by Faith Gibson
Why would someone kidnap Sam? He was one of the kindest, most decent men Zeke knew, even if he was his brother. Zeke couldn’t say the same thing for himself. He went off the rails for a while when he transitioned. Sam had been the one to talk him back around and even convince him to become a watcher. Sam had come up with the concept of helping their siblings transition, but he knew he couldn’t do it alone being that they were scattered around the world. Ezekiel had nothing better to do considering he didn’t have a mate to worry about. That was another reason Sam wanted Zeke’s help; Sam wanted to be able to spend more time at home with Monica.
The only ones outside of the family who knew Jonas’ true identity were the other Gargoyles of his former clan. If they were targeting Sam to get to Jonas, why wait two hundred years? It was possible his father had pissed someone off and Zeke didn’t know about it. Hopefully not and hopefully this would be an isolated situation. For now, though, he didn’t want to think any more on it. He would do that in the morning. Zeke hit the music icon on his phone, turned on some Sully Erna, and leaned his head back against the tub, willing himself to relax.
Sophia woke early so she could make her way to the larger hotel. Hopefully, those who were watching her room would still be asleep when she slipped in. She was not going to take a chance and leave the bed and breakfast without a disguise. If by some chance those following her were awake, Clara could escape more easily than she could as herself. But if someone from the inn saw her, it would be best to leave as Beatrice, so she donned the grandmotherly disguise. When she made her way downstairs, she caught a whiff of a delicious scent. It was the same one she’d smelled the night before when she thought Nikolas had been there. Sophia inhaled deeply, allowing the aroma to invade her senses. She relished the reminder of her mate, even if he was thousands of miles away.
She stepped outside onto the quiet sidewalk where a taxi was waiting on her. It was a short distance to her hotel, but even she wasn’t crazy enough to walk alone at this time of the morning. Sophia paid the man and entered the hotel through a side door. She felt she had a better chance at not being spotted if she took a few extra precautions. She got out of the elevator on the ninth floor and took the stairs to the tenth. Reaching out with her senses, she didn’t detect anyone in the hallway. Carefully, she opened the door and walked softly toward her room. When she reached her door, she caught that familiar scent once again.
Sophia slid the keycard into the slot. The green indicator sounded like a bomb going off in the quiet corridor. She entered her room and closed the door as softly as she could, leaning her back against it once she was safe. She kicked off her shoes and went about removing the prosthetic, voice transmitter, and contacts. She had a few hours before her reservation for the ferry, so she flopped down on the bed and tried to go back to sleep. Instead of focusing on the task ahead of her, Sophia allowed her mind to drift back to the first day Nikolas came into the library. She hadn’t looked her best. Her hair was gathered in a mess on top of her head, and she’d had on a pair of silly glasses. Having already transitioned, she no longer needed them. She wore them to throw her family off to the fact she had phased for the first time. Her looks hadn’t mattered. Nikolas felt the effects of the mate bond almost immediately. When Sophia touched his arm, she thought he was going to pass out on her. She felt sorry for the gorgeous man.
Nik returned to the library, only he didn’t come to the information desk. He went to the computer bank to search for Jonas’ books himself. By now he had probably figured out they were mates, but that day he seemed to be fishing, and she couldn’t resist torturing him. When he asked her if she preferred vampires in her reading choices, she quickly dismissed that crazy thought. The look on his face when she said she preferred shifters was priceless. The closeness of his body had her core pulsing. Sophia had never had sex, but at that moment, she had been ready to grab him by his beautiful wings and drag him into the basement where she could lock the door and have her way with him. She might have if he hadn’t been so intrigued with the journal she had stashed just for that occasion.
She leaned around his back to look at the journal. What she had truthfully been doing was pressing into his arm so she could feel the heat coming from his body. After that, she helped him check out most of the books Jonas had written. When Nikolas grinned at her, she felt her panties flood. Needless to say, she had gone home and put fresh batteries in her favorite toy. And now she was horny. Great. She hadn’t packed any toys, because she didn’t want anyone seeing them through the scanner at the airport. Instead, she rolled onto her back, unbuttoned her jeans and pushed them down her legs. She slid her hand down her panties and into the wetness of her folds. With her handsome as hell Gargoyle on her mind, Sophia scratched the itch Nikolas Stone caused.
A few hours later, with her belly full of room service breakfast and a pot of coffee, Sophia headed to the ferry. She was more nervous than she’d been since she arrived. What if those following her stopped her from getting to the zoo? What if they took her after she sat across from the leopard? Would she then be taken to her parents? Or was this truly a puzzle of sorts to actually find her parents? She stepped out of her taxi and opened her senses. She had to be more observant now than ever before. She made her way to the dock where she would take the hour-long boat ride. This seemed like overkill considering the short taxi ride the day before, but Sophia was going to comply with their instructions. Well, somewhat.
The ferry wasn’t the largest on the water, and that was the reason Sophia chose this particular one. A smaller ferry meant fewer people. It also meant there were no cars allowed. Paranoid or cautious, either way she wanted less of a chance of being kidnapped herself. The pier was fairly busy, and Sophia tried to blend in with the pedestrians walking toward the gangway. She made her way to the ticket office and showed her digital receipt. After receiving her ticket, she walked to the designated loading area. Sophia was glad to see several families waiting in line as well. She would attempt to stick close to the larger groups instead of standing alone.
