Sixx (The Stone Society, #7) (31 page)

Desirae knew better than to argue. There was no way Michael would leave her alone unguarded, even with a half-blood like Tessa. She was strong, but she was no match for a full-blood Gargoyle male. “Okay, come give granny a smooch,” Desirae said, puckering her lips.

“If I didn’t know it was you under there, I might have to say a big
no thank you
.” Michael pulled Desirae to her feet and kissed her. With a lot of tongue. “There. Maybe that will hold
granny
‘til I get back home.”

“Please call me if you find anything.”

“I will, Doll. You two have fun playing dress up, and don’t give Uri too hard a time, Tessa.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” she huffed.

Michael laughed at Tessa then kissed Desirae again before heading out to look for Desi.

Desirae asked Tessa, “What about Gregor? Aren’t you going to tell him bye?”

“Oh, don’t worry. He’ll be here in...” she cocked her head, listening. “Three, two, one...”

“Red, come tell me bye,” Gregor commanded from the bedroom. Tessa grinned at Desirae and sashayed out of the bathroom to her mate. Desirae couldn’t help overhear their words of endearment nor the naughty words of promise for later. She really hoped the other couple stayed in the guest house, or Urijah was going to get an earful later on.

Once the men were gone, Tessa showed Desirae how to remove the prosthetic. They returned to the patio, where Tessa answered all her questions. Nothing was off-limits, and Tessa was the most open and honest woman Desirae had ever met. She
really
liked the woman, and already considered her a friend.

––––––––

D
esi opened his eyes again. How long had he been dead?

Four days, and we’re not dead.

What
the
fuck? Desi now knew it didn’t take long for the mind to begin to break after dying.

I told you, we’re not dead. You need to wake the fuck up.

Who are you?

I’m you, dumbass. And I’m tired of being stuck here, so wake up and pay attention.

Was that his shifter talking to him? He thought they were one and the same being. How could it talk to him?
So I’m not dead.

If an invisible part of a person could mentally roll their eyes, his shifter did it. Loudly.
No. You were poisoned. You’ve been here for four days. I imagine your father is looking for you, but we’re going to have to help him find us. Now, concentrate.

This is like having a split personality, only I’m not crazy.
Desi’s chest rumbled, and his head felt like it was going to explode.
What the fuck?

Fucking concentrate!

Okay, okay. Jeezus.
Desi did his best to concentrate. On what, he wasn’t sure. He stared at the darkness until a sliver of light came into focus. He narrowed his eyes and let that little bit of light help him to see what was around him. Wood. That was good. No. No, it wasn’t. The wood was way too close to his face to be a room. Desi turned his eyes to the other side and stared until they adjusted to the darkness. More fucking wood.
Goddamnit! I’m in a fucking coffin!

Calm down. If this is true, we need to conserve oxygen. Considering there is light coming through the crack, the dirt isn’t packed down. More than likely we’re in a shallow grave, and whoever is responsible was in a hurry. This bodes well for us.

And the fact I can’t move anything except my eyes? How does that bode?

It could be worse. At least you are conscious and can try to reach out to our mate. If you can contact her, there’s a chance she can get help.

How do you know all this?

I’m Gargoyle.

That’s it? You’re Gargoyle?

That and I paid attention when your father spoke of the other mates being in trouble. Now concentrate on Simone. Picture our beautiful female in your mind.

That Desi could do. The fact she didn’t care for his attitude didn’t detract from her looks. He had a feeling under her bossy sass was a heart of gold. He didn’t know how to contact her. Did he just think about her?
Simone. Simone Campbell, can you hear me?
This felt like a fucking séance. Chains clattered and ghosts danced in his head.
Woooo. Wooooooo.
His shifter rattled his head again.
Would you stop that?

Would you fucking be serious? I’ve only been alive for a year, and I’ve got big plans for us. Now fucking concentrate!

Desi had to remember who was actually in charge, and it wasn’t him. Instead of calling out to his mate, Desi pictured Simone the way she looked the last time he saw her. Her curly hair was pulled back from her face with a scarf tied around her head. The paisley material was the same pattern as her hippie style dress. Her white knee-high boots were a stark contrast to her cocoa skin. If his body wasn’t frozen, he’d probably be sporting a boner just thinking about how pretty she was.
Fuck, I can’t wait to get my hands on her.

That’s not helping.

Hey, you said concentrate. That vision right there will keep her glued to my brain for hours to come. Now shush.
Surprisingly, his shifter left him alone with his thoughts. Desi willed his mind to keep Simone front and center instead of his pretty mother, who was probably worried sick about him. If he’d been missing for four days, his mother knew it by now. Tyson would have called her when Desi didn’t show up for sound check. His mom would’ve told Michael, and his father had surely rallied the Gargoyle Clan. Still, he had to do his part. Back to his female.

