Sixx (The Stone Society, #7) (10 page)

When she was seated, Desirae wrapped her short hair in a bright turquoise bandana and slid on her sunglasses. She swung through a fast food drive-thru on her way home and grabbed a hamburger and milkshake. One plus to whatever condition she’d contracted that allowed her to remain young looking was her metabolism was through the roof. She could eat whatever she wanted and remain lean. As far as she was concerned, it was the
only
plus to it.

As she pulled onto her street, she caught sight of the delivery van in her rearview mirror. “Not again,” she said aloud. Instead of circling around to the back of the house where the driveway was, she pulled over at the curb. The same man exited his vehicle with the same smile he wore every time when he approached. It was as if he had a secret he refused to tell. “This is getting a little creepy, if you ask me,” Desirae told him as he walked toward her.

“Oh, I don’t know. I think it’s nicer to get a bunch of flowers every day than to never get them at all.”

“If I knew who they were from, maybe. I’m afraid the next knock on my door won’t be you. It’ll be someone from my past that I’m not looking forward to seeing.”

The man kept the small pot in his hands when she held hers out. “Miss Rothchild, are you afraid? If you are, I’ll make sure the owner calls the police. Do you feel threatened?”

Rae thought about it, and no, she didn’t. “No, not really. It could be my son messing with me since Friday is my birthday.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.” Only then did he hand over the delivery. This one was not her favorite. It was Michael’s. Sighing, she bade the driver a good evening and made her way inside. She sat the purple orchid in the middle of her table while she returned to the car to drive around back. Once she was parked under the overhang, she emptied the trunk of her beach gear and headed inside. Desirae tossed the towels in the washing machine and emptied the cooler. She threw the empty fast food sack into the garbage. Desirae slurped the last of her shake through the straw while staring at the orchid.

“What is this?” Desirae asked, sounding ungrateful when Michael presented her with a plant.

“It’s an orchid, and it happens to be my favorite.”

“You bought me
your
favorite flower instead of mine?”

“Since I don’t know what yours is, yes. What
is
your favorite flower?” he asked while finding a good spot to put the purple plant.

“Birds of Paradise. And Lilies. Orange ones.”

“I’ll remember that.”

The next day, Michael had shown up with an arrangement much like the one she received on Monday. Full of both her favorites in bright oranges with lots of green leaves to break up the brightness. Until the day he walked out and never returned, Michael made sure her small apartment was filled with brightness. She did her best to keep his orchid alive, but it finally gave out about the same time her heart did.

S
ergei felt weird arriving at the New Atlanta Penitentiary. Weird because he was coming face to face with the Gargoyle who helped get the kid back. The kid he and Kallisto abducted from his home in Tennessee. The kid whose foster father they’d killed. Whose foster mother they’d left for dead. Sergei had never thought of himself as a good person, but he wasn’t one to go around hurting children. Kallisto, on the other hand, had no aversion to inflicting pain on anyone. When he first met the feisty blonde, she hadn’t been that way. The longer she lived with Alistair Gianopoulos, the more he influenced her against her own kind.

Sometimes he still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact there were non-humans walking around amongst the humans. Sure, there were Unholy, but they were considered humans who’d gone wrong in an experiment. Research, if you could call it that, conducted by Gordon Flanagan, to produce an army of super-soldiers. And then there were the clones – the ones genetically engineered in a lab instead of being created the old-fashioned way. What was next – vampires?

Sergei entered the building and signed in before going through security. He’d left Drago back at the hotel and sent Crane off on another mission. He didn’t need a bodyguard to go visit Kallisto. As soon as he stepped through the metal detector, he was pulled to the side and asked to wait. He had been around Gargoyles long enough to know that everyone around him was a shifter. It was in the way they carried themselves. Not arrogant, but sure. Confident. Lethal without needing a firearm holstered at their side. He didn’t have to wait long for Gregor Stone to come find him.