The weather forecast predicted sunshine and mild temperatures. It was currently sixty-six degrees, which called for Sophia to wear a jacket and cover her head while she was on the ferry. The wind coming off the water would be cool. It would also allow her to be harder to identify unless she had already been spotted. In that case, no amount of head covering would work in her favor. So far she hadn’t felt eyes on her, but they could be on the dock using binoculars. Or, she might have completely blown it by not showing up as herself the day before.
The boat moved away from the dock, and they were underway. According to the schedule, she had almost an hour until she arrived on the other side of the Nile. The ferry was a tourist boat, so the captain would take his time getting them from point a to point b. Sophia followed a family and stood against the rail as their tour guide began his spiel. After half an hour, Sophia began to relax. She was intent on the words coming over the loud speaker as she gazed out at the land passing by. The hair on her neck stood up, and Sophia froze. She had let her shifter senses subside, but now they were kickboxing her from the inside. She might not have been aware of the stranger walking up behind her, but her Goyle half was. She concentrated on keeping her fangs where they currently were: safely sheathed away from unknowing eyes.
When the presence continued to linger where it was, she slowly turned her back to the rail so she could take in those around her. The family remained to her left, but two large men were now standing to Sophia’s right. Instead of looking them in the eye, she kept them in her peripheral vision. After about ten minutes, the men walked away, allowing Sophia to get a good look at them. Both were well built, and they looked like locals. She didn’t sense that either one of them were shifters. That didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous. Not wanting to appear conspicuous, she stayed where she was until the boat docked in Giza.
As she was debarking, Sophia kept her eyes open for her admirers. When she reached the end of the gangway, she
noticed them walking ahead of her. One of them was talking on a cell phone. Sophia hadn’t been instructed how to get to the zoo from the pier, so she opted for the cheapest, most occupied form of transportation. She hopped on the bus with several others. As they were pulling away from the curb, the two men were standing there watching. Next time she talked to Tessa, she was going to ask how her cousin did this job without taking nerve pills, because Sophia’s were shot all to hell at that point.
Sophia followed several families off the bus, making their way to the ticket booth at the zoo. She was nervous, but she had gone over the scenario in her mind until she was certain she could pull off acting surprised. Once inside the zoo, Sophia opened the map and studied it as if she had no idea where the leopard pen would be situated. Once she gave herself sufficient time to be convincing, she walked along the same path on which she’d previously followed the blonde. When she reached the enclosure, there were people standing at the fence admiring the big cat. Sophia sat on the bench and looked around, not seeing the two men from the ferry. That didn’t mean they weren’t there, or that whoever they’d called wasn’t now watching her.
Since the instructions only told Sophia to go to the bench, she didn’t reach her hand underneath for the disk. That would have been a clear giveaway she had seen the woman put it there. Instead, she remained seated for over half an hour. When nothing happened, she decided to walk around the park and see if she could identify anyone else who might be tailing her. She stopped every so often to glance at her map, but after an hour, Sophia made her way back to the bench and had a seat. Still having no idea what to do, she sat there for half an hour. Just as she stood to leave, a park employee walked past her and shoved something into her stomach. Sophia had no choice but to grab onto the item.
It was a folded piece of paper. Sophia debated on whether to read the note there or wait until she got back to the hotel. On the chance she was directed elsewhere, she decided to go ahead and see what it said.
Travel to the Place of Beauty and find the Last Pharaoh’s Tomb
Sophia had no idea where that was, so she needed to get back to her computer. She folded the note and slid it into the pocket of her jeans. With one last look around, she headed back to Cairo. This time by taxi.
Chapter Eight
Nikolas was ready to take out an advertisement on the side of a building that flashed “Sophia, where are you?” After coming up with nothing on either woman’s credit card, Nik expanded his search. He was going to need a supercomputer if he kept up the extensive algorithms Julian had put in place. As it was now, his laptop was ready to blow, just like its owner. Nik’s gut instinct told him the honeysuckle scent wasn’t a coincidence. Even though he had nothing to go on other than his instincts, he was going to follow up on the hotel room occupied by the young woman. Taking a huge chance, Nik hacked into the reservation system and added his name to her room.
In over five hundred years, Nik had never felt so helpless. It had been centuries since he had more to worry about than where he would live next. When Rafael first took over the States as King, the immediate family spread out to keep the peace throughout the Clan. When Eduardo was slain, it was the perfect time for an uprising. Nikolas moved to Florida, one of the only times he and Julian were apart. Once things settled down and Rafael proved to be a competent ruler, Nik moved to North Carolina, where Julian was. They had lived in the same city ever since. When you lived your life hiding in plain sight, it was easier to have a best friend who understood who and what you were.
