and the Goyle got out, striding
up the front steps. Jasper opened the door. “Lor, what’s up?”

“I
wanted to get in some flying time in the helo. Since you’re suspended, I
thought you and Matthew might want to go for a ride.”

It
had been a long time since Jasper had flown any way other than using his wings.
“Matt, you feel like going for a ride?”

“Hell,
yeah!” he pumped his fist then grabbed his ribs. “I mean yes,” he whispered.
Jasper and Lorenzo laughed at the teen.

“Well
come on then,” Lorenzo said, heading out the side door to the garage that held
both the Stone Society helicopter as well as the Blackhawk Frey kept hidden
from most of the world. Jasper helped Lor get the passenger bird out of the
garage. The three of them were getting ready to climb aboard when Lor’s phone
rang.

“Hello,”
he answered as he opened the pilot’s door.

“Where
are you?” Frey’s angry voice came through loud and clear.

“Getting
ready to put the bird in the sky, why?” Lorenzo asked.

“The
bastard has Abbi. I need you to come to the community center. Dane is putting
an APB out for the possible vehicle she is in. I have no idea where he’d take
her, but I’m hoping Sixx can get a lock on her cell phone.”

“Ten-four.
We’ll be there in fifteen,” Lorenzo said. He shoved his phone in his pocket and
began giving instructions. “Get in, hurry. Frey needs us.”

Jasper
helped Matthew into the back seat, showing him how to buckle his harness. He
climbed into the front as the blades began circling the air. As soon as Jasper
was seated, Lorenzo lifted the helo off the ground. Jasper didn’t want to scare
Matthew, but he didn’t want him to be blindsided by what they might find
either. He pointed to the headphones on the hook behind Matthew. As soon as he
had them situated, Jasper spoke to the teen through the microphone. “Matthew,
we have a situation. Troy has Abbi, and everyone’s out looking for her. We’re
on our way to pick up Frey now.”

Matthew
only nodded. He closed his eyes, and balled his fists in his lap. Troy fucking
Quinn had done enough damage to Matthew and his sister already. Jasper prayed
after today that would be all over. He had a feeling Matthew was doing a little
praying of his own. The helo banked right and the community center where Abbi
had been practicing for the fall festival with her students came into view. At
one time, Abbi Quinn had been destined for the New Atlanta Ballet Company. That
was before her parents were killed in a car crash, and she married Troy. Now
she taught second grade at the elementary school as well as dance class at the
local community center.

Lorenzo
lowered the helo away from the crowd, and Frey jumped in. Lorenzo lifted the
bird back into the air. Frey’s voice came through the headset, “Sixx has a lock
on her phone. She’s headed north on Guntersville Road.”

Lorenzo
patched Sixx through to the onboard communication system so he could give them
immediate change in directions. “Her signal has stopped. She is on the bridge
at the Brockton train yard.”

As
the helicopter neared the bridge, Jasper yelled, “Fuck, there they are!” Jasper
pointed to the railing of the bridge. Troy was carrying Abbi fireman style.

“What
the fuck did the bastard do to her?” Matthew screamed. “Frey, you have to stop
him; you can’t let him do this, Frey! He’s going to throw her over!”

Lorenzo
kept the helo steady while they watched in horror as Troy dropped Abbi over the
bridge. Frey dove out of the helicopter, phasing in mid-air. Once Frey was out
of sight, Jasper returned his attention to Troy. He was running toward his car.
Jasper wasn’t about to let the motherfucker get away. Before Lorenzo could
land, Jasper dove out his side of the bird, shredding his shirt as he unfurled
his wings. Troy fucking Quinn was not getting away. Once on the ground, Jasper
tucked in his wings and used his shifter speed to catch up with Quinn.

Troy
was yelling, “What the hell are you? Stay away from me you faggot freak! Get
your hands off me.”

Jasper
began punching Troy, telling him, “I’m going to do to you what you did to
Abbi.” He punched him in the stomach. Troy doubled over, gasping for breath.
Jasper brought a knee up, snapping Troy’s head back so hard he landed on his
ass. Jasper picked him up off the ground, holding him by his collar and the
waistband of his pants so his feet weren’t touching the ground. His eyes grew
wide as Jasper released his fangs. “You are a worthless piece of shit. You
killed Abbi’s parents, you abused Matthew, you raped Abbi, and now you’ve murdered
her, too. You don’t deserve to live, but death is too easy for a worthless
maggot like you.” Jasper threw him to the ground, his head cracking on the
concrete.

“He
killed our parents?” Matthew asked from behind Jasper. The teen glanced at
Jasper’s fangs but chose to ignore them. Instead, he turned his attention to
Troy. Matthew ran at his brother-in-law, the one responsible for putting him in
the hospital, and kicked him in the face. Matthew was probably causing more
damage to his ribs in the process, but the boy deserved to dole out whatever
punishment to the man he chose. “I hate you! I hate you! You stupid, evil fuck,
I hate you! All I ever wanted was a father. You couldn’t be that. You were so
fucking jealous of Abbi’s love for me that you hated me. I hate you back, you
fucking fuck!” Matthew kicked Troy until his body gave out. Jasper gently
hauled him away, holding him in his arms while the boy cried.