“Follow me,” the warden instructed. He fell in behind the Goyle. Gregor was shorter than most shifters Sergei had come across, but he was thick. No doubt as tough as any of the larger ones. And he was the King’s brother. Gregor Stone was an important male.

“I hear you brought a peace offering of sorts,” Gregor stated while he swiped a keycard over a security panel.

“Yes. Alistair wants Kallisto back home and is ready to call a truce.”

“What’s to keep him from retaliating the moment we give her up?”

Sergei had the same question. “Nothing, I don’t suppose. I have no idea what was in the letter he sent for the King. The male back at the office took it.”

When Gregor stopped one floor above the Basement, the lowest level of the prison that housed the Unholy, Sergei breathed a sigh of relief. During his brief stay in the prison, they had held him among the monsters. He was glad to see Kallisto wasn’t being subjected to the same fate. Gregor stopped outside a door with a small window. “You have five minutes. I’ll be right here watching.” The Goyle opened the door, and Sergei moved past him to the interior. When Kallisto saw him, she remained seated, her hands folded in front of her.

For some reason, he thought she would be at least a little happy to see him. Obviously, he was wrong. “How are you holding up?”

“How the fuck do you think I’m holding up? I’m in a goddamn prison. My brother is dead, and you’re off doing god knows what while I’m stuck in here,” she seethed.

He closed the distance and sat opposite her, reaching for her hands. Before he could touch her, she pulled her hands away. “Don’t fucking touch me. All I want from you is to know how you’re going to get me out of here.” Even in the drab beige clothing she wore, her hair hanging past her shoulders, her face void of any makeup, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Her anger wasn’t doing one thing to curb his body’s yearning for her.

“I brought a letter from your father to Rafael. Alistair is calling a truce on your behalf.”

Kallisto released a laugh, but he knew it wasn’t because she found humor in the situation. Her father had never once done anything on her behalf other than adopt her. She had confided in Sergei everything about her mother’s affair with the King. Kallisto believed it all to be a ruse. Some type of cover up. For what she didn’t know. Both of them had heard the venom in his voice when Alistair spoke of humans. For whatever reason suited him at the time, Alistair had adopted a human and kept her mother as his lover. As soon as Kallisto’s mother passed away, Kallisto became a member of his army. He didn’t love her; he only wanted her skills as a sneaky bitch. Kallisto might not wear fatigues and carry an automatic rifle, but she was an important member of his team, nonetheless.

“We both know it’s not that easy. My father wouldn’t spit on me if I was on fire unless it would further his cause. How did he take the news of Theron?”

“Not well. He tore the villa apart. Two of the servants lost their heads, literally. If it wasn’t for you, I probably would have met the same fate.” Sergei had never feared for his life more than in the moment he had to tell the King of the Greeks his only true heir was dead. And not just dead – decapitated by the hand of a former lover.

Kallisto rubbed her temples. “When I get out of here, these fucking Gargoyles are going to wish they’d killed me. I swear to you, Sergei...”

He held up his hand and shook his head. Gregor Stone was standing outside the door. His shifter hearing offered them no privacy whatsoever. “Don’t, Kalli.” He cut his eyes to the door, and she understood his meaning. He slid his hand across the table, and this time, she placed her hand in his. “I won’t stop until I get you out of here. I am meeting with Rafael in a week’s time. Please be patient, my love.” He rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. She knew his feelings for her were deep. They had discussed their relationship on more than one occasion, but she wouldn’t allow herself to return his love. Said it would be too easy for her father to use that love against them. She was right. Sergei would do anything for her. Dying was at the top of the list.

“Who is with you?” Kallisto asked as she pulled her hand back.

“Drago and Crane. Your father told me to bring one Goyle, but you never know when extra muscle will come in handy.”

“Muscle yes, brains no. Keep an eye on Crane. You know he likes to go rogue,” Kallisto instructed.

Gregor opened the door. “Time’s up.”

