Free The Lynx Who Claimed the Sun by Scarlet Hyacinth Page A

in front of the building. He could still scent traces of his mate’s smell in the air, creating a picture in his head. His mate had been outside today and left with his car. But where?

    The Lynx Who Claimed the Sun
    61
    It was an exercise in futility for him to try and follow the scent.
    There were far too many smells in the city for him to have any luck.
    Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t try.
    Predictably, the tracks went cold as he engaged himself in the busy LA traffic, and Garth found his phone and dialed the first number he could think of. The call connected in mere moments.
    “Hi, Skylar,” Garth greeted his friend.
    “Oh, hey,” Skylar replied. “What is it? I heard you took the day off. Everything okay?”
    “Actually, Skylar, have you spoken to Nico today?”
    At the other side of the connection, Skylar’s tone grew concerned.
    “I haven’t. Did you two fight?”
    “Something like that.” Garth sighed. “The kits were acting up yesterday, and I just couldn’t find a solution. I didn’t think he was actually angry with me, but he’s not answering his phone and he’s not home or at the bookstore.”
    “You don’t think...something happened to him?”
    Garth hadn’t dared to voice that thought, not even to himself, but when Skylar said it, he realized that indeed, he suspected something was amiss. Nicolas had never left like this. He could always be located and kept his cell phone open at all times, just in case something happened. And that wasn’t the only unsettling fact about the situation. In truth, Nicolas had never shared the secrets of his past with Garth. He was hiding something, Garth just knew it, and he’d always thought Nicolas would eventually tell him, in his own time.
    But what if these secrets were dangerous and had come back to hurt Nicolas? What if Nicolas’s quirk of collecting weaponry wasn’t a simple quirk?
    “I don’t know,” he answered his friend, “but... My heart tells me something’s wrong.”
    “Listen to your heart then,” Skylar advised. “We need to find him.”
    “Thanks, Skylar. I’ll keep you posted.”

    62
    Scarlet Hyacinth
    Garth ended the call and dialed Byron. He might have been pushing his luck since his old boss had jumped to his aid before.
    However, for Garth, Byron was among the few men he trusted and a friend, as well as his former mafia superior. Byron would understand if Garth explained how he felt about Nicolas.
    Byron picked up on the first ring. “Please don’t tell me something else is wrong.”
    “How do you know?”
    Byron sighed. “I’m right. I hate it when I’m right. What’s the matter?”
    “Nico is missing,” Garth answered, finding it harder and harder to focus on driving. “I… I need help, Byron.”
    “Okay, calm down,” the shark said. “When did you see him last?”
    “Yesterday night. We had a small spat, and he left. But he’s not at home or at his store, and he’s not answering his cell. It’s unlike him.”
    Garth took a deep breath. “I know it may sound like I’m being paranoid, but I know something’s wrong. I can feel it.”
    “Did he tell you anything at all?” Byron inquired.
    His tone sounded strange and alarm bells rang in Garth’s head.
    “Anything, like what? Byron, what do you know?”
    “I did a little research on your Nico,” the other man replied nonchalantly.
    “Say what?” Garth was more than a little shocked. He’d never known Byron to invade one’s privacy.
    “Don’t take it personally, Garth. Something about him niggled at my senses, and I had to make sure Skylar’s safe with him around.”
    Garth struggled not to scream. Nicolas had been around Skylar long before Byron ever showed up. Furthermore, the shark hadn’t even tried to approach Skylar and had been stalking the seahorse from the distance from that fateful day of the accident. Of course, Byron asked Garth to keep this a secret, something that frustrated Garth, since he suspected Skylar might want