Free The Lynx Who Claimed the Sun by Scarlet Hyacinth

amnesia problem. Tell you what, Nico-Chi… I’ll make you a deal.
    Come meet me tomorrow at dawn, in front of the Museum of Art.”
    “The museum’s not open at that hour,” Nicolas replied numbly.
    His caller laughed again. “You always were perceptive. Don’t worry, Nico-Chi. We’re not going there to see the exhibits.”
    “And if I refuse?” Nicolas couldn’t help but ask.
    “You won’t.”
    The phone went dead, and Nicolas had the sudden urge to throw it against the wall. He didn’t. Instead, he gently abandoned it on the coffee table and sat down at his computer once again. Without allowing himself to think too much about what he was doing, he logged into his e-mail account and started composing messages. The least he could do for the people he’d involved in this mess was say good-bye.

    The Lynx Who Claimed the Sun
    59

Chapter Four
The next day

    Garth read through the documents in front of him, not really registering the information. He’d tried to call his mate that morning, but the hummingbird’s phone had been turned off. He wasn’t answering his landline, neither at home or at the bookstore. Garth was wondering if his mate might be more upset than he’d originally thought. Had the prank from the day before bothered Nicolas so much?
    “Sir?” Elsa’s voice snapped him out of his musings. “Sir, did you hear me?”
    Garth stared at the owl, having completely forgotten about her presence. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
    “The papers for the Pattersons,” Elsa repeated. “Have they been processed?”
    Garth couldn’t really think about that right now, especially since remembering the happy couple made him think about Nicolas.
    “They’re being processed now,” he answered. He got up from his desk and passed a surprised-looking Elsa. “I’ll be leaving early today.
    If you have any other questions, direct them to my secretary.”
    He ushered her out, ignoring her shocked hoots, and left the office as well, locking it behind himself. He nodded at his secretary, a pretty, plump koala-shifter. “Cancel all my meetings for today.
    Something’s come up.”

    60
    Scarlet Hyacinth
    “Yes, Sir,” the woman answered. She knew better than to question his decisions, and she would efficiently reorganize his schedule to accommodate the change.
    Garth thanked her and started walking away. As he exited the building that housed the agency, he retrieved his cell phone once again and speed-dialed Nicolas. Nothing. The cell phone was still off.
    He briefly considered dropping by Skylar’s office to ask him if he’d talked to Nicolas, but decided against it. He needed to solve this problem on his own and not involve outside people. Nodding to himself, Garth drove off and headed toward Nicolas’s bookstore. He stopped by a flower shop and purchased the largest bouquet of roses he could find. It was actually quite funny, but in spite of his moody nature, Nicolas loved flowers. As Nicolas couldn’t be like all hummingbirds, he hated to show it. Garth had only discovered it one month into their relationship.
    He should have felt a bit stupid bringing flowers to a man, but he would do anything to make Nicolas open up. He’d never had the hummingbird cease all contact like this, and it made him nervous.
    At last, he reached the bookstore Nicolas owned. His heart started beating faster when he saw the closed sign on the shop window. It was unusual for Nicolas to skip work. It was only when his friends needed him that he abandoned his business. The rest of the time, he went to the bookstore six days a week.
    It was possible that the hummingbird had decided to take a break or even that the salad from the day before had made him sick. Garth doubted both options very much, but he didn’t wait to muse over it too much. He started the car once more, this time heading toward Nicolas’s apartment.
    But much to his dismay, he found Nicolas wasn’t there either. He knew it from the very moment he stopped