Page 96 of Petals and Fangs

I spot Alfred walking towards me. He looks troubled like he's just seen something he shouldn't have. I can't help but look at him differently now that he is a vampire.

“Good morning, Alfred,” I say, awkwardly waving at him, hoping he will stop and talk to me about anything that revolves around his boss.

“Miss Snow. Are you okay?” he stops and asks.

“I am fairly good actually, thank you. How about yourself?”

“Perfect. Perfect,” he shrugs his shoulders. Something looks wrong, but I try not to insist.

“Is everything okay?” I ask politely and hope he doesn't get annoyed if I pry into his business. He does not seem like a bad person to me, and he has always treated me nicely.

“It is about Mr. Rothschild. He is nowhere to be found and I need your help,” Alfred says urgently.

“Mr. Rothschild? You mean Ethan?” I ask. I don’t want to confuse Nick and Ethan.

“Yes, Miss Snow. Ethan,” he replies firmly, looking into my eyes with a serious face.

“Of course. What happened?”

“I assume you know everything about this company now, Miss Snow. About Ethan, too.”

“Yes. “Yes, I do,” I nod and clear my throat. I must stop myself from asking too many questions like I did yesterday with Ethan.

Alfred does not say a thing for a while. He simply looks around him and urges me to follow him to his office. His facial expression changes, and I can't help but feel worried about what is going on.

“Is everything okay, Alfred?”

“I am hoping so. I am positive about this,” he mumbles under his breath.

Maybe he wants to show me something important. Maybe Ethan told him something. It seems like he's thinking hard about a lot of things.

“Any idea where Ethan could be?” I finally ask as I scan the place around me. Something feels off and I don't know what it is.

“I can only guess,” Alfred says, then looks at the door, gesturing at Nick who stands there fuming.

“We have searched everywhere. His office, the labs, even the underground labs, and the basement. It's like he vanished into thin air,” Nick says, and heads straight to the windows.

“Has he called you, Miss Snow?” Alfred asks, and the question makes Nick stare at me like his life depends on it.

“No. No, he hasn't all day. He left me a voice message this morning and it seemed like it came from his office.”

“What did he say?” Alfred asks as his eyes widen.

“Nothing special. He said he misses me,” I say, keeping my voice down, feeling embarrassed. The feeling is infused when Nick rolls his eyes at me.

"God, damn it," Nick snarls, and looks out the huge window again.

“What if something bad happened to him?” I ask as the realization suddenly hits me.

“No. He is a Rothschild. We can only hope for the best,” Nick clears his throat and avoids looking at me.

“It has been a hectic night for both of us.”

“Please, do tell,” Alfred says as he tilts his head.

“Well, I-” I begin to speak but Nick interrupts me.

“Lily, I haven't seen Ethan since last night after the power shut down at El Diablo.”