Sergei stood from the table and offered her a small smile. “Be brave just a little longer. I will see you again soon.” She merely nodded before looking away. Sergei followed Gregor out into the hallway. “Is it okay if I bring some of her clothes for her to wear?”

Gregor stopped walking. The rage on his face closely mirrored that of Alistair upon hearing about Theron. The warden gritted his teeth. “That woman, aided by you, kidnapped my nephew. Tormented my sister-in-law. Killed an innocent man. Left an innocent woman for dead. Kidnapped a mate’s parents. Aided Theron in attempting to kill one of our Clan.  If I had my way, you’d be back where we had you among the Unholy. Hell, I’d leave a couple of the doors open and let them have their way with you. So no. You cannot bring her clothes. You cannot come back to see her. You cannot come anywhere near this prison again unless you have specific direction from Rafael Stone to do so. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” He understood completely. He was surprised they had agreed to let him see her at all, given the circumstances. But they wanted a truce. As the warden pointed out, there had been enough bloodshed. “I have a meeting with your King next week. I will be staying in town until then.”

Gregor was silent until they reached the front door. “Don’t give me a reason,
another
reason to put your ass behind bars. You won’t be released again.”

Sergei knew when to keep his mouth shut. He wouldn’t lie to the male and tell him he’d never have cause to lock him up. He worked for Kallisto and her father. He was a pawn in this wicked game, and he knew Alistair was only getting started.

S
ixx woke with a dire need to hit the ocean. After waxing his board the night before, the urge was implanted in his psyche.  Now that it was daylight, the pull of the water and the sun was too much to resist. He was already resisting the moon since he wasn’t back in New Atlanta where he lived in the middle of nowhere and could risk taking to the skies. His shifter was driving him crazy to get to Rae. With her being in such close proximity, it was all he could do to tamp down his own craving to deliver the surfboard to her early. All of these
needs
had his normally tame shifter begging to be turned loose. Instead of waiting to go surfing like he originally planned, Sixx rolled out of bed with the intent of heading to the beach immediately.

Reaching out with his senses, he didn’t find Urijah anywhere near, so Sixx took that as a good sign that Uri and Finley were getting their friendship back on track. Sixx picked up the phone and placed an order with the florist. When the woman taking the order asked if he wanted to include a card, he reminded her he did not. He promised her that after tomorrow, the object of his affection would know who her admirer was, and he assured her he wasn’t a stalker – just a man on a mission. If Rae had any doubts as to who was sending her flowers, that doubt should be erased that afternoon. He was sending his favorite instead of hers, the same one he gave her before he knew what flowers she preferred.

After finding his swim trunks and a beach towel, Sixx backed the Jeep out of the garage and attached the new strapping device to the roll bars. He loaded the surfboard onto the pads and strapped it down. Sixx sent Uri a text letting him know where he was going in case the other Goyle wanted to join him. Sliding his aviators onto his nose, Sixx cruised down the hill to his idea of heaven.

Along with his surfboard, Sixx had brought a chair and a small cooler. He tended to lose track of time when he was in the water, so he always packed a sandwich or two along with bottles of water. He stuck his surfboard in the sand and placed the cooler in the chair to anchor it down. The wind shouldn’t be a problem, but one could never be too careful. He removed his shirt and decided to go for a swim while waiting on the waves to kick in.

Using his shifter strength, Sixx swam out into the water, keeping an eye out for marine life. When he caught sight of a dolphin playing, he eased his way toward the creature. Sixx treaded water while watching the dolphin swimming. When it chattered to him, Sixx dove under the water to check out their surroundings. He didn’t think the mammal would be frolicking if sharks were in the area, but he wanted to see for himself. When he returned, the dolphin was now jumping in the air and diving back in. Sixx dove under the water and phased. Using his wings for propulsion, he jumped into the air, retracting his wings right before he broke the surface. He had seen a couple of people on the beach when he arrived, and it wouldn’t do for them to see his extra appendages unfurled.