Page 123 of Poisoned Pawn

“Shit. Have you checked Pavel’s?”

“Lennox sent a couple of Shadows there before he came to the old rectory to find Sloane.”

“What a fucking mess,” I state dejectedly. “This was not how shit was meant to go.”

Maddox slaps a hand on my shoulder. “Maybe not, but it’s fucking over.”

“For now,” I tell him. Because Rook might be dead, but with no sign of Lev or Akim and Mark Swanson still missing, there are some lose ends.

Flashes of those last few minutes flick through my mind. “Who is Bowser?” I ask, not really directing my question at anyone in particular.

“How do you know that name?” Roxanne asks, surprise clear in her tone.

“Before Rook stabbed Star, he’d been taunting her about Aaron and who Sloane was.” I can’t help the little laugh that pops free. “She goaded him right fucking back.”

“Sounds like Star,” Maddox scoffs full of humour.

“She told him to tell Aaron that Bowser sends his regards when he saw him.”

Roxanne and Maddox both laugh.

“B is one of our guys back in London. It’s a long story, and one I think Star should share with you when she’s ready. For now, you just need to know that he’s the one who killed Aaron,” Roxanne says.

Before I can reply, the doors open and a doctor wearing scrubs exits.

“Miss Lawler?” he questions, stopping in front of us.

I get to my feet, and my head spins with anxiety at what he’s about to tell me. I try to read his expression, but it’s blank. Not even a hint of a smile.

“Surgery went well. We were able to repair the kidney. Miss Kavanagh is in the recovery room, and once she is awake, we’ll move her to the ICU where she’ll need to stay until we are sure there is no further internal bleeding. Assuming there are no complications, she’ll make a fully recovery.”

My breath rushes from me on a curse. “Fuck! Thank god.”

Maddox wraps his arms around Roxanne, holding her as she cries tears of relief.

“Can we see her?” I ask, my words coming out a littler harsher than intended. Thankfully, the doctor doesn’t seem offended, which is good because I don’t need any more blood on my hands tonight.

He offers me a smile in understanding before saying, “Once she’s in the ICU, you can see her. But she’ll be groggy and need to rest to aid her recovery, so let’s keep the visitors to a minimum. No more than two at a time.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Roxanne says, and he gives her nod before heading back through the doors.

I drop back into my seat, holding my head in my hands as Roxanne and Maddox hug in the middle of the corridor.

That is how Aidan and Zak find us a few minutes later.

“Rox, is she…”

My head snaps up and Maddox and Roxanne break apart.

“No, no. She’s fine. Surgery went well,” she tells Zak as he scoops her up in his arms, and the relief is evident on his face as he takes me in.

Aidan stoically stands to the side, simmering rage under his cool facade. For the first time since I met him, he doesn’t say a word. But he does offer me a nod, which I return.

An hour later, I’m sat at Star’s bedside watching her chest rise and fall and listening to the beeping of the machine monitoring her.

The door opens and Aidan enters. He leans down and kisses Star’s head before taking the seat on the other side of the bed.

“I thought you might like to know that we found Lev. His body was in a cell at Pavel’s house, along with a couple of other unidentified bodies. Mark Swanson is a strong candidate for one of the John Doe’s, but it seems Akim skipped town. I heard he caught a flight back to Moscow.”

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