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

a low-level street thug. No affiliation to any particular family. I think my dad tried to find out but had to give up and write the incident off as a robbery gone wrong. I think it bothers him to this day that he was never able to avenge his brother.”

“What happened to Jozef?” Fatima was Saskia’s rapt audience and Saskia was more than pleased to talk someone’s ear off.

“He went to live with my mom and dad. They’d only been married a few years, so I think it was rough for them to take in a traumatized child, but I think Jozef turned out just fine.”

Shaun did laugh this time and Fatima returned her smile.

Oblivious to the exchange, Saskia continued to eat.

Twenty minutes later someone banged on the door to the safe room, then opened it.

Karl stepped inside, sweeping the room with a serious look. “It’s alright. Someone set a firework off in the club which triggered the alarms. Alex shut the lights down in the building to encourage people to leave the club.”

Karl frowned as though something was bothering him.

“What is it?” Saskia asked sharply, standing and dusting the crumbs from her jeans.

He shook his head, but finally admitted. “It’s a weird coincidence. Someone playing a stupid prank in the club while Jozef is out of town. Almost as if they know he’s away and are testing our defenses.”

“Do you really think that’s what happened?” Fatima asked, fear in her voice.

His eyes softened. “I’m a suspicious man. Have to be for my job. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Fatima looked marginally better, but Shaun knew better. And apparently, so did Saskia.

“What aren’t you telling us?” Saskia demanded.

He looked at her, his gaze still troubled. “We looked at the footage of people leaving the club. Your sister was here.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jozef’s team ran into very little trouble as they moved through Somalia, travelling down the border between Ethiopia and Kenya, into South Sudan. Ali hacked into and redirected a satellite from a large telecommunications company to survey the region as they moved so they were able to avoid any hotbeds of activity.

Every man on Jozef’s team understood the score. They worked hard, paid attention and rolled with the rough living. At the end, the payoff would be worth more than they would have otherwise likely seen in their lifetimes. This was why Jozef took the risks that he took. The payoff.

Yet, something felt different this time. An alarm bell was going off in his brain telling him to step carefully, double check everything, make sure his team was alert. He suspected the alarm was Shaun. She was worried about him, which caused him to worry. He wondered if this new development was a liability or if it might one day save his life.

It was two days into their trek, as they were forced to lay low and allow a paramilitary contingent pass through the valley below them that Jozef realized what the bell with Shaun’s voice was trying to tell him. He had too much to live for to die now.

As they continued to walk over, under and through the rough terrain to the vehicles waiting to take them over the border, Jozef thought about his life. He’d been raised and trained to believe one thing. His existence was for the protection of others at the expense of all else, including his own life. He’d never before valued his life quite the way he did now. His year in prison had been made more bearable by the knowledge that he had little to live for, thus the risks involved in climbing the Bratva ladder didn’t faze him.

Now, things were different. Now, when he thought about death, he thought about all the missed days and years that he wouldn’t get to spend with Shaun if he died. She was giving him a reason to survive.

“Stop,” Havel commanded as they neared the checkpoint.

Jozef’s men fell into place, each taking position to watch and attack if they were set upon. Jozef, who had been at the back of the group, made his way to Havel, who was standing next to Halil, their scout for the mission.

Halil didn’t hesitate but starting filling Jozef in the moment he was in earshot. “Two transport vehicles up ahead. They look military, but I don’t think they are. There appears to be four men with the vehicles, all armed. One is our contact.”

Jozef grunted his acknowledgment. Radik had given them a contact for the border crossing. A man named Zeke, no last name. Probably a fake name.

You two come with me, Jozef signed. We’ll take three others. The rest will cover us until we give the go-ahead.

They’d already gone over the meet, discussing every possible scenario, so every man knew what he was doing. Yet Jozef knew the best laid plans could go to shit in a matter of seconds. He had so many backup plans, his team occasionally referred to him as their mother hen because he worried over them.

Of course, no one said it in his hearing, but Havel was pleased as punch to tell Jozef when his team was making fun of him. Though they would have to respect him to his face, he didn’t mind a little ribbing. It strengthened their bonds with each other, which made them more effective.

Jozef, Halil and Havel walked up the overgrown dirt road, their boots kicking up dust. Three of Jozef’s men followed several meters behind, covering their backs. It took about ten minutes to reach their destination.

The vehicles and the people around them were as expected. Two military trucks with canvas-covered beds were waiting for them. Their contact, Zeke, separated from the group and strode toward Jozef.

Zeke stretched a hand towards Jozef but spoke to Havel. “Right on time.” He glanced around, a frown creasing his thick brows. “Where are the rest? I was told you’d have ten men.”

Havel growled his annoyance at Zeke. “You talk to him.” Havel pointed at Jozef. “He’s in charge.”

Zeke’s surprised gaze snapped back