Nikolas (13 page)

Keene nodded again before raising an eyebrow at Zeke. He took that as his cue to leave. “Xenia, before I go, did Sophia happen to say where she’s staying? I have searched the hotels in Cairo, but her name isn’t listed at any of them.”

“She mentioned the Nile Grand, but she’s probably using an alias considering she’s been in disguise the whole time. If I talk to her again, I’ll be sure to have her call you.”

“Thank you. Here’s my number. Call if you need anything.” Zeke turned to go but was stopped when his sister pulled him in for a hug. He returned her embrace, inclined his head to Keene, and left them alone to discuss their future. Hopefully, they’d have one.

Nikolas was going crazy. He had paced the floor of his room, waiting until it was late. As soon as he stepped out into the night air and felt the pull of the moon, his Gargoyle clawed at him from the inside, begging to be turned loose. Nik would love nothing more than to take to the skies, spreading his wings and soaring. He tamped down his beast but kept it close enough to the surface to be aware of his surroundings. He was pissed at himself for letting the blonde get the jump on him with whatever she’d sprayed in his eyes.

When Nik arrived at the inn, he checked the back door. He turned the knob slowly and pushed the unlocked door open enough to listen for movement inside. When he heard none, he entered the hallway behind the kitchen. The place was small enough that he found the stairs easily. He made his way to the second floor and followed his nose to the door where honeysuckle was present. Nik tried the knob and surprisingly, it was unlocked. He opened the door and let himself into Sophia’s room.

This room was not neat and tidy like the one at the hotel had been. Drawers were open as was the window. Even though the days were pleasant, the night air could get chilly. The thin curtain was flowing from the breeze. Nik looked out the window to find it overlooked the garden. At first glance, everything looked normal. Nik continued to study the area below the window. A bush had branches broken off, and the dirt next to it had been disturbed. His mate had jumped.
Dammit.
That wasn’t good. If she had to escape out the window, someone had been looking for her downstairs.

A large bag was on the floor by the bathroom. Nik picked it up and looked through the contents.
Beatrice
. Either Sophia’s alter ego had been compromised, or she was in too much of a hurry to grab it. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have left it behind. Various items of clothing were in the closet, most of those belonging to an older woman. A couple of shirts hung on hangers that he could see someone like Tessa wearing. Nik tried to imagine Sophia dressed as a female version of Indiana Jones. Even though their situation was dire, Nik grinned when he envisioned his mate wielding a whip. Maybe she would whip him.
Get your head out of the bed, Nikky boy. Your mate is in trouble, and you’re thinking of sex games.
As Nik pushed through the hangers, a wave of lightheadedness washed over him, and he allowed the feeling to flow through his body. He should have never separated from her once he found her. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Instead of going back through the inn, Nik decided to go out the window as Sophia had. He climbed through the open frame then allowed his body to drop to the ground. He landed, knees bent, hands on the dirt. His right hand was resting atop a piece of paper. He picked it up and read what had been written. Sophia must have dropped it when she jumped. Finally, a break. Nik was holding the clue to where Sophia’s parents were being held.

Sophia thought New Atlanta’s library was large. It was nothing compared to the one she was hiding out in. The building boasted seven stories that held millions of books. It was almost closing time, and Sophia hoped the security guards bypassed the bathrooms on their final walkthroughs. She prayed their security system didn’t have infrared lights or motion detectors. She hadn’t had the chance to check it all out before she ducked into the small room.

She sat quietly as the minutes ticked by, one slow second at a time. When she was certain the building was closed down, only then did she step out of the cramped stall she had been waiting in. Sophia pulled her laptop from her backpack and plugged it in. She couldn’t believe there was an outlet in the women’s restroom, but she was thankful for it. Her first order of business was to hack into the library’s system and check out the security situation. Unfortunately, it was coded in Egyptian. She could either stay put until morning when the library reopened, or she could take a chance on getting caught. If she was caught, she could say she was in the restroom when the building closed. It would be the truth, and she should be able to talk her way out of getting into too much trouble.

Sophia had never been one to sit idly by, so she decided she’d take her chances. She stowed her laptop in her backpack and slung it across her shoulders. She grabbed her larger bag and headed toward the floor where she could research books on Cleopatra. The note she’d been given indicated she should go to the last Pharaoh’s resting place. Her followers also intended she have the Cleopatra Disk. Both those clues had her believing her parents were being held somewhere that had to do with the Queen.

Several hours passed, and Sophia could barely hold her eyes open. She knew if she lay down for a nap, she would definitely be found by someone when the library reopened. She remained standing so she wouldn’t be tempted to close her eyes. When none of the previous books gave her any indication where Cleopatra could be, she decided to read up on Marc Antony. When that offered no help, Sophia decided to stop speculating and follow the clue she had been given.

Since the first part of the note instructed her to go to the Valley of the Queens, that is where she would start. It might be a lost cause, but it was better than twiddling her thumbs while her followers got closer. She once again pulled her laptop out of her backpack and decided on the best way to start her journey.

If she had been smart, Sophia would have figured all this out and taken the train overnight. She would have been able to sleep so that when she arrived, she would be ready to go. As it were, she was still going to sleep during the trip, but it was going to screw up her schedule. She booked her trip, and before making her way to the train station, Sophia donned her Clara disguise. She prayed the men who had followed her the night before had given up on her location and would be nowhere near the library when she left.

