THE VELVET KILLERS III

(14) THE RETURN OF THE MI6 BAD BITCH

SHELINA

My phone rang this morning, as I fell asleep while holding little Alice inside my arms. 

Alexia and I both were half-lying down on the couch, as my wife's head would rely on my shoulder. She fell asleep before me, and I didn't have the heart to wake her up when I knew she had very little sleep between the baby and the murders. 

The sound of my phone wakes her up nonetheless, as I answer:

"Zadorsky."

"Boss" Magda's terrified voice rises on the other end of the phone, "something happened..."

"Eriksson, I'll put you on speaker" I warn her, before doing so. Alexia, who heard part of what Magda said, just sat down on the bed, before I add: "Talk to us."

"We found Ana's body at the airbnb... and no trace of either Roord or Wälti..."

"Shit" Alexia just comments, setting her jaw.

I knew what I had to do.

Getting on my feet, I hand Alice over to her other mom and immediately start getting dressed. Of course, the brunette's eyes are surprised, as she asks:

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going back to work" I say, putting my pants on under Alexia's surprised eyes. Knowing that she thought it was too soon for me to go back so soon after giving birth, I take the edge in saying: "Whatever your thoughts are on the subject, you know that, as an MI6 operative and your superior, my presence is required."

Alexia sighs, before getting up, still holding Alice in her arms.

"I know that" she concedes, setting her jaw. I understand she is more worried than anything else, as she just says: "Please, be careful: I don't want to lose you."

Tears start appearing in her eyes - probably the painful memories of Leah's loss, as well as her mother's and sister's in some ways - as I immediately walk toward her and hold her within my arms. She and the little being she was holding in her arms were the most precious and important things in my life - and I'd do anything to protect both of them.

Setting my jaw, I lean in to kiss Alexia's lips, before kissing our daughter's forehead and whispering, as we catch eyes:

"I love you, and I promise you I will be back."

She nods, before hugging me one more time, before I exit the apartment, a tear rolling down from my eyes: it was the first time in my life that I made a promise I did not know would actually be held...

When I get to the airbnb, the scene was already chaotic: whether it was Magda softly crying in a corner of the room ; Viviane Miedema collecting evidence from the ground - mostly blood, as a large quantity was lost during what seemed to be a fight ; and Lucy Bronze walking around the room, giving her attention to the smallest details.

As soon as they see me, they warn me: behind me, Frida is here as well, nervously waiting for me to say something - anything - that would calm her down. After all, Ingrid was still missing, and since that the Swedish journalist hasn't been the same.

Taking a deep breath, I just say:

"Let me do my job, Frido, and I'll do everything I can to find your girlfriend. Deal?"

"Deal" the blonde confirms, nodding her head. 

With that said, she just leaves us space to proceed to our investigation. 

Right away, Lucy gets closer to me, lowering her voice when she talks, as if she did not trust anyone but me.

"This is an inside job ; only a handful people knew about Lia and Jill's hiding place..." the British woman declares. She then points at the door's lock, before saying: "Probably someone the couple actually trusted or knew..."