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

face must’ve felt worse. She cringed as Jozef swung his gaze back to hers. She could see the beginnings of anger stirring in the lake-blue depths.

Shaun was shocked. She’d never been a violent person, had never in her life hit another human being. She’d pushed Jozef, refused to do his bidding and kicked and fought when he grabbed her, but she’d never deliberately hit anyone. She hated the feeling and regretted it immediately. Yes, she was in an extreme circumstance, but it was no excuse to lash out. Especially in a way that wouldn’t improve her situation.

I’m sorry, she mouthed.

Jozef’s expression softened and he reached out, wrapping a big hand around her neck and dragging her into his chest, holding her as they drove across the tarmac toward the plane that would take her back to Eastern Europe and the new life she suspected Jozef was going to force her into.

Chapter Six

Shaun thought she might have another opportunity to call for help during the confusion of getting out of the vehicle and onto the airplane. She should have realized, with a man like Jozef and his well-trained team, there would be no confusion.

As soon as the car came to a halt, Jozef’s side facing the plane, his door opened and Shaun was pulled from the vehicle. She took in a lungful of air, ready to scream, but Jozef held her tight against his chest, dropping a hand over her mouth. He hoisted her off the ground and climbed the steps up to the plane, Havel covering their backs, his hand on the butt of his gun.

Once they were on the airplane, Jozef dropped into a seat, Shaun’s squirming body on top of his. He didn’t remove his hand from her mouth until the door was closed and sealed.

Jozef’s men took their seats and Jozef set Shaun on the seat next to his. He reached across her to buckle the belt.

Shaun’s heart felt like it was bursting from her chest, her breaths were rushing in and out of her lungs and she felt on the verge of another anxiety attack.

The airplane vibrated as the engines were started.

Shaun looked around her in panic. None of Jozef’s men would look at her, their eyes on the floor, their faces grim. There was one flight attendant, who was speaking rapid Czech into a phone. The door to the cockpit was firmly shut, closing them off from the pilots.

Shaun was trapped.

She tipped forward, pressing her forehead to her knees and trying to force herself to breathe properly. She clutched her head as the plane taxied down the runway.

She straightened and looked at Jozef.

“If you do this, I will hate you.” She enunciated each word, hoping this was the one thing she could say to him to get through.

It wasn’t.

His gaze turned pitying and he shook his head. You won’t. You aren’t capable of hate.

She laughed bitterly. “Of course I’m capable of hate. Any human being can be pushed to hate.” When he didn’t respond, she added, “You’re forcing me into an impossible situation. If you do this, I won’t be able to forgive you.”

It’s done. You have no choice but to accept the situation, and hopefully, one day, forgive me.

He looked sad to be causing her pain but determined. He wasn’t going to change course. The plane lifted off the runway, startling Shaun. She turned in her seat to watch the Montréal airport falling away beneath them. The more distance they travelled, the higher they climbed, the more agitated Shaun felt. Like something was trying to claw its way up her throat.

“No,” she moaned, shaking her head and trying to stop the rush of nausea that threatened. She turned accusing eyes to Jozef. “If you love me, you won’t do this.”

He looked like she’d slapped him again, only worse. Guilt flashed across his face, followed by genuine remorse. But none of it replaced the determined set to his jaw and shoulders. No matter how she felt, he was still going to do this.

“My mother,” she sobbed, the tears overflowing onto her cheeks.

Thinking about her mother was a whole other layer of pain that threatened to cripple Shaun. She moaned and wrapped her arms around herself, rocking in her seat. Her mother was going to be devastated. Shaun’s first kidnapping and subsequent recovery had been as hard on Fatima as it had been on her daughter. She’d been there every step of the way with Shaun when she was forced to relearn how to live, how to survive without Jozef, how to resolve her feelings surrounding the kidnapping.

Fatima had held Shaun while she cried, had listened to the words spilling from her daughter’s mouth. Had patiently lent an ear to all of Shaun’s misery. And now she would find out her daughter had been taken again.

As if reading her distress, Jozef reached for her.

Shaun pushed his hands away, not wanting him to touch her. He hadn’t earned the right to touch her, to comfort her.

She had to get up. She couldn’t stay in her seat. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t settle down. Her world was falling away beneath her feet and the hardened soldiers who were the cause of her distress could do nothing except stare at the floor and try to swallow their shame. Well, she wasn’t going to let them. They would damn well know exactly what they were complicit in.

Her fingers scrambled over her seatbelt until she was finally able to get it unbuckled. She leapt to her feet and flung herself away from Jozef, toward the front of the plane. He launched himself out of his seat, reaching for her, probably afraid she was going to do something stupid like open the door.

Instead of fighting him, she stood stiffly in his embrace, forcing him to make the next move. Gradually his muscles relaxed and he eased his grip, allowing her to step away from him. He placed himself between her and the cabin door. She didn’t care. She might be angry, devastated,