Found (Books of Stone Book 1)

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “I’m alright. Just give me a minute,” I told him wearily. “It’s not every day you feel your heart ripped out.” His hands dropped from my face to the chair’s armrests.

  “What were you thinking?” he growled. He waited until I was ready. It didn’t take long.

  “It’s a Hunger demon,” I announced. “This one obviously likes hearts.”

  He closed his eyes, sighed, then he looked at me again. “Why did you risk it?” he asked, his voice firm. His question bothered me.

  “Because what matters is finding what killed those girls and dealing with it,” I reminded him. “That’s our job. Our purpose.” I ran my eyes over his face before meeting his again. “Or have other gargoyles forgotten that?” Brian came through the door before he could answer. I didn’t look away from his gaze until Brian held the files between us. I took them and gave Brian a smile. “Thank you, Brian.” Zahur got to his feet and stepped away.

  “No problem,” Brian said as I got to my feet. I headed for the door, Zahur not far behind.

  We were halfway out of the hospital before he broke the silence. “I agree with you.” I was so surprised I stopped in the middle of the empty hallway. I simply looked up at the male who was almost a foot taller than me. “I want to find the Hunger demon that did this and do my job,” he stated as he met my gaze. “But we can’t disobey an order from the Elder Council. There are rules we have to follow, procedure, red tape-”

  “Those are rules you have to follow,” I reminded him. “I don’t know the Elder Council and they don’t know me.” I started walking for the exit again. He sighed.

  “You make a fair point,” he said. “Are you really a Private Investigator?”

  “Yes and no,” I explained. “I got the license so I have a cover for being here and poking around.”

  He eyed me. “By the way, where did you get that card that let you into the hospital?”

  “I borrowed it,” I hedged.

  “You stole it.”

  “I did not.” I waited a beat. “Brian did.” He chuckled. I smirked.

  “Brian stole it?” he asked as we turned into another hallway.

  “Not really. He gets one every few months, gives it to me and then goes to the office and says he lost his.” I shrugged.

  He was quiet as we stepped outside. My smile dimmed. Atticus was leaning against a Mercedes with his arms crossed over his chest. Why did he have to be so good looking? I took a deep calming breath as I strode towards him. He straightened. Why did he look so much taller now? He was only a half a foot taller than me. How did I not notice that before? Why was I noticing it now? When I was close enough, I handed the files to him. He took them reluctantly.

  “It’s a Hunger demon and I’d say it’s just getting warmed up,” I said. “Do you still think there isn’t any evidence?” Atticus adjusted the files before he examined them. It didn’t take long before he looked at me again.

  “No, you were right. There’s a demon in the city,” he admitted, his voice colder than before. He turned to Zahur. “We’re going to need a base of operations.”

  “Do we have property left in the city?” Zahur asked.

  Atticus shook his head. “No, we sold everything when we pulled out.”

  “If you’re going to investigate this, then you and your team can stay at my place until you can find your own,” I volunteered before I realized what I was doing.

  “Thank you, we appreciate it,” Atticus accepted before I could take it back. Dang it. I gave them my address as I took a key off my chain and handed it to Zahur.

  “Where are you going?” Zahur asked as I walked to my car.

  I opened my driver door. “I’m going to spread the word, let the other species know what’s going on.” And I really needed some space from Atticus. My body was practically humming. “I’ll meet you at my apartment.”

  Still seeing the memories from the dead girl, I drove over to my favorite bar, The Bloody Moon. It was actually a werewolf bar, but my best friend owned it and had my back whenever I was in need of a night out. I parked my car across the street from the bar and headed in.

  The bar was in the basement of what had, at some point, been a bank. Astrid kept the safe for a cool off room when one of her pack members got a little rowdy. As I walked up to the door I passed werewolves who were three feet taller than me, but they mostly ignored me. A couple of the nicer ones recognized me and said hi. I said hi back before opening the door. Inside it was a different story; grumbling ran through the crowd as I moved through it. I ignored the werewolves. No one sane would lay a finger on me here. First, I’ve already proven that I could more than hold my own. Second, I gave them a heads-up whenever something nasty was in town. Third, Astrid would ban them from the bar. And wolves loved their beer. I made my way to the bar and snagged a stool. Astrid was down at the other end of the bar. I let out a loud whistle.

