“I’m trying, Elijah. I’m hardly twiddling my thumbs here. Did you discover anything?”
“She has a flight at ten in the morning.”
“Can you smell her? I know my senses are stronger than a human’s, but they are nothing compared to yours,” he whispered so quiet it would be ina
udible to the human ear. It killed him to ask Elijah to search for her, but he needed to brush jealousy aside tonight. Saving Sabrina won out over his petty feelings, and his sense of smell got ruined by the crush of people in the city. He hated cities.
“I can smell her, but it’s hard to tell if she’s here. I think she’s very close by, however.”
“You found me…can’t you find her the same way?” Isaac asked somewhat impatiently. He gave an irritated sigh and stepped forward another place in line.
“It’s not the same. I’ve tracked your scent for over a hundred years. Sabrina’s, I’ve only known a few days,” Elijah snapped.
This statement came out a bit too loudly, and earned them both an odd look from the couple in front of them. Isaac gritted his teeth and glared at them, until they turned around and whispered fervently to each other. They took a step farther away from them, and he grunted in satisfaction.
Nosy humans.
“Oh,” Isaac said with some surprise. He hadn’t realized a vampire could sense people better once they were better acquainted with their scent, so to speak. He wondered fleetingly how often Elijah had tracked him, as he’d never seen him until Sabrina appeared. “Well, at least she’s still local,” he exclaimed while he ran a hand through his hair. He barely resisted the urge to reach in front of him and throw the people out of his way as they laughed in front of him in line.
“How about if I help out by checking some of the other hotels? Where have you gone?”
Though he didn’t want Elijah to be the one to discover Sabrina, he also knew time was of the essence, more so than ever before. Reluctantly, he named the hotels he’d visited and watched as Elijah ran off to aid him in his quest for Sabrina. For once, he didn’t feel jealousy rip through him at the thought of Sabrina being brought back to him in his brother’s arms. He needed to find her too badly to care how she it got accomplished.
He shifted his weight to his other foot, and relieved to see he finally stood next in line. He sighed as the couple in front of him chatted nonsensically at the receptionist. He resisted the urge to knock their heads together and throw their motionless bodies to the side.
When the couple finally moved toward the elevator, he quickly told the receptionist his concocted story of how his wife had come somewhere in England, and he knew she had to be in this town somewhere. He didn’t know what hotel she’d chosen, but wanted to surprise her since he’d come to England early.
The other times this earned the appropriate oohs and ahhs of appreciation from the recipient of his story, but this time it merely got a stern look.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t give out that information.”
“Not even for her husband?”
She shook her head. “Not even then.”
“Okay, I’m sorry for bothering you.” Isaac smiled, walked around the corner, and closed his eyes. He created a gust of wind that blew the doors to the back employee entrance open. The startled receptionist rushed to investigate the bang of the doors, and Isaac ran to her computer.
A few quick movements of his hands, and he yearned to shout in delight. She was here. She’d be safe now because he’d found her.
Thank God.
He heard the receptionist returning and went to the other side of the counter with a smile plastered on his face. When the confused receptionist returned, she jumped to see him standing there once more. “Sir, I told you—”
“I got a hold of her! She’s here, Sabrina Hodges in room 215. So, I’m going to go up to her room now.”
She perked up. “Oh how nice!” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “Oh, she must be the crying lady,” she informed him.
The sheer intensity of the happiness washing over him made his legs feel weak enough to collapse on the floor in relief. He laughed hysterically and forced a calming breath when the receptionist looked at him warily, like she worried he might be a little mad. He smiled at the receptionist, resisting the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her.
“Yes, she thought I’d been delayed. She’ll be quite happy to see me, I assure you.”
The receptionist smiled. “Elevator is to your left, when you get off on the second floor, take a right, and a quick left.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Would you like the spare key?” she asked.
“Yes, that would be wonderful.”