Nikolas (15 page)

Sophia woke with an excruciating pain in her side. Her back was aching, but considering the hard floor she was laying on, it was no wonder. She opened her eyes to the faces of approximately twenty women, most of whom were eyeing her like she was their next meal. She probably would have been if she had been in the same cell as they were. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Sophia had been unceremoniously dumped into an Egyptian prison for murder. Did they not care that it was self-defense? They hadn’t even asked her what happened.

The gash on her side had been stitched, but the blood had not been cleaned off. Her shirt was torn where the knife entered. She pushed herself up to sitting, but that was as far as she tried to go. Instead of looking at the other women, Sophia kept her eyes straight ahead, willing a guard to come tell her what was going on. The women talked about her, some talked to her, taunting the
white girl
. She wanted to yell at them and tell them she killed a man, warning them not to mess with her, but she had to play it smart. She would not admit to anything except self-defense.

Sophia had no idea how much time had passed. She did know she was hurting, hungry, and thirsty. When a guard came to her cell and unlocked the door, she was hopeful. “Let’s go,” he snarled.

“Where are you taking me? Do I get my phone call now?” she prayed out loud.

“This is not America. You do not get a phone call when you murder someone.”

“I did not murder anyone. Please, can I have some water?” Sophia was going to pass out again if she didn’t get something on her stomach. She was taken to another area of the prison. She knew it wasn’t a mere jail because of the size of the place. Several levels of square boxes contained not so nice looking men and women. They weren’t segregated. Instead, they were scattered throughout, with the men making lewd comments to the women next to them. They continued on through a door into a hallway with very few cells. Sophia saw no prisoners. The guard opened the bars and pushed her into the cell, this one of the permanent kind. “Please, I need to talk to the American Consulate.”

The guard slammed the bars shut behind her. The cell contained a cot, a sink, and a crude toilet. That was it. It appeared she was in isolation. For that she was grateful. She sat down on the bed and leaned against the wall. A few minutes passed and a different guard brought her a tray of food, or something that was supposed to pass for food. The guard opened a slot in the metal bar, pushed the tray through, waiting on her to take it. She rose from her cot and took the tray. “Please, I need to speak to the American Embassy.” Her pleading fell on deaf ears. The guard walked away without a word.

Other than the piece of bread, Sophia had no idea what was on the tray. It resembled day-old oatmeal, but she doubted it would taste that good. Still, she was starving. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious. Probably not long, but long enough to be stitched up, if crudely, and hauled to her prison. She picked up the spoon and dipped it into the mush. Before she put it in her mouth, she sniffed the oatmeal looking gray goop. Thankfully, it had no odor. She took a small bite and found it tasted as bland as it smelled. She continued to scoop it up, alternating it with the stale bread, until she had eaten it all. She hadn’t been given anything to drink, so she walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet. She let the water run into her cupped hands and she slurped it as best she could.

She had to be careful with the Clara disguise. Even though it was practically indestructible, she didn’t have a mirror to make sure it was properly in place. If she removed it now, there would be more questions she would have to answer if she ever had the chance to speak to someone. Sophia did wet her hands and wash her arms, using her blood-spattered shirt to dry them. Her boots were missing, and her socks were as nasty as the rest of her clothing.

She sat back down on the bed and leaned against the wall. She refused to cry. Eventually they would have to let her see the Consulate, and then she would get out of there. At least she hoped so.

The time dragged on as did the pain in her side. Two more trays of slop were brought to Sophia’s cell along with new clothes. When the guard brought the clothes, Sophia begged him to let her at least see the prison’s physician. If she could speak to him or her, hopefully she could convince them she was being held unreasonably. She was an American citizen, and as such, she had a right to speak to the Consulate. At least she thought she did. As with the others, this guard ignored her.

After she’d eaten, she removed her blood-splattered shirt and jeans and washed off as best she could, considering she had no soap. Sophia then put on the drab, cotton pants and top. At least they were comfortable if not a little on the large side. She really wished she had a tooth brush and deodorant. She had a feeling by the time she got out of there, she was going to be ripe.

The lights went off, and Sophia was left in the dark. She lay down on the cot and closed her eyes, bringing forth an image of Nik. She had spent the day going over the events at the tomb and her story, should she ever get to tell it. Now, she needed beauty in her thoughts, and there was none more beautiful to her than Nikolas Giancarlo Stone. At some point over the years, Nik had changed his surname from Di Pietro to Stone. It suited him, though. She didn’t care if his name was Barney as long as he was her mate.

She willed herself to get some sleep, praying tomorrow would be a new day with better results. It felt as if she had just closed her eyes when a voice woke her, “Get up.”

Sophia opened her eyes to see the guard who brought her the clothing standing at the open cell door. Surely it wasn’t morning already. She sat up and blinked, trying to focus in the still dimly lit cell. The only light was coming from down the hallway. She stood and followed the man out the way they had come in. He led her to a small room, large enough only to accommodate a table and four chairs - one on her side, three on the opposing. She knew then she wouldn’t get the courtesy of legal counsel.

She thanked the gods when he didn’t shackle her hands. Sophia sat on them in case she had the urge to claw someone’s eyes out. The guard who let her in stood across the room, leaning against the wall. Two more men came in, sitting at the table across from her. Great… good cop, bad cop, worse cop. She doubted any of them were going to be nice to her, not after the treatment she’d received so far.

“What is your name?” good cop asked.

“Clara Fort.” She had to stick with the disguise since they probably found her bag in the tombs somewhere.

“Miss Fort, why did you murder the guard?” bad cop asked.