  “Hey, sexy momma, can’t I get a little love?” I called down the bar. Astrid turned and flipped me off. I smiled. Astrid was a beautiful werewolf. Crazy, but in a good way. In our world you’d have to be crazy to be friends with a gargoyle. Astrid finished with her customer and made her way down to me. Her skin-tight jeans showed off her long legs, and her blood red tank top accented the red streaks in her blonde hair. She stopped to fill a glass on her way over.

  “Hey, hot stuff,” Astrid greeted me as she handed over the frosty glass. Her eyes ran over me. “You look as pale as a blood-sucker. What’s going on?”

  “Did you hear about the two dead girls in the last week?” My voice sounded tired even to me. She nodded. “It’s now three. I just went through the latest victim’s death memory.” Astrid’s eyes grew wide as I took a deep drink.

  “Ouch,” she said before reaching under the counter and putting a shot glass in front of me. Astrid grabbed the best bottle of whiskey in the bar and poured me a double. “On the house, baby.” I took it gratefully. The liquid burned my throat, but I welcomed it. It was a good distraction from the images running through my head.

  “How bad was it?” Astrid asked. I set the glass down.

  “Ever wonder what it feels like to get your heart ripped out of your chest? Literally?” I asked dryly. “Because I don’t need to wonder anymore.”

  Astrid responded by pouring me another double. I drank it down. “Did you figure out what it was?” I nodded before I met her hazel eyes.

  “It's a Hunger demon in full form.” I didn’t bother to whisper. They were werewolves, they’d hear me anyway. The males next to me were suddenly interested. “His victim profile is female, around nineteen years old. He finds them alone and takes the heart.” I looked to my right to Edgar. The large man had triplet daughters who were around eighteen. “Keep your girls at home after dark,” I warned him.

  The big burly werewolf nodded to me before putting his beer down and heading out. His girls were probably out tonight. Several other customers made a beeline for the door. When the rush was over the bar was half empty.

  I looked up at Astrid. “Sorry.”

  She shook her head. “Are you kidding? If they didn’t go on their own I would have closed down the bar.” I took another drink of my beer.

  “There’s also a squad of gargoyles in town,” I told her quietly. Astrid’s jaw dropped.

  “Bloody moon, did you get to talk to them?” she asked, excited. Astrid knew that I hadn’t met another gargoyle except my parents. I nodded.

  “It didn’t go the way I thought it would,” I admitted. Astrid lost her smile. “What’s going on, sexy?” I looked around the bar at all the ears listening. I pulled out my cell and texted Astrid.

  Evelyn: Don’t tell anyone but our species is dying out. They came to investigate, but once they met me the mission changed, to take me with them.

  Astrid cursed at her phone. She typed away, hitting the screen harder than she needed to.

  Astrid: And just leave a fully formed Hunger demon here to feed? Seriously?

  Evelyn: Right? Any
way, I convinced them to stay and investigate the demon.

  Astrid’s laugh had me looking up from my phone.

  “Where are they staying?” she asked with a smirk.

  I cringed. “I kind of volunteered my place.”

  Astrid gaped at me. “Seriously?”

  “I don’t know what happened. They were talking and all of a sudden the words came out,” I admitted. She slammed her fist on the bar in a fit of laughter. I shrugged. “I’m blaming Atticus.”

  She was wiping the tears from her eyes as she asked, “Who’s he?”

  “Their squad leader. There’s something different about him,” I admitted.

  “What?” She smiled.

  “I don’t know, we shook hands and I… was affected,” I hedged, my face warming.

  “We have something like that. It tells us who our Mate is,” Astrid said, her eyes bright with mischief. “Let me guess, you got all hot and bothered?”

  “Hot and bothered is an understatement,” I muttered before taking a drink. Astrid smiled. I giggled.

  “Did your mom ever talk about how she married your dad?” she asked before taking a drink of her beer.

  “Nothing out of the ordinary,” I summed up. There was more but that’s not what she was asking about.

