A Silent Reckoning: Sinner's Empire by Nikita Slater (ereader iphone .txt) 📗

driver’s seat and the doors slammed shut they were moving. Shaun threw an elbow into the man holding her and he let her go with a grunt.

Jozef reached for her and she went into his arms with a sob. She’d fought as hard as she could, now she needed the comfort only he could provide. It was screwed up, needing comfort from the very person who was terrorizing her, but Shaun was beyond questioning how she felt. Her therapist had spent a year trying to help her screw her head back on straight and now here she was, right back in the same situation that had landed her in therapy.

Shaun cried into Jozef’s neck while he held her, running his hand over her short curls and down her back. She cried for her lost independence, for the fear her mother and colleagues would experience, and she cried for her lost year. She’d missed Jozef with every fiber of her being. She’d worried over the prison conditions where he was being kept; worried that he would be hurt or killed.

As the tears subsided, she was finally able to look around and assess her situation. She was in the back seat of an SUV with tinted windows, sitting on Jozef’s lap. Neither of them was buckled in. One of Jozef’s men, Halil, nodded at her from the other seat. He’d been the one to pull her into the vehicle.

The drive to the airport was uneventful compared to their violent meeting in the hospital. Shaun kept twisting in her seat and staring out the back window of the SUV, searching for the police who should be following them, but there was no one.

Jozef must’ve grabbed her fast enough that the hospital was still scrambling. Or Simon hadn’t woken up yet to tell everyone she’d been taken.

Oh god. She was being kidnapped again. It felt surreal, but here she was in the back of a vehicle with Jozef and two members of his security team. They were concentrated but relaxed. The lack of tension in the vehicle felt wrong considering they were kidnapping her.

She turned on Jozef’s lap to face him and spoke in a low voice, meant for only him to hear, but of course everyone could hear her. “Don’t do this, Jozef. Just pull over and let me out.”

His eyes lifted to hers and, ignoring her words, he cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand and ran his thumb over her skin. He used the back of his fingers to brush the last traces of her tears away.

She sighed and tilted her head into his hand. The feel of him combined with his scent was too much for her to ignore. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and enjoyed the touch of the man she thought she would never see again.

She breathed in deeply and allowed the first moment of peace she’d felt in more than a year wash over her. When she opened her eyes again, he was staring back at her, his gaze mirroring hers.

Shaun had never believed in fate or soul mates before. Yet, she couldn’t explain the feeling she had when she was with Jozef, other than to say her soul called out to his.

One year ago, during an impossible situation, they’d found each other. But they’d been on borrowed time. Now it seemed Jozef was determined to steal more time for them.

Shaun shook her head and whispered. “We can’t.”

Jozef’s gaze changed, becoming closed off. He pushed her back into the seat next to him and ignored her pleas as they closed in on the airport. When the tower came into focus, Shaun’s panic ratcheted up again. They were really doing this. They were planning on taking a Canadian citizen off Canadian soil.

Shaun stared in desperation as they drove past the airport around to the private section. Her heart pounded frantically as they approached the security gate.

What should she do? She had to try to get someone’s attention, but she didn’t want to be the reason Jozef was arrested again. She wasn’t sure how he got out of prison after being handed two life sentences, but she suspected if he were arrested in Canada, he would have a much more difficult time securing his release.

She was happy to see him, her heart sang with joy at knowing he was alive and well, but her responsibility lay elsewhere. She had an obligation to herself, her mother and her profession to fight tooth and nail against whatever Jozef was planning. She’d committed her life to fighting the evils in the world. Yet wouldn’t she become the evil she despised if she quietly went with Jozef simply because her heart wanted him?

She had to do something.

As they approached the security gates, a guard stepped out of the booth. The SUV slowed and Shaun frantically tried to plan what she would say, how she would get the guard’s attention.

Jozef must’ve anticipated her intention because he grabbed her by the head and kissed her, a lightning fast, intense kiss that took her by surprise. As soon as his lips touched hers, sparks shot through her. Precious seconds passed.

Dimly she heard Havel speaking to the guard, laughing and exchanging a joke. Shaun pushed against Jozef’s chest, trying to break contact so she could shout at the guard.

Jozef twisted on the seat, using his broad leather-clad shoulders to block her view of the guard. He gripped her head, cupping her ears and holding her still.

They stared at each other though Jozef continued to kiss her. His eyes spoke as eloquently as his lips. He wanted her and nothing was going to stop him from taking her. Passion clashed with anger as the sparks flew between them.

Havel’s conversation with the guard ended and they were driving again. Once they’d cleared the barrier and Havel rolled up his window, Jozef released her.

Without considering the consequences, Shaun slapped Jozef, her palm striking his cheek in a sharp crack. Her hand stung, which meant his