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“Every moment of every day led you here. That’s what matters.”
“What would have become of me if it weren’t for you?”
I pulled her closer to me and wrapped both arms around her. “I could say the very same thing to you.” I brought my lips to hers at the same moment there was a knock on the door.
“Yes?” I said, although it came out as more of a groan.
“Sorry for the interruption, but we’ll be leaving within the hour,” said Puck, sticking his head in the door.
“Copy that.”
Bexli tightened her arms around me. “I know you have to do what you have to do.” She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“I do.” I kissed the tip of her nose.
“Just please, Cayman, be careful.”
“I will do.”
“I love you, Cay.”
“And I love you, Bex.”
26
CAYMAN
Iwasn’t surprised Mithras had returned to Gozo. To have operated the way he had for as long as he did meant law enforcement must’ve been paid to look the other way. Particularly given not a single member of the Maltese police force had shown up the night of the shoot-out on the beach.
Stupidly on his part, and to our advantage, he’d also returned to the villa where he’d held Bexli and the other women prisoners.
Our friends at the NRO had the location locked and loaded, as they say. We knew exactly where each of his guards were positioned and where he held Francesca Vella.
“What is the status of her daughter and grandson?” I asked Z on the flight from Gatwick to the main island of Malta.
“From what we can determine, the US embassy still has them under their protection.”
From what we could determine? “Why don’t we know for certain?”
“Ares is working it now, trying to figure out why they’re giving us pushback.”
Before walking into the stateroom, I remembered seeing Ares on his mobile. I hoped by the time Z and I finished, he’d have answers for us.
“Cayman, I’ll remind you it is imperative Mithras be taken alive.”
“Understood, sir.”
“As much as I wish him dead, we must bring down his entire operation.”
“Yes, sir.”
He rested his arms on the stateroom’s table. “I am quoting the UN now, but I have memorized every word of their statement on human trafficking. ‘Human trafficking is a global problem and one of the world’s most shameful crimes, affecting the lives of millions of people around the world and robbing them of their dignity. Traffickers deceive women, men, and children from all corners of the world and force them into exploitative situations every day. While the best-known form of human trafficking is for the purpose of sexual exploitation, hundreds of thousands of victims are trafficked for the purposes of forced labor, domestic servitude, child begging, or for the removal of their organs.’”
“I, too, have memorized it.”
“It’s estimated there are between thirty and forty million victims at any given time. Women, men, and children of all ages, from every background, are exploited for the profit of men like Mithras. While I am not an official member of the UN’s coalition, I do serve in an advisory role.”
“I’m aware, sir.”