  “I wonder if your species has something like we do for finding our Mates.” She smiled. “Oh, this should be fun to watch. It’s been a while for you.”

  “Astrid,” I chided. She just winked at me. My face grew warm. “He’s rather arrogant."

  “I think you can handle him.” Astrid smirked. “Go have some fun.”

  I smiled and took another drink. I had just set down the glass when a big body moved to the side Edgar had vacated. I looked up. It was Chad Harrison. Werewolf and jerk extraordinaire. The guy hated me and the feeling was mutual.

  “Chad, to what do I owe the honor?” I asked dryly. The werewolf was tall and burly. His face had a large brow and jaw.

  “What are you doing here, gargoyle? Shouldn’t you be off sitting on a church somewhere?” Chad asked. I almost choked on my beer. That was actually funny. My species could hibernate for centuries, and since we turned to stone when we did, we used churches as a way to hide in plain sight. At least, that’s what Dad had told me.

  “That was a good one, Chad,” I admitted. “Shouldn’t you be chasing your own tail somewhere? Licking yourself?” Astrid started laughing as did a few others. Chad’s jaw clenched. I’d gotten to him.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” he growled. I was suddenly surrounded. I kept my eyes on Chad.

  “This is my bar and I say who is welcome and who isn’t,” Astrid growled.

  “It’s a pack bar, and she’s not pack,” someone growled from behind me. Great. I tucked my phone into my pocket and stood up. Three of Chad’s lackeys surrounded me.

  “Do we really want to do this, boys?” I asked in a patronizing voice. In response the one behind me grabbed my shoulder. I instantly raised my foot and slammed it into Chad’s gut, knocking him away. Astrid jumped over the bar. The hand on me disappeared. I turned to the last one. He swung, I tasted blood. Adrenaline burned through me. I turned back to him. He swung again. I blocked and sent my right hook to his cheek then landed an uppercut to his side, hearing the satisfying sound of ribs breaking. The force of my hit caused him to double over; I took the opening he left and broke his nose on my knee. He groaned as he crumpled to the ground. A hand dug into my hair and yanked me back.

  “Hair pulling? Really?” I growled before I drove an elbow into his gut. His breath whooshed out of him as I turned and clocked him. Chad’s nose burst as he went into the bar. Another tried to grab me from behind. I flipped him over my shoulder to the floor, then kicked him in the face. I turned around; the bar had broken into an all-out brawl. I spotted Astrid and started to stride in. A hand grabbed me and spun me into a tall, hard body. Heart slamming, I looked up into a pair of turquoise eyes. He was striking, there was no other way to describe him. Wide cheekbones, a strong jaw. Wild, thick, dark blonde hair that was down to his shoulders. And he was a gargoyle. Those eyes were sharp as they ran over my face.

  “Stay safe and out of the fight, lass. Let us handle it,” he told me, his Scottish accent thick. Adrenaline burned through my veins.

  “I don’t sit on the sidelines,” I growled. He smirked.

  “You’ve already gotten hit, any more and it’ll be my hide,” he stated before letting me go. I went to move around him. He blocked me. “Falk," he barked. Another gargoyle moved out of the shadows of the bar. His wavy, brown hair was wild and jaw length. He was a foot taller than me with broad shoulders, a lean build and dark eyes that stayed on me. It was, however, the thick band of scar tissue that ran the width of his throat that caught my eye. He planted himself in front of me as the other gargoyle turned and waded into the fight. I went to walk around him. He blocked me. I tried again, he stopped me again. I growled in frustration. He really wasn't going to let me back in the fight.

  It wasn’t long before the fight was over and the blonde and Astrid were throwing the unconscious werewolves into the back room.

  The blonde male was huge, two feet taller than me I’d guess. His black shirt showed me broad shoulders and a barrel chest. His black leather pants showed off his thick legs. When he finished throwing the unconscious wolves around as if they weighed nothing he strode over to me.

  “Ranulf and Falk, I presume?” I asked tiredly.

  “Aye, I’m Ranulf.” The big guy smiled at me. Falk just nodded.

