As soon as the jet landed, Julian called Nikolas, asking him to meet him at home. Having driven himself to the airport, he had approximately half an hour, give or take a few minutes depending on traffic, before he arrived at the large house he lived in by himself. While most of the Gargoyles had housekeepers, Julian preferred the solitary life. Considering he spent most of his time at the lab, someone to look after him seven days a week wasn’t necessary.

Arriving before his brother, Julian took a long look around the house he’d lived in for the last thirty years. It, as much as the lab, was his sanctuary. Probably more so, considering no one, save Nikolas, ever came to visit. He preferred it that way. For all intents and purposes, Julian was a solitary Gargoyle. His job required his complete attention; therefore, if someone was around, he tended to tune them out. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be around others; on the contrary. He missed interacting with his brothers and cousins.

Now that he’d found his mate, his life would be anything but lonely – if he could get her away from the Feds. When you get her away from them. Thinking about his mate and what their future looked like, Julian needed to make plans for someone to watch over his home while he was away with Kat, securing her in an unknown location. There was no way he could rescue Kat from the hands of the US Government and bring her to his home. Or could he? There was no connection between the two of them the Feds should be aware of. None but his closest family would know, and none of them would betray his whereabouts. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted her there with him and not some undisclosed location.

“Jules?”

“In here,” Julian replied to his brother. Nikolas was twelve years older, but most times it felt as though they could be twins. Their bond was undeniable, and for that, Julian was grateful.

“I oughta beat your ass, little brother,” Nik railed. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me you were going to Texas? You know I’d have gone with you.”

“I do know, and that is why I didn’t say anything. You have a pregnant mate you need to look after.”

“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much,” Sophia chastised. “I’m pregnant, not crippled. Besides, I’m a half-blood,” she added, not letting either one of the Stone brothers forget what she thought of herself. She was four months pregnant with his niece or nephew, and she had a cute little belly forming. Julian’s thoughts went to his own mate, and he imagined Katherine round with his child.

“Would you like to tell us what you found out?” Nik asked, taking the focus off his mate.

“I would, but first I want to know what Rafael called to tell me before I mentioned where I was. He said whatever it was could wait, but he wouldn’t have called if it hadn’t been important.”

“When you didn’t show up at the manor Sunday, he was worried. And since I had no clue where you were, he decided to pull the King card. He wanted as many of us to be there for Jonathan as possible. His cancer is spreading, and he’s not doing well. Priscilla is doing worse at the thought of losing her brother.”

“You would think as smart as Jonas is he could find a cure.”

“JoJo’s trying, believe me. When he isn’t at the hospital, he’s downstairs in his lab,” Sophia said.

“Now, you want to tell us what you found on your trip?” Nik asked.

“Katherine is being held at FSM.”

“The SuperMax?” Nik asked. When Julian nodded, his brother continued. “Why in the fuck is she being held there instead of the women’s prison?”

“Good fucking question. One I do not have an answer to. Gods, I cannot imagine what they are doing to her. I swear to all that is holy, if they have harmed her…” Julian began pacing. He’d done well on the plane ride home pushing those devastating thoughts from his mind. But now…

“What are you planning, Brother?”

“Even if there was a way to remove the evidence against her, it is already out there. The Feds cannot unsee what they have already seen, so I am going to break her out.”

“Of SuperMax.”

“Yes, of SuperMax. I have copies of the blueprints. I made notations of the guards’ schedules. I took photographs of the facility and its surroundings as well as someone I believe I can impersonate long enough to get inside and find her.”

“If you have a photo, I can get JoJo to design a mask so you’ll look exactly like the guard.”

“Actually, it won’t be a guard I am impersonating. It will be an FBI agent. Having a prosthetic would be ideal, but I don’t want to take Jonas away from his research.”

“Nonsense. He’s been working on the cure for cancer for decades. Putting it off for a couple of days isn’t going to set him back. Now, what about women guards? Were there any of those?” Sophia asked. The look in her eyes was one of excitement. Nik didn’t miss it, either.

“Oh, no you don’t. Your pretending days are over, Mrs. Stone.”

