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

she took in the opulent room, decorated in gold, each place setting immaculate. Dasha directed them to sit at the far end next to the windows. Fatima and Shaun sat on one side of the table while Leeza and her mother sat on the other side.

“Your home sounds lovely,” Leeza said, lifting her arms as one of the wait staff smoothed a napkin over her knees.

“Not compared to this.” Fatima stared past Dasha at a massive gilt-framed painting that looked like it was an original renaissance something, but Shaun had no idea what.

“I prefer a smaller home. I like to know where my son is.” Leeza’s voice was flat and her mother gave her a sharp look.

Shaun interrupted before Dasha could say anything to her daughter. She hadn’t paid much attention a year earlier because she’d been preoccupied with her own kidnapping, but Shaun suspected that Leeza felt oppressed in the house of her birth. “Thank you so much for inviting us to your home.” Shaun smiled warmly at Dasha. “It’s so kind of you to extend a welcome to my mother. She’s never been to the Czech Republic before.”

Dasha turned her megawatt smile on Fatima. “I would love the opportunity to show you around. I was born in Kiev but have lived most of my life in or near Prague. I can show you both many sights only the locals would know about.”

“That sounds like fun,” Shaun said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. She wasn’t sure her idea of fun was the same as Dasha’s. She also couldn’t picture the elegant woman, who Shaun had never seen wear anything on her feet other than high heels, escorting them around the city and surrounding countryside.

“Perfect,” Dasha purred, dipping her spoon into her bowl of steaming soup.

The serving staff flitted seamlessly through the dining room, setting down dishes and disappearing quickly. Each dish always seemed to land in front of the women just after the last bite was taken from the previous dish.

They finished their lunch a few hours later with promises to see each other again. Though Shaun hadn’t looked forward to going to the mansion without Jozef, she had to admit that she’d had a nice time. Strange but nice. Fatima was an easy person to like, alternately jovial and quietly thoughtful depending on the mood of the room. Shaun had never really appreciated that quality in her mother before but seeing her flawlessly navigate the tensions inside the mansion, Shaun realized how adept her mother was at handling new and strange situations.

“Thank you,” Shaun said to her as they buckled themselves into the back seat of their car.

“For what?” Fatima asked.

Shaun thought about it for a second, then said, “For being you, for coming here with me today. For flying halfway around the world to find me and then agreeing to live here. I guess, I want you to know how much I appreciate the sacrifices you’re making. I’m not sure I could do this without you.”

Fatima looked at her seriously. “Yes, you can. You’re a survivor, Shaun. You wouldn’t be here with me now if you weren’t. It’s me who can’t live without you.” She pointed at the mansion and waved her hand around the vehicle. “This is no sacrifice, baby. This is unimaginable wealth being dropped at my feet at the perfect time in my life. No husband, no job and the world at my fingertips. Perhaps you should’ve gotten yourself kidnapped years ago.”

Shaun laughed, though she knew her mother absolutely didn’t condone Shaun’s kidnapping.

Fatima’s gaze focused on something past Shaun’s shoulder. “What do you suppose they’re talking about? Neither of them looks happy.”

Shaun twisted in her seat, catching sight of Havel and Leeza standing on the steps of the mansion. They were arguing about something. Leeza turned on her heel to stalk away but Havel grabbed her arm. From their distance it didn’t look like he grabbed her hard, but she jerked away from him, yelping in pain. Her hand went to her arm and she rubbed vigorously.

Instead of letting her go, Havel took hold of her elbow and shoved the sleeve of her dress up. Shaun gasped when she saw Leeza’s arm. The bruise on it was so dark and large it was clearly visible from Shaun’s vantage point.

Havel’s face became flushed until it looked like an angry red beacon. “Who the fuck did this to you?” His bellow was so loud that everyone in the vicinity heard.

The mansion security edged toward the couple on the steps, clearly torn between their loyalty to one of the women of the house and a man who’d once been their boss.

“I don’t know,” Shaun murmured, answering her mother’s question. “But whatever it is, it looks bad.”

Leeza snapped something at Havel that they couldn’t hear, wrenched her sleeve back down and stormed away.

Havel stalked back to the vehicle, jerking the driver’s door open and climbing inside, his body language telling Shaun she probably shouldn’t speak to him right now. She ignored his body language.

“Did she say what happened?”

Havel glared at her through the rearview mirror. “Walked into a doorframe.”

Shaun bit her lip and glanced back at the mansion where Leeza had disappeared through the door.

“That bruise wasn’t an accident,” Shaun told him.

“I know,” he grunted, starting the vehicle and leaving the Koba mansion behind.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The days passed quickly and Shaun settled into an uneasy pattern. Even though she spent a good portion of her time alone keeping up to date with professional journals and medical advances, she often found herself restless. It helped to have her mother near-by. She spent a good portion of her days in Fatima’s apartment, Fitzy twirling around her feet as she took the stairs to her mother’s apartment. The cat seemed to look forward to their daily trips downstairs as much as Shaun did. Fatima always had a snack waiting for both of them.

Fatima had settled into her new life much more easily than her daughter, spending Jozef’s