Nikolas (10 page)

“Oh, gods,” Sophia whispered to herself. She knew they were keeping close tabs on her, but not that close.
Shit!
What if they had bugged her room and were listening to her conversations?
If they were, they would know not only had she found the disk, but she’d passed it along to someone else. And she’d said Xenia’s name out loud. “Oh, this isn’t good, you s
tupid girl.” Sophia forgot about ordering room service and began scouring her room for bugs. After an hour and a thorough search, she felt good about not finding anything. She still hadn’t heard back from Xenia, so she decided to head over to the inn. She could enjoy a meal and possibly poke the bear known as Yvonne at the same time.

The door next door had opened and closed several times. Sophia gathered her Beatrice disguise as well as her laptop. She placed everything in a large bag and listened for movement and voices next door. When she felt the coast was clear, Sophia left her room, taking great pains to close the door silently. She padded down the hallway to the stairwell and exited out the side door. When she reached the side street, she hailed a taxi. Once inside, she looked behind her. Sophia didn’t see anyone following, but she still had the driver take her farther than she needed to go.

She made her way into the lobby of another large hotel and found the guest restroom on the bottom floor. She went into the handicapped stall and donned her Beatrice disguise. Luckily, no one came in while she was changing. She didn’t want to have to hang out in the ladies’ room any longer than she had to. Once the coast was clear, Sophia left the restroom and strolled through the lobby. The delicious scent that reminded her so much of Nikolas wafted over the air. When she got back home and got her hands on him, he was in big trouble.

Sophia arrived at the inn and took her bag to her room. She knew it was too early for supper, but she was hungry. She entered the dining room right as the Waterfords were coming in the front door.

“Beatrice. Did your son-in-law find you?” Millicent asked.

“My son-in-law?” What the holy hell was she talking about?

“Yeah, he stopped by earlier. Said you were supposed to meet him for breakfast but he couldn’t get you to answer your phone.”

“Was he tall with light brown hair and beautiful blue eyes?”

“That was him,” Millicent said, fanning herself.

Yvonne huffed. “Garrett is standing right there, Millicent.”

Garrett laughed and put his arm around his wife. “Yes I am, but even I can admit how handsome he was.” He winked at Beatrice. Everyone laughed except for Yvonne.

“Yes, he’s quite a looker. My daughter sure caught a good one. And yes, thank you. I did meet up with him later.”

“And what, might I ask, were you doing out alone at four in the morning?” Yvonne asked, her eyes squinted accusingly.

“Mom, that’s enough. Beatrice, please excuse us. It’s been a rather trying day. We’ll let you get to wherever you were going.” Garrett pulled his mother along by the wrist.

Sophia just couldn’t let it go. “Yvonne, for your information, I met a man, and I realized I left my bra at his place. I went back to get it.” Yvonne’s mouth gaped open then snapped shut.

As Fred walked past, he patted her on the shoulder and whispered, “Good for you, dear.”

Sophia went into the dining room, sat down at the table, and placed her head in her hands. There was no way Nikolas could be in Egypt, could there? She had been catching his addicting scent, but she chalked it up to coincidence. Now…

“Are you okay?” One of the caretakers asked her. The woman had been nothing but professional and accommodating.

“Yes, just thinking. If you don’t mind, I’d like to go ahead and order. Please have it sent to my room when it’s ready.”

“Of course. Anything you need.”

Beatrice headed to her room so she could pace the floor in private. Someone who matched Nik’s description was looking for her. It could be one of the men who had been following her, but how would he have known about Beatrice? Unless they went over the security feed from the zoo and tracked her that way, they shouldn’t know. Even Nikolas shouldn’t be able to figure out who Beatrice was. While she was waiting on her food, she remembered the message light blinking on her hotel phone. She called the Nile Grand and asked to retrieve her message. After giving her credit card number to verify her identity, the operator patched her through.