“But, Gorgeous–”

“Don’t you but gorgeous me. As long as you are carrying my daughter, you are not doing anything to jeopardize her well-being.”

“Your daughter?” Julian had been so caught up in his own troubles he wasn’t aware they knew the sex of their baby.

“According to Dante, we’re having a girl. Now, back to the plan.”

Julian smiled at his brother. He knew without a doubt Nikolas was going to be a wonderful father. He was a bit immature himself, so he’d have no trouble getting on a child’s level.

“We could always call Tessa. She’s had a lot of practice at disguising herself,” Sophia suggested.

“She did a great job impersonating Isabelle when Alistair was holding her prisoner. I wonder if Gregor would go along with it.” Julian was getting hopeful at the prospect of having help in going after Kat. Tessa would be the perfect partner to help infiltrate FSM.

“There’s only one way to find out. I’ll go call my cousin and fill her in,” Sophia said and left the males alone.

Julian had done well keeping his emotions in check on the flight home, but now that he was alone with his brother – his best friend – he was close to losing it. “I couldn’t feel her, Nik. I reached out, but I couldn’t sense her,” he whispered. Nik crossed the room to where Julian was sitting on the arm of the sofa and placed his hand on the back of Julian’s neck. He closed his eyes and accepted the comforting touch. Dante was the strongest of the Gargoyles when it came to passing calming energy through a touch, but Nikolas was doing a good job at soothing Julian’s hurting heart.

“Don’t give up hope. You’ve seen what the other mates have gone through, yet they’ve all come out the other side no worse for the wear. I don’t think the fates would have you find yours only to lose her. They aren’t that cruel.”

“I hope you are right,” Julian whispered.

When his mate returned, only then did Nikolas pull his hand away. “Tessa’s on her way over. I could practically hear her bouncing when I told her what was going on. She’s ready for her next adventure,” Sophia said as she entered the room.

“Gregor will probably have something to say about that,” Julian said.

“Oh, he’s ready to go with you. He’s pissed at the way the Feds dismissed him,” Sophia countered.

“I think Tessa’s been a bad influence on our cousin. Gregor has all but turned the Pen over to Deacon,” Nik said. “Then again, I’d rather hang out with my mate than all those criminals too.” Nikolas pulled Sophia to his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Julian wasn’t jealous, but he was wistful. Now that he’d kissed Kat, he knew how powerful the pull of the mate bond was. Not being able to hold her was torment of the worst kind.

Within a few minutes, Gregor and Tessa walked into Julian’s den. Tessa was holding a bag of cheesy puffs, and Sophia practically lunged for them. “Gimme,” she said, grabbing for the bag.

Tessa snatched the bag away from her cousin and pointed a claw at her. “Back off, Sister. These are my cheesy puffs. Just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you can pilfer my snacks.”

Julian was afraid the two half-bloods were going to come to blows, but Nikolas and Gregor were grinning at their mates. Before Sophia could get too upset, Tessa pulled a larger bag of puffs out of her backpack and tossed them to her cousin. “There, heifer.”

“Thanks!” Sophia ripped the bag open and shoved several into her mouth. “Oh, gods, these are so good.”

“Should I stock up?” Julian asked.

“Nah. She’ll be craving something else soon. This week it’s cheesy puffs. Last week it was spicy enchiritos. Before that it was Fruity Krisp cereal,” Nik explained, grinning. “I sleep in my shoes so I can make two a.m. grocery store runs.” Sophia backhanded her mate on the chest, and Nik let out a grunt.

“Okay, enough pregnant craving talk. Let’s get on with the good stuff,” Tessa interrupted before wadding the empty package up and shoving it into her backpack. “Jules, I’m ready to help you any way I can.”

“Me too, Brother. Those fuckers pissed me off. Tessa and I are here for you. Whatever you need,” Gregor added.

Julian was blessed to have the family he did. The Clan was strong as a whole, but those who were related by blood were willing to go the extra mile. They’d already proven that when the other mates were in trouble. “Thank you both. Here’s what I know.” Julian explained everything he’d found out on his trip to Texas. He downloaded the photos from his camera to his laptop and displayed the pictures on the television so everyone didn’t have to crowd around.