Jules was his wingman when they went out. Not that Nik had trouble finding women, quite the opposite. His trouble had been saying no. Nikolas Stone loved women, and he rarely turned one down. His brother had saved his ass more than once when Nikolas said yes to more than one woman in the same night. Nik had never been opposed to having two or three women in his bed at the same time, but there were some women who just did not like to share. When that happened, Julian offered his services to one of the ladies so Nikolas didn’t go home alone.
It was a rare occurrence when Julian went out alone, though. It always amazed Nik how his brother could go years at a time without a woman. Nik could barely go weeks. It wasn’t only the sex, either. He loved the softness of a female’s body. The way they smelled like flowers after a rain shower. How they were hardwired to care for others. He’d always envisioned his mate as a shorter, plumper female who he could curl up around and enjoy the extra pounds on her hips as he thrust into her body. What was the old saying? More cushion for the pushin’? Somehow the fates envisioned someone entirely different. Sophia was average height and slender. Still, his bunny was beautiful. He had no problem with who the fates had chosen for him.
An alert sounded on his computer. When he saw what the search had unearthed, he was ecstatic. The two credit cards were issued by the same company. That wasn’t what made him happy. The fact they both had the same post office box number as their address was. That couldn’t be a fluke. Nik was almost certain he’d found his mate. Why else would two women in different hotels have credit cards issued to the same address? There was a possibility they could be relatives, but if that were the case, they more than likely would be staying in the same hotel if they were on vacation.
Nik looked up the number for the Nile Grand Hotel and placed a called. When the operator answered, he asked for room ten seventeen. The phone rang several times with no answer. If he were Sophia, he wouldn’t answer either, not unless he was expecting a call. She probably wasn’t, at least not on the hotel phone. He called the operator once more and asked to leave a message for Miss Fort. Once he told Clara he wished to speak with her, he decided to head on over to the hotel.
If he was lucky enough that this was indeed Sophia, he was going to make the mating bond official within minutes, with her permission, of course. Nik wanted to jog the couple of blocks to the Nile Grand, but he made himself walk. He didn’t need any unwanted attention, especially if someone was watching Sophia. He entered the lobby and walked up to the front desk. When the clerk got a good look at him, her demeanor changed from bored to interested.
“Good morning, sir. May I help you?” she gushed.
Nikolas didn’t hesitate to flash his beautiful smile. It rarely failed to get him what he wanted. “I sure hope so. I left my key in the room. I’m so embarrassed.”
“Oh, don’t worry. It happens all the time, Mr.?”
“Stone. Nikolas Stone, room ten seventeen.” Nik leaned his arms on the counter, smiling even larger.
The clerk had to enter the information several times. Her attention was more on Nik than it was the computer. She opened a drawer, retrieved a blank key card, and swiped it into the machine to register it to the proper room. She handed it over and asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Stone? Anything at all?”
Nik winked and said, “You’ve been a doll. Thank you so much.” He pocketed the card and headed for the stairs. That had been way too easy. Maybe it was an omen. When he reached the tenth floor, he walked with purpose until he reached Clara’s door. When he didn’t hear any noise coming from inside, he let himself in. Nik was immediately assaulted with honeysuckle. This had to be Sophia’s room. He took a look around, noting the room looked unused with the exception of the laptop on the desk.
He opened the top dresser drawer. He pulled out a pair of lace panties and held them to his face. Even though they were clean, the faint hint of Sophia was evident where she had touched them. Instead of putting them back, he shoved the sliver of material into his pocket. He moved to the bathroom. Toiletries were neatly lined up on the vanity. A large cosmetic box was on the shelf underneath the sink. Nik squatted down and tried to open the box, but it was locked. Why would her cosmetics be locked up?
Next, he opened the closet. There were a lot of clothes on hangers. He slid each item across the bar, noticing some were for a younger woman, while there were a couple of frumpy looking dresses a grandmother might wear. A grandmother named Beatrice
, perhaps? What are you up to, my bunny? The safe was closed and locked. If he had time and his computer, he could get into the small box fairly quickly. Whatever she had locked up would have to remain that way for now. The last item Nik looked at was the computer. He opened the lid to the laptop and powered it on. When it booted up, he wasn’t surprised to see the password bar appear. If Clara’s computer was anything like Nik’s, it would have a complex password that would require one of Julian’s programs to break it. Nik powered the system down and closed the lid.
The message light on the phone was blinking red. His message was still there meaning she hadn’t been in the room since he called. While debating on whether to sit and wait, a voice from the room next door made up his mind for him.
“We still haven’t found the old woman, but the Brooks girl is at the zoo. Drago paid a worker to give her the note. We have eyes on her now.”
Brooks girl? They were talking about Sophia. Was Beatrice the old woman they couldn’t find? Fuck! Nikolas had to get to the zoo. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and did an internet search for the Cairo zoo. He returned his attention to the voice next door.
“Yes, Princess. I will make sure she doesn’t get away again.”
Nikolas had planned on leaving a note for his mate, but he needed to get to the zoo before something happened to her. Why the fuck did he not get her phone number? Nik sneaked out of the hotel room and ran down ten flights of stairs. He exited the side of the hotel and jogged to the front of the building, hailing a taxi. When he got in, Nik told the driver, “I need to get to the zoo as fast as you can.”