I wasn’t exactly dressed for a hike in a forest either, and it occurred to me that I hadn’t thought this through. All I’d been thinking about was getting my hands on Rasmus and making him pay. Other than the gun, the practicalities of what I might need before I found him hadn’t occurred to me.
There was nothing I could do about it now. I wasn’t going to drive back to Tallinn to kit myself out. I had a gun, and that was all I needed.
I picked up the weapon from where I’d placed it beside the seat and climbed out of the vehicle. The difference in temperature between here and London was instantly noticeable, and I tucked the hand not holding the gun into the opposite armpit for warmth. It was mid-afternoon now, and it was already chilly. It would get even colder tonight. I guessed I should be thankful it wasn’t winter, or I’d be wading through snow.
“For Jodie,” I said to myself and took out her photograph once more to remind myself of her face.
I could put up with a bit of cold and hunger if it meant getting my revenge.
I kissed Jodie’s photo and placed it back in my pocket and set off in the direction of Rasmus’s territory. I wasn’t sure exactly how long it would take me, but I was betting on a good half an hour.
The deeper I trekked into the forest, the more I realised how unsuitable my outfit was. My shoes became sodden, the bottoms of my trousers flapping uncomfortably around my ankles. I hadn’t even brought a decent coat. There was nothing I could do about it now, so I pressed on.
I’d guesstimated my walk length well. Within half an hour, I spotted a tall, chain-link fence. I was unable to see any signs of the buildings within the fencing—yet more trees hiding the property from any nosey passersby—but I was confident I was in the right place.
I wasn’t going to risk going any further. Rasmus was bound to have men patrolling the outskirts, so I backed up on myself and found a relatively dry spot beneath some trees. I’d wait there until it got dark and then skirt around the fencing and assess my situation.
I lay flat to the ground, propped up on my elbows. Mosquitos whined around my head, and I slapped at my skin at the tickle of them landing. A beetle crawled over my forearm, and I shook it away. Fuck. I hated nature.
I had three choices about how I could get onto the property. I could go over the fence, under it, or cut a hole through it. Or I could talk my way in and walk, like a civilised person, through the gate.
Movement came in the forest—too heavy to be an animal—and I froze, my breath held.
Instead of the armed man I’d been expecting, a young woman with jet-black hair that fell right down to the curve of her arse came into view. Her jeans were baggy and tucked into a pair of worn brown boots, and her oversized t-shirt was long-sleeved and covered her slender arms.
She let out a sigh and dropped down to sit on a tree stump. Then she reached beneath the baggy t-shirt and pulled out a book.
Who was she? Did she have anything to do with Rasmus? Did she work for him, or perhaps was a daughter of one of his men? Or maybe she had nothing to do with Rasmus and was out here hiking or something? Not that she had any kind of hiking equipment. Where else would she have come from? There weren’t any other towns or even homesteads around here.
The girl flipped her dark hair from her face and turned the page of her book. Did she have any sense that I was so close, watching her?
I needed to be focused on Rasmus, but suddenly this girl had sucked in all my attention. The trees and buzz of insects and twitter of birds had vanished as though in a vacuum.
The crunch of a boot on fallen pine needles caught both of our attention.
The girl straightened and dropped the book to one side of her.
“Isa,” she said, getting to her feet.
Then she spoke again in a babble of what I assumed to be Estonian, and I realised she was talking to someone. I had to shift my position slightly to see who it was, but I was worried that if I moved too much, I’d be noticed.
A deep male voice replied, and I stiffened. I could be wrong, considering the accent meant the men all sounded the same to me, but the memories from that day had been etched into my brain, and I was sure that voice belonged to Rasmus Valk.
My heart thudded in a steady beat, and I controlled my breathing, remaining calm. Only the dryness of my mouth belayed my true emotions. I had to know for sure.
I edged myself to the right on my elbows, using the tree cover to keep me hidden. I hoped they’d put any sound I might be making down to wild animals, of which there were many in these forests.
It was Rasmus, and he wasn’t alone. He had two other men with him. If I was spotted now, I’d be dead. I tightened my fingers around my gun. I could shoot one of them, maybe even two, before they got a chance to retaliate, but that wouldn’t be good enough. It would mean killing Rasmus quickly and without him ever knowing the reason why, and that wasn’t why I’d come here. I wanted him to see Jodie’s face and understand the reason behind his death.
More words were exchanged, and the girl stepped away from the stump and joined the men. From my vantage point, I could see that she had left her book propped up against the side of the stump, out of view from the others. Hadn’t she wanted them to see her reading? Or perhaps it had been her choice of reading material she’d wanted to keep hidden.
I didn’t care either way. I was just relieved they were moving on and that I hadn’t been seen.
When I was sure they were far enough away, I took out my phone.
What was it she’d called him? Isa? That wasn’t his name, I knew that much. There was something about the way they’d interacted as well that raised my suspicions.
I typed the word into a translator.