“This is Special Agent Terry Everhart,” Julian said as he flashed a photo of the agent he’d followed for days onto the screen. “And this…” He forwarded to the next photo… “is Special Agent Sonja Rayaz. A couple of women entered the facility, but Agent Rayaz was the only female agent I noticed. It would make sense she is working on Kat’s case. I don’t know that for certain, though.”

“How long did you observe the two of them?” Gregor asked.

“Six days. I followed Everhart everywhere he went so I could get a lock on his schedule. He is a boring human, from what I gathered. Goes to work, stops to get take-out on the way home, and does not leave his home until the next morning to do it all over again. Agent Rayaz is the wild card. I didn’t have a chance to follow her before Rafael called me home.”

“Do you think those two are the only ones you want to impersonate?” Sophia asked after swallowing a cheese curl.

“Yes. I don’t want to take a chance on more than two agents being out of commission, however briefly.”

“Okay. Email the close-ups you have to me, and I’ll get JoJo on the prosthetics.”

“If I’m going to impersonate Agent Rayaz, I’ll need to do a little recon before we go in. Julian, you’re built more like Agent Everhart than Gregor, so you’ll probably want to pretend to be him. Stone, you’ll be our eyes and ears on the outside,” Tessa instructed. Julian had no problem letting the feisty redhead take lead on their mission. She had more experience in going undercover than any of the males, and she was good at what she did. “Are you going to bring Katherine back here when we rescue her?”

“I was thinking about that before you arrived. The Feds shouldn’t be able to link Kat to me, so I think it would be safe.”

“Has Landon been able to figure out where the false information came from?” Nikolas asked.

“No, but he is working on it.”

“Something about him seems a little off to me,” Sophia said.

“What do you mean?” Nik asked.

“He’s too perfect,” Sophia responded. Nikolas growled at his mate, but she rolled her eyes. “Not that way, Gorgeous. With computers. When it comes to technology, nobody is smarter than Julian. The system is one he built himself, yet Landon came in and was immediately able to take over with little instruction, like he’d seen the system before.”

“Most systems run the same, don’t they?” Nik asked.

“Not necessarily. I haven’t seen another set up like mine, and you know I have seen quite a few.” Julian had bypassed more firewalls over the years than probably the best hacker on the streets. “What are you saying, Sophia?”

“I’m saying you should keep your eye on him. Since I’ve been helping Nik with the archives, I’ve found it interesting to read about the Gargoyles’ past lives. Who they were originally. Who they chose to be when they moved around keeping their identity safe. What profession they chose each time they moved. When I went in to change Landon’s location from California to Georgia, I found it odd that his history wasn’t as diverse as most others. His name, according to what Nikolas has recorded, has never been anything other than Landon Roxburgh. When I searched that last name, there aren’t any other Roxburghs in the States. I know I’m not a super hacker, but I didn’t find many Roxburgh Gargoyles in the rest of the world either.”

“So, he what? Has hidden his identity his whole existence?” Tessa asked.

“I can’t put my finger on what’s bothering me, but I think it’s worth looking into his background a little further,” Sophia admitted.

“I’ll worry about that,” Nik said. “For now, let’s concentrate on getting Katherine home where she belongs.”

“I think we should keep this quiet,” Tessa said. “The less people who know what we’re doing the better. We don’t want whoever was responsible for Kat being framed aware of our movements. Sophia, if you’ll get Jonas to fabricate the prosthetics, Gregor and I will head down to Texas and begin our own recon. I will follow Agent Rayaz and get a feel for her schedule. I’ll figure out a way to get close enough to study how she moves and talks. We will need to get recordings of both agents speaking so I can modify voice transmitters for us to use while at FSM.”

Julian went into his office and found two spare jump drives. He copied everything he had to both of them and handed one to Tessa and the other to Sophia. He was impressed with both mates and happy to have them on his team. He was looking forward to the day Katherine was a part of their team as well as their family. He prayed to the gods he would get to her and eventually clear her name so they could live without hiding.

