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

as his warmth moved away. She almost told him she’d changed her mind and they could talk later.

You’re bored, he signed. Is that what you want to talk about?

She gaped at him. “Well, yes, but how do you know?” She thought she’d been doing a pretty good job of hiding her restlessness from him.

I can tell. He frowned, then added, I can feel it.

She wanted to know what he meant but she didn’t push for answers. She could sense his moods too, even when he wasn’t giving any outward signs. They seemed to share some kind of connection that went beyond the obvious.

“I don’t mean to complain,” she assured him. “I know you’re busy and you have a lot on your plate, but I’m used to living a very full life. My work at the hospital consumed me, and when I wasn’t working, I was conducting research for my papers. I’ve been developing new technology to use in surgeries, and I need to publish my findings so other surgeons can begin studying and using the same techniques.”

He nodded his understanding and then stood, walking away from her. She knew he wouldn’t simply end a conversation with her that way, since it drove him nuts when people did that to him. He couldn’t sign at someone’s back.

She stood and followed him into the bedroom where he dug a box out of his closet. He’d given her the large walk-in closet and had taken the smaller one for himself. Out of respect for his privacy she hadn’t opened it, though she’d been curious.

She and Jozef were in a strange relationship. Even though their hearts recognized each other, had ached from the distance of the past year, they didn’t actually know each other well. She didn’t know if he would be okay with her rifling through his things and she felt shy asking.

He knelt on the floor next to the box and waved at her to join him.

She sank cross-legged onto the carpet, the skirt of her dress pooling around her, and watched as he pulled books and files from the box. Frowning, she reached for one of the books, staring blankly at the cover. It was a medical textbook. Then she recognized it, Operating on Inoperable Tumors. She’d written chapter five. Wordlessly she flipped the book open to the correct chapter. A lump formed in her throat as she scanned the pages. Section after section was highlighted and there were remarks written in the margins in what she guessed was Czech.

“Did you read this?” she asked, still gazing down at the book. She pointed at one of the remarks in the margin. “Did you write in here?”

He nodded, taking the book from her and replacing it with a file.

The label on the file read, “The Use of Guided Laser Ablation on Glioblastomas.” She’d written the paper three years earlier. It had been published in the American Medical Journal. She opened the file. It was a printout from off the internet. Like the book, there were sections highlighted and remarks written on the top, sides and bottom of the paper. Mouth open, she pulled more files and books out of the box.

“These are all mine.” She was stunned.

It looked like everything she’d ever written and published was in the box. Chapters in textbooks, papers, essays. There were even a few that hadn’t been published. She didn’t want to examine too closely how he’d gotten his hands on them.

“You’ve read all of these?” she asked incredulously.

He nodded. In prison. When I wasn’t working, or working out, I was reading. I wanted to understand what drives you; why you were so desperate to get back to such a stressful and demanding career.

Tears filled her eyes. “And do you understand now?”

He tilted her chin until she was forced to look into his eyes, to see the earnestness there. I do understand. He tapped her forehead. Your brilliance should not be kept in the shadows.

A small sob left her lips and she launched herself at him, sending papers flying in all directions. She hugged him around the neck, burying her face in shoulder. “Thank you.”

He ran his hands down her sides and pressed her close against his chest, hugging her in his lap. She wasn’t crying, not really. She was overcome with emotion. She’d never imagined finding someone like Jozef. There were so many things between them that could tear them apart, but for the moment, those were not the thoughts crowding her head. She was simply happy.

He set her back on her ass on the carpet. She used the edge of her fingers to wipe the tears from beneath her eyes. When she was able to concentrate once more, he began signing.

I’m asking you for patience. His face creased with apology. I want to give you more. I want you to be able to pursue this career. It would be a crime to take you away from the medical field. He paused, a wry expression crossing his face. More of a crime than any I’ve committed, I mean.

Shaun bit her lip so she wouldn’t verbally disagree with him. She rather thought murder was more of a crime than forcing her to quit her job.

There are things that must be in place before I can allow you to pursue your career once more, but I want you to know that it’s important to me.

“Because it’s important to me,” she whispered.

He nodded. You must be allowed to continue your work. It’s too important to abandon.

A flare of hope lit in her chest. “There are so many things I can do, Jozef,” she said excitedly. “It doesn’t have to be the hospital if you think that’s too much of a risk, though I hate the idea of giving up surgery.”

I know. He tapped one of the textbooks. Your theory on improving non-invasive laser techniques is groundbreaking. If I understand correctly, you would throw the laser through the skull, pinpointing the exact location of the tumor and cutting it out