Wrath's Storm: A Masters' Admiralty Novel by Mari Carr (desktop ebook reader .txt) 📕

the papers. After a moment, he took them and started to read. His brows drew together, and after what felt like far too long he looked up. “It could be, but they don’t speak English in Odessa.”

Nikolett let out a long breath. “My exact thoughts, but the similarities were enough that for a second—”

“They do.” Maxim Kovalenko, seated at the other end of the table, was looking at them. Nikolett turned her full attention to the harco, who’d just recently accepted a position as a knight. The Ukrainian man was tall and lean, at least in comparison to Vadisk. A former Spetsnaz operative for the SSU’s Alpha Group, Maxim was quietly dangerous, fiercely loyal, and deaf and blind on his right side, though no one would know it based on his behavior. The disability had forced him out of the Alpha Group, and he’d been consulting for corporate security firms before she’d asked him to step up as a harco.

“They do?” she asked.

“Many, maybe most, people in Odessa speak some English, because of the tourism, and TV, internet.”

“Who would know that?” Vadisk asked.

Maxim was quiet for a moment, seeming to consider his answer. “Anyone who has been to Odessa. I believe the guidebooks, websites, they say you can get by speaking only English there.”

Nikolett took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Vadisk, put together a team. I want to go to Odessa.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Annalise managed not to groan as Walt kneaded her good shoulder. Letting him know exactly how good that felt would hardly be appropriate with Admiral Varda, Vadisk, and a knight from Hungary, Maxim Kovalenko, seated around the table with her, Jakob, and Walt.

They were at yet another hotel, this time in Odessa. Last night had been both physically and emotionally exhausting. As she’d said to Jakob and Walt, she was determined to focus on the here and now, rather than worry about the future, but that was easier said than done. Her heart was already beginning to crack and she was still with them. What would happen when the three of them had to say goodbye for good?

They’d been woken up after too little sleep when Admiral Varda had called to inform her that she was taking a small team to Odessa, and Annalise was coming with her. Jakob had demanded to accompany her, as had Walt.

She didn’t need Jakob’s protection anymore, but that fact didn’t make it any easier for her to accept that she could walk down a street without him. That freedom was still too new and she feared she would continue to see shadows everywhere. Maybe those shadows would never go away.

It would take time for her to feel comfortable being alone. Old habits died hard, but the truth was she didn’t want to break the Jakob habit. Even though she didn’t need him as her bodyguard, she still wanted him—and Walt—with her, desperately.

Vadisk flew them to Odessa in his six-seater helicopter, and they’d arrived by mid-morning. The flight hadn’t been the sort where she could sip wine while reviewing files, so it wasn’t until they’d reached the hotel, and the two-bedroom penthouse suite complete with the large dining room, that she’d gotten to look at the information about Zasha Romanov.

Annalise had specifically told Admiral Varda that victimology was not a good basis for continued investigation because of the patronage partnership between the unsub and Petro. The unsub hadn’t chosen Josephine, and because they hadn’t had a chance to gather more information about the potential victim in Belgium, the only victim they could work for a victimology study was Alicja.

Reminding Admiral Varda of these issues would be pointless, since they were here now. And since they were, maybe she, they, could do something to help find Zasha, assuming her disappearance wasn’t tied to the bratva, or voluntary, as the reports implied.

Maxim rose from the table, phone in hand. He spoke briefly with the admiral in what she assumed was either Romanian or Ukrainian—though for the most part they’d been speaking English for Walt’s benefit. A moment later, Maxim walked out the door.

“They’ve finished going through the footage from Krakow,” Vadisk announced, looking up from his computer. The poor man looked uncomfortable, hunched over the computer, his massive arms pulled in tight so he could type.

“Facial recognition?” Nikolett asked.

“Still running. With every database…” Vadisk shook his head.

Walt took his hand from her good shoulder, raising it like he was in class. “Question.”

Nikolett’s lips twitched. “Yes?”

“You have to check every female resident in all of Europe?”

“And parts of North Africa,” Vadisk said.

Annalise cleared her throat. “Even if this has nothing to do with Josephine’s and Alicja’s murders, we may be able to help this investigation, and we can continue to work on the serial killer case.” Annalise gestured to Vadisk, who, unlike Maxim, had been focused on what was happening back at the Hungary headquarters rather than what was going on in Odessa.

“Like I said, we’re here to take on all the bad guys,” Walt said cheerfully.

Nikolett folded her arms, turning to stare out the window. From their luxury hotel near the seaside, they had a view of Odessa’s famous Duke de Richelieu Monument. The admiral of the Ottoman territory—they’d crossed the border into the other territory once they came within fifty kilometers of the Black Sea—had helped arrange for the hotel, and had janissaries on their way to meet them and assist, but it would take several hours as none were currently stationed in the part of Ukraine that belonged to Ottoman.

“Budapest is sending over pictures.” Vadisk’s voice rumbled through the room. “But the Dublin team is still working.”

Annalise put aside the police report she was reading on Zasha’s disappearance—she had to use a translation software, and that meant the information probably wasn’t perfect anyway.

A moment later, a file appeared on her borrowed laptop. She opened it to find nearly a hundred still images and video clips, sorted and organized by the dozens of women they’d identified. There were different angles and