Page 50 of Desperate Victory
Ice shivered over me.
“My mother.” The two words escaped Bodhi like bullets being fired.
“I believe so. The certificate of live birth was buried, and the name isn’t correct on it. However, the times, the place, and the dates all line up with everything else you’ve learned.”
When he held out the envelope this time, Bodhi didn’t move. He stared at the sealed rectangle like it would communicate the secrets of the universe.
“Shall I?” I asked gently and Bodhi gave the slowest of nods.
I put away Theodore’s birth certificate and then took the new one. I slit it open.
“I wish I had more to offer you, my friend. These challenges have truly been a pleasure to dig into. I can, of course, continue to find more—should you require it.”
Bodhi didn’t even seem to be breathing as I opened the envelope and extracted another birth certificate. Like Theodore’s it was slightly older, softer and worn. The timing seemed almost beyond coincidental. It couldn’t have been more than a year before Andrea had been born.
Pain fisted around my heart. We would find her dammit.
Forcing my mind to the present, I scanned the certificate.
Another baby boy.
Levente Cassidine Noble.
I frowned at the name. The name of the mother was listed as Ayla Winters.
“If you’re wondering, I did check—there was no Ayla Winters at that hospital nor any hospital in that region during that time. The name is very conspicuous as it’s close to Isla.” The absolute sobriety in Hans' manner was a distinct contrast to his earlier playfulness. “Without DNA, I cannot confirm one hundred percent…”
“But he was sold and moved into this pipeline that removed the King child?”
“Indeed,” Hans said. “She gave me a couple of names that she used then but they were dead ends. Most likely aliases.”
“But we can still talk to her,” I said. “Find out if she has any other ideas?”
Two boys, relatively close in age—what? Seven months give or take between their births. If the birth dates were accurate. Even if they weren’t, it was most likely within a year.
Why did it seem like everything bad that happened tied back to King?
“You can,” Hans said. “I will provide you with all the information. But I’m telling you, she is skittish and a wholly despicable woman only interested in two things…money and punishing King.”
I really didn’t have a problem with the latter.
“Thank you, Hans,” Bodhi said as he rose. The men shook hands and this time, it was Bodhi’s hand that Hans held for a longer moment.
“My friend, it was my pleasure. I only wish I could bring you more concrete information. I am flying to Berlin tomorrow, to do a little more—looking into this Yuri Leistung. Be wary, what little I have already turned up says he was quite connected. I’ll get more if I am there than through calls.”
I didn’t react. It made sense that Bodhi would have reached out to Hans, I just hadn’t given it that much thought.
“Be careful,” Bodhi told him. “We will be in Europe soon enough. If something feels dangerous, wait for us to be there.”
Hans sniffed. “You worry too much and I haven’t had this much excitement in a while.” With that he clapped Bodhi on the shoulder and then gave me a polite tilt of his head. “Liebchen, it is always a pleasure to see you.”
Bodhi held out a hand to me and since I’d already secured the birth certificates in my purse, I rose and took his hand. “Danke schön.”
Touching a hand to his chest over his heart, Hans said, “Gern geschehen.”
We left, Bodhi was no longer interested in taking our time as we weaved through the other visitors to the private museum of the erotic. I stayed with him, my hand clasped firmly in his.
The energy around Bodhi surged hot and then cold to hot again. A brother.