Red
and blue lights flashed in the distance. Sirens interrupted the sound of sobs
coming from the teen in his arms. Jasper had no idea who all had arrived and
were now watching the interlude between him and his friend. He didn’t care. He
would hold onto the boy as long as he needed.

When
someone yelled,
“Gun!”
Jasper immediately phased, wrapping Matthew in
his wings.

Trevor
was hungry, and he was tired. He wanted nothing more than to go home and crawl
under the covers for three days straight… after he ate a large pizza. He closed
his eyes and thought about the pizzas Jasper made the first time Trevor visited
his house. That night seemed like a lifetime ago.

For
the past couple of hours, he had sat in Connor’s room while the young child spoke
as if he were an adult, telling about being kidnapped. More than once something
passed between Connor and Dante that only they could hear. He didn’t know how
they were communicating wordlessly, but if men existed who had wings and fangs,
why couldn’t there be those that had special psychic abilities?

Trevor
couldn’t stand the thirst any longer. He returned to the kitchen to ask for a
glass of water. One of the badasses, Urijah, was sitting at the table talking
with Dante about security for Trevor. Dante hadn’t been lying when he said they
would protect him. Dante’s phone rang and he excused himself and stepped out
onto the deck. As he listened to whoever it was on the other end, both Isabelle
and Urijah stiffened. Isabelle handed Trevor his water before she picked up a
pair of boots she had recently discarded and slipped them on. “Uri, I can’t
leave Connor here. Will you please stay with him?” She asked as she grabbed a
set of keys off the counter.

“Of
course,” he responded, fisting his chest in the same way Connor had earlier.
Trevor wanted to know what that was about.

As
soon as Dante opened the door, Isabelle kissed him and said, “I’m on my way,”
and took off out the side door.

Trevor
was confused. “Did I miss something?” he asked his boss.

“Gargoyles
have enhanced hearing as well as eyesight. Isabelle heard my conversation with
Frey. It seems Frey’s mate has been kidnapped by her husband and there’s a
little girl involved. Isabelle is going to assist with the child.”

“Well
let’s go! We can’t just sit here and do nothing,” Trevor stood up but sat back
down. He was a little light headed at not having eaten in over twenty-four
hours.

“I
think it best if you stay here with Connor. Things could get ugly.”

“Urijah
has already said he’d stay. What are you hiding from me?” Trevor was sick of
secrets. First Jasper, now Dante.

When
Urijah nodded at Dante, he told Trevor, “I’m not hiding anything, Trevor. Let
me tell Connor I’m leaving, and we’ll go.”

Dante
headed toward his son’s room, and Trevor stood slowly, getting his bearings. While
he was waiting on Dante, Urijah spoke up. “Trevor, don’t let what has gone
before ruin what is to come. Anyone else is Jasper’s past. You are his future.”

Trevor
opened his mouth to respond, but Dante entered the room and said, “Okay, let’s
go. Uri, thank you, Brother.” They grasped arms, and Uri inclined his head.
Trevor followed Dante outside into the garage. Dante slid behind the wheel of
his Aston Martin and Trevor got in the passenger side. He’d seen Dante’s car
outside the hospital, but had never had a chance to ride in the sweet vehicle.
He buckled his seatbelt as Dante rolled down the driveway. The gate
automatically opened for them. As they turned onto the road, Trevor looked all
around for the SUV.

“Do
not worry about Theron. He isn’t around.”

“How
do you know?”

“Because,
Deacon made sure of it.”

Trevor
didn’t ask any more questions. For now. Instead, he sat back and enjoyed the
ride. Dante didn’t hold back on the accelerator. As they neared the exit for
the community center, Dante’s phone rang. He pressed a button on the steering
wheel and answered, “Hey, Beautiful. We’re almost there.”

“Lorenzo
just picked Frey up in the helicopter. I’m not sure where they are going, but I
think they know where Abbi is. Dante, I hope they don’t need you for anything
other than congratulations once you find them.”

“I’ll
call Sixx. He should have their location. How’s the girl?”

“She’s
shaken. Troy Quinn used the child to get to Abbi. He’s a sick man. Another
thing, Matthew was in the helicopter, too.”

“Abbi
is Frey’s mate, so she and Matthew will both find out sooner or later about us.
Thank you for doing your part, Beautiful. I’m going to hang up now.” Dante
disconnected and immediately called Sixx for information.

“Abbi’s
signal stopped on the bridge over the Brockton train yard. Frey, Lorenzo, and Jasper
are in the helo, and Dane is in his car. Please keep me posted, Dante. I’d much
rather be on the ground with you than stuck behind this computer. I don’t know
how Julian does this day in and day out.”