  “Are you following me?” I asked.

  Ranulf chuckled. “Now, what kind of guards would we be if we didn’t?” he asked, his accent thick. I sighed then walked over to Astrid.

  “I’m sorry, hon-”

  “Don’t even worry about it, those assholes had been riding the line for days now,” Astrid said. She tilted her chin at the males waiting near the door. “Those them?”

  “A pair of guards apparently.”

  “The tall one’s sexy as hell,” Astrid said, smiling. I glanced back. Not my type really, but perfect for Astrid.

  “I think I need to go and deal with this guard issue,” I said as I paid for my beer.

  Astrid smirked. “Good luck.”

  I shot her a playful look before I headed towards the door.

  When we were out in the snow I kept walking towards my car. “How did you find me?” I asked as I buttoned up my jacket.

  “We were already on the roof of the hospital when you took off,” Ranulf explained. “Didn’t take much to follow.” I unlocked my door.

  “Well, I’m going home,” I announced.

  “We’ll see you there,” Ranulf said before backing away a couple steps.

  “Not if I get there first.” And lock Ranulf’s butt outside for sidelining me like that. This time Falk turned and eyed me.

  “You’re on,” Falk said, his voice gravelly and hoarse. I couldn’t tell if it was damaged or if he just didn’t use it much. He wanted to race? This should be fun. I got in my car and peeled out of my spot.

  Heart pounding, I sped through town, dodging traffic, slipping through spaces barely big enough for me. But I made it to my apartment in record time, only to find Falk leaning against the wall next to the door of my apartment building. Impressed, I pulled into the parking garage across the street. I made sure to lock the door before walking back.

  “How did you do that?” I asked as I crossed the street. Falk shrugged.

  “I’m fast,” he said in that coarse voice.

  “You need to teach me how you got that fast.” I stopped at the door to the building as he eyed me.

  “Do you ever fly?” he asked, his voice getting quieter as it got rougher.

  “Not as often as I’d like,” I admitted as I pulled out my keys. His gaze ran over me before meeting my eyes again.

  “Still faster than Ranulf,” he pointed out, his voice now barely above a whisper. Ranulf dropped to the sidewalk behind me. His win
gs were brown and his feathers were large but I didn’t have a chance to get a really good look before they were again in his skin in a wings tattoo down his back. When he stood I noticed that scars covered the sculpted muscles of his barrel chest and abdomen. I wonder what caused them.

  “She didn’t have to avoid the high rises, I did,” Ranulf pointed out before he pulled his shirt out of his belt loop and pulled it on.

  “Excuses, excuses,” I taunted. He shot me a look that made me smile. I turned, opened the door with the key fob and headed upstairs to my apartment. “I take it you guys are staying with me too?”

  “Aye, lass.”

  I was still smiling as I reached the third floor. My apartment door was unlocked and open. Recognizing the voices coming from inside, I stepped through the door and began to take my jacket off.

  Atticus and Zahur were talking in the living room area. My apartment wasn’t that large. The ivory walls glowed with light from the sconces around the room. The galley kitchen area with a breakfast bar was to the left of the small foyer. The brown leather couch was across the room, facing the television over my fireplace and the floor to ceiling bookcases that flanked it. Matching leather armchairs were to the right and left of the couch. The door to my bedroom was across the apartment. With the mahogany coffee table and end tables the whole effect was homey.

  Atticus glanced at me as I hung up my jacket on a hook.

  “You know, you guys can close the door,” I stated dryly. Zahur looked my way then did a double take as the others stepped around me.

  “Are you alright?” Zahur asked, his eyes narrowing on my jaw.

  I shrugged as I dropped my keys into the bowl I kept on the table near the door. “Bar fight.” I walked into the apartment but didn’t make it far. Zahur met me and lifted my chin. I awkwardly pulled his hand away. “I’m fine, it’s only bruises. Just let me go get cleaned up,” I assured him.

  “Aye, she handled the werewolves rather well,” Ranulf told them. Zahur and Atticus’s gaze shot to Ranulf.

  “Werewolves?” Atticus asked. He turned to me. “You were attacked by werewolves?”