Page 67 of The Beast

Malik laughs softly. “Because at the same time the payments started, Giovanni Ortega’s daughter went missing.”

We all stare at Malik with more questions than answers and he grins triumphantly.

“On the day Angelo burned Massimo’s house to the ground, a ticket was purchased in the name of Delores Brown to Zurich, and she wasn’t traveling alone.”

I stare at him with a sense of anticipation as he says triumphantly, “Her companion was a small infant listed as Benjamin Brown. I tracked the cab companies and found a booking that collected them thirty minutes after Massimo and Winter left for Scarpetta.”

As the news sinks in, Malik leans back with a twisted grin on his face and says with satisfaction.

“It appears that our cuckoo fled the nest before Angelo got there, but what interests me more than anything is what connection Delores Brown has with Giovanni Ortega.”

“Do you think Massimo was keeping Giovanni’s daughter prisoner to bring her father down?” Ivan voices what we’re all guessing and Malik shrugs. “If Delores is his daughter. She may not be.”

“So, we go to Zurich.”

I stand because we have no time to waste, and Malik shakes his head. “I understand your desire to find your son, Alessandro, but we need to be clever about this. If Giovanni Ortega is involved, we must tread carefully. Word is, he is tearing the world apart for news of his daughter, and we must tread in the shadows and creep up on them when they least expect it.”

“But I can’t just sit here.”

Angelo growls, “Malik’s right.” He turns to me, and I hate the sympathy in his eyes as he says with a slight break to his voice. “We can’t risk her going to ground. At the moment, she doesn’t know we’re onto her and if we race off to Zurich and tear it apart, we may never find her. The only way to deal with a mouse is the set a cat after it and we have the best one for the job.”

All eyes turn to Malik, who looks almost euphoric, and I wonder if Delores Brown has just escaped one mad murdering bastard only to set herself in the path of a much more sinister one.

CHAPTER37

WINTER

Iwake from a fitful sleep to find Jasmine watching over me with concern. Almost immediately, my thoughts turn to Frankie, and I sit up with an alarmed cry.

Jasmine looks worried and says sadly, “I’m so sorry, Winter. Alessandro is with the others, working out a plan.”

“A plan?” My voice shakes and she nods. “Malik has some information he was briefing them on. I’m not sure what it involved because I came to sit with you.”

I don’t even hesitate and head straight for the door, wrenching it open and running down the corridor, Jasmine hot on my heels. “Winter wait!”

I don’t hear her and just head straight for the kitchen because I need to know that my baby is alive.

As soon as I crash through the door, Alessandro is by my side and I fall into his arms and sob, “Please, tell me my baby is alive.”

I hear the emotion in his voice as he pulls away and stares deep into my eyes. “Malik has some information that points to a woman leaving just after you with a young baby.”

My eyes widen in hope and just seeing the emotion in his eyes makes the tears flow rapidly down my face unchecked.

“Frankie?” I whisper, not really daring to hope it was him and Alessandro nods, his voice breaking a little as he whispers, “It’s complicated, but we must trust Malik to bring our son home.”

My head jerks to Malik, who is watching with glittering emotion in his usual expressionless eyes, and I say falteringly, “Malik.”

He nods and says smoothly, “I leave in an hour.”

“I want to come.”

I hate that he shakes his head, appearing upset, and Angelo moves to my side and says in his deep, authoritative voice, “Let Malik do his job, Winter.”

“No, I want to go!” I almost scream at him, and he says angrily, “Don’t you think I know how you feel? When you were taken from us, I wanted to tear Massimo apart with my bare hands. I thought it would be easy to storm into his home and drag you away from him and if I had given into my emotion, none of us would be here now, Frankie included.”

His words hit me hard across the face and the pain in his eyes mirrors my own as I sob, “But I’m his mother and my place is with my baby.”

Angelo pulls me roughly into his arms and whispers, “We will bring him back to you. Trust Malik and trust me. The best thing you can do is wait, no matter how hard that will be, and as soon as Malik has Frankie, you and Alessandro will be the first people he sees.”

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