“Hello, Clara. I would love to talk to you. If you can, meet me in the hotel bar at three pm. I’ll be waiting.”

Sophia listened to the message three more times. How was it possible Nik was there? Oh, gods, what if they had kidnapped him and it was a trick? Shit! She listened again. He didn’t sound stressed. He sounded great. His voice was magical. Besides, he was a Gargoyle. He would be hard to abduct and harder to hold onto. No, Nik was there and wanted to see her! He had figured out she was Clara. She knew he was smart, but that was impressive. She would have to ask him how he knew so she could be more careful next time.

Gah! She couldn’t believe he’d followed her to Egypt. He
had
been in her room. Holy shit! He said he would meet her at three. It was twenty minutes until four now. “Oh, gods. No!” Not bothering to wait on her food or change out of her disguise, Sophia took off for the hotel.

Nik looked at his watch for the twentieth time. Either Sophia didn’t get his message or something had happened. He wouldn’t consider that she didn’t want to see him, not after the note she left for him at the library. He ordered one more drink and looked around. While he was waiting on the bartender to pour his fourth vodka tonic, he recognized the man who had almost ran him down on the tenth floor. He was talking excitedly on his cell phone. Nik threw some money down on the bar and took off after him.

Nik used his shifter hearing to listen in on the conversation. The man was talking about Sophia and a note. He turned down a side street, so Nik followed. As soon as he turned the corner, he felt uneasy. Normally Nikolas associated the queasiness with being around his mate. If he turned back to look for her, he would lose the man. If he continued following, he might lose a chance at catching up with Sophia, if it was even her. His gut told him it was, but the man on the phone knew where her parents were. Nik would find his bunny later. When he did, he prayed he’d have good news for her.

Nik continued after the stranger. Instead of the unease lessening, it increased. When the man stopped at the corner, waiting for the traffic light to turn green so he could cross the street, Nik lingered back so he wouldn’t be seen. The scent of honeysuckle assaulted Nik’s senses. He bent over putting his hands on his knees to calm himself. “Nikolas?” an older woman’s voice asked.

Nik unfolded himself. Before he could confirm his identity, the woman flung herself at him and kissed him. His first thought was he was being molested by an old woman. His second thought, the one that made no sense at all, was that he was enjoying the hell out of it. She licked at the seam of his lips, her tongue begging for entrance. Before he allowed some strange grandma to French him, he pulled her of off him. “Hold up. Do I know you?”

“Of course you know me, Nikolas Stone. I’m your frickin’ mate.” When she scrunched up her nose, he knew without a doubt she was Sophia.

Grinning, he said, “But you’re…
old
,” as if she didn’t know what she looked like.

“Just call me Beatrice, sonny. Now kiss me,” she husked as she pushed him against the side of the building.

“Well, allrighty then.” Nik closed his eyes and pictured his bunny. He opened for her, their tongues mating the way their bodies were aching to. Sophia’s hands grabbed his hair, pulling him in closer, if that were possible. He wished they were somewhere other than the sidewalk. She rotated her hips, the friction jumpstarting his dick. When she moaned in his mouth, his half-erect cock inflated all the way. Godsdamn, what he wouldn’t give to strip her bare right there. They finally came up for air, and he remembered the man he’d been following. “Shit.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked as she held onto his arms for support.

“Other than we’re not naked? I was waiting for you in the bar when one of your neighbors got a phone call. I overheard him talking about you and a note, so I followed him.” Nik looked around and saw the back of the stranger’s head a block away. “That’s him, the one wearing the red sweatshirt,” he said, pointing at the tall man.

“I think you should still follow him. See what you can find out. I’ll go back to my room so I can get out of my disguise. I’ll wait for you there.”

“Okay, but be careful. I finally caught up with you. I can’t lose you again.” Nik leaned in and kissed her hard on the mouth. “I’ll see you soon.” He tapped her on the nose then took off running across the busy intersection. Leaving her there was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but knowing she would be in her room waiting for him made it easier. He would tail the stranger and find out what he could about the note and who was following Sophia. When he met her back in her room, he was going to spank her ass for worrying him. Then he was going to spend the rest of the day making her his.

