A Silent Reckoning: Sinner's Empire by Nikita Slater (world best books to read .TXT) 📕

Shaun’s lips twitched with amusement as Saskia took a container out of the fridge, opened it, sniffed, nodded and allowed the fridge to close. “Then why is he here?” Shaun asked, watching as Saskia went unerringly to a drawer and pulled a fork out.

Saskia shrugged, peeling the lid off her container and digging in. Shaun suspected it was cold spaghetti. She didn’t know why there were leftovers in the fridge, since Jozef hadn’t occupied the apartment prior to now. Perhaps he had a cook or a housekeeper who stocked up for him.

“I don’t know for sure since no one in this family tells me anything, but I think it’s because Jozef thinks someone in the family tried to poison you. He thinks that’s why Karl wasn’t able to prevent what happened. Jozef hired him from prison and asked him to work with the mercs and then take over family security once you arrived. Plus, Karl actually likes following family around, carrying bags, organizing security detail. That kind of stuff.” Saskia stared hard at Shaun. “I never asked… are you okay? Did the poisoning, you know, have any long-term effects?”

Shaun had questions, like what was a merc, but Saskia moved from topic to topic so fast it was difficult to keep up. Shaun smiled affectionately as she took a coffee pod from a basket on the counter and popped it into a single-cup coffee machine. She opened cupboards until she found a mug then hit the green button on the machine.

“No long-term effects,” Shaun confirmed. “The poison was ethylene glycol. It’s a slow acting poison that I would’ve ingested around 12 hours before I collapsed since it takes time to metabolize in the system. It’s a common poison, easily accessible.”

Saskia gaped at Shaun, a forkful of cold cheesy noodles halfway to her mouth. She let the fork drop and straightened on the couch. “But everyone said you were poisoned at the party. If you were poisoned earlier then it couldn’t have been a guest, which means…”

Shaun didn’t say it out loud. She didn’t need to. The perpetrator was either someone in the family or someone close to the family. It could’ve been one of the servants, but they wouldn’t have had a motive unless they were hired to slip Shaun the poison. If the poisoning had happened at the party, it could have been anyone, though the only people in attendance with a reason to want Shaun dead were the Kobas and Giselle, Jozef’s ex-girlfriend.

The poison was unsophisticated and easily accessible, though no less deadly for its commonality. It could have killed Shaun if she’d taken more of it or if she’d gone longer without medical care. As a result of the quick actions taken by the Prague General University Hospital staff, Shaun recovered quickly without any lasting effects, which was a miracle considering the poison was meant to specifically target organs such as the kidneys. There hadn’t been enough in Shaun’s system for the job to get done.

“I vote for mom,” Saskia said, shoving a huge bite of food into her mouth. “She can be a ruthless cunt when she wants to be.”

Shaun burst into laughter and shook her head as she reached into the fridge for coffee cream. As she was adding it to her delicious smelling brew, she said, “I don’t believe your mom would try to kill me, she spent too much time and money on the party.”

Saskia laughed, barely covering her mouth in time to stop food from spewing out. “Are you kidding?” she asked incredulously, still choking. “My mother once threw a birthday party for a half-sister she despises. I’m pretty sure she would have murdered Aunt Vasha long ago if she could’ve managed it.”

Shaun took her coffee cup and sat on the opposite end of the couch from Saskia. She took a sip and closed her eyes, inhaling.

Once she’d had her first hit of caffeine, she felt better able to manage a conversation with her guest. She gave Saskia a serious look. “Who do you think tried to kill me?”

Saskia finished her last bite and set the glass dish on the coffee table. Leaning back against the couch cushion, she pulled her feet up in a cross-legged pose and tilted her head to the side, thinking. Her light brown hair was styled in a wild, jagged, edgy cut that suited her pixie-like face and her dark gothic outfit consisted of black leggings, high-top runners, a rocker T-shirt for a band Shaun didn’t recognize and a leather jacket.

“I’ve been trying to work this out for a year and I keep going in circles.”

Warmth spread through Shaun. Coming back to Prague felt less lonely, less terrible, when she had Saskia to talk to. It didn’t matter that the young woman was a member of an incredibly powerful crime family, she was first and foremost an intelligent, inquisitive and honest young woman. She might be loyal to her family, but she wasn’t blind or stupid.

“Give me your best guess,” Shaun encouraged.

Shaun hadn’t put much thought into who tried to kill her. She’d been emotionally exhausted by the time she’d gone back to Canada and hadn’t been in a good enough place to put her mind to the problem. She assumed the distance she’d put between herself and the Czech Republic was enough to stop a second attempt on her life. Perhaps not smart, but it was where her mind was at a year ago. Now that she was back, close to the scene of the crime, she felt a pressing need to solve the problem.

Saskia shrugged. “I guess my mom or dad are probably the top contenders. When Jozef showed up with you in tow it rocked our tidy little world in a big way. I doubt it’s my mom since she was so convinced you would be the perfect bride for Jozef and a possible mother to her future grand-nieces or nephews. She wouldn’t have wanted