Page 111 of Bound By the Sleeper’s Harp

Ispent the majority of the next day in my PJs in bed, even though I’d said I wouldn’t be that person. Mostly because of my awful hangover. But also because when the morning hours ticked by and no pancakes appeared, no return text from Bastian, my mood took a turn for the worse.

And here I’d thought I might reach out to talk things over, despite my gut telling me I needed to wait for him to come to me. So instead, I got angry and mopey and took a couple of painkillers to rid myself of my headache. Vivi got us takeout for lunch, and left mine at my bedroom door when I refused to let her in. The high from our girls night had worn off.

After lunch, I napped, cuddled Teddy, and binged sitcoms. When that didn’t work, I scrolled videos on social media. But that still didn’t work. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, about the way his hands touched me, the way he kissed me, fucked me.

I lifted my phone and checked it for the umpteenth time. Still nothing.

“Ugh. Freaking, ugh.” I threw it across the room and groaned, collapsing back onto my bed.

That was when my phone rang.

I jumped up so quickly that Teddy went tumbling. He gave me an angry meow.

“Sorry, Teddy! Sorry!” I glanced apologetically at him before rushing across my room and plucking up my phone.

I frowned. It was a local area code, but one I didn’t recognize. I almost didn’t answer it, considering how few people had this number. “Hello?”

“Rose?” It was a voice I recognized.

“Christian?”

“Yes, this is Christian Wells. Sorry for reaching out like this. Have you heard from Bastian?”

I sank onto my bed. “Uhm… No? Why?”

There was a heavy sigh on his end. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of him. He hasn’t been returning my calls. Been MIA since yesterday afternoon. He came by to talk to Luke Portman in the morning, then left in a hurry and didn’t say anything.”

“Maybe he just needs some space? We kinda had a little…disagreement.”

That was putting it mildly.

“Hmm.” There was a hesitation. “That’s not like him. It’s not like him to ignore work calls.”

Chills spread down my arms, lifting my hairs on end. It was probably nothing to worry about, but I could hear the concern in Christian’s voice. “Well, did you go to his house and check on him?”

“Yep. Did that. Can’t get inside. The security system isn’t dialed in to me. I knocked though, and there was no answer.”

“Are you a supernatural?” I blurted.

He grunted. “No. Technically, for bureaucracy purposes, I’m just his boss.”

“Of the SA?”

“Of the SA,” he repeated. Which meant he knew all about supernaturals. Knew what Bastian was.

“Huh.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to ignore my rising worry. “Well, I haven’t heard from him. Not since yesterday morning.” I didn’t need to give him the details about Bastian’s apology pancakes, or that my version of hearing from him was merely in the form of two words scrawled on a piece of cardstock.

“All right. Well if you do, this is my cell. Would you mind letting me know?”

“Is… Is everything okay? Did something happen with Luke?”

Another long hesitation. “Portman’s transfer from the hospital was scheduled for later this week. Only problem is, he’s dead.”

“What?!” I gripped my phone until my fingers ached. “Dead?”

“This is confidential, but I think you have a right to know, seeing as you helped bring him in. I can’t explain how it happened. He was under high security. None of his guards can explain what happened, either. He was slated to make a full recovery, but a nurse came in to check his vitals this morning and everything was unplugged. He wasn’t breathing. Looks like he might have been strangled, but considering all the damage to his face and neck, it’s hard to tell if those are just left over from...before.”

“Right.” From Bastian’s fists, is what he didn’t say aloud. I blew out a breath. “I’ll let you know if I hear from him. I promise.”