The traffic light changed to red, but Nikolas ran across the street anyway. He had already lost valuable time. His heart was soaring, and his cock was aching. Even in her disguise, Sophia was the most beautiful sight Nik had seen in a long time. He couldn’t believe he’d found her in a country so large. Actually, they found each other, but either way, he knew she was safe. He intended to keep her that way.

The red sweatshirt bobbed in and out of pedestrians, obviously in a hurry. Nik had no trouble keeping up with him. He closed the gap when the man stopped at the next corner. When he turned to look behind him, Nik ducked into the alcove of a shop. He waited a few seconds before peering around the bricks to see the man was on the move again, this time at a much faster pace.
Shit.
Nik was afraid he’d been made. Before he could close the gap, an SUV pulled to the curb and the stranger jumped in. Fuck! Nik ran out into the street and barely had time to take in the license plate number. If he wasn’t a shifter, he would have missed it.

He begged the gods for a taxi, but none were on the busy street. Dammit, he’d been so close. At least now he could go back and spend time with Sophia. He would run the license plate while they got acquainted. Even though he’d let the stranger get away, his heart was pounding at the prospect of getting close and personal with his mate. Really close and personal.

Sophia couldn’t believe Nikolas was in Egypt. He was there to help her find her parents. She should have asked him to help her in the beginning. If she had, she would probably be a lot closer to finding them. The note didn’t say anything about coming alone or not telling anyone. She’d never even thought to call the authorities. There was too much at stake to involve the human police. She didn’t know the King’s mate, Kaya Kane, well enough to trust her. And besides, what could she do? She was a local chief in New Atlanta, not some high ranking official in one of the government alphabets. Even if Chief Kane had been in the CIA or FBI, Sophia wouldn’t have gone to her.

Nikolas she should have trusted. She should have known he would accept the mate bond and be by her side. Now, he was, or would be in just a little while. Sophia couldn’t wait to get back to her hotel and strip out of her disguise. She wanted Nik to see the real her. Soon, she would be mated to Nikolas Stone, of that she had no doubt. Yes, she was there to find her parents, but the bond was too strong not to answer the call. Once they completed the bond, they would work together to find her parents.

“I’ve seen it all now,” a familiar voice crowed behind her. Sophia turned to find Yvonne standing behind her, scowling.

“I honestly doubt that, but what are you going on about?” she asked the older woman.

“You attacking your son-in-law. That was despicable.” Yvonne was looking down her nose, disdain evident on her face.

“Are you following me, Yvonne? Does Fred know you’re off your leash?” Sophia was tired of this nosy bitch.

The older woman huffed, “Yes, I followed you. I wanted to tell you I don’t appreciate you meddling in my family. I was right; you are nothing but trouble.”

“Garrett’s an only child, isn’t he?”

“How did you know that?”

Sophia pulled up to her true height and got in the woman’s face. “Fred must have good sperm, because as big a bitch as you are, there’s no way he would screw you more than once. Now, I don’t have time to stand here and trade barbs with you. Stop following me and worry about your own damn business.” Sophia didn’t give her time to respond. She left Yvonne wide-eyed and furious.

As soon as she was far enough away, Sophia burst out laughing. She could only imagine how it looked, Beatrice kissing Nik. She wished she’d seen the look on Yvonne’s face as she watched them going at it. That would be one to tell the grandchildren. She was lost in thoughts of a naked Gargoyle when she reached her hotel. Waltzing in the front door, she went straight to the elevator instead of taking the stairs. The doors were almost closed when a male hand slid between, stopping the motion. Sophia sucked in her breath when the blonde woman and her partner entered the car with her. Instead of pushing the button for the tenth floor, the man pushed five.