Sophia packed all her things and waited until the building opened for business. She gave the staff twenty minutes to get in place before emerging from the restroom. During the night, she had made note of where all the exits were, and which ones were the least used. The one on the bottom floor on the west side of the building opened to a one-way street. That was the exit she used and strode directly to the taxi she had arranged for a few minutes prior.

Since a train to Luxor was only available leaving from Giza, it took longer than Sophia expected to arrive at the station and get boarded. She had read there could be delays, but she preferred the longer commute so she could rest. An hour later, Sophia was on the train, sitting safely in her private sleeping compartment. She had passed through an extensive security checkpoint, much more so than any airport she’d been in. She locked the door and pulled the shade on both the door and the window. She didn’t wait for the train to move before she lay down on the small bunk and allowed herself to rest.

A knocking woke Sophia. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. When the knocking continued, Sophia realized it was coming from her door. She rose from the bed and took the few steps necessary to cross the small compartment. When she opened the door, a guard was standing there. “Can I help you?” she asked.

“We’ve arrived, Miss. You are the only passenger on the train.”

“I’m sorry. I fell asleep. Let me get my things.” Sophia couldn’t believe she’d slept the whole time. She really needed to pee, but the man standing at her door didn’t look like he wanted to wait on her to take care of personal business. She grabbed her still packed bags and followed him down the hallway. Every few steps he glanced over his shoulder. After about the twentieth time, it started freaking her out.

When they reached the exit, the man stood in front of the door and eyed Sophia up and down. One side of his lip snarled as he asked, “What’s a beautiful woman doing traveling alone?” He pulled a strand of her hair between his fingertips, raising it to his nose. He closed his eyes as he inhaled. “Ah, honeysuckle.” If it had been Nikolas, she’d
have been flattered. Instead, she was scared. She was crazy for traveling alone in a foreign land where she had no back up. Why had she not waited until Nik was with her?

Instead of showing fear, Sophia drew on her shifter strength and stood up straight. Her claws were ready to break through if she needed to use them. “I’m not alone. The rest of my family chose to ride separately so I could get some rest. They are probably wondering where I am, so if you’ll excuse me,” she said as she stepped toward the door. He didn’t move out of the way, so when she walked past him, their bodies touched. Sophia could sense the evil inside the man.

Right before she descended the steps to the platform, the guard said, “I’d watch your back if I were you.”

Sophia didn’t give him the opportunity to say anything further. She hurried down the platform toward the exit. She found the taxi stand and waited among the other travelers for her turn. When she was seated, she told the driver to take her to the Luxor Embassy Hotel. It was a nice hotel that catered to tourists. Once
Clara
was checked in, Sophia ordered room service. She had missed breakfast and lunch on the train while she was asleep.

The first thing she was going to do when she got back to the States was to binge on junk food. The food in Egypt was not what she was accustomed to, but it gave her nourishment if nothing else. While she was eating, she decided to schedule a tour of the Valley of the Queens with a guided group. This going off alone was nerve wracking.

Sophia was going to have a hard time sleeping since she’d slept all day on the train. It was nearing nine, and she was wide awake. She ate her supper, unpacked her things, and decided to take a bath. She rarely took the time to luxuriate in the tub, but she had plenty of time to relax and think. As the water filled the oversized Jacuzzi, she allowed her thoughts to stray to her mate. Nik still hadn’t called. Eventually he’d see the red blinking light on his hotel room phone.

She piled her long hair on top of her head and lowered herself into the water. She turned the jets on and let the massaging bubbles do their job. She tried not to think of her parents and what they were going through. She did think about why someone would take them. It was time Sophia called JoJo and asked him if he had any clues. She would wait until after the tour tomorrow to see if she came up with any clues on her own as to their whereabouts. She also needed to give him the number to the burner phone she was using.

Sophia closed her eyes and let the hum of the tub soothe her spirit. Too many faces ran through her mind, the latest and most disturbing was the man from the train. If she had been fully human, she doubted she’d have felt the evil intentions coming from him. Too often, bad people ended up in roles where they were supposed to protect people. She was thankful she had gotten away from him unscathed. If her mate had been there, the man wouldn’t have even dared to look at her.

Picking up her phone for the hundredth time, there was still no word from Nik. She trusted he was safe; he was a Gargoyle after all. Now that she knew he was in Egypt, she had no doubt he would accept the mate bond. When she first found out about the fates and how they chose mates for the Gargoyles, she balked at the idea of not being able to pick who you spend eternity with. Once shifters were mated, it was a decision that lasted a lifetime. Who were the fates to think they knew best? But after seeing mates together with her own eyes, Sophia became a believer. Fated mates might sound like something out of a fairy tale, but she couldn’t wait to start a life with Nikolas. Having watched him all this time had been hard.

Other than Jonas, Gargoyles of other Clans had never mated with humans that she was aware of. Now, the King was mated to the chief of police and the cat was out of the bag, so to speak. Sophia had been the one to put the cat in the bag in the form of JoJo’s journal. She had gotten tired of waiting on Nikolas or one of his Clan to figure it all out. When Tessa asked her how the journal got into the library, Sophia skated around the truth. Eventually she would tell her cousin what she’d done, but for now, it was her secret.

When the water lost its heat, Sophia drained the tub and dried off. She opened her computer and researched the Valley of the Queens. She booked a tour so she would be among other people. It didn’t mean she wouldn’t wander off on her own to explore some of the more secluded areas. If her parents were anywhere in the ancient tunnels, she’d find them.