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Moscow, Russia
Thursday, 28 January, 1:45 p.m.
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This didn't change the fact that we were hunting a serial killer. The man behind the lion mask. The predator responsible for the deaths of twenty-five people, and the attempted murder of Miss Rideout. Before we blew Jefferson's house to hell, we had ransacked the place and took any items which might prove valuable in our search for the killer. As well as everyone else involved in the paedophile ring. I stared at the screens in the safe house, my murder board now digital. Soon we would leave Moscow, but we weren't heading home.
Aidan wrapped his arms around me and I leaned back against him, drawing a deep breath. His scent calmed the violent storm raging inside me. "People in power, covering for each other, murdering each other. Anything as long as the world never learns about their disgusting secrets. Apparent suicides when anyone with two brain cells can see it's a cover-up. Money given to organisations to protect children and the most vulnerable, when those who give the money are the very ones children need protection from."
"They can't hide from us. I'll pull the trigger myself. One thing I can't stomach – when people in positions of power choose to do harm and not use their positions for good. Once we've identified the killer, I'm taking you home, giving my daughter a kiss, and then I'll hunt every last one of them down."
I turned, cupping his face in my palms. "Aidan Walker, you will not have fun without me." I dropped my forehead to his chest. "It isn't fun. What we did to Jefferson didn't bring me joy; because none of it can undo what he did. What does is knowing a dead paedophile, rapist, murderer, whatever, can't hurt another person again."
"I know, my love." Aidan pressed his lips to my hair and hugged me to him. "You can't deny you enjoyed the medical aspect of what we did to him."
I couldn't. I'm curious by nature, and now I knew a blood eagle was in fact possible. "Do you ever think of going back?"
"No. This, what we do as part of Fortius, is much more important. Anyone can become a doctor; not everyone has it in them to do what we do. It's my duty to fight against the evil people of this world, like the ones who've now stepped into our crosshairs. The elite. The one percent. Their crimes won't go unpunished. For far too long they hid their depravity behind their wealth, connections, and public images. It ends now."
I pushed onto my toes and wrapped my arms around the neck of the most magnificent man in the world. His heart, bravery and devotion are but three of the countless things I love about Aidan Walker. "I'm so grateful our paths crossed, and that you and I are alike in as many ways as we are different. I hope Ainsley chooses a life far away from this. I don't want her to carry the darkness we live with every day. If she does, we'll be right beside her to guide her along whichever path she chooses. Can we pray she stays a baby forever?"
Aidan laughed and pressed his lips to my neck. "We can, but she'll still grow up, just as we did. Ainsley will be better protected, and prepared, for the world than most children."
I pulled back and stared up at him. "Do you think we should one day discuss the possibility of adoption? There are so many children in need of loving homes, a home we can give them."
Aidan nodded. "I've been waiting for you to bring it up first. I'm open to the idea. Although in our line of work, it's going to be a tremendous responsibility to care for more than one child. We're already worried about being involved enough in Ainsley's life. Let's shelve this conversation for now, and once we've killed the killer we can circle back. Okay?"
I pressed my lips to his, savouring the warmth, the familiarity in the movement of his mouth and hands. This moment gave me unfathomable peace despite the darkness surrounding us. Happiness is found in the little things, a smile, a kiss, the sound of your child laughing.
"Guys, we need to discuss our next move. Fin, you said we're racing against time, as we can't anticipate when, or where, he'll strike next." Rowan's voice ripped me out of the moment and threw me back into turmoil.
"Okay, let's do this. Where's Liam?" I asked as Aidan and I both turned to stare at the murder board, and the new name added to it. Not the name of a victim, but of a possible link in a perverted chain. A name we found on Jefferson's laptop.
"He's busy saying goodbye to Marika. Liam-style." Rowan opened a bottle of water and lifted it to his lips. None of us were hungry after leaving the property registered to Oleg Petrov.
I had pressed the detonator and sent that place to hell. We didn't find any evidence of any children being in the house, except for the video footage. I couldn't watch all of it; I don't think I ever will. They hadn't stopped the camera after the rapes; Petrov, and Volkov recorded the murders as well. There are things you can never unsee – something I've said countless times – and it remains true. I didn't know who would watch the hours and hours of torture those two men had inflicted on children in order to identify the victims and bring closure to their families. I prayed for the person, for his or her sanity. When confronted with such evil you lose a part of yourself every day. A part of you dies whenever you hear a child scream in fear, in pain. Their pleading words require no translation. Horror is a universal language.
"Who is Günter Kuhn?" I asked, reminding myself there were more people I needed to blood eagle. Although, after doing it I don't think it's a cruel enough death.