S
inclair, Gregor, Finley, Thane, and Landon each led a search party. The zip code containing Three Rivers was comprised of forty-four square miles. Since Sin was more familiar with California than any of them, he had designed a grid of the area, and each party covered twenty miles, which more than covered the small town. Julian had researched the area around where Desi’s phone had been located for abandoned structures. The few he came up with were empty. A small part of the town was adjacent to the national forest. If someone in Alistair’s employ had taken Desi, that someone was more than likely a Gargoyle. Hauling Desi’s body into the forest wouldn’t be beyond comprehension.

At the rate they were going, it would take weeks to scour every inch of land surrounding the Three Rivers town. Without a clue as to which direction they should look, they had decided to begin with the forest. If only they could find Crane. Maybe then they would have an idea of where to look. The Goyle was off the grid, but that didn’t mean Julian and Nikolas were giving up. Neither was Sixx. He would never give up looking until his son was found, one way or another. He and the others returned to their homes for the evening, planning to resume their search the next morning.

Sixx hated to go back to Rae without good news, but he couldn’t leave her wondering. He and Gregor arrived to find the females curled up on the sofa watching a movie. The aroma of something heavenly wafted through the air, and Sixx’s stomach rumbled. None of the Goyles had eaten since the search began that morning, and he was hungry. “Hey, Baby. Uri left dinner in the oven for you and Gregor,” Rae said as she stood and walked to him, stepping into his open arms.

“Good. I’m starving,” he said before kissing her on her hair. Rae was smart enough to figure out there wasn’t any good news.

“Stone...” Tessa greeted her mate and kissed him squarely on the mouth. “I’ve put our things in the guest house. If you’re hungry, I’ll fix you a plate.”

“That’d be great, Red.”

The men took a seat at the table while the women served them a plateful of whatever concoction Urijah had come up with. “Where is Uri?” Sixx asked.

“On the roof,” Tessa responded. Sixx understood completely what Urijah was doing. The moon was closing in on its full phase, and the pull to the Goyles grew greater with each night. He was surprised his friend hadn’t called out to them when they arrived.

By the time he and Gregor finished eating and the women cleaned up their dishes, Uri had come inside and explained he had been meditating. Frey had taught them all the art of clearing one’s mind and opening up the senses to the cosmos. Sixx wished he’d been able to teach the technique to Desi before he’d been taken. It might help his son reach out to his mate. Gregor and Tessa excused themselves to the guest house, Uri decided to head back to the armory, and Sixx took Rae to bed.

Neither one said anything as Rae curled into his side and wrapped her arm around his waist. He concentrated on her scent, her breathing, her touch. Anything to give his mind a break from what his son might be going through.

W
ater. A river. No, two. Maybe more. The wind is rustling through the trees. Lots of trees.

Desi was now focused on a serene landscape instead of his female.
What are you on about?

I’m trying to get a lock on our location in case you make contact with our mate.

It was hard for Desi to wrap his head around the fact he had another being inside. While he did his best to concentrate on one thing, his shifter was focused on their surroundings.
I’m pretty sure I have no idea where we are, so how could you?

I’m Gargoyle.

That again.
Yes, we’ve already established that fact. But if you’ve only been part of me for a year, how do you know things outside of what you’ve seen in that year?

Gargoyles are primordial beings. We’ve been on the earth as long as it has been here. It is ingrained in us.

That right there was some scary shit. Interesting, but scary.
So, are you all-knowing?

Not like you would think. If it pertains to the earth and sky, yes. Now, please get back to our mate. I’m getting claustrophobic.

Huh. Okay then, back to Simone. Instead of focusing on her like a two-dimensional image, Desi transported her to his location as his shifter described it. He and his mate were walking hand-in-hand along a riverbank. The tall grass was swaying in the breeze. Trees no longer stood straight but leaned with the force of the wind.
Simone...

“S
imone
...
”

Desmond softly spoke her name as they walked along the riverside. Simone had never seen anything so peaceful.

“
Simone, I need you. Can you hear me?”

Of course, I can hear you. You’re standing right beside me.

“I’m in trouble. Please come find me. I’m somewhere in California. There are at least a couple of rivers, and I can hear lots of trees.”

How can you hear the trees, silly? Are the ents from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ talking to you? And why are you and I walking by the river? You don’t even like me.

“I like you a lot. A whole lot. But right now I need for you to focus. You’re the only one who can find me. Please, my beautiful girl. Come find me.”

Wow, what a dream.

“Simone, please wake up. You are not dreaming. This is real. When you wake up, you need to call my mother, Desirae Rothchild.”

This is the best dream ever. Can we lie down in the grass and make love? At least kiss me. I don’t want to wake up before I get a taste of you.