Free Nikolas by Faith Gibson

ten minutes, the men walked away, allowing Sophia to get a good look at them. Both were well built, and they looked like locals. She didn’t sense that either one of them were shifters. That didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous. Not wanting to appear conspicuous, she stayed where she was until the boat docked in Giza.
    As she was debarking, Sophia kept her eyes open for her admirers. When she reached the end of the gangway, she noticed them walking ahead of her. One of them was talking on a cell phone. Sophia hadn’t been instructed how to get to the zoo from the pier, so she opted for the cheapest, most occupied form of transportation. She hopped on the bus with several others. As they were pulling away from the curb, the two men were standing there watching. Next time she talked to Tessa, she was going to ask how her cousin did this job without taking nerve pills, because Sophia’s were shot all to hell at that point.
    Sophia followed several families off the bus, making their way to the ticket booth at the zoo. She was nervous, but she had gone over the scenario in her mind until she was certain she could pull off acting surprised. Once inside the zoo, Sophia opened the map and studied it as if she had no idea where the leopard pen would be situated. Once she gave herself sufficient time to be convincing, she walked along the same path on which she’d previously followed the blonde. When she reached the enclosure, there were people standing at the fence admiring the big cat. Sophia sat on the bench and looked around, not seeing the two men from the ferry. That didn’t mean they weren’t there, or that whoever they’d called wasn’t now watching her.
    Since the instructions only told Sophia to go to the bench, she didn’t reach her hand underneath for the disk. That would have been a clear giveaway she had seen the woman put it there. Instead, she remained seated for over half an hour. When nothing happened, she decided to walk around the park and see if she could identify anyone else who might be tailing her. She stopped every so often to glance at her map, but after an hour, Sophia made her way back to the bench and had a seat. Still having no idea what to do, she sat there for half an hour. Just as she stood to leave, a park employee walked past her and shoved something into her stomach. Sophia had no choice but to grab onto the item.
    It was a folded piece of paper. Sophia debated on whether to read the note there or wait until she got back to the hotel. On the chance she was directed elsewhere, she decided to go ahead and see what it said.
     
    Travel to the Place of Beauty and find the Last Pharaoh’s Tomb
     
    Sophia had no idea where that was, so she needed to get back to her computer. She folded the note and slid it into the pocket of her jeans. With one last look around, she headed back to Cairo. This time by taxi.
     
     

Chapter Eight
     
    Nikolas was ready to take out an advertisement on the side of a building that flashed “Sophia, where are you?” After coming up with nothing on either woman’s credit card, Nik expanded his search. He was going to need a supercomputer if he kept up the extensive algorithms Julian had put in place. As it was now, his laptop was ready to blow, just like its owner. Nik’s gut instinct told him the honeysuckle scent wasn’t a coincidence. Even though he had nothing to go on other than his instincts, he was going to follow up on the hotel room occupied by the young woman. Taking a huge chance, Nik hacked into the reservation system and added his name to her room.
    In over five hundred years, Nik had never felt so helpless. It had been centuries since he had more to worry about than where he would live next. When Rafael first took over the States as King, the immediate family spread out to keep the peace throughout the Clan. When Eduardo was slain, it was the perfect time for an uprising. Nikolas moved to Florida, one of the only times he and Julian were apart.