Rowan typed away at my laptop. An obscured face filled the screen. "This is the only known photo of him. Günter Kuhn is an enigma. For years his name has been whispered in the underworld, but no one knows anything concrete about him. All I've been able to piece together is he's a concierge of sorts. Whatever you want, he's the guy to go to. I first heard his name five years ago when Rob Granger stepped into the underworld. I'm not even sure that he is the 'GK' Jefferson emailed. Rumour is he's based in Berlin but operates throughout Europe."
"Why didn't they use the dark web to communicate? Instead of sending emails when we can trace IP addresses."
Aidan placed his arm around me, his right hand resting on my side. "Günter uses spoofing, so his emails aren't that easy to trace. Jefferson, on the other hand, thought he was protected seeing as his friend was a Lieutenant General. Eli found a voice note he sent to a burner phone saying the best person for the job would be Günter Kuhn. Jefferson gave a date, place, and time for the meeting. Eli is sending us video footage of the meeting now."
An image filled the screen – three men at a train station in Munich. One bigger than the other two. "Can you zoom in on the big guy's right hand?"
Rowan did. "I might be reaching here, but what if that's Piotr and the killer meeting with this Günter character? If he can find anything for anyone, then he might have his hands in the human trafficking pie. It will be easy for him to find the victims our killer prefers – individuals not considered high risk. He chooses people with families, friends, students, or ones with professions outside of their artistic endeavours. People who will be reported missing, even if he didn't place the calls to the police. There's a reason he chooses these people as victims – he knows he'll get away with murder."
I stepped closer to the screen. "Whoever the man behind the lion mask is, he's in the same class – for a lack of a better word – as the individuals linked to the paedophile ring. The only two who don't fit this are Sanchez and Ignas. I think there's a different link to Sanchez, and Ignas was born in Bergia. Jefferson was right – all roads lead to Bergia."
Rowan placed his hands on my shoulders. "Then that's where we will go."
A sound came from my laptop, and I turned to it. I shook my head and patted the custom-made grip of my SIG. "I've been running facial recognition on Piotr, trying to see if his face has popped up anywhere. Here he is."
I stepped back and waited for Aidan to say it. "He's Princess Ylva's bodyguard."
Social media makes it easier for predators to find prey, but it also makes it easier for us to hunt them.
"I need to contact Szymon." Aidan reached for his mobile phone.
I closed my laptop. "No, don't give him a heads up. Tell him you'll be in the area, and if he has time to spare, you want to pay him a visit. Seeing as the two of you are old friends."
"He can't be involved in this, dammit. We fought right alongside each other." Aidan dragged his hands down his face.
"Until you know otherwise, you can't rule him out as a suspect. If the past few years taught us anything, it's that sometimes the people closest to us are the most evil. There's a reason Jefferson refused to give us a name. A king is as powerful as they come, on paper, nowadays. You said it yourself, Szymon leads from the front. And I don't need to tell you lions are associated with power and royalty."
Why lions are called 'the king of the jungle' has always baffled me. They don't live in jungles; they prefer open plains and savannahs.
Aidan let out a long breath. "Okay, valid point. However, we can't go after the King of Bergia on half-ass information, or because we're desperate to end the murders and bring the paedophiles to our type of justice."
I palmed Aidan's perfect derriere. "I'll ensure all our corpses are in one grave before I become a king slayer."
Aidan grabbed my shoulders and spun me around; his mouth crashed down on mine. "I love your strange and unique sayings, Mrs Walker."
I smiled up at him and patted his left cheek. "It won't be Mrs Walker much longer. Soon you'll bow before me and call me Lady King Slayer."
"I have no issue being on my knees in front of you, just as I'm the only man you'll ever get down on your knees for." Aidan pushed his fingers through my hair and pulled my body against his. The object he would use to knight me pressed against my stomach. Wow.
"Please stop," Rowan said. "Do you not realise I'm standing right here? Hello, I take up a quarter of the room."
"Yes, Rowan, you're big. But where it matters the most, Aidan will always be the biggest." I smiled, staring up at my husband, and realised we were weird. From torture, to suspecting a king of being a serial killer, to foreplay. I love our relationship.
"Keep it in your pants or you'll be flying economy class to Bergia." Rowan retied his hair at the back of his head.
"I have no problem flying cattle class. I don't like not knowing the pilot or his capabilities should there be a problem like the wings coming off." Rowan smiled and shook his head but didn't interrupt me. "We're not going to Bergia. We're going to Krakow."
"Why Poland?" Aidan asked.
I realised then I hadn't shared with them what Eli uncovered while we played with C-4 playdough at Petrov's house. "Piotr told lion-man he was heading home. Guess who landed in Krakow this morning?"
"Piotr?" Rowan asked.
I shook my head. "Her name isn't on his birth certificate but she gave birth to him."