The Ahern Brothers Collection - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,79
does it without batting an eyelash. He’s not bothered by what just happened. These men know who we are and I haven’t given them any information yet.
I scratch my head. What the fuck did I do?
“Mr. Ahern, this is one of my partners, Anderson Hawkins. We oversee logistics and meet with the clients privately because it’s overwhelming when we bring the entire team to the first meeting. I assure you that our two other partners are working on this case as we speak.”
“Who are you people?”
“HIB is a private company that provides high-security.” Mason Bradley begins “I began HIB a few years back. My focus was on security systems for international banking and providing bodyguards for high profile individuals traveling abroad. We’ve since adapted to suit the needs of our clientele.”
“I just needed some information,” I stop him right there before he sells me his company.
The man must have run a background check on me, and he’s trying to bank. Fucker, he has no idea who he’s dealing with.
“As we grew, we created several subdivisions, one of which is human trafficking,” He says, pulling out his phone and tapping it a few times. “The information you requested set off a few alarms in our system. My partners and I don’t accept many cases, but this is something that we’re passionate about—child exploitation.”
He pushes his phone my way with a picture of a middle-aged man, blonde hair. He’s fit, but not muscular.
“This is your man. You called him Corbin Stanley. He has a few aliases, including Corbin Lyons.”
“He’s not related to Abigail—”
“We know,” he cuts me off. “He acquired the name once he married Olga Lyons. There were rumors that he ran an illegal operation out of his residence. Child pornography, drugs, even a prostitution ring too. It stopped after Mrs. Lyons and his daughter died.”
“Ava’s death certificate says, Ava Lyons-Stanley,” he says taking his phone back. “Her birth name was Ava Gumbert. That’s Mr. Corbin’s first wife’s name.”
No wonder it’s hard to find him. “Do you happen to know his real name?”
“It’s Corbin Shelton. Ava had a twin brother. Shaun Gumbert.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“He lives here, in Colorado. We’re searching for his whereabouts. We know that he’s working with his father.” He scrunches his face. “Our people found him on the web using facial recognition software. Shaun was also exploited as a child and continues to work in the same line of business as Corbin.”
I flinch.
“The FBI is aware of this case,” Hawkins interjects. “Their people are working with us to bring down Corbin and his son. We endeavor to take down as many pictures of Ava and Miss Lyons as possible. Though you need to be aware that once a picture is uploaded, it is almost impossible to get rid of it entirely.”
“The pictures are still circulating?”
They nod simultaneously.
“We found several servers that belong to Corbin,” Bradley explains. “In Russia and China. We’re planning on taking the sites down by the end of this week, but first we need to find him.”
“He’s still exploiting children?”
Bradley nods once. “I’m afraid so. Every day there are new videos and images uploaded to his websites. We have enough evidence to put him in jail.”
This devastating news doesn’t sit well in my stomach. The guy is even worse than I thought.
“What do you need from me?”
They shake their heads. “Nothing. To stay out of his path. Ms. Lyons is right. The man is dangerous.”
My heart leaps like a wild stag in my throat. Dangerous.
“She believes that she’s seen him and Shaun around the area.”
Bradley leans back in his chair and looks at Hawkins whose jaw twitches.
“Can you ask her to join us please?” Hawkins requests.
“I’d prefer it if she stays out of this.”
“If you want to keep her safe, she needs to be in the loop,” Bradley says forcefully.
What he’s saying doesn’t make sense in my head, but maybe he’s right. I give in and head to her office where I find her pacing angrily.
“They want to talk to you.” I enter her office.
“What did you tell them?” she barks the question, already on the attack.
I explained to her who they are and what they do. How they decided to visit us because they want to catch Corbin too. Abby’s eyes flare with anger and without a word, she stalks away toward the conference room. She stands close to the door listening intently to every word they say. Once they finish, she finally takes a seat as if absorbing the information.