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

back in a few hours. He said goodbye like it was the last time. It made her heart soar.

You will listen to Havel. Leave if you’re uncomfortable, don’t worry about being rude. Text me at least twice.

Shaun laughed and kissed him again before patting his cheek and stepping away. “I’ll be back before you can miss me.”

I doubt it.

Shaun followed her mother into the back of the waiting car while Jozef spoke with Havel, Karl and Nikolay who would be accompanying the two women. Shaun was used to Jozef giving his men commands, but her mother watched with rapt attention.

“He’s quite serious about security, isn’t he?” Fatima murmured, a slight frown wrinkling her brow.

“Yes, he is,” Shaun agreed. “I’ve never known him to take any unnecessary risks.”

“It seems strange, doesn’t it?” Fatima mused. “His career lends itself to dangerous situations, yet he isn’t a reckless man.”

Shaun gazed at Jozef as she thought about what her mother said. Jozef really did try to mitigate any danger for him, his men, and now for her and her mother. He was an intelligent man, and he used that intelligence to create fool-proof plans that he and his men could execute with precision. Security came as naturally to him as breathing.

The one exception was on the day they met, when he and his men had beaten Gustav until his heart gave out. But a weak heart was not something Jozef could’ve planned for.

It made her curious about the jobs he took on. How he dealt with all the risk factors of a new region, contacts, etc. She assumed the jobs were dangerous, which made her fear for his safety. Her mother’s words made her realize that Jozef was definitely not a reckless person. He planned and he followed through on those plans.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Havel and Karl climbed into the front seat of the vehicle. Nikolay followed in a separate vehicle. As they drove, Havel pointed out the various sightseeing spots to Fatima. Shaun was amused by the easy way in which he spoke to her mother. Though she and Havel had found a relative truce, there was still a coolness between them.

Dasha was waiting for them on the steps of the mansion, Leeza a few paces behind her, as they arrived. The two women were perfection. Dasha wore a cherry red skirt suit with rope after rope of gold necklaces of varying lengths decorating her elegant throat. Her hair was twisted on top of her head in a carefully arranged knot. Leeza wore a fitted green patterned dress that stopped at her knees. The high neck and short sleeves made it look severe, but her long wavy dark hair and the string of pearls around her neck softened the look.

“Glad I changed,” Fatima remarked drily as they climbed out of the vehicle and approached the two women.

Shaun accepted the double cheek kisses from Dasha and Leeza while Fatima awkwardly accepted the same treatment.

“Welcome to my home, Mrs. Patterson. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Shaun wondered where Dasha had heard about her mother. Shaun hadn’t had much opportunity to mention Fatima during her weeks spent in the mansion and they’d only seen each other once since her return. The odd thing was, the words coming from Dasha’s lips could have been completely normal, but Shaun heard a hint of threat. As if Dasha had known the moment Fatima stepped foot in Prague and had been tracking her.

Shaun shifted closer to her mother while Havel and Karl protected their backs.

Dasha’s eyes travelled to Havel and her smile grew rigid and cold. “Havel, how are you doing?”

“Fine, thank you, ma’am,” he answered automatically, keeping his eyes fixed on the space between Leeza and Dasha.

“And how is Jozef?”

It seemed like a strange question considering Dasha had seen her nephew two nights ago.

“He’s adjusting well,” Havel answered, his eyes finally meeting Dasha’s.

Something passed between the two and Dasha’s smile became more natural as she said, “Thank you. Of course, you are welcome in our home.” She extended her smile to Fatima and Shaun. “Come inside, both of you. Winter is well and truly upon us; there’s a chill to the air now.”

Shaun squared her shoulders and walked into the mansion. She felt bolstered by the presence of her mother. As though the confidence that naturally came to her, but seemed to disappear around the Koba family, reappeared with an ally in her corner.

“Wow,” Fatima whispered as they walked.

Leeza caught the comment and turned with a grin, walking backwards on her four-inch heels, which Shaun thought was an impressive feat. “It’s rather gothic, isn’t it?”

“Oh stop.” Dasha gripped Leeza’s arm and forced her to turn back around. “This house was built in 1788 with much of the original structure still in service. Most of the pieces you see, both furniture and art, are from the same time period. I like to keep everything as authentic as possible.”

“Like I said, gothic,” Leeza piped up, avoiding her mother’s light slap. “You can just picture a dastardly villain hiding in the shadows.”

They all laughed, but the sound was uneasy. A dastardly villain had escaped the shadows of the mansion to hunt and kidnap a helpless woman whom he dragged back into his shadowy home to force an engagement on her.

“I like authenticity too,” Fatima murmured, still looking around with awe. “My 90’s rattan furniture matches my home perfectly. The structure itself was built in the notable, but often tacky era of the 90’s.”

Shaun burst out laughing. “It’s true. She still has some of that awful old furniture. She uses it in her sunroom, where she sits with all her plants and her favourite romance novels. When she has Fitzy, he’ll curl up under her feet.”

Leeza giggled but Dasha pressed her lips together disapprovingly, as though trying to determine if she was being made fun of.

They entered the dining room where Dasha directed them to take a seat at the massive table. Once again, Fatima’s eyes widened as