Read Online Heart of Stone by Debra Mullins - Free Book Online Page B

Montanas’ housekeeper. If there’s anything you need during your stay with us, just let me know.”
    â€œThank you,” Faith said.
    â€œCome on, Faith,” Adrian said, following Lupe to the front steps. “Let me introduce you to your hosts.”
    *   *   *
    Pity.
    Darius wheeled down the hall with skillful speed, his jaw clenched, his throat tight. He’d seen it on Faith’s face, felt it through his empathic link. One glance at the blasted chair and she got all gooey with sympathy, just like every other woman he’d met since the accident. Well, he wasn’t a charity case. Just a couple of hours ago, he’d held his own against a crazy lightning girl and a Warrior. He’d saved their butts and gotten Faith away from the Mendukati.
    Funny how she forgot that as soon as she saw the damned wheelchair.
    He sped across the spacious kitchen and stopped at the sliding glass doors. He lifted a hand to the door latch, then left it there, resting his forehead against the cool glass. He hated that it hurt him, how she saw him. How any woman saw him.
    Poor Darius. He was so big and strong … once.
    He sucked in a shaky breath. It caught on the knot of emotion clogging his throat, bursting out in a harsh hiss. The sound echoed through the empty kitchen, bouncing back at him. He sat up with a jerk. Stared at his reflection in the pane of glass and the black night outside. And forced the unwanted despair back to its shadowy corner.
    This was a temporary situation. He’d overtaxed himself, and even with the short-term pick-me-up of the amazonite, he needed several hours of therapy and meditation at minimum to get back on his feet. He knew what to do, had spent years learning the art of healing himself. He’d walked out of that chair once and, damn it, he’d do it again.
    Opening the sliding door, he wheeled out onto the patio and headed toward the cabana by the pool.
    *   *   *
    Faith walked into the foyer of the house just as Darius disappeared down the hallway. She frowned after him.
    â€œDon’t worry about Mr. Darius,” Lupe said, smiling at Faith. “He has his moods, but he’ll be fine in a little while.”
    Before Faith could answer, footsteps from the opposite hall claimed her attention, and a man and woman entered the foyer. They looked to be in their fifties or early sixties, as evidenced by the silver sprinkling the man’s black hair and the crinkles around his brown eyes. The woman had strands of silver in her dark hair as well, but that seemed to be the only indication of her age. She glanced at Faith with wariness in her stunning blue eyes—the same color as Darius’s—and clung to the man’s hand a bit more tightly than Faith would have expected. But when the woman looked at Adrian, the suspicion disappeared.
    â€œAdrian, you’re back!” She let go of the other man’s hand and embraced the Warrior. “Tell me you’re staying.”
    â€œNot this time.” Adrian returned the woman’s hug, then stepped back and held out his hand to the other man. “John.”
    â€œAdrian.” They shook. “I’ve made some more modifications to the estate’s security systems,” John said. “I’d like you to test them when you have time.”
    â€œDefinitely.” Adrian turned to Faith. “Allow me to introduce Faith Karaluros. She’s the Stone Singer. Faith, this is Maria and John Montana, Darius’s parents.”
    â€œHello.” Faith held out her hand. Maria hesitated only a moment before shaking it.
    â€œWelcome,” she said, and stepped back.
    John reached out to shake hands, staring her down with an assessing gaze that made her think of a cop sizing up a suspect. “Thanks for coming,” he said. “I hear you can tell us something about this stone.”
    She shrugged, fighting the urge to shove her hands in