Ryker knew with confidence that there was more to the story than that, but Eva wasn’t going to tell him. He’d questioned why Cardo would be staying there. Ryker’s guess was the hotel was a hangout for the mob. Good middle ground for them to travel to. Perhaps they held meetings there, or stopped when passing through.
The flippancy in Eva’s words, the sudden breakthrough of that natural confidence and charm, even if it was only there for a second, reminded Ryker of exactly whom he was dealing with. Ryker knew he’d never truly be able to read a woman like Eva. As good as he was at spotting an untruth, she was too used to telling lies, to spinning a situation to her advantage. The signs of deceit were too hit and miss. The problem was she lived in a world where she fully believed her own lies.
They walked toward the metal barrier and looked out over the view to the coast.
‘Who is your father working for, Eva? I know it’s the mafia. Georgians. But give me some names. Do the decent thing. It could save him if I find him first.’
Eva didn’t answer the question immediately. Ryker waited.
‘It’s not like that,’ Eva eventually said. ‘He’s not one of them.’
‘Maybe. Maybe not.’
‘Please don’t hurt him.’
‘If he leaves me no choice.’
‘He’s a good man. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. You must know that?’
‘Why was Kim Walker killed?’
Eva looked down at her feet.
‘Because of you? The affair?’
‘No!’ Eva said. ‘Not because of that. I didn’t do anything.’
‘Then what? Did she find out about what Walker and your father were doing?’
‘I really don’t know.’
‘You told me in Ronda that you did. You were about to tell me the reason when your two friends showed up with guns.’
‘They aren’t my friends.’
‘I couldn’t give a shit if they are or aren’t. Tell me why Kim Walker was killed.’
‘Because they found out who she really was.’
‘Who’s they?’
‘The Georgians.’
It was the same conclusion Ryker had already come to. Some of the answers Ryker was searching for were certainly falling into place. The hack attack by Miguel Ramos. The profile of Anna Abayev. The Georgians were blackmailing Patrick Walker, extorting money from him. In the midst of that, they’d found out that Kim wasn’t who she said she was. When Ramos linked her to the Red Cobra’s profile, the mob killed her to settle an old score.
But that still didn’t answer who was behind the operation. Or who Kim Walker really was. Or why the Red Cobra was now here.
‘I’m not part of that,’ Eva said. ‘You have to believe me.’
‘Yeah. The problem, Eva, is that I have a hard time believing anything you say.’
The noise of a car engine caught their attention. They turned to see Green’s Ford pulling into the car park. He brought the Ford to a stop right by where Eva and Ryker were standing.
‘Him?’ Eva said.
‘He’s with Walker. You’ll be safe,’ Ryker said, seeing the look of concern in Eva’s eyes. Her being handed over to the police was probably the last thing her father wanted.
‘Patrick hates me.’ Eva let out a big sigh.
‘Yeah but this is better than the alternative, I’d say.’
Green walked up to them. ‘What the hell is going on, Ryker?’ He sounded less than impressed.
‘Trust me. Keep her safe. The Red Cobra is still out there.’
Ryker made to walk away. Green held out his hand to stop him.
‘Where are you going? I’m not a nanny, you know. I’m supposed to be out here investigating a murder, not cooking dinner for rich people.’
Ryker huffed. He was in two minds. He didn’t fully trust Green, and he’d never been good at working with others. But he also knew that Green could be of assistance. The problem was Ryker didn’t want to draw Green into his murky world. Ryker had never had a problem with the morality of tracking down and killing the bad guys. For many years that’s exactly what had been asked of him by the JIA. But Green was a policeman, a detective, someone who lived by rules and laws. Bringing him on board for what was to come would put Green in a position from which there was simply no return.
And men like Sergei? Ryker didn’t want him arrested and put into a courtroom. Men like that didn’t deserve anything more than they dished out.
‘You don’t want to be part of this,’ Ryker said to Green. ‘Trust me on that.’
Green seemed to understand. He stepped back.
‘Thank you,’ Eva said. She moved up to Ryker and wrapped her arms around him.
Ryker glanced over at Green with an awkward look on his face. When Eva was done hugging him, she reached up and kissed Ryker on his cheek. Green had to hold back his smirk at Ryker’s stiff response.
‘Such a charmer, Ryker,’ Green called out as he turned to head back to his car.
Ryker watched as Eva followed Green to the Ford. Ryker wondered whether he would ever see Eva Kozlov again.
Minutes later, Ryker was back on the road, heading west to Algeciras.
It was time to fight the mob head on.
CHAPTER 53
The journey to the port city of Algeciras was smooth and untroubled. Ryker made one stop on the way, to collect supplies for the mission ahead. He made a call to Lisa but, as was becoming the norm, it rang out unanswered.
On arriving in Algeciras, Ryker found the address he’d been given by Miguel Ramos using the map on his phone. The building was on the outskirts of the town centre, a small and rundown office block, two stories tall. Similar buildings lay either side; none of them appeared to be occupied.
After waiting for an opportunity where he wouldn’t be spotted by the few passersby, Ryker used a torsion wrench and a pick to quickly release the single lock on the ageing door.
He stepped inside and looked around. As he expected from the outside, the building didn’t appear to be in use. There was no furniture or fittings. The lights weren’t working, suggesting the electric was disconnected. Ryker could only assume the address was used to add authenticity to legal documents drawn up for the mob’s operations. The fact there was only two days’ worth of mail lying by the front door – judging by the postmarks – suggested routine pick-ups were made.
Ryker didn’t hang around. He saw no point. The only person he was likely to come across there would be a simple lackey out on errands.
Back in the car, Ryker plugged the second address into his phone. It turned out it wasn’t in Cadiz the city, but a rural location a half hour drive from Algeciras. Ryker soon found himself on twisting country roads heading over the hills and mountains that surrounded the Andalusian coastline.