The receptionist turned to her computer, quickly typing Nick’s name into the system. She frowned and turned back to Alex. “Nick Stone, you said?”
“Yes. S-T-O-N-E,” Alex said, spelling it out for her, just in case she got it wrong.
The receptionist tried again. She shook her head. “We don’t have a Nick Stone here at this hospital, sir. Sorry.”
Alex frowned. “He’s no longer here? When did he discharge?”
“Are you a relative of Nick Stone?” she questioned.
“No, I’m not.” Alex replied. He briefly thought about lying to the receptionist, but decided against it.
“I’m sorry, sir. We’re not allowed to release patient information to non-relatives. Patient privacy and confidentiality regulations. Sorry. But, I can tell you he is no longer at this hospital.” The receptionist shrugged. There was nothing else she could do.
“Thank you for your assistance,” Alex said impatiently, and quickly walked out. He sat down in the Range Rover, his mind whirling.
So, Nick was actually not in the hospital after all. Okay, then where the fuck was he? MI-5’s computer system said he was still located at Sacred Light. Alex leaned his head back against the headrest, shaking his head.
What the fuck is going on? he thought. There’s no way Nick could have just disappeared.
Or could he?
Alex would contact Fred again, tell him what he knew. MI-5 would have to get involved so they could track Nick down. Alex would also make contact with Nicole, Nick’s ex-girlfriend, find out if she knew anything regarding Nick’s whereabouts. Alex pulled out his phone, did a quick Google search on Nicole Brandt, just to see if he could find anything on her.
What Alex found caused a surge of adrenaline to shoot through his body. The first thing that popped up was from the The Metro, Paris’ daily newspaper, with the heading, ‘Local Gallery Owner, 35, Murdered in Apartment.’ Alex quickly read the article, naming Nicole Brandt as the victim. The Paris Police Department was conducting an investigation into the murder. From what the article reported, Nicole was murdered two weeks prior. One week before Sergio Rossi was murdered.
Nick Stone is behind it, thought Alex. He’s behind all of it.
Alex immediately pulled up the feed on the hidden security camera Antonio installed in Katherine’s door. Nothing. He pushed rewind and played it from the moment it was first installed. The camera showed nothing but a maintance man walking by.
Alex took a deep breath, exhaled, feeling better after checking her camera. Then, he called Fred again.
“Twice in one day?! To what do I owe the honor?” Fred said
, laughing.
“Sorry to bother you, Fred. But I think you guys have a problem on your hands.” Alex explained everything to Fred, who listened intently.
“So, you went to Sacred Light Hospital, and the receptionist there told you Nick had been discharged from the hospital?” Fred asked disbelievingly. “Somebody must’ve hacked into our system.”
“Correct. I did an internet search for Nick’s ex-girlfriend as well. Fred, she’s dead. Paris police found her murdered in her apartment,” Alex said.
“Shit.”
“That’s right. I think you have an active on your hands.” Active was the term MI-5 used to classify a former employee who becomes a problem.
“We’ll obtain Nick’s discharge information and his medical chart from the hospital. And I’ll get the computer security team on this, find out how our system was hacked. We’re gonna find him, Alex,” Fred said confidently.
Alex hung up the phone, tossing it aside in the passenger’s seat. He sighed deeply, knowing what he had to do. Katherine would have to leave London. It wasn’t safe for her to be here. If Nick was after him, then he was probably after Katherine as well. Alex set his jaw, gripped the steering wheel. He vowed not to let what happened to Michelle happen to Katherine.
He put the Ranger Rover in gear and sped off.
Chapter 37
I looked down at my phone and read Alex’s text. Alex not coming in today. That’s odd, I thought. I hope everything is okay. I turned back to my computer, tried to finish writing an email.
The work day seemed to drag on without Alex there. At least I’d see him tonight. I shivered in anticipation. The sex between us was incredible, the best I’d ever experienced in my life. Alex is an incredibly skilled lover, bringing me to climax every time. But it was more than that. The way Alex made me feel was unlike any other relationship I’d ever been in. Alex had this way of making me feel safe and protected. I knew I could count on him.
Sandra popped in, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Hello,” she called out, carrying a stack of folders. “Did you know Alex isn’t going to be in the office today?”