“I didn’t murder anyone. He attacked me and stabbed me with his knife.” That was the truth.

“His throat was cut. How do you explain that?” That came from worse cop. By the look in his eyes, she had pegged him correctly. There was something oddly familiar about him.

“I can’t. He stabbed me, and I screamed. I heard a scuffle. I didn’t cut his throat. I was in too much pain.”

“You’re saying it was someone else?”

“It had to be, because it wasn’t me. I’d really like to speak to someone from the American Embassy.”

“You will speak to us. You have committed a crime on our land. We will handle this our way,” bad cop declared.

“My only crime is getting separated from my group. I did not kill that man. He attacked me.” Sophia wanted to add
he got what he deserved
, but she did not. “Please, at least let me speak with a doctor.”

Worse cop slammed his hand on the table causing Sophia to jump. “You will speak with no one until you tell us the truth, Miss Fort!” he yelled.

Sophia’s Gargoyle half was attempting to dig her way out.
Stop it. You’re the reason we’re in this mess in the first place.

I’m the reason we’re still alive,
her shifter half responded. That was a first. Sophia decided it was best to keep her mouth shut from that point on. She looked straight ahead, not allowing them to intimidate her. If her beast happened to get loose, she had a chance at one, possibly two of the men. But three? Those weren’t very good odds. If a Gargoyle male was shot, the bullets bounced off their impenetrable skin. Females weren’t so lucky.

“You killed my brother, and for that you are going to pay.” Worse cop stood so quickly his chair toppled over backwards. His brother? That’s why he looked so familiar. The rage coming off the man was palpable.

Good cop stood and stepped in front of worse cop. “Perhaps a little time in solitary will do the trick, hmm?”

Solitary? Wasn’t that where she’d already been? Well, shit.

As Nik trod through the hills and sand of the desert, he debated whether or not to continue on to the Valley of the Queens. By the time he reached the ancient landmark, tours would be in full swing. Worst case scenario, he would be arrested for camel evasion. Best case? He could bum a ride back to the marketplace. Not that he was tired from walking. He was a Gargoyle, and as such, his stamina was off the charts. He just hated the sand swirling around his face with no water to wash it off.

His internal compass led him to the Valley with no trouble. When he rose over the last hill before the descent that would take him to the landmark, he stopped. Police cars were parked haphazardly at the opening, blue lights flashing. An ambulance was being loaded with a body, and it drove off soon after. Curiosity got the better of Nik, so he continued on. As he neared the chaos, another body was brought out of the tombs; this one in a black bag. He walked over to one of the tours and insinuated himself among the people standing around. From what he could gather, a guard was dead and the woman who allegedly killed him had been stabbed.

Nik reached out with his senses, searching for any sign of Sophia. There was the slightest hint of honeysuckle floating on the air, but not enough for him to make a definite determination. The tombs were now cordoned off since they were a crime scene. Nik wouldn’t be able to search the interior any time soon. When the group he was lingering with loaded up on a bus to return to the marketplace, he climbed aboard with them. Luckily, nobody stopped him.

What a fucked up morning. One thing was for certain – Nik would never try to ride a camel again. He should go back to the vendor and let him know the beast was somewhere in the desert, but he didn’t want to have to pay for the animal. Besides, it was a camel. Surely it would be okay until someone retrieved it.

With nothing but the clothes on his back and money in his pocket, Nik went in search of a cheap hotel where he could take a shower and grab some food. Without his computer, he was at a loss on where to go from there. His best bet was to return to Cairo, and continue his search with the aid of his equipment. If Sophia really had been captured, he wanted to be in his hotel on the small chance she somehow escaped and returned to him. He also wanted to figure out who
they
were, if possible.

By the time he returned to Cairo and his new hotel room, Nikolas was ready to call Julian and ask for his help. He knew his brother was needed elsewhere, but truth was he missed him. Spending five hundred years with someone almost daily formed the type of bond rarely seen in siblings. If Julian were in Egypt, Nik would have someone to bounce ideas off of. At the least, he’d have someone to yell at. Julian would take the verbal abuse, because that’s what brothers did when one was hurting. Then he would tell him to buck the fuck up and calm the fuck down. Yeah, Nik missed Jules.

Instead of calling home, Nikolas decided to go for a swim. In the Nile. Since he couldn’t fly, swimming was the next best thing. It was late, and he figured he could find somewhere to slip into the water without being seen. If a camel didn’t want to be near him, Nik figured any type of creature swimming in the river would also offer him a wide berth. He knew he should be on the computer searching for something, but his beast was clawing at him. Being so near to his mate only to lose her had the beast roaring, ready to tear something or someone apart. Since that wasn’t an option, Nik decided to wear himself out.

Doors slamming, people laughing, kids running up and down the hallway were the last thing Nik needed. He couldn’t focus with all the extraneous noise. His shifter hearing was too keen, and he couldn’t block it all out. He was already on edge. The little sleep Nik got was filled with nightmares of his mate being captured by unknown assailants

His first order of business when he rose was to find a house to rent. At the rate he was going, it would be cheaper to lease a villa than to continue paying to stay in a hotel. And that way he would have his privacy. He would be able to phase if he wanted to, letting the beast loose momentarily. Sixx was the keeper of the Clan’s properties, but Nik was almost certain they didn’t have any in Egypt. He wasn’t going to wait on him to wake up and find out. He opened his laptop and did a search. By the time his breakfast was delivered, he had found a secluded villa that was furnished with everything he would need except food. He had no problem going to a grocery store and cooking for himself.