“Thanks. I’ll take a look at these as soon as we get home, and then Stone and I will make arrangements to head to Texas. We’ll find a secure place to rent so we can have more privacy than a hotel will allow.”

“Thank you, all of you. This goes above and beyond having my back, because what we are going to do will be breaking the law. A law Gregor has sworn to uphold.”

Gregor stood and pulled Tessa to her feet. “Truth, but they have your mate. While they believe her to be guilty from the proof they have, we know differently. We’ll spring her out of SuperMax, and then we’ll worry about clearing her name.” Gregor walked over to where Julian was standing and clasped his shoulder, squeezing.

Tessa pointed at him with the jump drive in her hand. “I don’t think of it as breaking the law. I look at it as the next adventure in securing one of the mates. None of the Goyles have had it easy where that’s concerned, and I don’t see it changing anytime soon. Whatever we call it, I’m looking forward to it.” She gave Julian a quick hug, and surprisingly, Gregor didn’t growl.

Once everyone had left, Julian took a shower and rounded up something to eat, even though he didn’t feel like it. What he wanted was to head back to Texas. Before he did that, though, he would get a good night’s sleep and go to Family Day at the manor. He owed it to Rafael to make an appearance. He also wanted to at least check in on Jonathan before he left town again.

While he was relaxing with a glass of whiskey, Julian imagined Kat being there with him in his home. It would soon be her home as well. He didn’t have the luxury of easing her into their relationship. He’d already claimed her verbally when he visited her at the Pen. He would do his best to give her time to become acclimated to the notion of fated mates, but with her living in his home, he would be hard pressed to give her much time. His cock already ached from merely thinking about her.

Julian wanted to go to Katherine’s apartment and gather her things, but he couldn’t risk anyone seeing him there. He decided to ask Sophia to do a little breaking and entering while he was in Texas. If she could somehow get into Kat’s apartment, she could grab enough of her personal items and clothes to make Kat feel more comfortable while she was holed up at Julian’s. Once she was situated, he would make sure to buy her whatever she wanted and needed. Figuring it was probably futile, he closed his eyes and meditated, reaching out to his mate anyway.

 

 

 

As soon as Sophia and Nik were alone in their car and headed home, Sophia said, “I think there’s more to Landon than we all realize. I think he is Julian’s hacker.”

“What?” Nik glanced over at his exquisite mate. The mother of his unborn daughter. She was growing more beautiful with each day that passed, even when she woke him up in the middle of the night craving something crazy to eat. “Don’t you think Julian would have figured that out if he were?”

“Not necessarily. Julian has been distracted. But think about it. Shit calmed down once Landon got behind the keyboard. I know it could be a coincidence. The hacker could have gotten bored. Or grew a conscience after what happened with Katherine. Or, Landon could be learning everything about the Stone Society from the inside. If that’s true… I want you to help me do some digging before we all jump to conclusions – okay, before I jump to conclusions. Julian has too much to worry about right now without adding that possibility to the mix.”

“I will search the archives myself. Not that you haven’t done your homework, but maybe you missed something. And I’d much prefer I did the searching so as to avoid cheesy fingerprints on the old tomes.”

Sophia laughed at him and reached out to entwine their fingers together. His mate was a sexual female, but her need to touch him in non-sexual ways had increased since she became pregnant. Whenever they were in the same room, Nik found his mate holding his hand or brushing his hair off his forehead. Running a finger down his cheek. Placing chaste kisses on his lips. Small gestures he adored. “Ooh, can we stop and get some fries? Your daughter is still hungry,” she informed him, scrunching her nose.

“My daughter, you say?” Nikolas pulled Sophia’s hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. He’d give his daughter the world. He pulled into the drive-thru at Sophia’s favorite fast food restaurant and ordered two large orders of fries. Hopefully, that would keep her satisfied until morning as far as food went. He also hoped he could keep her satisfied in other ways once they were home. Something about his mate’s round belly turned Nik on past the point of being painful. He passed the bag over, and Sophia dug in, her moans at the salty treat doing nothing to help ease the ache in his hard cock.