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Squaring my shoulders and heading for my jacket, I retrieved my phone. I was dialing when I narrowed my gaze on Anna. “Anna, where is Nikolaus?”
Her brow furrowed and she frowned. “He’s at his apartment. Why?”
I put the phone to my ear, listening as it rang. “I need to talk to him.”
Chapter 9
There’s a Hole in My Heart
The somewhat innocent conversation between Stefan and my brother now seemed much more significant than it had at the time. Stefan had made the promise that he would help my brother by destroying my father in loosely disguised words. With Amir’s sudden appearance and appointment to the Board, had that set the wheels in motion to start an uprising?
The phone rang for the fourth time when Nikolaus finally picked up. He sounded dazed, his voice groggy and thick with sleep. “What?”
“Where are you?” I barked back at him into the phone. I didn’t have time to play nice with my brother. I needed information and I needed it now.
“I’m at my apartment. What’s going on?” Nikolaus asked. I heard him attempt to stifle a yawn.
“Do you have any idea where Stefan is?” I demanded. I gripped the phone tighter as I waited for his answer with growing apprehension.
His heavy sigh came loud and clear through the phone. “Seriously? You’re calling me to ask where your fiancé is? I have no fucking clue, Josie. What else is going on?”
“He’s supposedly off taking care of some sort of Council business. After last night’s testimony, I thought you might know where he is.”
He hesitated for a moment. “What happened that Anna didn’t tell me?”
“You have a way to bypass our father’s ability to deflect him. I found out I can too,” I explained, pushing my hair behind my ear. I wasn’t ready to divulge that I was able to still someone with the power of my mind to Nikolaus just yet. “Stefan and Kian neither one appreciated it. With his disappearance, I happened to recall a conversation the two of you had that afternoon about waiting until the right time to make a move against our father. I just thought you might know what’s going on.”
“I’ll see what I can find out. I’ll call you when I know something,” Nikolaus said distractedly. It sounded as if he was getting dressed; I could hear the sound of fabric rustling and his voice would periodically get muffled as he shifted and moved.
It was my turn to sigh. I’d expected more answers than questions at this point. “Thanks, Nikolaus. I’ll talk to you soon.”
I already had the phone away from my ear and was ready to hang up the call when Nikolaus’ voice rang out. “Josie!”
I quickly put the cell back to my ear. “Nikolaus?”
“Take care of yourself. Don’t go anywhere until we know something or you hear from Stefan, ok?” Nikolaus suddenly sounded on edge, his voice growing heavy with apprehension.
“Ok…”
He quickly cut me off before I could say anything else. “I mean it, Josie. Stay the fuck where you are. And don’t let Anna go anywhere either. Let me ask around and I’ll call you back.”
We both hung up. Staring at the phone, I slipped it into the back pocket of my jeans. I walked to the window and stared out into the New York morning. My mind was splintered, worrying about Stefan and what he was doing. I could only hope if Stefan had chosen to take Nikolaus up on his promise, he’d come back to me in one piece.
***
Time seemed to creep to a standstill, the hours dragging by. If I wasn’t searching the missing end of the bond for any sign of Stefan, I was watching the clock. Lukas, Anna and I took turns making phone calls to cell phones that went unanswered, to intercepting phone calls that gave us no new information. No one knew anything, or if they did, they weren’t talking. All of the Council members were suspiciously out of contact. Nigel, Amir, Lenora, Stefan… it was if they vanished into thin air.
While we waited, I suddenly noticed that I had to shield myself from Anna and Lukas. Either it was the strength of their emotions, or my continued transformation that made me more aware of them. They both grew more anxious as the hours seemed to bleed together with no word or contact from Stefan. The only solace was that I wasn’t alone. Anna and Lukas had both taken up watch my side. They both seemed to sense when my fear was ready to overtake me, and they were ready to offer their silent reassurances and support to me.
My end of the bond ached for him. We’d been together non-stop prior to our return to New York and even small absences were painful. I’d been able to feel him in our tie while he was taking care of his business issues or running errands. Amir’s ability had counteracted our bond and made him seem invisible, like he’d never existed.
It was close to 6pm when my cell phone rang. With my stomach in knots, I pulled the phone from my pocket. I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of a let down as I glanced at the display. I’d been hoping for Stefan.
“Nikolaus?”
“Do you have the TV on?” His voice came out in a panic, the words tumbling over one another. “If you don’t, turn it on. Hurry!”
“Nikolaus, you’re scaring me. What the hell…” I began, reaching for the remote. Powering on the TV, I waited for the screen to come up. I turned it to WABC and anxiously watched the screen. “What am I looking for.”
